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I glare at her. “First of all, ew. I don’t want to hear about you being in bed with my brother. Eww.”

She rolls her eyes. “Girl, buy the blender, you know you’ve needed one since last year.”

I pick up the blender and throw it into my cart before looking at the other appliances on the shelf. Emma, however, keeps her eyes on me.

“What’s bothering you, babe?” She frowns, her eyes shining with concern. “Is it Jack?”

At the mention of his name, I give up all hopes of pretense. What’s really bothering me is our second kiss, the way he held me, the way he looked at me, like he sees me. I’ve woken up two nights in a row, sweating from questionable dreams about him. This isn’t me. At all. But there’s no switch I can flip to stop all these emotions. But I’m too ashamed to tell Emma this, so I tell her the other thing that’s bothering me.

“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, Em,” I complain, rolling my eyes as I glance at a display of vacuum cleaners. “Jack’s date with Denise was a bust, and now this picnic date with Ashley didn’t go any better. Jack claims he feels no connection with either of them.”

Emma raises an eyebrow and looks over at me, clearly intrigued. “Wait. Event planner Ashley?” She sounds like she’s processing the information, giving me a quick glance as she reads the label on the lightbulb box.

“Yes.” I sigh, leaning back against the shelves. “She’s gorgeous, she’s smart, and I thought they’d hit it off. But no, nothing.”

Emma hums, her eyes narrowing slightly as she sizes me up. There’s something weird in her expression. “She is beautiful. Jack didn’t like her?”

I roll my eyes. “No! I don’t know what he wants. I mean, Ashley’s great. She’s everything he should want, but it’s like he has no interest.”

“So what’s next?” she asks. “You can’t give up.”

“Of course not.” I grab a flashlight and add it to my cart. “His next date is a beautiful nurse named Mirta. I don’t know how to convince him to give Mirta an actual chance.”

“I have an idea.”

At the sound of the familiar masculine voice, Emma and I jump, turning to see Ryan standing there with a full cart, a smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my annoyance evident in my voice.

Ryan glances at his cart, then looks back at me with a soft, almost apologetic expression. “Just came here to shop.” He nods at Emma. “Hi, Emma.”

I don’t even try to hide my skepticism. “I see.” I start to turn away, but Ryan calls after me.

“I overheard what you and Emma were saying. I have an idea.”

I stop and roll my eyes. “You don’t see me giving you ideas about your work, do you? Thanks, but I’ve got this.”

Ryan’s expression falters, and for a second, I feel a pang of guilt. I can tell he’s not expecting this cold reaction. I don’t need his help, especially when it comes to Jack, but it won’t hurt to knowwhat he’s thinking. Afterall, I need all the help I can get right now.

“All right. What’s your idea?” I say, my tone begrudgingly neutral, though I can’t hide the irritation bubbling just under the surface.

Ryan smiles like he’s already won. “I was hoping we could do a double date.”

I blink at him, completely taken aback. “A what?”

He nods, still looking too pleased with himself. “Look, I’m a man, and I know how these things work. Men like Jack—guys like him—they thrive on excitement, challenges. If we do a double date, it’ll make things more interesting for him. Give him something to think about.”

“Who’s going to be the second couple on this double date?” I ask, crossing my arms.

Ryan leans forward slightly, as if he’s got a grand revelation. “Me and you.”

I stare at him, trying to process what he just said. A double date? With him? And Jack? At the same table. Like the nightmare dinner at my parents’ house. Yeah, no. It sounds completely absurd.

I laugh, louder than I intend to. “I’m not going on a date with you, Ryan.”

Ryan’s smile fades, but he quickly recovers, pushing on with his suggestion. “I’m not asking you to date me right away. I’m just trying to help you. With work.”

I roll my eyes again, feeling the frustration build. “Help me? How do you think this will help anything? You think I’ll just go on a date with you to help Jack?”