Page 16 of My Merry Mistake
I look up and find Eloise smugly watching me just as Finn finds his name. He picks up the card and looks at me. “Were you in charge of the seating arrangements?” He smirks.
I scoff. “In your dreams.”
And, in a quick-witted callback, he says in the same tone I used earlier, “I mean . . .” His shrug also seems to say“if the boot fits.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
He pulls out my seat, and I sit, side-eyeing Eloise, who looks like the cat who just swallowed the canary.
Yes, Finn is fun. He’s good-looking and will probably make someone incredibly happy someday.
Just not me.
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT TECHNICIAN
Early-thirties young professional woman with excellent 401K seeks professional man, preferably between the ages of 32–40, for plus-one events, social gatherings, and potential future personal partnerships.
Must be courteous, honest, and gainfully employed.
Duties include (but not limited to):
• Engaging in mutual accompaniment to work functions
• Attending all “plus-one” social events (i.e. work parties, weddings, and so on)
• Having a firm grasp of social interactions, sentence conjugation, and a wide variety of current events
• Maintaining excellent manners of decorum and hygiene, including but not limited to: person, vehicle, living space, and workspace
Candidates must also have no expectation of physical recompense for duties fulfilled.
Expenditures for all work functions, social events, parties, weddings, or any gatherings attended and fulfilled will be entirely covered.
Lastly, romantic gestures are not required or necessary.
If interested, please send your resumé and cover letter to: [email protected].
Chapter Four
Finn
“All right, Brookie, level with me—what’s going on with the yoga instructor?” It’s after practice, a few days after Dallas’s engagement party, and a perennially half-dressed Jericho Stephens is not going to let me go without a full interrogation.
It’s like this guy never wears clothes.
We were on the road for two days, but now we’re back, and for whatever reason—I’m in the hot seat.
I’m standing in front of my locker wrapped in a towel, hair still dripping from my shower. “Kaylee?” I grab a shirt out of my bag and tug it over my head. “We’re just hanging out.”
“But you’ve got a thing for Hottie Hart, right?”
Oh,shoot.
Dallas chucks his towel at Jericho, and it hits him in the face. Jericho stands. “What the?—?”
“Watch it. That’s my future sister-in-law you’re talking about,” Dallas says.
“It was acompliment.” Jericho emphasizes the last word to drive home his point. “Plus, mywifewas the one who called her that.”
