Page 28 of Next Time We'll Fall

“I suppose I could do that.” I lick my lips nervously. “But what if I don’t meet anyone at the speed dating event?”

“Girl, you’ll meet someone. There were loads of hot guys. And remember, you’re not looking for your husband. You’re just looking for a man good-looking and intelligent enough to make Rafe feel jealous. Don’t you want him to think that you don’t care about him at all?”

“I don’t care about him. I …”

“You’re protesting a little bit too much,” Rosie says with a shrug.

“I’m not protesting. I’m just being very clear because I feel like you don’t believe me.”

“And I feel like, Juniper,” Sage says, her eyes sorrowful as she reaches out and grabs my shoulder, “I know you are into Rafe.”

“Excuse me?”

“Maybe you’re not in love with him. Maybe your crush is over. But no one has that much electricity with a man she’s not into. And certainly no one cares about a man they’re not into. I couldn’t care less what Tom Branscom was doing.”

“Who?”

“Exactly.”

“No, really, who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tom, that dude who wanted to be with me so badly that he proposed to me with a five-thousand-dollar ring he’d stolen from the jewelry store in the mall, and then he ended up going to jail. And then he asked me to come to his parole hearing.”

I just stare at her.

“Oh, maybe I didn’t tell you about that.”

“You most certainly did not.”

“Because I didn’t care about him,” she says, laughing.

“I think you both are bonkers.”

“Maybe we are, but we’re your cousins, and we love you. And if you want Rafe to think you’re not interested, this is the best way to do it. So, speed dating tonight?”

I nod slowly.

My heart sinks because I don’t really want to go speed dating, but it would be something to tell Rafe when he picks us up. And more than anything, I want him to believe I am not interested in him.

More than anything, I want to believe it myself.

Chapter 7

RAFE

“Rafe, I can’t believe you convinced me to come to a speed dating event with you.” Jack looks over at me and stares at his watch. “How long do you think we’re going to be here?”

“I’m not sure,” I say, slightly distracted as I look around the interior of Teddy’s Restaurant.

I haven’t spent much time here, as it’s a place tourists normally like to go to, but on many occasions, they hold activities for local residents, including speed dating events. I’ve never been to a speed dating event before and never had the mind to, but once Juniper, Sage, and Rosie imparted on me the knowledge that they were going to be attending the event, I felt like it was my duty to come and watch over them.

“So, you’re looking for a hottie tonight?” Jack says, surveying the room and following my glance. “I’ve gotta admit, there are a lot of pretty women here, some of whom I’ve never seen before, but I suppose they’re tourists.” He grins. “I guess if I gotta get down and dirty with a tourist for the night, I won’t be able to resist.”

“Really, Jack?”

I stare at my friend, who normally lives in Miami but is up for the weekend, visiting. He grew up in Coconut Beach, so he knows many of the locals, but he moved away and became a little bit of an asshole in the process.

My eyes fasten on every dark-haired woman they come into contact with until I spy Juniper standing there in the corner, typing something rapidly into her phone. She looks gorgeous in a glittery silver dress that is far too short and far too revealing. Her hair hangs long and silky down her back, and her makeup was obviously done by one of her cousins because she looks glittery and jazzy in a way I’ve never seen her before. She looks like she’s ready to hit a nightclub in New York City or Los Angeles—far too good for the small, sleepy town of Coconut Beach.