“Right? When he’s next to Adam and Jeremy he sort of disappears into the background. But when it’s just him you realize how downright smoldering he is. You forget that there’s a damn nice face behind the glasses,” Meg piped up.
All the women nodded in agreement. Even I had to incline my head in acknowledgment of Robert Jenkins’ level ten hotness. The fact that he dressed like an accountant and had the social skills of an awkward teenager made him weirdly more appealing. It was like being in the presence of Clark Kent. Mild-mannered by day, muscled superhero by night. He had all the earmarks of a guy with a secret identity. I just didn’t have the patience to stick around to find out who he was. If a man couldn’t be up-front about who he was, it led me to believe that there was something about him I didn’t want to know.
“Was it his obsession with gardening magazines? Jeremy gives him so much shit for that. I mean who under the age of seventy has not one, but three subscriptions to gardening magazines? And then there’s the golf. Okay, I think I get it now. He’s a total snooze-fest,” Lena laughed and Whitney joined her. But they weren’t laughing at Robert. Everyone liked Robert. It was impossible not to.
But I was giving it the good ol’ college try.
“What do you know about him though? Except for the gardening magazines?” I countered, taking a long drink of my beer.
Lena frowned and looked at Meg. “Don’t ask me. Adam has always joked that if Rob were a book, there’d be three pages. I’m not sure there’s much to talk about,” my best friend added.
“And that’s the problem. No one knows because the man doesn’t tell. It’s annoying.” I frowned, expressing my displeasure. “I’ve wasted enough of my time on men that give me nothing. I’m not going back down that road again.”
Whitney opened up the bag of popcorn she brought with her and took a handful. “Maybe he’s just being mysterious.”
Lena laughed. “Robert Jenkins, mysterious? Come on now.”
I let out a sigh. “Well whatever he is, I’m not interested.”
Sure, keep telling yourself that…
I noticed that Lena, Whitney, and Meg shared a look. One that said they had discussed this among themselves already. There was nothing more frustrating than realizing your friends were talking about you behind your back, no matter how well-meaning they were.
“Even if it’s pretty damn obvious he’s still interested in you?” Lena posed.
My stomach knotted again. I wished it would stop doing that.
I reached for the remote and turned on my massive 50-inch flatscreen. It had been one of my splurges when I moved in. I wanted to watch my favorite kung fu movies on a proper television set. No more tiny laptop screens for me.
I remembered Robert coming over with wine and my favorite chocolate cookies to christen the TV with a Bruce Lee marathon. It was one of the most enjoyable evenings of my life, even though he never laid a hand on me.
Nope.
I wasn’t going there.
“I think you’re reading too much into things. Besides, Robert Jenkins is old news. I’m not even sure why we're talking about him at all,” I retorted.
The three shared another look. I was about to throw a pillow at each of them.
Lena crossed her legs and flipped her hair behind her shoulders. She had a way of looking effortlessly cool and relaxed at all times. Her feathers very rarely got ruffled, unless she was with her husband, Jeremy, who seemed to rile her in a way no one else could. “Okay, so if you’re not interested in Rob, then how about I set you up with one of my friends—”
“Nope.” I shook my head vehemently. “Not gonna do it. Put the thought out of your head right this second, Marlena Wyatt.”
Lena’s eyes narrowed at my use of her real name. She hated Marlena and threatened bodily harm on anyone that dared use it. But she knew better than to say anything to me. Even though I had known her most of her life, I was pretty sure she was still a little scared of me since that time when she was ten and I told her I’d cut the arms off her Barbie dolls if she didn’t stop asking me a million questions. What can I say? Lena was an annoying kid and back then I had zero patience.
What am I talking about? I still have zero patience.
“You’re a hot piece of grade-A meat, babe. You shouldn’t be hiding all that at home,” Lena complained.
“Way to make me feel objectified,” I muttered.
“What our lovely Lena is trying to say is we want you to be happy. You haven’t really dated since Mac. We thought you and Rob—” Meg started to say and I threw her a warning glance and she changed her track. “What I’m trying to say is there are a lot of great guys out there. Don’t shut yourself off because one of the bad ones wormed his way into your life.”
I let out a long, tortured groan. “Jesus Christ, Meg, this isn’t 1950. I don’t need a man to feel complete. I’m happy you and Adam finally got your shit together and are happy. And I’m stoked that Web and Whit are together and Lena is playing happy family with Jeremy, but that’s just not me. And that’s okay, guys.” I looked at each of my girlfriends pointedly.
“Yes, we know you’re a super awesome, empowered woman, but what about Brad Sawyer? I’ve known him for years. He’s super cute, has a great job—”
“Brad from Sweet Lila’s?” I asked with a snort.
Lena frowned. “Yes, that Brad. What’s wrong with him? He bought the bar from Lila last summer with his brother Seb. He’s
