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Adelaide loved it at first, but it was torture too. Seeing him when he first woke up, sleep-mussed and wearing boxer shorts that always rode too low on his hips had her teenaged mind running in circles. Adelaide and Liam had become closer over the years, but back then, she was never welcome in Eli’s room. So she had to settle with smiling and waving to Liam as he grunted a good morning to her. She was left longing from afar.
If being downstairs could count as afar.
Adelaide was low-key amazed that her brother hadn’t confronted her with her hopeless crush on Liam. Either he was as blind as Liam, or he was ignoring it with every fibre of his being. She’d gushed over his best friend throughout high school, constantly telling her friends how perfect he was—he wasn’t, but teenage love was blind. She’d memorized his stats, and soon went to every Saturday morning game he played too. Adelaide could laugh about it now, but back then, cutting out his photo from the yearbook and wearing it in her heart-shaped locket was the closest thing Adelaide ever got to a relationship with him.
Over the years, they’d developed more of a brother-sister vibe, which was even worse. She still cheered for him at his games and when he’d been drafted as a professional footy player, she was the one who organized the party to celebrate. But to him, she was still Eli’s little sister.
Then he’d scored the contract of a lifetime. Playing in France had been his dream. He’d wanted to see Europe and do what he loved. Adelaide had been ecstatic for him. Finally, it had been her chance to move on. To forget her stupid crush by her stupid heart. Instead, Adelaide had pined over him. She’d missed him every day. Not even Eli had moped as much.
Liam hadn’t stuck it out in France. He’d come home after a year, and had been back for nine months. Eli was working on an urgent manuscript edit the day he arrived, so she’d picked Liam up from the airport. She’d steeled herself, girded her loins or whatever the saying was, to try to maintain the distance she’d tried so hard—and failed—to get. But it was no use. The second she saw him, her heart tripped over itself so it could go rub all over him like a cheap hooker. It followed him around like a pathetic puppy dog and dragged Adelaide along for the ride.
She hated it. She hated having fallen in love with him.
Adelaide looked at Katy and let out a disgusted huff, replying, “Urgh. Where do I start?” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, absolutely nothing has happened. Short of throwing myself at him naked, he’s never going to figure out I exist. But knowing my luck, he’d just tell me I forgot to put clothes on. I’m sick of it, you know? I want someone to love me like your guys do you. Or… hell, I’d settle for good sex. Is that too much to ask?”
The young waiter chose that moment to interrupt them. His face flushed with embarrassment, he took their order and rushed away.
Katy bit back a laugh at the waiter and reached out to grasp her hand, her eyes softening in sympathy. “Are you putting yourself out there? Are you dating? You’ve been single the entire time I’ve known you.”
Adelaide shrugged, her lips pursed. “I would if I could get past the creeps who just want a hook-up on every dating app I join. I’ve chatted to a few who seemed nice enough. Then I meet them and they’re either totally different—one guy set off every known red flag within five minutes of me meeting him.” Robyn winced and Emma groaned. Adelaide threw her hands up. “Exactly! I ducked into the bathroom, ordered a rideshare, and a waiter helped me sneak out through the kitchen.” Thankfully he’d had no way of contacting her except through the app, so it was easy to block him. “The other dates have been okay until we get to the point of being intimate, and then it’s like a switch flips, and they’re in it for themselves. Not one has cared about me being comfortable or even enjoying myself.”
“That sucks. Why is it so hard to get a decent guy?”
“Because you three are dating all of them! Five guys between the three of you is far too greedy.” Adelaide grinned, letting her friends know without words that she was 100 percent supportive of all their relationships. Katie coughed out a laugh. Choking, she downed a sip of water and wiped her eyes.
“Haters are gonna hate.” Robyn smirked and raised her glass to Emma.
“I only have one, but my horndog keeps me busy enough. Don’t think I could handle two.”
“You need to find a guy who Nick would be into. That way, they can go for it while you watch,” Katy advised, mirth dancing in her eyes as her grin turned devilish.
Adelaide laughed and raised her glass in a toast. “Cheers to that. But seriously, I’m done with apps. So, start figuring out which of your friends are single because I’m gonna need an introduction.”
“Yeah, friends are a no-go. The ones who are single, are single for a reason. You don’t want to go there.”
Katy dug around in her bag for her phone, tapping away before bringing up a website. She turned it around and showed Adelaide. “No friends, but this might interest you. The gallery is hosting an event next weekend. You should go.” Adelaide wasn’t an art buff by any stretch of the imagination, and her dubiousness must have shown in her expression. Katy scrolled down to the What’s On calendar. “It’s just been renovated and they’re running a few showcase events to get people interacting in the gallery spaces. Next Saturday is Singles in the Sculptures Room. It’s a speed dating night. I’m supplying cupcakes for each ticketholder, and Con is performing there.”
“Something different, I suppose.” Adelaide hesitated and scrunched up her nose. “It’s not too desperate, is it?”
“No, don’t be silly,” Robyn encouraged. “Sounds like fun actually.”
“I’d do it if I was single,” Emma added, then narrowed her eyes at Katy and pointed at her. “Shut it. We don’t need a third.” Katy mimicked zipping her lips but instead of throwing away the key, she pretended to shove it down her bra.
When Katy turned to her, she added, “It’s a chance to meet people outside of a club or an app. You only have like five minutes with each person, so if they all turn out to be douches, it’s not a big deal,” Katy encouraged. Adelaide bought a ticket—if she didn’t do it there and then she wouldn’t, and her friends were right. It was one night. Hopefully a fun one. But even if she didn’t meet anyone to have a potential second date with, she would at least have had a night out.
*****
Adelaide pushed at the pin in her hair that had come loose and hoped the messy updo she’d gone with didn’t fall out halfway through the night. Her umbrella, being held in place with her shoulder while she fixed her hair, sheltered her from most of the unseasonal downpour as she skipped over the puddles. There was so much moisture in the air that she could already feel dampness setting into her clothes. The last thing she needed was to look like a drowned rat with a mop of pink frizz for a hairstyle. It was days like that she wished she kept her natural mousey-brown colour rather than dyeing it.
Dashing under the overflowing rain gutters to avoid the waterfall flowing from them, Adelaide ducked into the foyer and cursed the heavy rain. She shook out the umbrella on the mat and peeled off her coat, hooking it over her arm. As long as she held the dripping material away from the little black silk dress she wore, it wouldn’t get ruined. It was probably stupid to wear the outfit, but nerves had got the better of her. Wearing something more casual would have been smarter, but in an environment like this, she knew that people would judge her based on her appearance even more than the words she spoke.
Putting her best foot forward, she showed her ticket to the usher, and was guided through the high-ceilinged lobby area into a grand hall about half the size of a basketball court.
It was filled with people chatting, sipping on glasses of wine and champagne, and eating canapés being passed around on silver platters. Sculptures positioned on pedestals protected by red velvet ropes hung off silver stands were the stars though, lights shining up to highlight the shadows or down to wash them in a white glow. In another room off to the side, much bigger than the one she and the other people were gathered in, were collections of chairs and tables, spaced equidistant, in a circuit. It wound between sculptures and took advantage of both the shadows and lights cast by the displays. What looked like gameshow buzzers were placed on each table, casting a warm glow, intimate like a candle.
Adelaide admired the pieces and smiled politely at a woman who looked her up and down, wishing they could get started. She hated events like this where she didn’t know a soul. But she did. Swinging her gaze around, she searched for the small stage that Connor would perform on. There. Dressed in jeans, boots, and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he was playing with his guitar. It didn’t take long to spot Katy and Levi too, sitting to the side of the stage. She waved and started to head that way when an MC stepped up to the microphone. “Good evening, guests, and welcome to Singles in the Sculpture Room. Thank you for joining us tonight. Feel free to take a seat at any table with a vacancy. We will get started in a few minutes. Our performer tonight, Connor O’Reilly, will be playing for us and each of you will receive a gift bag with a cupcake from Delectable Cakes as you exit. Please head over to the reception desk on your way out. A light has been placed at each table which is set to a five-minute timer. Once the timer goes off, those of you sitting on the black chairs, please make your way to the next table.” She would have to catch up with them later. In the meantime, she was on a mission to find a seat.
Her first three dates were a bust. Reid was a mad-keen fisherman, and his idea of a great time was camping out in the wilds. Camping, she could handle, but a toilet was a necessity. There was no way she was dropping her dacks where there could be snakes. The second man, Dean, reminded her far too much of her brother, and the third, a woman named Hayley, wasn’t her type even though she was very sweet.
