Page 11 of Man of the Month Club: May
“Primo parking spot,” Cooper grumbles as he pulls in beside my car.
Deciding to take the high road, I opt not to point out that I won it fair and square. Instead, I say sincerely, “I had a great time last night.”
“Me, too.” His voice is husky, but he doesn’t ask to see me again.
Trying to hide my crushed feelings from my facial expression, I give him a brittle smile and say, “Okay, then. Goodbye.”
“That’s it?” he asks, sounding hurt.
When I turn to see what he means, he takes the opportunity to crush his lips to mine. I respond immediately to his possessive kiss––moaning into his mouth and threading my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.
After we finally pull apart, I reach for my door handle and say, “I’m not sure how steady on my feet I’ll be after that.”
“Good,” he responds, sounding proud. “That will give you something to think about until I can get my hands on you again.”
Beaming and not bothering to cover my significant delight, I say, “Can’t wait.”
10
Cooper
The text from Phoebe to both Poppy and me sounds urgent. “Can we meet tonight for dinner? I have something important to tell you both.”
Poppy and I both respond that we are available, so Phoebe sends us the address of one of my favorite local pizzerias and asks us to meet her there at 6:00 p.m.
I arrive a few minutes early, of course, and am surprised to see Poppy already seated at a table for four. After sliding in beside her on the red leather booth, I lean in to kiss her cheek before saying, “You’re early.”
“It happens once in a great while,” she says. Her tone turns more serious when she adds, “Especially when I’m nervous. Do you have any idea what Phoebe wants?”
“Nope,” I answer nonchalantly. When I see the tiny worry-line emerge between Poppy’s eyebrows as she stares down at the red and white checkered tablecloth, I try to distract her by asking, “What do you like on your pizza?”
“Sausage and pepperoni,” she answers immediately.
“No way! That’s exactly what I always get. We actually have something in common. I guess we truly are made for each other,” I say.
I’d been teasing, but the furrow grows deeper between her brows when she says, “Liking the same toppings on our pizza doesn’t mean anything.”
“It’s a start,” I assure her as I take her hand within mine. I’d been expecting hers to be chilly, but it’s clammy and damp, too––making me wonder why she’s so nervous.
Before I can ask her about it, Phoebe arrives at the booth with a pretty blonde woman by her side. The two of them sit down across from us as Phoebe says, “Oh, good. You’re both already here.”
With impeccable timing, our waitress shows up to take our drink order. After we make our requests, I ask for an order of garlic knots for the table, and the harried woman rushes off.
Wanting to make sure our order is set for when the waitress returns with our drinks, I ask the other two women, “Do you like sausage and pepperoni pizza, or would you like to get something else?”
Phoebe nods her agreement and the blonde says, “That’s my favorite!”
Poppy angles a look at me, and I can practically hear her saying, “I told you it wasn’t a sign,” even though she remains quiet. Not wanting her to focus on that, I turn my attention to Phoebe and ask, “So, what’s up?”
The tall woman leans in to say, “Well, we all saw last night what a mismatch the two of you are. So, I stayed up all night trying to figure out how the app could have gotten things so wrong, and I found a bug in the algorithm!”
She says this as if it is great news, even though it’s not at all what I want to hear. Poppy stiffens at my side, and I can tell this is going to hit her hard.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t catch it sooner,” Phoebe rushes on, not seeming to sense how upsetting her news is. “I could have saved the two of you from having a terrible date. It’s too late for that, but I wanted to make things right as soon as possible.”
I’m shaking my head, willing her to stop talking, but she continues on––obviously oblivious to the dagger she is jabbing into my heart. “Coop, you shouldn’t have been matched with Poppy at all. Your best match is Summer.”
She indicates the blonde by her side, before beaming at me with a wide smile as if this is great news.
