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Ellie threw her arms open as I got closer. “Jenna! You look amaze.”
I gave her a tight hug. “Happy Birthday! Did you get my present?” She’d been asleep when I left for work earlier that morning.
“Ilovedit! I can’t even believe you found the exact book. It was so, so sweet of you.” Ellie hugged me again.
“Was it? I’m so glad.” She’d once mentioned a picture book her late mother had read to her when Ellie was a little girl. Somehow, the book had gotten lost during a move. I’d tucked the information away and then later tracked it down.
“And you got your dad’s gift, too?” I’d helped her father coordinate the surprise delivery of next year’s model of Escalade, sporting some new safety features he didn’t think she should be without.
“Yes, thank you a million more times!” Ellie pressed a hand to her heart. “Let me introduce you to everyone!” She led me over to the group and rattled off a long list of names. I caught Jessica, Ashley, Stephanie and Brittany before getting completely overwhelmed.
In response, the Alpha Phi Beta ladies offered insincere greetings and then turned away from us to resume their conversation.
Ellie’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
I’d had my suspicions about Ellie’s “besties” who had refused to come to her party unless she paid for all their travel and accommodations, and this confirmed them.
I had to get her away from the fake friends. “Come with me to the bathroom?”
“Oh, okay!”
I gave a little wave to Davis and Cassie as we walked past them, though they’d just started to dance and I wasn’t sure they even noticed us.
“I need new friends,” Ellie blurted out, even before the bathroom door was closed behind us. We could still hear the music pumping outside the room. “Davis has Cassie and his new business, so he’s way too busy to hang out. And Tiffany’s gone all summer.”
I nodded sympathetically. Ellie’s closest friend had just left for the summer on a yacht trip with her boyfriend.
“Not that you’re not the best friend ever,” Ellie quickly added. “But you work all the time, plus you’re going to your sister’s wedding.”
I wasn’t offended by Ellie’s words; I had no love for nightlife, and I’d feel much better if Ellie had someone responsible to accompany her to bars and clubs. “What about the people at your Pilates or barre classes?”
“I don’t know...” Ellie fluffed out her enormous pink skirt. “I was thinking I could use Davis’s little app... the Connect one? I downloaded it today, but I only got through like half the questions before I got distracted.”
Probably the app Cassie and Davis had mentioned. “What’s it for?”
Ellie pulled her phone out of a pocket and waved it in the air. “Connect is supposed help you find people to connect with in your area.”
“Oh, like Daterr.” I wrinkled my nose. I’d never had a very good experience with online dating.
“No, just like platonic friends. People you can connect with on a soul-to-soul level. But maybe youcouldfind a date through the app! I hope so.” Ellie winked at me. “I’m not like you, getting to spend time with all those totally hot doctors every day.”
“I don’t date coworkers,” I reminded her for the hundredth time. “And you know why.”
She made a sad face. “Yeah, I do. But you can’t avoid dating forever just because one guy hurt you.”
Saying my ex hurt me was like calling a hurricane a spring rain. Westin had destroyed my trust and broken my heart. But it wasn’t the time or place to bringthatup. “I’m not avoiding dating in general,” I pointed out. “Just coworkers.”
Ellie was too busy typing away on her phone to hear me. “Oh, look! You can tell the app if you’d prefer a male friend.”
I raised a skeptical eyebrow. “How do they screen out creeps?”
“I mean, obviously I would trust Davis with my life—I did—but also, his company does a full background check. And they prevent you from releasing any personal information to your match until you’ve met in person at their office.”
It wasn’t a foolproof system, but that was a lot more trouble than any dating app I’d tried had ever gone to. “Well, don’t do anything crazy, like invite strangers to our house.” It had to be said. Though she was totally well intentioned, Ellie could also be thoughtless.
“Oh my gosh, you have to do it too!” Ellie bounced with excitement. “Please? You could totally meet someone this way! Besides, Davis really needs people to test it out.”
“I don’t want to find a date on an app,” I said, but my mind was already running away with the idea faster than an Olympic sprinter.
