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I get up and use my last shred of politeness to smile at him. “Well, thanks for… this.”

“You too. I had fun.”

I can’t possibly say me too, so I just turn around and make my way toward the door.

“Oh, wait,” he says, jumping out of his chair and following me. He hands me an official-looking form. “Would you mind filling this out and sending it back to me? My email address is noted at the bottom.”

I glance at the paper, which looks like a pop quiz. I let my eyes travel over the page. “How would you rate this date on a scale of zero to ten?”

Oh my God, he’s got a questionnaire? I need to get out of here. Now.

“Call me,” he shouts as I speed walk away. “Or I’ll call you.”

I walk two streets before I dare to let myself breathe easily again. Zeke and his mom drive by, his mother tooting the car horn and Zeke waving at me before throwing an air kiss my way. Ew. I’m sorry, but there’s no way I’m catching that.

I arrive at a coffee bar called Sweets of Paradise, where a small path leads to a patio on the beach. In the distance, I spot the glow of the bonfire, but after the evening I’ve had, I’m not in the mood to go.

I kick off my shoes and walk over the soft sand until I come across a small wooden shack where ice cream is sold. Cheerful music blasts through the speakers, and the corrugated roof pieces all boast different colors. I step closer to scan the menu and settle for two scoops of strawberry ice cream with extra whipped cream and crushed nuts on top.

I sit down near the water and sigh when I taste the ice cream. This is so much better than that cheesecake I forced myself to eat a couple of bites of.

While I’m enjoying my sugary treat, my thoughts wander to France and everything I left behind there. Not that it’s much in terms of physical stuff, but… Life was completely different in Europe. There, I had the feeling everything was possible. Until Paul completely and utterly shattered the trust I had in him and left me with nothing. Now that I’ve had time to process what’s happened these last few weeks, I realize I’ve been naïve. I honestly thought the two of us had a future, but the more I think about it, the more it dawns on me that Paul was never truly there for me. He thought I could help his career and as soon as it became clear that I had different plans, he dropped me like a turd.

A deep voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Hey, you.”

“Colton?”

“Do you mind if I join you?” he asks.

I motion toward the space beside me. “Go ahead.”

He flops down, and I steal a glance at him. He’s barefoot, with his pants rolled up a bit so you can see his calves. I never realized how sexy calves can be up until now.

“I take it your date didn’t go well then?” he asks.

“What gives you that impression?”

He shrugs. “You’re sitting alone on a beach, eating ice cream. That doesn’t scream best date ever to me.”

I let out a laugh. “You’re right, it was the worst. What about your date?”

“Oh, it didn’t work out.” He angles his body toward me and crosses his legs. “What happened to you tonight?”

“Let’s just say Zeke is not my cup of tea. The entire evening was horrible.”

He frowns. “Horrible? That’s a strong word. Surely it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“He wanted to cut my pizza for me.”

Colton bursts out laughing.

“I’m glad you find this so amusing,” I say.

He holds his hands up. “I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at your expense, I swear.”

I chuckle myself now. “Don’t worry about it. It was quite laughable. After the cutting debacle, he talked about baby teeth, then forced me to have cheesecake, which I hate. When the check came, he made me pay my half. And then he gave me a questionnaire!”

By now, tears are streaming down his cheeks and he’s doubled over, clutching his stomach. For a moment, I’m afraid he won’t be able to breathe if he keeps laughing like this. “A questionnaire?” he asks in between fits of laughter. “Are you kidding me?”