Page 90 of Banter & Blushes

I feel a blush coming on again. “The firm part.”

“As in, confident?”

“Nooo…more like muscled.” I grin.

Sophie blurts out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure that’s not what it means.”

I shrug. “I know, but it’s my head, and I can make it mean whatever I want.”

“True enough. By the way, thanks for helping me out today. Send me all the photos and videos you took when you get a chance.”

“Sure thing. Thanks for picking me up.”

“You really need to get your car fixed, Mia. Sounds like your starter is going.”

“I know, and I will. Next week with all my free time.” A hefty dose of sarcasm accompanies my eye roll.

Sophie shakes her head at me, just like she always does when I try to wiggle out of some aspect of adulting. Maybe it’s because I spend my days with seven- and eight-year-olds. They’re way more interesting than most adults I encounter nowadays.

A thought hits me as I open the car door. I turn to Sophie. “Are you going back to the arena to finish things up?”

I figure it can’t hurt to ask. What if my BFF needs more help? And a certain hockey player happened to be there, too…

“No. Sorry. You’ll have to see your hockey guy the old-fashioned way.” She leans toward me. “On a date.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Just this once, can I bypass all the boring and inconvenient bits of dating and move on to the engaged and marrying part?”

“I don’t think it works that way. Unless you want an arranged marriage.”

I lift my brows at her. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Then stop trying to hurrythings along.” She pats my leg.

“I don’t do that.”

Her expression shifts to disbelief. “Not directly, maybe, but you don’t give the guys you date a chance to show you who they really are.”

“Soph, I don’t have time to kiss a bunch of frogs to see which ones are truly toads. And I don’t want to risk the warts.”

She giggles at my pun. “Some princes take time to reveal themselves.” She lets out a noisy sigh. “Or maybe there aren’t any princes out there.”

My heart aches over the tinge of despair in her voice. I squeeze her wrist. “You just haven’t found yours yet.”

She shakes her head vigorously. “I’m done with dating. My next love interest will be a miniature Chihuahua named Sparky, and he’ll wear a bright pink, gem-studded collar.”

I point to her oversized brown purse in the back seat—the one anomaly in my pink-obsessed best friend’s life. “And fit in your bag?”

“Exactly.”

I pull her into a hug. “Oh, girlfriend, you are so in need of a prince.”

She blows my hair out of her face. “Find one for me?”

Hands on her shoulders, I lean back. “I would if I could. Maybe if things work out for Ethan and me, I could fix you up with one of his teammates.”

Another emphatic shake of her head ensues. “You forget I covered the sports beat for my college paper. No, thank you.”

“Now, who’s not giving the guy a chance?”

---