8. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
It was time for a girl's night out. It'd been a while since I joined the girls for one of those.
Walking into the wine bar, it was easy to find my girls sitting in the corner booth at the back of the restaurant, so I bypassed the hostess stand and pointed to the trio.
"Oh my God, Nat. Where have you been?"
"Dealing with hockey player crap." I flopped onto the sofa and snagged a menu. I didn't need to eat after dining with Spence, but man, did I need a cocktail after dealing with him.
The girls all knew that hockey player crap could mean anything from ridiculous orders to just dealing with actual problems, like creating social media content for Spence when he refused to comment on anything like a normal human being.
"Oh, it better not be my guy." Siobhan cried out. It was so weird to know how she had a huge crush on my brother. We kept talking about setting the two of them up since she was perfect for him, but their schedules just hadn't lined up.
I shook my head. "No. Carter is still the boy scout of your dreams."
Thankfully, I didn't have to divulge my issue right away since a handsome waiter came up to the table. He first passed off drinks to Siobhan, Rory and Jill Ann, who all took their wine glasses. Then the guy bent toward me, "What can I get you?"
"Aperol Spritz."
The server nodded. "Sure thing."
Jill Ann nudged me with her elbow. "So, how's the dating life?"
"Dead," Rory said with a laugh. "Although, admittedly, I've seen her Hinge and Bumble accounts. They’re either trash or vanilla, but I'm working on something better."
For a while there, the vanilla dates were appealing, but you needed a little flavor in your life. There was a reason ice cream came in more than vanilla, chocolate chip and strawberry flavors. The same was true with guys.
Rory had been saying that she was working on hooking me up with someone decent, but so far she'd only come up with duds.
Siobhan spoke up, "So what are you actually looking for in a guy?"
Siobhan was the newest member of our group since she moved to Vancouver earlier this year to film Shady Oaks. I was so glad that we were able to become friends after she hired me to run her fashion brand's social media account. She was so much fun, but there were times like tonight when she needed to be brought up to speed.
I looked for our waiter since this wasn't the conversation to do sober. Thankfully, he was coming my way with the colorful glass.
Jill Ann spoke up while I took a sip of my drink. "She is hung up on one of her clients."
I hated hearing that so much, but she wasn't wrong. Rory and Jill Ann both knew how hung up I was on Spencer. But they also knew why I wouldn't ever follow through.
Siobhan leaned in and said, "Ooh, tell me who it is."
I stared hard into the ground as I said, "Spencer Suzuki."
"Oh. Here I thought you were immune to the hockey boy charm," Siobhan said with a smile. "So what's the holdup?"
"She doesn't think he's interested, and there is the whole thing; he's best friends with her brother," Rory said. "Don't even bother trying to encourage her to ask him. She won't do it. We keep trying to encourage it to happen, but she won't do it."
I laughed since it was such old news. There was no way I would ask Spencer out. Not when he treated me like his employee.
"It won't ever happen."
"I don't know," Siobhan said. "Stranger things have happened. Although, knowing that you like sassy hockey players, would you be interested in doing a double date if I set it up?"
I put out my hands and shook my head furiously. "No hockey players."
"Who said it would be a hockey player? Although I do expect you to live up to your promise to introduce me to your brother."
"Fine." I relented since it was just easier to agree at this point. I just hoped that she would set me up with someone decent. "I told you, I'll do the introduction tomorrow. Just show up at Jokers."