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“Emma!” Juliet gasps. “When did you go on a first date? You’re holding out on us.”

She grabs her phone, avoiding my gaze, and shoves it into her back pocket. “Last night. It wasn’t a big deal.”

But I see the pink in her cheeks, and I know it was a big deal to her.

“Details!” Juliet squeals. “Did you kiss?”

And suddenly, I’m leaning forward, far too interested in her answer.

“No. It was our first date.”

My muscles instantly relax for reasons I don’t understand.

Juliet’s smile turns devious. “Did you want him to kiss you?”

Emma looks at me. It’s barely a glance before she looks back at Juliet. “I guess it would’ve been okay.”

Juliet grabs her shoulders and jumps up and down. “This. Is. Huge.”

“It’s not that huge,” I find myself muttering.

But I don’t think either one of them heard me.

“I mean, of course you wanted to kiss him,” Juliet gushes. “He’s so charming and good-looking. I bet he’s a fabulous kisser. Okay, details.” She pulls her over to a stool and drags her to sit down. “I want every single detail about this beautiful man and your date.”

Emma’s eyes dart to me. “Vinny’s here. He doesn’t want to talk about this.”

“Oh.” Juliet shakes her head, dismissing me. “He doesn’t care about your date.”

My shoulders lift. “I couldn’t care less.”

Emma’s smile fades a fraction.

Why did I say it like that?

Because oddly, I find myself caring more than I would’ve expected.

Juliet leans into her. “What’s Shane’s personality like? Is he funny?”

A soft smile touches her lips. “Yeah, he’s really funny. We had a good time. I laughed a lot.”

I turn to a box, looking for a distraction, because right now all I can think about is how I hate that some guy Emma just met is making her laugh when she won’t even talk to me.

I want Emma to be happy. She deserves somebody. I’ve thought that for years. I’ve probably even said it out loud. She’s barely dated anyone seriously. Her friends have all nagged her about it, especially Juliet. So this is good.

I’m good with it.

Juliet’s smile pushes wider. “So you like him?”

“It’s been one date.”

“And the promise of a second,” Juliet adds. “You wouldn’t have agreed to go on another one with him if you didn’t like him.”

Something about the truth behind Juliet’s words bugs me, and I hate that it does.

“We should go on a double date!” Juliet claps.

That sounds like something horrible. I don’t know why. I just know it doesn’t sound fun.