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“Coop will be there,” she says, probably trying to deter me.
“I figured he would be.”
“Probably Rhett and Trevor too. Maybe Rhett’s buddy Lincoln.”
My skin prickles at the thought of seeing Trevor. My only hope is he’s not there with a woman. It sure would suck to be stuck on a boring date and watch him having fun from afar.
See? I already know Joseph is going to be boring. Damn it. I should’ve backed out when I had the chance.
“Good. I’ll know there are four strapping men to protect me if something goes awry.”
“Jesus, Claire. He’s an accountant. What could possibly go awry?”
“You’d be surprised,” I mumble, remembering my date with Chad O’Reilly and his obsession with smelling my hair. I thought things were going well until I found him picking loose strands off of my coat and shoving them in his pocket. The memory makes me cringe, and I pray to any god that will listen that Joseph isn’t like Chad.
“Just promise me you’ll try. Give him a real shot.”
“Fine. I will. As long as you make me a promise.”
There’s another pause.
“What?” she asks.
“If things don’t work out with Joseph, I want you to back off. No more blind dates, and no more bugging me about my love life.”
Mo huffs. “I don’t bug you about your love life, and if I do it’s only because I want you to be happy.”
“I am happy, Mo. I love teaching first grade and volunteering at Bright Start, and I love helping you at Animal Haven. What I don’t love is constantly stressing over the fact that I’m almost thirty and single, and you make that stress worse.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice much softer than before. “I’m not trying to stress you out.”
“I k
now you’re not, and I appreciate your valiant effort, but promise me, no more.”
“I promise.”
“Thank you. Now, speaking of Animal Haven, do you need my help tomorrow morning?”
Animal Haven is a local no-kill shelter Monroe inherited from her father, and since I don’t have much of a social life outside of work and Mo, I volunteer a lot of my free time there. Plus, who doesn’t love animals?
“Well, I guess that will depend on how tonight goes, won’t it?” she says with a little too much pep. “If things go well with Joseph and you know…you end up taking him home, then don’t worry about coming in. I can handle it.”
“You’re a slut.”
She barks out a short laugh because everyone in town knows that before Mo and Rhett found their way back to each other, she was never a slut. Far from it. In fact, some of us wondered if she’d ever date again.
“Only for Rhett,” she purrs.
Lovesick fool. “I’ll be in tomorrow morning as planned.”
“Fine. I’ll be there. I might even stay the night tonight. I’ve got a horse getting ready to deliver, and I need to be there when she does.”
“If you need me sooner, let me know.”
“I won’t need you sooner. Go, enjoy your date, have fun, and I want all the details.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I end the call, stuff my phone in my purse along with my keys, and step out of my car.
