“Fuck you, Trent,” I say so quietly I’m not sure he heard me, but I don’t wait to find out.I hang up and place my phone on the table.I need to pull myself together and then find a way to extricate myself from this situation.But before I have a chance to come up with anything, the hostess is guiding a woman to my table.
My stomach clenches when I see the striking woman approaching.Jesus Christ, Trent.Her long red hair falls in waves down her back, her light brown eyes sparkling as she smiles at me.
“Tristan?”
I nod, my tongue completely useless at forming words as I stare at what is clearly Trent’s idea of a sick joke.She looks so much like Jolie, but she doesn’t command my heart the way Jo always has.
“Mind if I sit?”
I nod again and her smile wilts.I know I’m being a dick right now, but it feels like a betrayal to be here with her.To her credit, my sour mood doesn’t seem to deter her.
She drapes the napkin across her lap and then smiles at me.“Your profile pic didn’t do you justice.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Your dating profile.On Meet Cute.”
“What the hell is Meet Cute?”
Her smile more than wilts this time—it completely evaporates, replaced by a frown as she stares at me in clear confusion.Join the fucking club.
“It’s the dating app we met on,” she says like I’ve lost my mind.But the only person who’s lost their damn mind is my fucking brother.
I take a sip of my water.“I’m sorry, I can’t do this.My brother set this up.I never created a profile on…Meet whatever it was.”
“Meet Cute,” she says, her voice soft and her eyes wide in shock.“Wait, so you’re telling me you weren’t the one messaging me all week?”
I close my eyes and rub my temples.I’m going to fucking strangle Trent.“No, I wasn’t.I’m really sorry about this.I thought I was meeting my brother tonight.I didn’t know he’d set me up on a date, but I’m not interested.”
She opens her mouth, but I can tell by the hurt on her face what she’s about to say so I speak again before she gets a chance.“It’s not you.You’re a beautiful woman, and I’m sure any guy would be lucky to have you, but I’m in love with someone else.”
She frowns again.“Then why would your brother set you up?”
Heaving out a heavy sigh, I reply, “It’s complicated.”
“Clearly.”
The waiter arrives at our table to take our orders, and my gut clenches at the dejected look on my date’s face.Fuck, I don’t even know her name.
Leaning forward, I say, “Listen, I’m not interested in this being a real date, but I feel terrible that my brother dragged someone else into this.Let me make it up to you and buy you dinner.We can eat and then call it a night.”
She nibbles her bottom lip, and if I wasn’t so in love with Jolie, the action might be sexy.“Are you sure?”
I nod.
“Alright then.”
I turn to the waiter—who’s been standing there looking back and forth between us, clearly picking up that this is a disaster of a date—and order wine and appetizers while we look over the menus for our entrées.
She tells me her name is Julie—Trent really outdid himself this time—and she’s a paralegal.She prefers country music and has never heard a single song by Rapturous Intent.It’s kind of nice.Most of the women I hook up with do it for the thrill of having sex with a rock star.Not that I plan to hook up with Julie.
Dinner passes by quickly, our conversation mostly easy.She keeps trying to get more details about the woman I’m in love with, but now that she knows who I am and that I’m famous, I can’t risk giving her any more information.We’re finishing dinner when my phone starts vibrating on the table, Jo’s name and picture flashing on my screen.
I pick it up before Julie can see.“I need to take this.”
She nods in understanding, and I spin to the side and answer the phone.“Hey, everything okay?”
“Hey, yeah, everything’s fine.I was looking for the Phillips-head screwdriver and can’t seem to find it anywhere.I remembered you were the last one to use it and wondered if you remembered where it ended up.”Her deprecating laugh flows easily over the line, and I desperately want to be there with her.