Page 10 of Far from Destined

And I refused to think of him.

Bile filled my throat, and I swallowed before I took a seat in the booth.

“Hello, girls,” I said. They grinned at me.

Hazel had pulled her hair back in a bun, looking very professorial with her glasses on the tip of her nose. She was radiant, and I had a feeling she had met up with Cross before she came in.

I noticed a slight hickey on her neck, so…yes, that’s exactly what she had done.

Paris wore a suit, looking very businesslike and crisp today. That meant she had not seen Prior earlier. I held back a smile at that.

The Brady boys tended to muss up their women.

Not that I was thinking about being messed up by a Brady. I had standards, after all. Okay, I didn’t, I had nothing. I was dusty, vacant. Old and hobbly. But that was fine. That’s what I needed.

I didn’t know why I had agreed to this whole blind date thing in the first place.

“You said that out loud.” Myra smiled daintily over her teacup.

I narrowed my eyes. “No, I didn’t,” I argued.

Myra just shrugged her small shoulders before setting down her cup. She patted her lips dry with her napkin. Myra was old money, class, and sophistication. She was pretty much everything I wasn’t.

Yet I loved her so much. Except right now. At this moment, I wasn’t a fan.

“You did say it out loud, but I’m delighted that you’re next in these blind date shenanigans. Better you than me.”

“You know you’re next, though,” I replied. “And it’s probably going to be worse for you because you’re last.”

“Or, if we take long enough on you, perhaps we’ll forget about the whole thing, and I’ll never have to do it.”

“Well, now that you’ve said that, I’m adding it to my planner.” Paris pulled a planner out of her bag and began writing things down.

“I thought you were all electronic now?” I asked, frowning.

“I am. But I’m trying this new planner craze that isn’t that new anymore. It’s basically just scrapbooking but with schedules. I’m trying to lower my stress levels. And I get to play with stickers and something glorious called washi tape. I’m having fun.”

I met the other girls’ gazes, and we held back laughter. Paris was uptight and controlling, and planners were right up her alley.

“You do not need to add me to your planner,” Myra said stiffly.

Paris just grinned. “I think I do. I’m going to remind myself often, even though I shouldn’t need to because we’re going to get through this quickly.”

I froze. “What do you meanthis? And whyquick?”

“I mean, we’ll figure out exactly who you need to be with, everything will work out hunky-dory and be all lovey, and then we’ll move on to Myra. She’s going to be the hard one. You’re easy.” Paris shrugged.

Affronted, I leaned forward. “I amnoteasy. That’s why we decided to do this whole pact thing in the first place.”

“No need to get snippy,” Paris said.

“You know she’s just fucking with you, right?” Hazel sipped her coffee.

My shoulders deflated, and I sighed. “No?”

Paris winced. “I was, nothing about this is easy. We promised we would do it, and we do not go back on promises.”

“I’m not ready to date,” I said.