Chapter 6
SIX
SARAH
SEPTEMBER
Sarah should have gone home.
She should have followed her gut and canceled the date Janet Starr had arranged for her.
But she didn’t because Nell’s voice was still ringing in her ear: How are you going to find love if you keep coming up with ways to avoid the dates Janet sets up for you?
Sarah had no answer. Nell, as infuriating as it was, had a point—Sarah was now the only thing standing between herself and her happily ever after.
At Nell’s insistence, Sarah decided to get out of her own way for once, hopping on an early flight home from her business trip.
That’s how she found herself sitting in the nicest steakhouse in downtown Seattle across the table from a stern-looking woman—a hedge fund manager named Noel—with a pin-straight platinum blond bob cut on a sharp angle.
Yeah, Sarah should have canceled tonight.
She had finished her entree fifteen minutes ago and was trying her best to stay engaged with Noel.
Except that task was proving harder than it should because Noel spoke only in long run-on sentences, barely giving Sarah a moment to get in a single word about herself.
So far on this date, she had learned that Noel was in the middle of a divorce from her “good-for-nothing” ex-husband—Noel’s words, not hers— and that the only thing she liked more than ragging on her ex was her miniature goldendoodle, Graham.
She watched Noel speak. Watched, because if she were being honest, Sarah had stopped listening a few minutes ago.
Instead, she was making her grocery list in the back of her mind while pretending to still be engaged with the story Noel was telling, but all she could focus on was the tiny piece of broccolini that had wedged itself between Noel’s front teeth.
Get broccolini, that’ll go great with the salmon.
She mentally added broccolini to her grocery list as Noel kept talking at her.
If Sarah were a better person, she would have found a subtle way to let Noel know about the offending vegetable vestige, but she wasn’t a better person tonight.
Tonight, she wanted out of this date—the sooner the better.
After what felt like a punishingly long time, the waiter appeared.
Noel made a big show of footing the bill, making a point of flashing her AMEX black card for Sarah to see.
It took every ounce of self-control Sarah could muster not to roll her eyes.
That self-control was tested again when exiting the restaurant, as Noel made a point to reach the door first, holding it for her with a wide grin as if no one had ever done such a simple act for her, saying, “Ladies first.” She inhaled, biting back her natural inclination to make some snippy remark.
There was no need. Sarah knew one thing was sure—this would be the first and last time she would be seeing Noel.
She pulled her phone from her pocket, calling a car. Two minutes. Meanwhile, the weight of Noel’s sharp gaze pulled her attention.
“I had a lovely time tonight. You’re a wonderful dinner companion,” Noel said earnestly, giving Sarah a slow look up and down.
Was she serious? Had they been on the same date?
Sarah struggled to hold back her laugh. “You did?” she asked, genuinely intrigued.
“You didn’t?” Noel countered, raising a perfectly waxed brow.
Sarah, never one to lie, wasn’t quite sure how to let Noel down easily. “I learned a lot about you tonight, Noel. And I can see you’re very accomplished. I respect that in a woman, but I don’t think we’re a good fit moving forward.”
She watched as Noel’s expression shifted from interest to surprise, finally landing on indignation. Sarah silently willed her not to be the type of woman who was comfortable making a scene when she didn’t get her way.
“No hard feelings,” Sarah added quickly, because honestly, there weren’t any.
“No hard feelings?” Noel let out a cold laugh. “What exactly wasn’t fitting for you? Because from my vantage point, we have great chemistry.”
Was she seriously going to make Sarah spell it out for her? All she wanted was to go home and crawl into bed.
“Chemistry can be subjective,” Sarah said, spotting the town car turning the corner.
Thank god. She stepped forward to flag it down.
“It was truly a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for dinner and best of luck with the divorce.” She reached for the handle of the sedan as it came to a stop in front of her, quickly sliding in, thankful for the refuge of a Noel-free space.
The car pulled forward, taking her away. As neon lights streaked by, Sarah pulled out her phone, sending off two texts, the first to Nell:
Sarah 10:48 PM
The date was a clusterfuck. She has a GOLDENDOODLE!
And the second to Janet Starr:
Sarah 10:49 PM
No more women going through divorces, please. And no goldendoodles.
The car dropped her off outside the passenger terminal. Her phone vibrated with a message from Nell as she swiped her ticket, moving through the automated gate to board the vessel that would take her home.
Nell 10:57 PM
You hate goldendoodles. At this point, it’s a numbers game. Stick with it. —N
Sarah 10:58 PM
How romantic.
Nell 10:58 PM
Merely pointing out a fact. I’m heading to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow, and you can tell me everything. —N
Sarah grinned, reading Nell’s message, then she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
“Sarah, hey, wait up.” It was Beth, cheeks pink, blond hair falling over her shoulders.
Sarah slowed her pace, allowing Beth to catch up to her on the walkway leading to the boat.
“I thought you were still in Pennsylvania? What are you doing back?” Beth’s voice carried her usual airy tone as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Cut my trip short. I had a date to get back here for.” She smiled at Beth’s raised eyebrows.
“First matchmaker date?” Beth asked excitedly, eyes sparkling with delight. “How was it?”
The pair stepped onto the vessel, walking down the wide aisles as they looked for an empty booth.
Sarah found one halfway down the boat, sliding onto the teal vinyl seat.
Beth took the one across from her. The ship hummed to life as the announcer’s voice came over the speaker, declaring their departure.
“It was…something,” Sarah said evenly.
“Something good? Something awful? C’mon, Sar, you gotta give me more than that.” Beth smiled, and Sarah couldn’t help but return it because there was that nickname again—that three-letter variation of her name that made her heart do this weird little twirl.
“Well, for starters, I don’t think she left the date knowing a single thing about me other than my resume.
Three hours, five courses, and not a single question.
” Sarah glanced out the window at the shrinking twinkling Seattle skyline as the ferry moved them towards the little island they called home.
Beth visibly cringed. “Oh, and that’s your number one pet peeve, too.”
“It is. And to make matters worse, she has a goldendoodle.” Sarah shot Beth a pointed look. “You know how I feel about dogs with human-like eyes.” She gave an exasperated, albeit dramatic, sigh. Beth laughed and it was like something inside of Sarah loosened.
“Well, you put yourself out there. And hey, it sounds like you got a nice dinner out of it. My dates definitely don’t include five-course fine dining.
” Beth’s smile was wide as she leaned back against the back of the booth, crossing one leg over the other, looking more assured than Sarah had ever seen her.
“It’s a numbers game at this point anyway, right?
The more dates we go on, the greater the chance we have of finding love, or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. ”
“That’s what Nell said too—it being a numbers game.
” Sarah slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket.
She looked at Beth, observing the way she took up space in that moment.
Space was something Beth had always quietly demanded, but hadn’t always been good at claiming.
In the last few years, though, that seemed to be changing.
“I think it’s really awesome that you and Nell have stayed such good friends. You’ve always been such a loyal person. Any woman should consider themselves lucky to get to experience that side of you.”
Heat rose in her cheeks at Beth’s compliment, and she suddenly found that she didn’t quite know what to do with her eyes so instead of looking at Beth, she let her gaze drift out the window over the dark expanse of water.
“You’re out late. It’s past ten. What happened to your firm, all plans should conclude at a reasonable hour rule? ”
“Rules were made to be broken, right?” Beth scrunched her nose, making the dusting of freckles across her cheeks dance as she shrugged.
“I’m trying something new. But if curious minds would like to know, I also had a date tonight.
I decided to sign myself up for a dating app—you know, rip the Band-Aid off and go for it.
Lily and Dylan helped me make my profile. ”
“You’re on a dating app?” Sarah asked, her surprise getting the better of her. She didn’t know if she could fully picture Beth on her phone, mindlessly swiping through profiles. Not when she had always burned like the brightest flame, pulling people in no matter what room she walked into.
“Trust me, I fought it. But I want to meet people and I figured life is short, so why not?” Beth said, her foot bouncing slightly as the ferry jostled.
The voice crinkled over the speaker again, announcing their arrival. The pair stood, making their way towards the rear of the boat, preparing to disembark.
“So how was it? Your date, I mean,” Sarah asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.