Page 35 of The Disasters of Dating (Love Connections #6)

KEATON

Don’t rush through life. Remember to pause sometimes and enjoy it!

Learn Chinese: 冰淇淋 — Bīngqílín — Ice cream

Why are Mondays so exhausting? It probably doesn’t help that a flight cuts my weekends short every week.

That’s not to say that my trip to the Salt Lake Airport isn’t a highlight of my week.

Everything that involves Poppy is pretty much the best thing ever.

Maybe my fatigue has more to do with the fact that I missed seeing her yesterday than anything else.

Still, I’m not too tired to meet her tonight. I’m counting down the hours—seven hours and forty-two minutes.

Brenden saunters into my office and sits down in the chair across from me.

I raise a brow. He has become entirely too familiar with that chair in recent weeks.

“So, Lincoln.” He’s referred to me by my business last name almost since the first time we met.

I’m okay with it because I think otherwise I’d be “bro” or something else less desirable.

“We’re all going out to a restaurant tonight. Do you want to come?”

The question is rather pointed…almost challenging. Likely because I’ve declined nearly every offer they’ve extended. It’s not that I don’t like them. I see them all day, four days a week. Must we spend our evenings together also?

I grimace. “Sorry, I can’t. I already have plans.”

He raises a brow and drops his head to the side. “With the ‘lady you met at the airport?’” He actually uses air quotes. Is he for real?

I nod. “Actually, yes. We’re going to get ice cream.”

“You could still do that after dinner.” He looks at me like he’s some great problem solver.

I shrug off his suggestion.

He stares at me for a minute before his face sets into a neutral expression. “Listen, Linc, if you don’t want to come with us, you can say so.”

I frown. “That’s not it at all. I do have plans.

” Not that this is any of his business. But he is making it seem like I’m making Poppy up.

Like she is the elusive “girlfriend in Canada…so you wouldn’t know her,” kind of thing.

“She lives just outside of Salt Lake, I think.” I’m not sure why I add that part because it only gives the ‘Canadian girlfriend’ story credence.

And my uncertainty about where she lives only makes his brows rise higher.

His head slowly starts to nod. “I see.”

He obviously doesn’t.

Keaton’s phone vibrates, and I pick it up, relieved to see it’s her. I hold the phone out for Brenden to see. “See, it’s from her.” I feel like a junior high kid trying to prove that I’m cool. I hate that feeling.

Poppy

So what time are you thinking?

I glance up at Brenden. “This may take a minute, so, if you have something else to do—” It’s my subtle way of telling him that he should go somewhere else.

He lifts a dismissive hand. “I can wait.”

I inwardly roll my eyes.

I should be done here by 6 at the latest. So any time after that. Do you want to grab dinner first?

Poppy

Sure. Where are you thinking?

A crazy thought pops into my mind, and before I can shoot it down—as I totally should have—it’s out of my fingers.

So, some of my co-workers are meeting for dinner. I keep dogging them. Would you mind if we have dinner with them, and then we can leave and go for ice cream?

I can’t believe I asked her that. I pull up the delete button, and my thumb hovers over it. What do I care if they think she’s imaginary? I know she’s not. And I’m the one that matters. Besides, it’s not like these guys are my besties. We’re friendly enough but not that friendly.

I press the delete button, and my message disappears. I suck in a breath and start to type a different message when Poppy’s pops up.

Poppy

Does that mean you’re taking back the dinner offer? It’s fine, if you just want to do ice cream.

No, that’s not what I meant. I was reconsidering subjecting you to my co-workers. I don’t know what I was thinking.

Dots dance on the screen and then disappear. Then start again, only to disappear again. Oh, man. It’s not a good sign that she keeps starting and stopping her text. She’s trying to decide what to say.

“Way to screw that up, Keat.” I mutter under my breath.

“Let me guess, she can’t make it after all?” Brenden asks. It’s kind of ballsy considering I’m the president of the company. He may think that Evan makes all the decisions. But he would be wrong.

Poppy

If you don’t want me to come to dinner, that’s totally fine. We can meet for ice cream after you have dinner with your friends.

I rub a hand over my face.

First, they aren’t my ‘friends,’ they are my co-workers. I don’t hate them, but I also don’t tell them much about my private life. Second, it’s not you I worry about introducing. It’s them.

Am I broaching into creepy territory if I say that I don’t want to share my time with you with them?

Poppy

Not creepy. Sweet. I don’t mind meeting your co-workers. But if you don’t want your worlds to collide, I get that, too.

Nice Seinfeld reference… If you’re okay to come, I’d love to have you there. We’ll make it as quick as possible.

Poppy

Great. Any dress codes I need to know about?

Nope. It’s nothing fancy.

Poppy

Okay. Where are you eating?

“Where are you guys going to dinner?” I ask Brenden, who is still firmly planted in the chair across from me. Maybe I need to give him more work to do. He obviously has too much free time on his hands.

Brenden’s lips curve slightly upward. “We’re thinking about going to The Spicy Cactus.” Again with the challenging look. Maybe I need to do some firing so people respect me more.

I meet his challenge with one of my own. “Are you okay if I bring her?” I can’t believe I’m seriously considering subjecting Poppy to these guys. But if it means I can go out with her in the future without all the supposition, maybe it’s worth it?

Brenden nods. “I’m sure no one will have a problem with it.”

I flick a smile at him. “Great.”

The Spicy Cactus???

Poppy

Oh, I’ve heard of them. I think they have more than one location. Which one?

I look up at Brenden. “She says there’s more than one Spicy Cactus location. Which one are we going to?”

He smiles. “The one in American Fork.”

I nod and look back at my phone. I wish he would leave and let me text in private. Does he realize how intrusive he is being right now?

American Fork.

Poppy

Why don’t I meet you there? It will take you twice as long to come get me with traffic at that time.

I was looking at a few apartments in the South Jordan area earlier. Maybe I can skip lunch and leave an hour early. If I schedule the first appointment for 4:30, I would be in the general area and could pick her up after.

I’ll be at an appointment in South Jordan. Is that close enough that I can pick you up?

Poppy sends a thumbs-up emoji to my text.

Poppy

What time?

“What time are you all meeting?”

“6:30,” Brenden says. “So I should get a table for six?”

I raise a brow. “You’re not bringing a date?” I ask as I text Poppy.

How about I pick you up at 6?

She gives me another thumbs-up emoji.

Brenden’s face pinks slightly. “No,” he stammers. “I’m not dating anyone right now.”

Hmm. An interesting reaction for not dating anyone. And why is he giving me so much crap when he isn’t seeing anyone? “Okay, I guess we’ll see you there, then.”

Brenden pushes himself out of the chair—about fifteen minutes later than he should have—and stands up. “Great. I’m excited to meet ‘the airport girl.’”

I give him what surely looks like a very fake smile. “Yeah,” is all I say. The evening hasn’t even begun, and I’m already regretting most of my decisions of the last fifteen minutes.

I walk up to the door of the house at the address Poppy texted to me. It isn’t large, but it isn’t small either. It’s very middle-class. I like it immediately. It feels very homey, even from the porch .

I knock and Poppy opens the door. “Come on in. I just need to grab my purse.” She’s wearing black skinny jeans and a cross-over top.

It is so not her. She looks amazing— she could wear a garbage bag and still look great—but she doesn’t have her normal carefree ease about her.

Maybe it’s because her normal braids are missing.

Her hair is hanging down in waves over her shoulder.

Again, not unpleasant in the least. But it is not the look I’m used to with her.

I kind of miss her flowy skirts and tops.

Even her Hammer pants make my heartbeat tick up.

I tip my head to the side. “I’ve never pictured you in skinny jeans.”

She bites her lip and looks down, running her hands down her thighs. “Am I dressed too casual? I let Paisleigh pick this out, but now I’m not sure.”

She glances down the hallway, and I see a head peeking out from a doorway. As our eyes connect, I grin.

“Paisleigh?” I knew that she and Poppy were friends, but I didn’t plan on running into her. I guess I knew it was likely to happen eventually. But just not tonight.

“Keaton? You’re the black-eye guy?” Paisleigh walks down the hallway, a huge smile on her face.

I knead at my brow. That’s how her family and friends know me?

“Wait,” Poppy looks at us with confusion. “You two know each other?”

“Keaton is Shay’s fiancé’s brother.” Paisleigh fills in the details. Guess I don’t need to figure out a way to work it into a conversation.

Paisleigh grins even wider. “Is that why Shay was asking me where Poppy worked?”

I shrug. “Yeah, probably.”

Poppy smiles. “Well, this is unexpected.”

Paisleigh lifts her brows at Poppy. “You’re right about Chris Pine.”

I frown. What is she talking about? I tentatively nod toward the door. “Should we head out?”

She looks back down at her pants. “Are you sure I look okay?”

“You look gorgeous, Pops,” Paisleigh gives me a challenging look, as if I’d refute her.

I reach over and grab her hand, giving it a little squeeze. “You look great. You always do.”

“Thanks,” she says, but she doesn’t sound convinced.

“Have fun, you crazy kids,” Paisleigh says, and she shoos us out the door.