Page 3 of Ready to Snap
TWO YEARS LATER
“William Darling, I raised you better. That is not how we speak to women,” Mary snaps under her breath, and I do my best to hide my smile.
“She’s fine, Mom,” Will groans, rolling his eyes. “Elle isn’t offended. Are you, gorgeous?” She smacks his shoulder with the back of her hand, and he winces. Then the bastard fucking smirks at me and winks.
I assumed being placed at the same table with the Darlings for the gala would be a disaster, but watching his mother put him in his place is entirely too entertaining. Zero regrets. I’ll need to request to be seated at their table for every event.
Mary is the opposite of Will—while he’s cocky and brash, she’s polite and sophisticated—for the most part. I’m genuinely surprised she gave birth to him. I can’t even say he gets it from his dad—his father is equally delightful. It’s unfortunate he wasn’t able to attend tonight; something about a last-minute business trip. He’d be so proud of Will and how far he’s come in thepast few years.
With a deep breath, I stuff down my amusement and cross my arms over my chest, my eyes narrowed into slits. I lean back in my chair and huff, “Actually, yes, I’m deeply offended. I can’t remember the last time someone told me I’d die alone with a hoard of cats. Probably my own mother. Thank you for the additional trauma.” My mother never said anything close to what Will did, but he doesn’t need to know that. In fact, she’s often said the opposite, since I’m prone to wearing my heart on my sleeve. Little does she know, Will is probably correct. I have horrible luck when it comes to men and dating.
“If anyone is going to die alone, it’ll be you, William,” she grumbles. “Don’t listen to him, Elle. I didn’t get married until I was thirty-two, and we’ve been happily married for decades. You know, Will has an older brother. He’s an investment banker and single… And he isn’t an asshole like this one.” She gestures with her thumb to Will.
I stifle a laugh. “Joel? We’ve met. He comes to games often. And you’re right, he’s a complete gentleman. But you don’t have to?—”
“Perfect! You already know each other. I’ll send him a quick message and arrange a date for the two of you.”
“Oh, that’s really not necessary,” I insist, glancing over to Will to save me from her matchmaking. He’s the last man on earth I’d want as a brother-in-law, seeing as I’ve spent the better part of the last two years fighting my attraction to him. “I... I’m on a few dating apps,” I blurt out. “No need to be set up. But thank you.”
“Dating apps? That’s absurd. You’re never going to find a man worthy of you online.”
She’s not wrong…
“There’s a new one I like that’s like old-fashioned blind dates. There are no pictures, you don’t get to talk to them until you meet in person, and they do a background check on everyone. You fill out an extensive application, and if you both swipe on each other, you receive an invitation to a coffee or dinner date. They coordinate it for you.”
“It’s a great business model,” Will adds with a small shrug. “I’d be intimidated if I scrolled and saw your picture.”
What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
“He’s right. You’re gorgeous, but you’re a gem, Elle.” I blush at her praise. “They’ll love you for your sparkling personality, but there’s no point in wasting your time with men on the internet. I’ll message Joel and set it up.” Mary takes out her phone, but Will snatches it from her and pockets it. “William! Give that back to me at once!”
“You’renottexting Joel,” Will grits out, a low rumble coming from his chest. His jaw is tight, and the irises are gone from his eyes. The only time he’s like this is when he’s on the field, and I can’t figure out why he’s so against the possibility of me dating his brother. Granted, I don’t want to date Joel, but it’s not his decision to make. Do they not get along? Does he hate him that much—hatemethat much?
“Really, Mrs. Darling, it’s okay. I’m actually quite content being single.” The lie slips from me a little too easily.
Being single fucking sucks. My friends are all engaged or married off, leaving me as the only unattached one without so much as a boyfriend. My best friend, Nora, left for Ireland two years ago and fell in love with a hot soccer player who also happens to be in an online therapy group with Will. What are the fucking odds? I’ve asked several times to be set up with one of the players, but she always assumes I’m joking. My dating life is no laughing matter.
As the head of media relations for the Cougars, I don’t have time to meet anyone new, and when I do, they usually want free tickets to a game. It doesn’t help that the gorgeous asshole to my right is the only man I’ve been interested in since he came to New York. I’ve never been so grateful for a no-fraternization policy in my life.
Mary’s about to say something when Will’s phone rings loudly in his pocket with a text or notification. He hands his mother her phone back and retrieves his. As he swipes at it, a cocky smirk tugs at his lips.
“William, don’t be rude!” she gasps. “Put your phone away.”
After a few taps, he places it screen side down on the table and retorts, “You were the one about to text my brother. And you don’t need to worry about me being alone and single—I might have a date.”
“A date?” Mary’s eyes are wide with intrigue.
“Yeah, I’m on the same app Elle is. I may have found that special someone.”
“That’s not a good idea.” I swallow thickly, a small pang of jealousy settling in my gut. “We’ll need to vet her. We can’t have another incident like?—”
“I know,” he growls, then takes a deep breath. His shoulders fall as his trademark, megawatt smile paints his face. “Trust me? This one is different. I’ll go ononedate, and then you can do your own background check.”
“Okay,” I concede with a sigh. There’s no use in fighting him; he’ll do what he wants regardless of what I ask. The last woman he dated caused a bit of a scandal for the team, and it took weeks to clean up. The one before that insisted she was pregnant with his child when they hadn’t even slept together.
“I’m sure it’ll be all right.” Mary pats my arm in solidarity. “Now, where is our server? I need a drink” She flags one down, and before they have a moment to greet her, she demands, “When you get a moment, a bottle of rosé for Elle and myself, and a sparkling water for my son.”
“Water? No, I’ll have a pilsner,” Will grumbles.
