Page 2 of The Sebastian Guarantee
Yep, love matches.
People would show up to grab a quick bite to eat and end up meeting their significant other as they waited in line. And when one of the editors at Techy Times, the preeminent news organization for super tech nerds, met her significant other using the app, the woman had written an article about her experience. Within minutes of the piece going live, Munch Match downloads had skyrocketed. The hashtag #MunchMatchLoveMatch had hovered in the top ten tags over the last few months. As the developer of the hyped app, she’d have to be considered an up-and-coming innovator, right? Not to mention, in addition to Zinger, Techy Times was a LETIS sponsor. They’d surely want her there.
Hank held up the bin of shredded greens. “I’ll take your word about lettuce being a big deal.”
“I’m all about the lettuce, Hank,” she replied. “Let us eat lettuce,” she proclaimed, like the nerd she was.
“You sure are one lovable odd duck, Phoebe Gale,” Hank replied with a toothy grin.
She glanced over her shoulder at the line snaking down the block. “I might be an odd duck, but I’m the odd duck who tripled your business.”
“No,” Hank countered, wagging a finger at her. “You quadrupled it. And I’m not the only food truck operator who’s seen a jump in profits. Your little Munch Match thingamajig has boosted profits for all of us.” He wrapped her Hank dog in tinfoil and handed it over. “This one is on the house.”
She blew her favorite hot dog slinger a kiss and accepted the free meal. Someone tapped her shoulder, and she turned to find a slim man with slight features holding the hand of a woman with her hair in a bouncy blond ponytail.
“We’re sorry to bother you,” the woman began, “but we couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. Are you really Phoebe Gale?”
Phoebe had a good idea she knew what was coming. “I am.”
“I’m Delia, and this is Roderick,” the blonde continued. “We have to thank you. Roderick and I met at the Mr. Cheesy Forever food truck three months ago. I didn’t even know I wanted grilled cheese, but I trusted your app.”
“Me too,” Roderick added. “I thought I wanted pizza, but your app said grilled cheese. I ended up in line behind Delia. I listened as she ordered extra cheese, then I ordered extra cheese, and the rest is history.”
Phoebe swooned.Who couldn’t love a romance sparked by a chance food truck encounter?
“I fell head over heels in love with Delia as I watched her chomp away on a super-cheesy sandwich, and yesterday, we returned to that food truck, and I asked her to marry me,” Roderick added as Delia raised her left hand, revealing a sparkling diamond.
Phoebe pressed her hot dog to her chest. “Congratulations! My dear friend’s dad launched the Mr. Cheesy Forever food trucks back when I was a kid. I’ll be sure to let him know. I’m so happy for you guys.”
It wasn’t a lie. She was genuinely excited for the couple, but when she saw the way Roderick looked at Delia, she could only wonder if anyone would ever look at her like that.
“Could we get a picture with you, Phoebe?” Roderick asked, pulling his cell from his pocket.
Phoebe snapped out of her morose relationship musings and plastered on a grin. “I’d be honored.”
Roderick handed his phone to Hank, and the vendor snapped a photo of the trio.
“And I want one of you guys, too,” Phoebe said, juggling her cell phone and the hot dog. She’d never been the most graceful of gals, and thanks to a pervasive case of butterfingers, she dropped her phone but saved the hot dog. She peered up at Hank. “I’ll protect this hot dog with my life.”
The man chuckled. “Gotta have priorities.”
Delia was quick to help and retrieved the phone. But before handing it over, the woman got a glimpse of the screen and gasped. “Is that a picture of you and Sebastian Cress—the social media hottie, Sebastian Cress?”
At the mention of Sebastian Cress, Phoebe’s heart swelled. She gazed at the image of herself and Seb sitting side by side on a pair of swings, clinking beer bottles. The picture had been taken only a few weeks before the Techy Times piece came out. That night, she’d been completely unaware that her life was about to take on a new trajectory. But her career prospects weren’t the only thing that changed after the Munch Match piece was published. Come to think of it, since around that time, she’d heard less and less from her friend. Sure, Sebastian was busy. Like her, a year ago, he’d broken away from his family business to make a name for himself. But soon after the Techy Times piece came out, his social media feed had veered from fitness tips, style commentary, and life hacks to late-night partying with a string of different models and socialites. When was the last time they’d talked? It had to be going on a month—maybe more.
She drank in his endearing half-smile and sparkling eyes. “Yes, that’s Sebastian Cress and me.”
“All my friends follow him,” Delia gushed. “He was named the sexiest man on the internet.”
Phoebe sighed. “Yep, he sure was.”
“Are you guys together?” Delia asked, wide-eyed.
Phoebe froze. Her mouth wanted to say yes, which was a bonkers reaction. There was no way she and Sebastian could ever be together. “No,” she replied, forcing the syllable. “Sebastian Cress is my best friend—one of my best friends. I’ve known him for years.”
Just as the words passed her lips, she recalled the day they’d met years ago, when she was a girl. She’d peered through a car window and gazed at the skinny boy with blue-green eyes. And then Sebastian spoke. His crisp British accent had left her seven-year-old self utterly enchanted. Alas, growing up in the good old U.S. of A had washed out his prim accent. The guy sounded as American as apple pie. Still, every now and then, a word would slip into their conversations, and she’d hear the echoes of the British boy who’d built pillow forts in her bedroom and snuck her extra chocolate chip cookies and hot dogs at get-togethers with their families.
Delia’s eyeballs looked ready to pop out of her head as the picture disappeared and a carousel of photos flashed across the screen. “In this one, you’re with Sebastian Cress and Aria Paige-Grant, the singer. Do you know her, too? She’s famous.”
