Page 102 of It's Not PMS, It's You

I thought about it for another moment. “Before I say yes, do you haveanyonein your family named Barney?”

He stared at me like I was crazy.

Maybe I was.

“No,” Nick answered.

I nodded, satisfied. “Good.”

He opened his wallet and pulled out a card. “But I did meet a guy named Barney who has a couple of bagel shops. He gave me this card for a free bagel.”

I pointed to the card. “Tear that card upnowand never step foot in his shop ever, if you appreciate our friendship.”

Nick chuckled, then tore up the business card, sticking the broken little pieces back inside his wallet.

He slipped the wallet back in his pocket. “Done.”

“You didn’t even ask me why I wanted you to tear it up.”

“It doesn’t matter. It seemed important to you, so I did it. Remember what I said earlier? I want you to be happy.”

“Thank you. Count me in. I’ll go to your reunion with you.”

“Good.” He studied me for a moment. “You’re a rare bird, Ruth.”

“You are, too.”

We shared another laugh.

Nick stood. “Karma and I should get going.” He grinned. “Our family reunions are always the best. I’m glad you’re coming. Three o’clock tomorrow and we always stay to watch the sunset. And who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone special.” He winked.

I already had.

His name was Nick Morris.

And what Nick didn’t know was that I had agreed to go the reunion so I could spend more time withhim.

Chapter Twenty

NICK

As I unfolded chairs on the beach at La Jolla Shores for our family reunion, my thoughts were on Ruth again and why she had been occupying space in my brain recently. I had come to the most obvious conclusion.

There was nothing sexier in the world than a confident woman.

Sure, she had issues, but who didn’t?

And even though I had told myself and Brandon countless times that I would not be traveling down that road again, there I was, bewitched by a woman who I just couldn’t stop thinking about.

I had told Ruth that there would be eligible bachelors at the family reunion and that was true. But what she didn’t know was that I used that as an excuse to get her there. I was the one who wanted to spend time with her, away from her house, where I was working for her.

I honestly couldn’t see how something could work out between us, considering what she did for a living and her work schedule, but for some reason that didn’t stop me from trying.

It was a beautiful day at La Jolla Shores beach, eighty degrees, and the sky bright blue and clear. I had grown up in the area and used to walk to this beach almost every day as a kid. It always brought back special memories when we got together there.

I already helped set up the canopies and tables for the reunion. Other family members set up the food and drink stations, while I unfolded the last few chairs.

We were ready for fun and just about everyone was here, except for Ruth. She told me it might be better for her to meet me here instead of picking her up, just in case something came up with her work that she had to take care of at the last minute.