Totally and Completely Fine(66)

“I didn’t plan it,” she said. “But…”

“But what?”

I finally managed to move her to the side. There was a man in her car.

“That better be for you,” I said.

“Ugh, no,” she said. “That’s my cousin. I totally forgot that he was coming to visit this week.”

“We can reschedule dinner,” I said. “It’s fine.”

But Allyson was biting her lip. A sure sign that it wasn’t fine.

“What?” I demanded.

“We don’t have to cancel our plans,” she said. “Why don’t we all go out?”

“I’m sure you two have plenty to catch up on,” I said. “I don’t really feel like being a third wheel tonight.”

And I definitely didn’t want to dish about all this Ben stuff around a stranger.

“I was actually hoping I’d be the third wheel,” Allyson said.

I realized what she was doing.

“No,” I said.

“Oh, come on,” she said. “Peter is a good person—kind, funny, generous. My favorite cousin, in fact.”

“Allyson,” I warned.

“What?” she asked. “The apps weren’t working for you, so why not try this? Someone who has already been vetted. Someone who’s not obsessed with holding doors and ordering food for you.”

I didn’t need this right now.

“What’s the harm in giving him a chance?”

I also knew that Allyson wouldn’t let it go. And that the path of least resistance was…I looked again at Cousin Peter.

It wasn’t easy to get a gauge on him through the car window, but I could see enough to note that he was handsome. He wore glasses. As far as I could tell, he was dressed well—unless, of course, he was wearing cargo shorts and flip-flops with his button-up shirt.

He waved. I sighed.

“Fine,” I said. “But let me go put some lipstick on.”

* * *

—

I supposed I should have been grateful that I wasn’t home alone. It had taken me forever to fall asleep last night, and when I did, I’d been plagued with nightmares where I was hiking somewhere that looked familiar but wasn’t, and I could see Lena up ahead of me, but every time I tried to call to her, no sound came out.

“Did you hear the news?”

Unsurprisingly, the moment we walked into the restaurant, I was spotted by someone I knew and waved over to their table. This time it was Mrs. Carmelo, who had been my elementary school teacher. It would have been rude not to say hello.

I braced myself for another person to gush about what a nice young man Ben was, and how he’d Hallmark-movied his way into the heart of this town.

“Jackie’s pregnant!” she said. Jackie was her daughter who lived in Bozeman.

There was no way this had anything to do with Ben. I relaxed a little.

“That’s wonderful,” I said. “Congratulations.”

“We were starting to get worried,” Mrs. Carmelo said.

“Sure,” I said.

She gave me a sympathetic look. “It’s probably too late for you,” she said. “Though, I’ve heard of miracles happening. Of course, you’ll need a man first.” She glanced behind me. “He looks nice.”

“Lena and I are doing great,” I said. “Lovely seeing you.”

“Oh, and I met this nice young man at the library the other day,” Mrs. Carmelo said. “A friend of yours and your brother’s?”

I bit my tongue, and just nodded before excusing myself.

I headed back toward the table but was stopped once more. This time by the hostess, who was also a member of one of the store’s book clubs.

“Do you know if Heather is going to be there tomorrow?” Kelly asked.

There had been some sort of falling-out between the two of them. I really hadn’t wanted to get in the middle of it, but sometimes it was unavoidable. They’d been glaring at each other and not speaking during book club for a few weeks now.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But I hope you’ll come anyways.”

Kelly made a face, but then sighed. “I probably will.”

“Good,” I said. “See you then.”

“I also invited someone new,” Kelly said. “I guess he’s in town doing something with Mr. Parker?”

Was there anyone in town that Ben hadn’t charmed?

I was finally able to get to the table only for Allyson to excuse herself the moment I arrived.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “You two get to know each other.”

Peter and I watched her go.

“What’s the chance that she’s leaving out the back?” I asked.

He laughed. “Hopefully low, since she’s our ride.”

I smiled. “I’m sure we could get you back to your hotel.”

I hoped that hadn’t sounded suggestive.

“I’m actually staying with Allyson,” he said. “She insisted.”

He was a nice-looking man. The glasses suited him, and he was wearing a pair of dark, well-fitted jeans that looked good with his blue button-up. It was the kind of thing that Spencer would have worn on a date. The kind of thing that most men wore in Cooper when they put some effort into it.