Page 89 of No Match Found
“Then just say that next time,” Katie said. “I’m still waiting to hear how you went from a tikka masala explosion to being lip-locked.”
“He…told me he was falling for me and that he’d gone out with Jill to distract himself from me, but it didn’t work. And then he kissed me.”
“And you kissed him back,” Katie said, refusing to let me offload full responsibility onto Grant.
“Yeah.”
Katie’s mouth pulled into a huge smile. “That’s my girl.”
I stared at her. “I thought you didn’t want anything to happen between Grant and me.”
“Oh, no. I definitely like him for you.”
“Me too,” Brooke said.
“What?” I shut my eyes, wondering if there was some way I could have possibly mistaken the gist of Katie’s pre-date pep talk. “No. Katie, you were very clear that I was supposed to make Grant leave the date wanting me while I did the metaphorical equivalent of buffing my nails.”
“Yeah, so?” Katie said like she saw no issue with her current stance on Grant versus the one from sixteen hours ago.
“If you liked him for me this whole time,” I said, “you might’ve mentioned that.”
“Hohhhh, no.” Katie waved her hand in front of her, wardingoff what I was saying. “I’ve been the person who tells her friends the truth about their dating choices before, and that will not be repeated, thank you very much! I keep my mouth shut and go along with things now.”
The reference to her falling out with Nick was unmistakable. She’d expressed her concerns about his now-wife before their marriage, and she’d paid for it dearly.
Brooke looked at Katie through narrowed eyes. “Doyou keep your mouth shut, though?”
“If you knew what stays up here”—she pointed to her head—“you’d be amazed at my filtering capabilities.”
Brooke didn’t look convinced. “So, when you told me yesterday that you’d rather fake your own death than go on a second date with someone who doesn’t know the difference between there, their, and they’re, that was you filtering yourself?”
“So,” I interrupted, “you bothwantme to date Grant?”
They nodded in sync.
I looked at Katie. “And how do I know this isn’t you justgoing along with thingsagain?”
“Because now I know Brooke shares my opinion”—she set her hand atop Brooke’s and shot her an exaggeratedly tender look—“so, if this backfires, she’s going down with me.”
“So sweet,” Brooke said, fluttering her lashes dramatically.
“And what about Matchify?” I asked.
“What about it?” Katie acted like I’d introduced Donald Duck to the conversation.
I raised my brows. “You know, Matchify? The company we work at?” I gestured around us. “The one that’s built on the premise of data-based compatibility? Grant and I failed that test. Hard.”
Brooke grimaced, but Katie shrugged. “Love conquers all?”
“Very inspiring, but I’d love for it to not conquer the company we built together.” I let out a big sigh and pushed myself up from the Affection Puff. “I’m going to my office.”
“With Grant,” Brooke said.
“Towork,” I said firmly.
“Isthatwhat they’re calling it these days?” Katie winked at Brooke.
“Bye.”I closed the door to Jim & Pam and headed to my office, feeling more confused and nervous than ever. Was I making too big of a deal out of the compatibility score?
