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Chapter One
Two was not a perfect number. Why, then, did the world at large insist it was better than one? Especially when that one was him.
TJ looked at the invitation once more. Abounding with pretty pink flowers and swirls as any Valentine’s wedding invitation should, the only problem was his cousin’s handwritten note at the bottom.
Be sure to bring a date.
We have a seat reserved at the reception
for your plus-one.
- Karly
Some of his family members acted like his single status qualified as a misdemeanor offense. He was tired of it.
Shoving the offensive piece of glittery paper into his coat pocket, TJ jammed a maroon winter hat on his head and tugged on the chain of his desk lamp.
“Night, ladies and gents.” He nodded to the remaining heads in his cubicle corner. Not even a shared office. He lived in the land of standing dividers.
One day. One day he’d ask for that promotion. Then he would have four walls around his workspace. Real walls. Not padding-lined vision-blockers that leaked every sound in the building.
He suppressed a sigh as he hit the down button beside the elevator. He ought to be grateful. How many mid-sized cities boasted a publishing house? At least he got to put his English degree to good use. Not all of his former college classmates could say the same.
When the elevator doors opened, he stepped inside, shaking off his gloom. It was time to go home.
Outside in the cold January air, he stepped with care on the slippery, snow-covered pavement to his car in the sprawling lot below the tallest building in town, Reliant Tidings Publishing. A groan snarled in his throat when he saw the snow piled in a heap on his hood. He remembered parking his small Honda beside a large black truck this morning. It seemed a coworker had cleared the afternoon’s snow—and dumped it on TJ’s car.
“That rat.” His door had nearly iced over, and he had to use two gloved hands to pry it open so he could grab the snow and ice scraper from the door panel. Those two items were more valuable than gold during a long, Michigan winter.
By the time his car was clear, his teeth chattered without ceasing, and he jumped inside and blasted the heat vents toward him. When he began to thaw, he reached for the seatbelt. As he cinched it around his waist, a crinkle sounded from his coat pocket. The wedding invitation.
Why hadn’t he left it at home? He’d forgotten to check the mail yesterday, so he grabbed it on his way out the door this morning to open it at his desk. He’d nearly forgotten until he was tidying up his space at the end of the day.
What was he going to do? He’d saved the date since his cousin sent out her first announcement early last fall. Now that she insisted he bring a date, he had a decision to make. As he saw it, he had three options:
Go alone as planned and never hear the end of it from Karly. He could live with that.
Not go at all and offend Karly and the entire extended family.
Or, find a date.
Problem was, TJ Halverson didn’t date. He didn’twantto date.
“Oh, be quiet,” he mumbled to his accusing conscience as he navigated slowly out of the snowy parking lot. Fine. There wasonewoman he wanted to date. But she wasn’t interested, so that was the end of it. Back to square one.
TJ didn’t date.
That meant he really only had one option, which was to go stag and endure the exasperation and teasing of his family members. He’d never had a girlfriend, and they were worried he’d be single forever.
There could be worse fates.
His car began to drift toward the shoulder, thick with plowed snow, and visions of being towed out of the slush with dented fenders danced before his eyes.
There could be much worse fates.
It was decided. No plus-one for him. Karly would just have to accept it.
Washington Avenue, one of the main roads across town, was freshly plowed and had a recent coating of sand, and TJ quickly made it to his parents’ house on the far west end of Silver Lake City. Living along the beach of Lake Michigan in the summer was a dream. During winter, it was a test of endurance.
