Page 9 of Far from Destined
“Hey, girl, your friends are here,” Jason said from the front, and my shoulders tensed.
“What’s with that look?” Pop asked. “You love your friends. They’re great. Did they do something wrong? Do I need to beat someone up?” she asked, punching her fist into her palm.
That made me snort, and I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I just have to face the music.”
“Oh!” Pop exclaimed, her eyes wide. “So, today’s the day?”
I froze. “What are you talking about?” I asked cautiously.
“Today’s the day you have to take your straw and become the next blind datee,” Jason said from the door and then ran back to the front of the café when I glared at him.
“How on earth do you guys know about that?” I asked.
“We have ears?” Pop replied, shrugging before going back to her baking.
“You guys know… About the blind date pact.” My heart raced at the thought.
Pop sighed, then rested her hands on the counter and gave me a look. “Of course, we do. You guys talk about it often enough, and not in hushed tones. It’s not like wewantto overhear your conversations, but we can.”
I winced. “Great.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. It’s cool that you guys are taking care of each other and thinking about your futures. If and when I’m ever ready to date and need to be set up, I might ask you guys for help. Of course, you’re running out of Brady brothers, so we might need to shop outside of the Brady pool.”
That made me wince. “We are not specifically shopping in the Brady pool to find dates. I’ll have you know that I don’t think we’ve set up blind dates with the Brady brothers on purpose at all.”
That made Pop laugh, her piercings twinkling under the overhead lights.
“See? The Brady brothers just make their way through. Now, that Macon? Oh, my. He’s one that I tip my hat to.”
“I thought you said you weren’t in the mood to date?” I asked, a little pointedly.
Pop snapped her fingers. “I knew it. So, I guess Myra is for Nate, and Macon is all yours.”
I held up my hands, warding off whatever her mind was projecting. “No, no, no. I already have enough matchmaking in my life. There is no need for you to add to it. And Macon is not mine. Out of all the Brady brothers, it’s never going to be Macon.”
“Ouch. What did he do?”
I thought of his busted lip and bruised knuckles and gritted my teeth. “Nothing. Because it doesn’t matter.”
“Okay. But I still think something is going on between Nate and Myra.”
“Just because I might agree with you there doesn’t mean I’m going to entertain the idea of setting up the pact sisters with the Brady brothers.”
“I don’t think you need to entertain anything if it’s already happening,” Pop said with a smile.
“Get back to work. I need to meet my friends.”
“Good luck. I can’t wait to hear about your blind dates.”
“Pop.”
“What? Hazel ended up on an accidental blind date, Paris ended up on the worst set of blind dates until, somehow, she ended up with Prior—not that I know the whole story there. Regardless, it’s going to be amazing to see what happens with you.”
I growled as I walked away and stomped to the back booth where my friends were seated. I couldn’t help but let my gaze drift to the table near the window where Macon had sat with Nate, all growling and bruised.
I still couldn’t believe he had gotten into a fight.
I didn’t want to hear anything about it. I didn’t want to know more. It only reminded me of Adam.