Page 153 of Bridesmaid Undercover
“Dating?” he asks. “Uh, no.”
“Oh, but you said I was relieved of my duties,” I say.
“Yeah, because she’s not interested,” he mutters.
She’s not interested?
In Hardy?
How?
He’s so…God, he’s everything.
“Oh,” I finally say. “I’m…I’m sorry, Hardy.”
He shrugs. “No biggie. Thanks for the help though. I appreciate it.”
Is that why he pulled away on the email? Because it wasn’t fun and games anymore now that he got the answer to his pursuit?
Probably.
Does that mean…does that mean all the fun is over?
The emails are done?
No more hanging out?
If so, then that puts a whole damper on this evening—this could be the last time we do anything just the two of us. Now that we don’t have Maple in common, what’s going to bring us together?
“Oh sure.” I twist my lips to the side. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else that I can do to help?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No. It’s a done deal.”
“Okay.” My eyes meet his. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he says, exhaling. “Not sure rekindling something from the past was a great idea, especially since we’ve both changed so much, so I get it. We’re good.”
I stand there awkwardly, not sure what to say.
I mean…my heart knows what to say.
Well, if you’re not going to go out with her, care to give me a try? I might not take care of flamingos and I might not have this cute, sunny disposition, but I do like matcha Oreo cronuts so I have that going for me.
“Anyway, do you want to give the tossing another try?” he asks, clearly antsy to change the subject.
“Yeah, of course,” I say.
But this time, instead of standing behind me like before, he stands to the side and feeds me balls, one right after the other while I shoot them at the cups, missing every time because my head’s not in it.
After a few more misses, I turn to him, defeated. “I don’t think you should have me as a partner—this is terrible.”
“It’s not great,” he says while staring at the ball-less cups.
“It’s not.”
“Maybe you’re tired,” he suggests.
“Or maybe I just suck,” I say.
