Page 5 of Hang the Moon
Her smile went sly as she inched toward the door. “Guilty as charged. See you on Monday?”
“Tuesday. Holiday, remember? Don’t you and Jian have big plans?” Next week, Katie and Jian, OTP’s senior VP of analytics, were getting married after two years of dating. The whole office was invited and it had been all everyone could talk about for weeks. Weddings and happy endings were a big deal at OTP. “Bachelor and bachelorette parties? Couple’s shower?”
Katie scoffed. “If you mean will I be sleeping as much as humanly possible before my family comes into town and I forget the meaning of the wordrest? Then, yeah.Bigplans.”
She smiled and stepped out of his office, shutting the door behind her.
Five minutes later, Margot, his friend and sort of business partner, texted him.
MARGOT (4:35 P.M.):Katie said you’re bailing?! What the fuck?
MARGOT (4:36 P.M.):Did she mention $6 happy hour rum slushies?
Margot and his sister’s girlfriend, Elle, were the voices behind Oh My Stars, a social media astrology account turned viral sensation. He’d brought them on to consult with OTP and incorporate astrological compatibility into the app’s matching algorithm back in December. He’d also fixed Elle up with his sister, Darcy, and he and Margot had become good friends as a result.
BRENDON (4:37 P.M.):I’ve got a date tonight.
MARGOT (4:39 P.M.):Ofc you do. Remind me, what’s this one’s name? Tiffany? Diana? Susan? They’re all starting to blur together.
Yeesh.
There was nothing wrong with any of the girls Margot had mentioned, but by the third date, he hadn’t been able to picture his future with them. There was a... disconnect, something missing that was mission critical, no fault of theirs and hopefully not of his, either.
Fireworks.
Undeniable, irrefutable, heart-stopping chemistry. Not love at first sight—he wasn’t naïve—and not just physical attraction, but a spark, a flame that could be fanned into a once-in-a-lifetime, roll-the-credits,Thank you for writing the screenplay, Nora Ephronkind of love. There were plenty of fish in the sea and he wasn’t going to stop searching until he foundthe one,theSally to his Harry, because unlike the 30 percent of dating app users polled, he believed romance was alive and kicking.
BRENDON (4:41 P.M.):Her name is Danielle.
MARGOT (4:43 P.M.):Well, have fun with Danielle.
MARGOT (4:43 P.M.):Good luck?
MARGOT (4:44 P.M.):Break a leg?
MARGOT (4:44 P.M.):May the odds be ever in your favor? Not quite sure the proper sentiment here.
He rolled his eyes, powering down his monitor for the day. He was supposed to meet Danielle at six, but traffic at this time on a holiday weekend was guaranteed to be a pain.
The opening notes to theTwilight Zoneintro song filled his office, his phone lighting up in his hand. “Hey, Darce. How’s Vancouver?”
“You’re on speaker,” she answered, her voice ever so slightly muffled. “And it’s nice. Like Seattle, but even cleaner.”
Of course that was what Darcy cared about.
“Hey, Brendon!” Elle shouted.
He swapped his phone from his left hand to his right and tugged at his collar, loosening the top button. “Elle, how’s it going?”
“You’re not busy right now, are you?” Darcy asked.
He glanced at the clock and frowned. “What’s up?”
“I need a favor.”
He sat up straighter. “Is everything all right?”
“Technically. I need you to swing over to my place and drop off my keys.”
