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Prologue
Charlotte
TWO years ago
Social sleuthing is a skill I think all women are born with; we are basically unpaid FBI agents when we want to be. For the last hour, I have been doing some deep digging on Mr. Reed Larinski. After Cam set me up with his friend, of course the first thing I did was find all of his social media pages. He’s a professional hockey player for the New York Nighthawks. Hot. He barely posts on any of his pages, but I did find a few people he had tagged in his posts, including his sister and mom. I found most of my information on his mom’s page because it was public.
She is so proud of him, and they appear to have a really sweet relationship. I love a man that loves his family. His mom dotes on her children, both Reed and his little sister, Abby. Abby loves Barbies, their fluffy white cat named Bella, and Disney anything. Abby has Down syndrome, and their family seems to be huge supporters of National Down Syndrome Society. She looks like the happiest teenager I’ve ever seen. Endless photos of Abby, Reed, and their mom are plastered on his mom’s socials, but I didn’t see a single one of his dad. I’m guessing he’s not in the picture, or perhaps he passed away.
I can’t believe how cute of a baby Reed was. Like, he could have been a kid model if he wanted to. He had the fullest and most luxurious head of hair I’ve ever seen. Same with Abby. She is gorgeous! What is in this family’s genes? They are all good-looking.
After I finish completely digging through his family’s pages, I decide he looks like a decent guy, and I shoot him a text at the number Cam gave me.
Me: Hi. Is this Reed? Cam gave me your number. This is Charlotte.
Perfect. Simple, short. Not too desperate.
Text bubbles appear immediately, and a response comes through not a minute later.
Reed: Hey, what’s up? Yeah, he told me about it, LOL. You’re coming to Fireflies tonight, yeah?
Me: I sure am!
Reed: Good. I want to meet you. ?
My heart begins beating erratically, and my palms start sweating as I answer his text.
Me: I want to meet you too. ?
He doesn’t answer as fast this time, and I worry that maybe the smiley face was a bit too forward.
Reed: Tell me about yourself. What are you into?
Oh my God, the smiley face was not too much. Thank God.
Me: I love rom-coms, hanging with my nephew, occasional reading, chocolate croissants, and sloths.
Reed: Sloths? LOL, that’s a fun fact, for sure. Have you ever met one?
Me: No, sadly. One day, I hope.
Reed: Attachment.
I click on the image and see the cutest thing imaginable. Reed is sitting on a bench at what looks like a zoo exhibit. But the best part is the fluffy, soft sloth hanging from his arm. Reed’s smile…God, it is beautiful. It makes me want to melt and has me feeling all hot inside.
Me: No way! I’m so jealous!
Reed: Maybe I’ll have to take you there sometime.
Oh, he is a little flirt. And I am totally falling for it.
Me: I would like that. ?
Reed: I’m excited to meet you tonight.
Me: Me too.
As I hit Send, my lip is pinched so hard between my teeth that I think I might break skin. I feel so giddy that I want to run around the room and squeal. I hope our banter and communication are just as good in person as they are in texts.
