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“Shedidsay something,” Simon insisted.
Then, all at once, the dynamic changed. Brianne flashed a wide smile. “I think someone’s crushing on Katrina,” she said in a sing-song voice.
Simon flushed all the way up to his ears. “You’d better not be talking about me. I have zero interest in dating someone who could have been my sister in another life.”
Even as he said it, something inside of her shifted. Not once had he compared her to being his sibling in all the years they were friends. She hadn’t realized it until this moment.
And now that she’d heard it from his lips, she couldn’t deny just how strange it felt. She’d never thought of him as anything more than a friend, but there must have been some part of her deep down that had wanted the possibility of something more to occur.
Because now her stomach swirled with regret and disappointment.
What was happening to her? She wasn’t supposed to want to be with Simon inthatway.
Brianne gave a triumphant smile. “Well, then. That settles it. If you don’t want to date her, then you must hate Jackson.”
“That guy would be a terrible fit for her and we all know it.”
Brianne leaned forward, her eyes flashing. Katrina had never seen them so at odds with one another. It was almost like they were now competing for the same gig. Did Simon want a turn at setting her up?
That thought was almost laughable.
Almost.
There was a slight pique of curiosity that fluttered through Katrina’s body. What kind of guy would he pick to set her up with?
Katrina placed her hand on the table between the two of them if only to get their attention on her again. “If you don’t want me to go on a second date with Jackson, then who would you suggest?”
Surprise seemed to slap both of her friends in the face. They turned to face her then looked at each other again. Brianne’s expression was the first to shift into something more victorious than anything else.
“See? You can’t think of someone who would be better than Jackson.”
Simon worked his jaw for a moment before he settled back in his seat and crossed his arms. “I think we could do better than Jackson Duncan. But if you’re so interested, Katrina, go for it. See what a second date would do.”
That wasn’t the reaction she’d expected from him. She almost wished he would tell her that he wanted to take her out and show her what a real man could be. But then again, that was the kind of stuff fairytales were made of—and this was most definitely not a fairytale.
Simon wasn’t her Prince Charming in disguise. And Brianne wasn’t a fairy godmother.
Katrina would have told Brianne no, even with the added information that Jackson hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. But with Simon egging her on, she didn’t really have any other choice. She needed to prove to him that she was willing to take chances, too.
Ironic, seeing as Simon hadn’t ever been the friend who pushed her to do things. That was Brianne’s territory. If anything, Simon was the one who told her to find joy wherever she could get it. And that might be what she was about to do.
Katrina lifted her chin and set a firm gaze on her other friend. “Fine. Tell him that I’ll go out with him again. And make sure he comes to pick me up, because I’m not going to meet him this time.”
She could have sworn that Simon’s gaze darkened ever so slightly. However, when she looked closer, he’d put on a mask again. It wasn’t a literal one, but the way his eyes seemed to cloud over and his muscles relaxed, she couldn’t get a read on him.
Oh well.
Brianne, on the other hand was ecstatic. She threw her arms around Katrina’s shoulders. “This is the one. I can feel it. You guys just didn’t click right away. And besides, it’s not like love at first sight is real. You have to get to know someone before you can say for certain if they’re the one.” She squealed again. “I can’t wait.”
“Sheesh, if you like him so much, maybe you should date him,” Simon muttered.
Brianne laughed, placing her elbow on the table so she could put her chin in her hand. “You know, I could probably find someone for you, too. You just have to tell me what you like.” She gave Katrina a pointed look. “Have you ever paid attention to who Simon is interested in? It’s been forever since he went on a date. Unless he’s just not telling us?”
Katrina glanced at Simon. Brianne was right. Simon’s love life was more of a secret than anything else in their little group. It made sense, though. He was a guy. Talking about girls he liked with his friends who were also girls probably spelled trouble. Brianne wasn’t against telling him exactly what she thought of some of the women who grew up in Rocky Ridge.
Simon avoided looking directly at her. At least, that was how it felt, but she might just be internalizing everything. He was upset with her for some reason, so it was easy to assume he was closing himself off from her.
“Let’s just leave him alone, okay, Brianne?”
