The one. Like that was even a real thing. Right now, I could easily find myself loving three guys who didn’t have anything in common except their address and last name. The idea that there was only one person out there who I was meant for and vice versa didn’t even compute.
Then again, before the last couple of months, I hadn’t experienced so much as a crush. Tobias had been the only guy who meant anything to me, and my heart hadn’t so much as pittered an extra patter in his presence.
Which made no logical sense. If anyone was destined to be my one and only, it should have been my best friend for the last eight years. He was cute and fun and smart and sweet. Everyone loved him, and he’d always been there for me. Even—and especially—when no one else had. Hell, he’d probably saved my life by showing up to rescue me in the middle of a damn tornado.
Yet, he didn’t make me want to wear a jersey proclaiming that I liked the game but loved the player. His smile didn’t make my insides turn to goo like Tristin’s did. And he didn’t make me long to unravel his big brain like Hayle did.
Maybe my heart had always belonged to the Sharpe brothers, and Tobias had never stood a chance.
“What are you thinking about right now?”
I snapped my head up to look at Petra, who had just stepped out of the dressing room in a flowy, floor-length gown made of a shimmery fabric that gave it a subtle rainbow effect. The strapless, pleated bodice was fashioned in a V without showing off any cleavage, and there was a rather significant slit up the front.
“Wow, that looks amazing.”
“Don’t change the subject. I want to know what you were thinking.”
I stood and walked a circle around her, checking out every angle. “How am I changing the subject? The whole point of this outing is to find dresses, and I think we just found yours.”
She spun to peer at herself in the three-way mirror, an elated smile taking over her face. “It is rather fetching, isn’t it?”
“More like absolutely stunning. You have to get it.”
“You sure you don’t want to check the price tag first?”
I shrugged. “Told you. It’s on Vincent.”
Petra clapped her hands. “Okay, then, I’m getting this one. Now, we have to combine forces to find your perfect fit.”
I gestured to a dress hanging on the back of the fitting room I’d used. “I like that one.”
She scrunched up her face. “It’s black.”
“So? I like black.”
“Sure, it’s fine for your everyday, morose wardrobe. But it just won’t do for making a splash at the event of the year. Besides, you never went to prom, which means we have to make up for it now.”
Why did she—usually—make so much sense? “Fine. I’ll go to two more shops, but that’s it.”
She nodded her assent. “Now, tell me what you were thinking about. I’ve never seen that expression on your face. You looked sad but in kind of a happy way.”
I shook my head at her. She was relentless.
“I was thinking that my life would be so much easier if I’d fallen in love with the guy who has the sweetest puppy dog eyes in the world.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Thea
Holding my breath, I clicked on the link that would take me to my grade for my French midterm. Here goes nothing.
I blinked at my laptop screen for a few seconds before sighing and smiling at the same time. An eighty-nine—only one point shy of an A. I would take it. Hell, it was better than I’d even hoped for.
“Good news?”
I started at the sound of Hayle’s voice from the path outside of where I sat in the gazebo. Then, I tossed my computer aside, jumped up, and practically ran into his arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
He chuckled against my hair as he wrapped his arms around my waist. “You’re welcome, though I have no idea what I did to deserve this.”
I tipped my head up to look at him. “You told me about the Extra Credit app. I found a volunteer French tutor, and she made all of the difference.”
Whoever this Cole Reid person was that Hayle had gushed about was my new hero. I probably never would have thought to seek out a private tutor for help. But being able to log onto an app and find someone who could answer my questions and provide links to