Page 29 of Hard to Get

I can’t stop my grin. “Well, we didn’t exactly plan it.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Okay, fine.” I scrunch up my face. “I found out he’s only twenty-five. I had no idea until I was looking at the team roster.” I feel a little weird about that.

“You’re only thirty, Stell. That’s not a huge difference. Look at him…” Gracie holds out her phone. “He doesn’t look twenty-five.”

“He looks hot,” Alexis says.

“Hockey players are very mature,” Gracie says.

“What?” Now it’s my turn to have my jaw sag. “You’ve met my brother and his friends. They’re children!”

“They’re grown-up now,” Gracie says dryly. “Getting married, having kids.”

“Well, they’re not hockey players anymore.”

“What I meant is, a lot of them leave home at a young age. They have to grow up fast. They’re basically working when they’re teenagers, with a lot of pressure on them.”

“That’s true…”

“But you didn’t sleep with him,” Lauren says.

“No.” I can’t stop my mouth from slipping into a pout.

They all exchange glances.

“What?”

Our drinks arrive and I take a sip, grateful for the distraction.

“Oh my good God. This is delicious.”

We all got something different, so we have to do a little shuffle of glasses around the table to sample all the drinks, which are delightful.

“We’re going out again,” I tell them.

“I knew that was coming,” Gracie states.

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah.” She nods. “I could tell from the way you’re talking about him. So when is the date?”

“Next weekend. Saturday.”

“You haven’t dated a lot since you and Cole broke up,” Alexis says.

“Not a lot,” I concede. “But I have. I like going out sometimes.”

“That’s all it ever is, though,” Gracie points out. “Going out. A few times, maybe. But there’s always some reason to not see the guy again.”

“One guy was too passive,” Lauren adds. “One was too controlling. One got mad at you when you waited for him for fifteen minutes and then left.”

“Do you blame me for not wanting to see them again?” I take another sip.

“No, of course not. But sometimes, I think you don’t even try to get to know them better.”

I frown. “You can’t ignore red flags.”