Page 21 of Just Another Meet Cute
No wonder Cinderella fell for Prince Charming after only one dance.
“Sorry, you were saying?” he asked.
I let out my breath slowly to clear my head. “I was just saying that I probably won’t bring Chrissy next time. She’s kind of an attention-hogger.”
Chuckling, Ryan gave me a wide dimply smile and tucked a strand of hair behind my right ear. “Deal.”
Whistling under my breath, I browsed the aisles at T.J. Maxx with Linh as she debated over the practicality of spending sixty-five dollars on a bottle of luxury white truffle oil. On one hand, that could be a whole lot of mochi waffles or even a pair of cute sandals. On the other hand, she could use the truffle oil to experiment on brand-new recipes. Plus, it was 50 percent off. On and on she went about the pros and cons.
I knew what her decision would be before she even made it. I mean, this was the same girl who spent half her summer babysitting so she could buy the newest fancy Vitamix blender. And I swear, it was exactly the same as the old one except for a new button on the side.
“I could use it with my flatbread recipe. Or maybe the mushroom pizza with thyme …”
Barely listening to her rambling, I picked up a round little jar with a pearl sheen and a teal edge. It fit in the palm of my hand and would be perfect to hold Mom’s scrunchies. They were all over the house, yet she always complained about never finding one. I could surprise her withit while we made dinner. It was our turn to cook tonight.
After I added it to the basket, my finger poked at a saltshaker in the shape of a turtle and giggled to myself.
Linh glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow. “Either that turtle told you the funniest joke or you’re thinking about that hottie Ryan again.”
“Maybe a little bit of both,” I admitted with a sheepish smile. “He told me a joke about a turtle the other day. You should hear it from him.”
“Don’t know if I’ll think it’s as funny as you do. After all, I’m not in love with the guy.”
After the Worst Date Ever ended up not beingtoobad, Ryan and I went on our second date to the movies a few days later. And that one was way better. This time, I actually stayed awake. Plus, he stopped by the house to meet everyone first. Not only did they not scare him off, but everyonelovedhim. Even Aunt Sarah and Dad were able to swallow their animosity for each other and be on their best behavior. Mom was already talking about how cute our prom pictures would look.
Everything was perfect. HE was perfect.
The only thing thatwasn’tperfect was the nagging guilt I felt for lying to him. It would be easier if I didn’t like him so much. And if he wasn’t so sweet. The nicer he was, the more the guilt grew and grew. Like Pinocchio’s nose, and it poked at me all day long.
Stupid conscience.
But what were my choices? I could either tell the truth and possibly scareRyan away or keep everything to myself and hope my guilt wouldn’t turn me into a nervous wreck.
Neither seemed very appealing to me.
“And now you’re frowning again.” Linh shook her head and put the bottle back onto the shelf. “I told you. Everything’s fine. You’re happy. Ryan’s happy. Just let it go.”
“I know, but—”
With a sigh, she covered my mouth with her hand to shut me up. “Look, you’re not even doing anything wrong. He doesn’t remember how you met, so you’re not going to remind him. Technically that barely counts as a little fib.”
I yanked her fingers away. “But he keeps talking about our meet cute and he thinks I’m this amazing person who saved his life and—”
“Uh, youdidsave his life. And youareamazing. Even if the way you met was staged, saving his life wasn’t. So give yourself a break.” Linh wiggled her eyebrows. “And next time he brings it up again, make out with him. I’m sure that will make him stop talking.”
“Ha, you’re full of great ideas.”
“I know. It’s a curse.” She picked up the truffle oil bottle again and stuck it into the shopping cart. “Now I’m going to ring this up, and then we have to go straight home because I can’t afford to shop for the rest of the week.”
As Linh disappeared between the aisles, my phone buzzed in my pocket. “Hello?”
“Hey, what are you doing?” Ryan’s warm voice over the phone already sounded like he was smiling.
My fingers traced the pastel porcelain plates and bowls on the shelf in front of me. “Just shopping with Linh. How about you?”
“I’m at home waiting to have lunch with my family. It’s kind of a family tradition to eat ph? together every Sunday.”
“Aw, that sounds like a lot of fun.”
