Acoupleofdaysafter her shortened visit to the Empire State Building, Chloe met up with her friends—Daniela had asked for a rain check due to a minor crisis on her hit procedural—for a catch up and some truly excellent diner fare. After putting in their orders for pancakes, waffles, and meatloaf, Chloe brought Hazel and Blair up to date. She covered all of the basics: needy clients, overprotective older brothers, and frustrating almost first times. Her friends listened sympathetically until she reached the last bit.
“Wait…” Hazel said, incredulous, “you almost did the deed and he stopped, just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Blair shook her head. “That sucks dirty diaper dumps.”
“It does.”
“And there’s no hope of convincing Theo to change his mind?” Blair pressed.
“Not while he’s following the bro code,” Chloe answered.
“So there’s absolutely, positively, nothing going on between you?” Blair asked with a little glint in her eye.
“Nope. Nothing. I’m not seeing him again.” Disappointment pressed heavy on her chest.
“Well, that’s his loss and Tyler’s gain,” Blair said with an excited grin.
Chloe pushed her pancakes aside and asked, “Who’s Tyler?”
“He works with Mitch,” she answered. “You’ll like him, I promise. He’s cute. Has a great job. And he’s single. He’d be perfect for you.”
“Thank God he’s single. Wouldn’t want you setting her up with a married man,” Hazel said with sarcasm, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
Blair rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I was talking to Mitch about how you’re looking to settle down, and he agreed that Tyler is good husband material.” She fiddled with her glass, and her gaze flickered away for a beat before she said, “And we set up a date for the two of you tomorrow night.”
“What!” Chloe nearly propelled herself from her chair. “Why would you do that?”
“Well, after you left with Theo, the three of us got to talking. Daniela suggested that you put out more than one fishing line.”
“So you’re saying this is Daniela’s fault,” Chloe said flatly.
“It was her idea,” Hazel chimed in.
“That’s right. And it’s a good one!” Blair insisted, pushing her meatloaf aside to rest her elbows on the table. “How else are you going to find any prospects if we don’t help you? You're new to New York. We’re your only friends. It’s our God-given duty to act as matchmakers for you.” Blair’s eyes grew sly, and she added, “Unless you want to try your luck with some creepy dating site and meet up with who-knows-what kind of psychopath.”
Blair had a point. Chloe’d browsed those sites, and they’d made her cringe. The men on there couldn’t think women believed all the bullshit they wrote about themselves, could they? After all, how many six-foot linebackers who liked long walks on the beach and volunteered with sick kids could there be?
Wanting another opinion on the matter, she asked Hazel, “What do you think about this blind date? Should I go?”
Her friend shrugged. “It’s up to you, but Blair’s right. Going on a blind date with someone she knows is better than meeting up with a stranger no one knows.”
Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine, I’ll go. Send me the time and place to meet him.”
“Yes.” Blair’s fist pumped the air, and she whipped her phone off the table and typed on it with a huge grin on her face. “And done. You are going to have the best night of your life. I can feel it.”
Chloe wished she felt a smidgen of her friend’s enthusiasm.
Chapter Nine
Blairwaswrong.
It was nowhere near the best night of her life. She’d even say it rated near the bottom. She hadn’t had much experience in dating, so her expectations weren’t even high. But this date was a joke from the start.
She barely had a chance to introduce herself before Tyler stood, flicked out his wrist, looked at his watch, and announced, “You’re late.”
Chloe closed her mouth with a click. Yeah, she’d been a teensy bit late, but that was because the subway she’d been on had started running local rather than express—a common New York problem. She’d have been later if she’d taken a taxi—the cabbies got one whiff of her accent and started adding in unnecessary turns. Taken aback by his abrupt tone, Chloe thought he was going to leave since he seemed so annoyed.
