something I knew nothing about. They were both obsessed with true crime, a genre I’d never found appealing. And the big one, they were both cat people. I liked cats, but was firmly Team Dogs.
If one good thing came out of this date, I mean other than Molly meeting her future husband, it was that I planned on adding finding out which side my potential suitors belonged to before agreeing to go on any other dates. In my experience, cat and dog people were different breeds. Or I guess, species in this case.
“Okay, if you’re sure.” Jake shifted his weight from his right to left foot, clearly uncomfortable.
“I’m sure.”
I’d never been more sure of anything in my life. Two hours of witnessing the blossoming of true love was my limit. I needed to check my bare arms for burns because I’d been seated in a Molly-Jake sandwich and the sparks had been flying between the two of them.
It had taken everything that I had not to leave halfway through the movie, but I didn’t want either of them to think that I was upset. I wasn’t. At least, not because of anything that had transpired between the two of them.
Of course the man of Molly’s dreams would just fall into her lap. That was always the way it seemed to be. Things just worked out for her. She’d always said that the less effort she put into something the better the result.
I wished that I could argue with her, but the proof was in the pudding.
And the pudding tonight was Dr. Jake Weston flavored. I could easily see the two of them getting married and having babies. Whereas I would still be pining after a man that was not interested in me.
And that right there, folks, was why I was truly upset. I’d had a front-row seat to the Reed family, which tonight had included Kenna Rogers.
I’d watched the two of them sit beside his parents, his brothers, and their wives. She fit right into the Reed family. The eightsome looked like they belonged on Christmas cards.
My heart slowly broke seeing her seamlessly weave into the group that I desperately wanted to be a part of. It wasn’t only Holden that I loved. I adored his parents, especially his mom. She’d always been so sweet to me. It made me feel physically ill watching what I was sure was a blossoming romance.
There was no way that he would’ve asked Kenna to join them at such a public event, which he had to know was going to get the entire town talking, if things with her weren’t serious.
Which begged the question: what happened to his model girlfriend? And more importantly, why hadn’t I been his rebound? And since I didn’t have the answers to those questions, the one I really needed to figure out was: why couldn’t falling out of love be as easy as falling in it?
As the crowd around us started to disperse, I knew that my window to make a break for it before someone stopped to talk to me was narrowing with every second that passed. And I could not handle small talk tonight. Tomorrow, I’d be able to face people again. Tonight, I just needed to go home, have a glass of wine, and throw myself a pity party.
“Okay, see you guys later.” I lifted my hand in a wave and started to walk away. Alone.
“Can you give us a sec?” Molly asked Jake.
“Sure.” Jake nodded, hesitating for a moment. Then he picked up the picnic basket and nodded toward the parking lot. “I’ll take this to the car.”
As soon as he was out of earshot, Molly turned back to me and her words rushed out rapidly like water through a dam that had just been broken.
“I’m so sorry. I really like him. I feel like shit. I don’t want to like him. And I don’t have to go tonight. I don’t have to go out with him any night. I won’t see him ever again if you don’t want me to. You’re more important to me than a guy I just met. But that’s the thing, it doesn’t feel like we just met. He doesn’t feel like a stranger. I feel like I’ve known him my whole life. But I have known you my whole life and if this isn’t cool…I mean I know it isn’t cool but—”
“Stop,” I interjected. “Breathe.” She hadn’t taken a breath since she started speaking. As much as I was