Page 37 of Had to Be You

"No. She had some errands to do."

"Oh, okay." Kennedy looked surprised at Marissa’s response. "Well, she said I could drop these off." Kennedy set a stack of papers on the counter next to the cash register and then looked in Knox’s direction.

"It’s Knox, right?"

"Yep."

"Kennedy Dawes," she introduced herself. "We met at the wedding."

"Yep." Knox nodded. "I remember."

Kennedy was stunning. She had crystal green eyes, light brown hair with blonde highlights, a wide smile, and flawless skin. Her build was curvy, but thin, and from the Mercedes SUV parked outside and the Coach bag she was carrying, she seemed to have her shit together.

Normally, he’d shoot his shot with her. But ever since meeting Laura, it seemed his drive in that department was gone. He had no interest in getting to know the gorgeous woman standing in front of him. The only interest he had in Kennedy was if she could put in a good word for him with her friend.

That realization should have sent Knox running out the door, jumping in his SUV, and hightailing it out of town. But instead, he stayed right where he was to see how this convo played out and if he could steer it in the direction of a very sexy, sassy, curvy woman who had infiltrated his thoughts.

"I don’t know if it would be something you’re interested in, but we’re hosting a singles event at Lantern’s tonight." Her hand was outstretched with a flyer in it.

Knox took the paper, which read Soulmate Sensory Speed Dating. "Speed dating?"

"Yeah, but not your typical speed dating. This istotallydifferent. All you have to do to register is fill out the questionnaire online and show up."

He’d gone to a few speed dating events. The last one was at a pub in London with some of the guys from his squad. It was fun. Plus, if Kennedy was promoting it, there was a good chance Laura would be attending.

"Who’s we?" Knox asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You said we are hosting it."

"Oh, right, um, yeah, I do some work with the city to help with tourism, and so it’s through that program."

Knox tried to hide his disappointment that the "we" in question hadn’t been Laura. "That sounds like an interesting job."

"It’s part-time. My full-time gig is in real estate."

"Really? I was just scrolling through Zillow."

Her face lit up with surprise. "Oh, are you thinking of buying in Whisper Lake?"

"I might be in the market for some investment properties."

"Oh, that’s great! The market’s a little low on inventory right now, but—" The alarm on Kennedy’s phone went off, and she grabbed it out of her bag. "I, uh, have to go, but here’s my card. Give me a call, and we can talk about what exactly you’re interested in."

Laura.That’s what he was interested in. That’sallhe seemed to be interested in these days.

12

Laura steppedout of the bathtub, and drips of water hit the tiled bathroom floor as she reached for her towel. The past hour she’d spent soaking had been productive. Well, the last half hour had been. The first thirty minutes she’d spent crying.

But she supposed that was productive, too. She was a great believer in a good cry being cathartic, and that’s exactly what it had been. After her emotional cleanse, she’d come to a decision. After tonight’s speed dating event, she was going to stop focusing on meeting the right person and start focusing on having a baby.

For the past year or so, she’d been investigating what it would take to get pregnant on her own. Part of her investigation involved going to a fertility clinic. Today, at her appointment, she got the test results back from them and found out that even if she had a partner, it would be basically impossible for her to get pregnant without medical assistance.

She’d known she had cysts on her ovaries since her early twenties, but her gynecologist at the time had assured her that they rarely interfered with fertility. She found out today that she was that rare case. So even if she found the man with whom she wanted to have a family, they would not be able to conceive the old-fashioned way. It would take "medical intervention" for her to get pregnant.

Laura dried off, then stared at her reflection in the mirror and realized something. As difficult as that truth was to discover, it also freed her. She felt ten pounds lighter.

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