31. ISABELLA
thirty-one
“Oh God, what did you do?”
“Okay, for the record, I came up with this plan while I was breastfeeding, so maybe my baby sucked the brain cells right out of me through my tits. So keep that tidbit in your back pocket when I explain myself, okay?” Denise stammers.
“First of all, don’t bring your titties into the conversation at this point in the night. You had your chance to shine when I explained how Mateo found me half-naked in the kitchen. Now talk, so I know if the crime could land you on an episode of Dateline ,” I demand.
“So I might have invited a guy to come by and take you out on a date, like a teeny-tiny one, so you could break the ice on the dating scene in the city.”
“You invited a guy to girls’ night? That’s breaking rule number one,” Nikki exclaims.
“What are the other rules?” Daisy inquires.
Nikki shrugs. “I dunno, but that’s rule number one. That’s for sure.”
“Look, I’m sorry. Anthony and I know that Mateo has feelings for you, and I thought a little date might be harmless. You get your toes wet, and if Mateo really wants to be serious about you, he’ll step up to the plate.”
“Baseball pun. Nicely done,” Luisa interjects. I throw her a dirty look, causing her to quickly backpedal. “But totally bad. Bad Denise.” She tries and fails to hold in a chuckle. Another victim that will be out for the count tomorrow, thanks to the tequila.
I try to filter out the noise in my head and laser in on one comment Denise made. “What do you mean you know Mateo has feelings for me?”
“Well, he may or may not have told Anthony about it… in detail?”
“Oh, Denise is spilling all the tea tonight.” Amelia takes a long sip from her straw as her eyes bounce between Denise and me.
“Wait, so you know? For sure? That he—I mean—it’s not all in my head?” The last bit of my sentence seems to come out quietly, yet the soft looks on the women’s faces let me know they heard me.
“Look, Isa. I’ve already texted Jeff that there’s been a change of plans, but he’s texted back saying that he’s here and waiting by the bar.” She sighs heavily. “This is my mess-up. Let me go find him and tell him it’s a no-go. I’ll buy him a drink for his troubles and send him on his way. This isn’t on you.”
I stop myself from nibbling on my bottom lip, not wanting to ruin my lipstick.
I have no interest in going on a date with someone who isn’t Mateo, especially now with the information Denise has dropped on my lap.
But my people-pleasing ways rear their ugly head at the thought of standing this guy up, even if it wasn’t my fault.
Plus, what harm could come from saying hello and quickly letting him know that this was all a silly misunderstanding?
“Five minutes. I’ll go say hi, then tell him you had a lobotomy or something. You know, to explain how you’re setting up blind dates so stealthily that even the parties involved don’t know about them.”
Denise’s concerned gaze meets mine. “You sure? He is a really nice guy, Isa. He just got out of a long relationship, and I thought you two could be each other’s safe landing. You know, for returning to the dating world.”
I wave her away, already focused on getting this over and done with, when Luisa gets our attention. “Coach Weston?” she shouts, baffled.
The man who seems like he would be much better suited for the wilderness than the glitzy lounge we’re currently vacating freezes at the mention of his name. His eyes meet Luisa’s, and he gives a slight nod, seemingly not intending to get any closer to our table. That is until his eyes land on Daisy.
Maybe it’s because I’m the most sober of the crew, but I immediately notice how his body language changes and shifts toward her. It’s made much more obvious when he walks out of his way and comes up to stand right next to her.
“Hey, Luke. What are you doing here?” Daisy beams when she realizes he’s joined the conversation.
“How much have you had to drink?” he asks gruffly.
“It’s girls’ night, so who knows?” She giggles to herself.
He ignores everyone else at the table when he directs his question to Luisa. “How much?”
She nods at the bottle of tequila. “Let’s just say she’s going to be feeling that tomorrow. Gonna need some fluids and ibuprofen, for sure.”
He nods, as if he’s just been given orders and leans down closer toward Daisy. If I hadn’t heard it myself, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible for his voice to soften so suddenly. “Hey, Daisy girl. What do you say I take you home?”
She pouts dramatically. “But it’s girls’ night.”
He looks around the table, finally paying us some mind, and when those glacial blue eyes land on me, I realize he’s looking for backup. I look at Luisa for guidance, since she works with Coach Weston and knows him better than I do.
Our female telepathy kicks in, and she nods. “Oh, um, Daisy, we were all about to call it a night. Isa here was just about to lose this guy and then head home to make sweet, sweet love to Mateo. Isn’t that right, Isa?” Luisa smirks my way.
Luke’s eyebrows almost hit his hairline. Must be the closest thing the man does to a shout. But he quickly disregards our comments and focuses back on Daisy. “How about we stop for some mac and cheese on the way home? Might even swing for some soft serve while we’re at it.”
She eyes him suspiciously. “From where?”
“Do you really have to ask? C’mon, I’ll take you to see the place you’re always stealing my lunch from.”
“Dale’s Diner?” She hops down from her seat, wobbling in place. But Luke is there, steadying her with a respectful hold on her bicep. “I get to eat their food warm instead of from your Tupperware? Yes! Let’s get out here. Bye, girls. I love you so much. You have no idea how much tonight meant to me. I had so much fun,” she yammers on as she proceeds to give each of us a loud kiss on the cheek.
“Text us when you get home.” I give Luke a stern look. Just because Luisa vouches for him doesn’t mean it’ll hurt to give him a slightly threatening glare and a reminder that we’ll be waiting to hear from her tonight.
I think I see his mouth twitch before he gives me a subtle nod. Then he’s off, gently guiding Daisy through the crowd.
“Am I missing something here?” I point to myself.
Luisa shrugs. “From what I can tell, Daisy’s a literal wallflower. The complete opposite of her brother, Lucifer.”
“I thought his name was Nick?” Nikki chimes in.
“Isn’t that what I said? Anyway, any time there’s mention of Daisy’s dad or fiancé, she shuts down. If I had to put money on it, our girl is struggling to stand up for herself and step out of the shadows of all the alpha men around her.”
“And how does the lumberjack hottie fit into all of this?” Amelia slurps the last bit of her frozen margarita.
Luisa sighs. “Luke’s a good guy. Tragic past that I won’t get into. But he keeps to himself and speaks only when absolutely necessary.”
“He was speaking mighty fine with Daisy,” I tease.
Luisa taps her nose. “Yes. And there lies the unknown mystery. The man who can barely stand small talk yet can often be found sharing his lunch with our sweet Daisy. We can try to tackle that whole bit at our next girls’ night. Preferably doing an activity that doesn’t involve alcohol so that we can try and get to the bottom of it.”
“Oh, daddy issues. I’m fluent in the subject matter. Can’t wait to dig in.” Nikki smiles.
I’ve just about forgotten about my mystery date when a handsome man comes to stand by Denise shyly. “Hi, there. Sorry, I spotted Denise and figured this was the right place.” He struggles to make eye contact with each of us, and his cheeks are displaying what I already know.
He’s nervous as hell.
I look at the time on my phone and realize it’s eleven p.m. If I hurry this “thanks, but no thanks” conversation up, I can be out of here in no time and hopefully catch Mateo before he goes to bed.
With that thought pushing me into action, I say, “Hi, I’m Isabella. I think my nosy friend here arranged for you to meet me.”
His eyes meet mine, and his shoulders lower slightly at my humorous tone. “Ah, so we’ve both been conned. Nice to know we’re walking into this on equal footing.” He points at a small two-person booth to the right of me. “I actually had that booth reserved for us earlier. Would you want to bring your drink over there so we can chat?”
“Oh, you mean as opposed to you standing there next to Denise while a table full of women dissect your every word?” I shrug playfully. “I guess so.”
He laughs, and I feel better knowing that I’m putting the poor guy out of his misery by doing so. We make our way to the booth and take the seats opposite one another. I don’t know exactly what I had planned once I got here, but it feels like I have a bird’s-eye view of us sitting here, and even though it’s innocent on my part, it feels wrong. So I don’t waste any time and get down to business.
“Look, Jeff, is it?” He nods, so I continue. “You seem like a really nice guy, but I think our friend got a bit ahead of herself, and—”
“Oh, thank God.” He releases a deep breath. “I’ve been dreading this since the moment I agreed to Denise’s plan. That woman can be very convincing. And kinda scary.” He laughs. “I just got out of a long-term relationship, and if I’m being completely honest, I don’t want things to be over between us. So I’m kind of stuck in the place where I’m respecting her space while still wanting her back desperately.”
I develop instant heart eyes for the man in front of me. Platonically, of course. There is nothing my rom-com-loving heart loves more than a man fighting to get his lover back.
And some good groveling. That never hurts either.
It seems like this proposed date has now turned into operation Get Jeff’s Girl Back, and I have more than enough romance novels to recommend for this exact task.
“Okay, Jeff. Hear me out. I think I might be able to help. My only question to you is, how fast can you read?”