Cinderella Screwed Me Over

shoulder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m running late. I’m sure I’ll see you around. You do seem to be everywhere.”

He flashed his signature drool-worthy grin. “Well, you didn’t say ‘no stalkers’ in your list, so I’m thinking of going with that.”

I shook my head, though I couldn’t help but smile. My heart was also doing a fluttering thing it shouldn’t be doing. “Good night, Jake.”

“Good night, Darby.”

…

Conversations on blind dates are a crapshoot. You start off with general, boring getting-to-know-you questions. Then you make a few stabs in the dark, testing the waters, trying to figure out the other person’s likes and dislikes before finding anything you can really talk about. Since Anthony and Stephanie had set us up, they were the common thread for Karl and me, making our mutual friends the safe topic.

“How long have you known Anthony?” I asked after our food arrived. I’ll give it to Steph—Karl was good- looking. Blond, with lean muscles, and the guy knew how to dress, too. Perhaps a night out with this guy would end up being just what I needed. Maybe Karl would even be my first venture into low-risk semi-dating. With mutual friends, it might even be convenient.

Of course my mind chose that moment to go to when Jake had said something similar about living in the same building, and I made a joke about being called convenient.

Karl took a sip of water. “We met in college. Lived right next to each other, then we moved in together.”

“Sounds like a great love story.”

Karl stared across the table at me. His blond eyebrows puckered when he drew them together, and he gazed at me blankly with his pale blue eyes.

“You know, because a lot of relationships start like…” His expression didn’t soften, so I abandoned my pathetic attempt at a joke. Maybe no one got my humor, and I should just stop trying to use it. “And you two were roommates for a while?”

“Right. For three years.”

“Steph and I have been best friends for a long time. Before she moved to Longmont, I didn’t really have girl friends. She and I instantly hit it off and started spending all our free time together. Until Anthony. If he wasn’t such a good guy, I’d never let him marry her.”

Karl swallowed his bite of chicken. “From what I’ve observed, she and Anthony have excellent communication. That’s one of the best signs of a good relationship.”

“I don’t believe that,” I said, shaking my head. “You see, the key to a relationship isn’t communication…”

I got the confused, eyebrow-puckered look again. “It isn’t?”

“Nope. It’s knowing that men and women will never be able to communicate effectively with each other. I’ve decided that communication is just what therapists preach, because they know that no one can do it. That way, they can keep getting paid.”

Karl set down his fork. “So if I told you I was a marriage counselor…?”

I laughed. “Funny.”

Karl remained stone-faced, not a hint of humor showing on his features.

A lump settled in my stomach. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“No. But apparently I only preach communication so I can keep getting paid.”

Check please.

…

I’d insisted on paying for our dinner. After all, I had slammed the guy’s profession. He’d resisted at first, but I finally won out. Then I told him I’d see him at the wedding, while wishing I’d never have to see him again. I should’ve known going out with a groomsman before the wedding was a bad idea.

Since I hadn’t gotten my mail in a few days, I popped into the lobby. I tucked the few envelopes under my arm and attempted to call Steph. When I got her voice mail, I said, “I pretty much wrecked that date, so I hope you don’t start second-guessing your decision to make me your maid of honor. I think I better give up on blind dates before someone else gets hurt. Call me later if you get a chance.”

I made my way across the lobby and pushed the elevator button.

The doors slid open and Jake stepped out. He wore a crisp, white button-down shirt, the top buttons undone, the sleeves pushed up. “Hey. I thought you had a date.” He narrowed his eyes. “Or was that just to get rid of me?”

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “I did have one. It didn’t go so well.”

He jerked a thumb toward the door. “I’m headed out to a gallery a few streets over. I’d love some company.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll just go upstairs.”

“And watch a movie with your cat?” He grinned, obviously thinking he was hilarious.

I smacked him with my mail. Dang guy and his sexy sense of humor. “I don’t have a cat, thank you very much.” Yet.

Jake laughed, then reached out and put his hand on my hip. My heart jumped into my throat—it made it so hard to think clearly when he did that. “Come out with me, then. You’re all dressed up, and it’s Friday. Don’t you want to try to redeem the night?”

My resolve wavered. I’d spent longer getting all dolled up than I’d spent on my date.

Jake dropped his hand. “It’ll just be two neighbors getting to know each other.”

I had a hot, funny guy asking me to go on a casual night out with him, even though I’d shot him down again and again. Finally, I decided to just try it out—I was only human, after all. “Okay. Guess I’ll stick this”—I waved my mail through the air—“back in the box.” Jake waited for me, then we headed outside.

I loved this time of year, when summer was finally here to stay, the city lights glowed against the dark skyline, and people were out and about, enjoying the perfect nighttime weather. Winter was a different story.

“It’s over on Bannock,” Jake said, tilting his head to indicate direction. Side by side, we headed down the sidewalk.

“What are you doing going to an art gallery by yourself anyway?” I asked. “Big art enthusiast?”

“I’m not going by myself. I’m going with you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

He looked at me for a couple beats, lopsided smile on his lips, then said, “My friend Tina’s got an exhibit, and I told her I’d come see it.”

“Did it ever occur to you that this friend of yours invited you, most likely, because she’s interested in you? You showing up with me is probably going to ruin her whole night.”

“She’s dating one of my friends, so trust me, bringing you isn’t going to ruin her night. If anything, she’ll probably be thrilled that I brought someone. She’s always trying to set me up.” Jake stepped around a lamppost, bringing him closer to me. “Speaking of setups, what happened on yours tonight? I could use an entertaining story.”

“How do you know it’s going to be entertaining? What if he took one look at me and ran away? You think I want to rehash that”—I clutched my chest and got all dramatic—“pain and suffering?”

His eyes lit up as a grin spread across his face. “You found out he was a dentist or a lawyer, didn’t you?”

“Worse. A marriage counselor.”

“What’s so bad about that?”

“Everything.” I shook my head, thinking of how quickly the date had gone downhill once his job came under discussion—Stephanie had purposely withheld that information, I was sure of it. “I offended him, and it was awkward. And it’s even worse because of all this other stuff. In order to explain it, I’d have to start from the beginning.”

“Start from the beginning, then,” Jake said.

I took a deep breath while figuring out how much to say. I started with the fact that Stephanie was getting married in a couple months, then who Karl was, and how I’d managed to offend him. “Needless to say, things