Page 19 of Hard to Get

I do wear my new jacket to the park. Jayden’s comment about the colour looking good with my hair stays with me, like a warm little glow in my chest, and I smile as I check out my reflection before I leave.

I remember him talking about the three-meeting theory the last time I saw him in the park. About how the third time you meet someone randomly, it’s a sign of destiny. A message from the universe.

It amused me at the time, but now I wonder… does it mean something?

Eh. Whatever. I’ve already convinced myself that if he asks me to go for coffee again, I’ll do it. I’m interested. He’s interested. He’s hot. Why not? It doesn’t have to be a big deal. If it’s fun, great. If not, oh well. I’ll just have to walk Betty somewhere else. Ha ha.

He’s already there, in the enclosed area for the small dogs, and I smile watching him throw a ball for Frank. Betty pulls at the lead as if she knows who’s here, and I let us into the enclosure and make sure the gates shut behind us. I unclip Betty and she zooms off toward Frank. And Jayden.

I stroll behind her, my insides fluttering like the leaves of the maple trees around us. Am I a teenager again? Jeez. And when Jayden sees me and smiles, the flutter turns to a flapping and my pulse hops and skips. Oh my God. I need to chill.

I direct my attention to Frank, crouching to greet him. He’s happy to see me, like we’re best buds and, to be honest, I love it. I get a few swipes of his tongue and some happy whining, then Betty butts in because she’s jealous and I stand so the two of them can run off. Jayden throws the ball and they both chase it, at risk of dislocating their little kneecaps, they go so fast.

“They’re so funny.” I face Jayden and smile. “Hi.”

“I thought you were going to ignore me,” he says. “Just say hi to my dog.”

“Well, you know the dogs are the most important.”

“Yeah, I do know that.” His eyes run over my face and it doesn’t settle me down. If anything, my pulse is skipping faster. “Although… no offence to Betty… I’d rather see you than her.”

I gasp, slapping a hand to my chest. “Don’t let her hear you say that!”

“I bet she’d understand.”

My skin heats beneath my new jacket, the warmth rising into my face. Great. I’m blushing like a sixteen-year-old with her first boyfriend. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

A laugh barks out of him. “Yeah, no.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“All the other girls don’t have dogs,” he explains.

“Oh. Of course.” My mouth twists up to repress my smile.

“So. Where should we go?”

I blink.

“For coffee.”

“Oh. Well. You’re making a big assumption, aren’t you?”

The corners of his mouth quirk and it’s extremely attractive. “Am I?”

“Okay, no.”

His smile splits his face. “There’s a dog-friendly restaurant over on Hamilton.”

Oh. We can take our dogs. My heart bumps. “Okay.”

“We’ll let them burn off some energy first.” He turns and jogs over to where they’ve left the ball and throws it again. They both bound after it.

“Good arm,” I say as he returns. “Did you play baseball, too?”

“I played every sport there is.” He makes a face. “My parents wanted me to be well-rounded.”

“Hmm. That’s good. My parents… well, my dad, mostly… wanted my brother to focus on hockey.”