Page 17 of The Wrong Date Deal

“That’s true. That is nice. It’s good to not be alone in a coffee shop feeling like shit.”

“Did you feel like shit about the date?”

“No, but I have with others, and it’s nice to… not feel alone in the whole… machine of it, I guess.”

August nodded. Sure, Meilíng had recommended the app to her, and would probably be sympathetic to August’s plight with the whole thing, but Piper was right. It was nice to have a friend who was going through the unsuccessful dating cycle with her. As much as August loved Meilíng, she’d gotten a hit on the first try. Could she really understand why a nice but one-time date could make August feel so sad if she wasn’t even into the woman in question? Maybe, but, this way, August could process with Piper and never have to find out.

Piper took another sip of her drink and a mischievous smile settled on her lips. “You know, since we’re both in this thing now, what if we make it official?”

August gulped some of her coffee before replying. “How’d you mean?”

“Well, we clearly get along, and we’re enjoying having a friend to debrief with, so, what if we become that for each other? We trade numbers, and, whenever either of us has a date, we can call or text the other to discuss it, to debrief or explain it.”

“Do a lot of your dates need explaining?” August asked with a laugh.

“More than you could ever imagine,” she said with a shudder. August couldn’t wait to hear all those stories.

But, she thought the proposition through. She enjoyed talking to Piper. She’d invited herself back over and, both times, they’d slipped into conversation easily with no awkwardness. It just… fit. And she really would like to have someone to talk to about her dates—someone she knew wouldn’t judge her or make her feel bad. Just someone safe no matter what happened.

She grinned. “Yeah, okay, Piper. You’ve got yourself a deal.”

“A date deal.”

August laughed. “Sure. A date deal.”

Chapter Five

“AWednesday night date?” Massima asked with raised eyebrows.

“Eh… Kind of,” Piper said as she checked her bag and pulled on her coat.

“How do youkind ofhave a date?”

Piper sighed. “It’s less of a date and more of my colleagues having no sense of boundaries.”

“Explain.”

“Claire in sales is having a dinner party and insisted on a bunch of us attending.”

Massima twisted so she was kneeling on the couch, hugging a cushion to herself, and looking at Piper with a confused expression. “That doesn’t sound like a date. Isn’t Claire married?”

Piper laughed in surprise. “It’s not a date withClaire.It’s that, from the office, she only invited those of us of a certain age who are still single. She has a whole thing that dating and being free is fine for a little while, but, once you reach a certain age and a certain place in your career, you should be married.”

“Sounds weird to me.”

“Me too. But, believe me, if I didn’t attend, I’d never hear the end of it and I’d get no work done for the next week.”

Massima frowned. “You need a new job.”

“I like the one I have.”

Piper had worked hard to get into marketing, and even harder to get into advertising at a music distribution company. The competition, understandably, had been fierce, and she had no interest in being scared away by Claire.

“Well, you need a new colleague, then,” Massima said, flashing her a wide-eyed glance.

“That… I’m not going to argue.”

“And, to make matters worse,” Massima said pointedly, “you’re missing out on Giorgio’s pizza.”

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