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“Mark was wrong for you,” Alison, the best friend on the planet, reassured her, referring to Gia’s ex-boyfriend. She and Mark had broken up in June after four years together—a mutual agreement—and while she knew deep down inside they had been one hundred percent right to end the relationship, she was only human, which meant every now and then…she couldn’t help but question the decision. Alison had been there during every single backslide to reaffirm—strongly—that she and Mark had done the right thing. “And you’re not the bridesmaid, you’re the maid of honor.”
Gia tried to smile, but in the end, she just sighed. “I wasted so many good years.”
Alison and Gus didn’t disagree. Instead, as one, their gazes drifted from her to the dance floor. Gia didn’t turn around to see who they were looking at. She already knew.
“I can’t believe we’re actually related,” Alison grumbled.
Mark was here tonight with Darlene, his new girlfriend, who just happened to be Alison’s cousin. There had never been any love lost between the two women, but Alison’s disdain for her stuck-up, obnoxious cousin definitely kicked up a notch when Darlene swooped in and snatched up Mark. Darlene didn’t let the grass grow under her feet when she’d discovered he was single, dumping her boyfriend at the time, Rodney, so she could trade up with Gia’s ex. She’d swooped in to grab him before another woman could.
Problem was, Darlene had a nasty jealous streak as well as an unhealthy level of anxiety that Gia would change her mind at some point and come back for her man. Gia had tried to put those fears to rest in the early days of Darlene and Mark’s relationship, but nothing she said set the other woman’s mind at ease. So she’d been a thorn in Gia’s side for the past few months, going out of her way to throw herself and Mark in Gia’s path whenever she got the chance, making sure she had a front-row seat for some over-the-top and downright disgusting PDA.
Tonight, the woman was pulling out all the stops, Darlene and Mark chiseling out a spot on the dance floor right in front of the table where Gia was sitting. Gia had rolled her eyes, then gone to get a drink. When she returned, she’d taken the seat that left her back to the dance floor.
“Still don’t think Tinder is the answer,” Gus grumbled.
Gia didn’t completely disagree with him. She hated online dating. So much so, she was wondering if she should take down her profile for a little while.
The reason she didn’t was because doing so was the equivalent of admitting defeat, simply because…online dating seemed to be her best shot at finding someone to share her life with. Especially since she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life in Maris, where the pool of available guys was…shit…practically nonexistent.
Big city life might be fine for some people—like Gus’s older brother, Xander, who’d moved to Dallas after high school graduation and never looked back. But as far as Gia was concerned, Maris had everything a person needed to be happy, including the one-screen movie theater, bowling alley, dancing at Cruisers—the closest thing they had to a nightclub—and hanging out by the lake when the weather was warm.
“The problem is we started too small initially. So now we’ve widened the Tinder search.” Alison sounded like a detective describing how she planned to find the suspect. “We’ve expanded our hunt to surrounding cities.”
“Are you using the royal we, Ally?” Gia teased, picking up her bottle of beer and taking a sip with her pinkie out.
“How wide is your territory now?” Gus asked, grinning at her joke.
“Gia shouldn’t have to drive more than an hour, hour and a half, tops, for a first date,” Alison said.
“Considering we live in bumfuck Maris, surrounded by precious few big cities, it’s still slim pickins,” Gia added, not masking her lack of faith Alison’s new plan would work.
Gus shrugged. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and some great guy will move to Maris.”
“Oh yeah, because people move to Maris alllll the time,” Gia drawled. “I think the last family to relocate here was the Wilsons, right?”
Alison laughed. “No way. That was like five years ago.” Then she thought about it some more and sobered up. “Shit. I think you’re right. They were the last newcomers. So this is why she’s sticking with online dating, Gus. It’s the best way to meet guys.”
Gia appreciated her best friend’s confidence, trying to ignore that tiny kernel of jealousy that poked at her whenever she watched Alison and Gus together. Alison was determined that Gia would find someone as well. Mainly because her bestie was still hanging on to a couple of middle school pinkie swears between the two of them. Promises that included a double wedding—not happening—settling down on the same street as neighbors, and getting pregnant at the same time so their kids could be best friends too.
Alison turned back to Gia, a comforting smile in place. “There’s someone out there for you. I know it. You just need to keep looking, Gee.”
“Looking for what?”
Gia turned around at the sound of the familiar deep voice behind her.
Gus grinned, rising. “Xander!” He slapped his brother on the back as they hugged. “I was starting to worry you weren’t going to make it tonight.”
“Had a couple of last-minute things to take care of at work. They took longer than expected, so I got on the road late.”
Gia resisted the urge to fan herself because, holy shit…Xander—always fucking hot—was only getting better with age.
Xander was Gus’s half-brother, ten years older, the two men sharing a father, and Gia fought to still the butterflies that always fluttered in her stomach whenever he was around. Xander had been her secret crush for most of her life, though she’d never told another living soul. Not even Alison. There had always been something about Xander that not only captured her attention but held it.
She’d carried her torch right through middle and high school and into adulthood, perfectly aware it was a ridiculous torch to even pick up, because Xander was a million miles away from her league. She’d always been too much of a realist—even when she was younger—to truly believe anything would ever happen between the two of them, but that didn’t stop her from dreaming about Xander and her together.
Fuck it, fantasizing was probably a better word.
Gus gripped his big brother’s shoulder. “Well, you’re here now. And damn, it’s good to see you.”
