Page 26 of A Little Bit Engaged
He laughed, but he was surprised his ring was the one on her finger. She was the kind of woman a man took home to meet his family. His parents loved Caitlin, but Cara was their favorite twin. Always had been. She remembered birthdays and anniversaries. When his mother had gallbladder surgery, Cara had gone to Sacramento and filled his parents’ freezer with healthy, homemade meals that just needed to be put in a slow cooker or the oven.
That got him thinking. “So, other than cat allergies, why aren’t you dating anyone?”
She shrugged. “San Francisco hasn’t been an easy place for me to meet guys. The majority of my former coworkers were women. Unfortunately, none had eligible bachelors for brothers or friends. Though I went out with someone’s cousin.”
“And?”
Amusement gleamed in her gaze. “He was nice. Attractive. But he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend. After an hour of listening to him go on about her, I told him to send her a text about getting together to catch up. He did, and they’re married now.”
“I didn’t know matchmaking was one of your talents.”
“Transition person might be a more apt description.”
“An hour makes you his transition person?”
She stared over her glass of lemonade. “Well, in that case, I knew the date would go nowhere so I was only trying to find the fastest way to end my misery.”
“You’ll need a transition person when our engagement is over.”
“I can handle a breakup after, what did you say, three weeks max?”
“And here I thought you cared about me,” he joked.
Cara glanced at her taco. “Like one woman matters when millions are head over heels in love with you.”
“Not with me.” Which was a big problem. “They fall for the character they see on the screen.”
“Is there a difference?”
Her question made him shift positions. Even though they hadn’t spent much time together since she’d moved to San Francisco, she knew him better than most. “Of course.”
She raised an arched brow. “Really?”
He couldn’t get away with anything around her. Caitlin took whatever he said at face value. Never Cara. “Most of the time.”
“You’re a great guy. You deserve to find true love.”
Her sincerity touched his heart. Most people wanted something from him. He wasn’t used to someone wanting something good for him. “That’ll be easier to find once people know Caitlin and I aren’t together. Finally being truthful is one of the bright sides to all of this.”
“What’s the other bright side?”
“There are two. No longer feeling indebted to your sister and spending time with you.” Cara’s face lit up, filling him with warmth. Being with her was so much easier than being with Caitlin. “I like when you smile.”
“Do you like this?” Cara stuck out her tongue at him.
“I liked it better when your tongue was blue after drinking a slushie.”
She laughed. “I haven’t had one of those in forever.”
“We’ll have to remedy that while I’m here.”
“Okay.” She stabbed at her taco before setting the fork on the plate. She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers.
He knew what that meant. “What’s on your mind?”
Cara’s mouth slanted. “You really want to know?”
“Of course.”
