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  "Yes, I guess I am. Why?" I asked.

  "Have I ever told you about my son Taylor? He's thirty and I know I'm biased, but he's very handsome." She pulled out her phone, showed me a photo of her son, then looked at me expectantly.

  "Yes, he is a very handsome man," I said.

  "He had a date back out at the last minute for tonight, my friend's niece. And since I set that up, I'm feeling bad that his date canceled on him. Are you busy tonight?"

  "Wait, you're asking me to go on a blind date with your son?"

  "Umm…yes." Her face contorted like she bit into a lemon. "This is weird, isn't it?"

  "A little," I said with a laugh.

  "He's a doctor and he doesn't get much time to date, but I'll be honest, I really want some grandchildren so I'm pushing him along." She laughed. "I had to beg him to go on this date, and I know next time it'll be even harder to convince him. Please say you'll go."

  As her eyes pleaded with me, I tried to think of a reason to say no. I didn't know if I wanted a boyfriend. Sometimes I thought I had one in Gideon, but this date had nothing to do with that. This date with Janice's son was just meeting someone and going out. There were no expectations that it was going to go anywhere. It didn't sound like he was even looking for a girlfriend, and I definitely wasn't looking for a boyfriend. It might be the perfect way to just get out and distract myself with something other than Gideon.

  "Well, I guess I don't have anything else to do tonight," I said. "Maybe a night out is just what the doctor ordered."

  She laughed. "See, my son is perfect. What woman wouldn't want to go out with a handsome doctor?" She clapped her hands excitedly and then hugged me. "You do want kids, right?"

  "Whoa, slow down, I'm just meeting him," I said.

  "I know, I know," she said. "I just have a really good feeling about this."

  Janice gave me the details before she went back to her office. As I packed up to go home, Gideon stormed into my office.

  "You're going on a date?" he roared.

  "I guess news travels fast around here," I said, unsure why he seemed so angry.

  "How could you?"

  "Janice needed some help and I figured it might be nice to get out." I shrugged.

  "If you wanted to go out, you should've told me. You know I'd take you anywhere you want to go."

  "It just came up. I didn't plan it," I said. "What is going on, Gideon? I don't understand why you're acting like this. We're just friends, remember?"

  "So you just go out with the first person who asks you?"

  "What do you care?"

  He gritted his teeth.

  "You don't even know him. Where are you going?" he demanded.

  "Why should I tell you?" I said defensively.

  "Because I don't trust him. What man needs his mother to set him up on a date? Someone needs to know where and when you're going."

  I stared at him with disbelief. Who did he think he was? I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but I liked how protective he was acting.

  "We're meeting at seven at The Petite Rose," I said.

  "Really? That stupid fancy place?" he grumbled. "I'll call them and have them change the reservation to four people."

  "Four? Don't do this to me, Gideon. Do not bring one of your bimbos on my date."

  "Your date? It's our date, a double date. And Alyssa isn't a bimbo. We'll have fun."

  Gideon suddenly smiled and appeared relaxed. It was the same smile he had last week when I returned his ring. It was fake. His eyes told me everything I needed to know. He was jealous. What I didn't understand was why.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gideon

  I pulled up to City Hall with one thing in mind. I was going to get my girl. Everything that happened was my fault. Had I been more open about what I wanted, none of this would have happened. New Year’s Day would've been the start of something great, not this friends with benefits crap.

  It wasn't like me, but I bought two dozen red roses to give to Becca. I wanted to make sure that even if the wrong words came out of my mouth, she understood what I was trying to say.

  Eddie Salvador was standing by the side door taking a smoking break. He raised his cigarette as a hello as he blew smoke into the air.

  "Flowers, eh? That's a shame," he said.

  "How so?" I asked.

  "My sister Alicia is back on the market. I thought you and she might get along. I know she's not looking for anything serious." He shrugged before putting his cigarette between his lips, then pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "Here's her number. I know you'll be looking for your next girlfriend soon anyway."

  "Yeah well, I don't think I'll be calling Alyssa anytime soon," I said as I pulled the door open.

  "Alicia."

  Whatever.

  As I headed down the long hall on my way to Becca's office, Janice popped her head out of her office.

  "Oh Gideon," she said. "I haven't seen you in weeks. I was just asking Becca about you."

  "You were?"

  "Yes, well, I'm sure she'll tell you, so she won't mind if I spill the beans. She has a date with my son tonight. I set them up."

  Janice smiled happily. How could Becca do that? Didn't she know we were supposed to be together? I was speechless.

  "Who are those beautiful flowers for?" Janice asked.

  Her question snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked at the oversized bouquet in my hand. I couldn't give it to her now. I had missed my chance with her.

  "These are for you, love," I said as I handed the roses to Janice.

  "Oh, you are too sweet," she said as she took them. "My husband is going to be so jealous when he sees these."

  Hmph, jealous. Jealousy was for the weak, I thought as I headed towards Becca's office. She wasn't going to like it, but I wasn't going to let her go on that date alone.

  I picked Alicia up from her apartment and headed straight for La Petite Rose. Alicia must have gotten all the looks in her family. She was beautiful, with a glistening shoulder-length ebony bob and curves in all the right places, but she wasn't for me. Months ago, Alicia was the kind of woman I would have chased after, but now she didn't compare to my girl.

  Alicia spoke nonstop during our drive, but I couldn't be bothered to listen. All I cared about was seeing Becca and making sure that jackass she was going out with tonight didn't get close to my girl.

  As I pulled the Bugatti up across the street from the restaurant, I saw Becca already seated at the table. I sat in my car and watched as Janice's son arrived and shook Becca's hand. He was about my height, with the same lean build, but with perfectly-styled, spiky blond hair. Taylor had a confidence to him that came with being secure with yourself, unlike my cockiness, which was all show.

  He sat across from Becca and she looked at her watch. He said something, and she smiled and shrugged before pulling her phone out of her bag and checking it.

  She was wondering where I was. She was waiting for me.

  Becca smiled at her date and I had to look away. What was I doing? Whether she had feelings for me or not, it was obvious to me that she wasn't ready to accept them. Maybe she didn't think I was good enough for her. I knew she was too good for me.

  "Does she know?" Alicia asked, reminding me that I wasn't alone.

  "Who?" I asked.

  She pointed to Becca sitting at the window.

  "Does she know you're in love with her?"

  "Is it that obvious?"

  "It is to me," she said. "Why don't you go in there and tell her?"

  Glancing back at the window, I watched as Becca laughed. I missed her laugh. I missed everything about her.

  "The timing isn't right," I said as I put the car in gear. "She deserves to be happy now. I don't think I can give her that. At least not right now."

  I needed to do one thing before I took my foot off the brake. I reached for my phone and started a text.

  Gideon: You're in luck, I got a better offer tonight. Enjoy your date
.

  I stared at the window as Becca picked up her phone. I hoped she would text back. I wanted her to say she was disappointed I wasn't coming. I wished for her to respond with anything. Instead, her nose scrunched as she read my text, then she put her phone back into her bag.

  Alicia was right, I loved Becca. But when I thought about us, I knew love wasn't enough. She deserved better than what I could give her. If that meant our time would never come, then so be it. I needed to work on myself before I could be a man worthy of her.

  "Let's get a drink," I said. "My friend just opened a bar at the beach."

  "Sounds perfect," Alicia said.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gideon

  Alicia spent the drive through the canyon talking nonstop. She didn't need me to reply or even pretend to be interested, she just kept talking no matter what.

  I honestly didn't mind it. It was easy to tune her and everything else out. I just concentrated on the road.

  Navarro owned a bar with one of his brothers off the coast road at the edge of Canyon Cove. It was just something they always talked about doing so when they had enough capital, they found the right location and everything else fell into place.

  Dusty's was a small, dimly lit bar with surfboards hanging on the walls and a few tables scattered about. The televisions only played the Surf Channel and on warm days, the walls were folded back onto themselves for a view of the ocean. It was a typical surfer bar with the exception that most of its clientele were some of the wealthiest of the city's under thirty crowd.

  As Alicia and I entered, she spotted some girlfriends and veered off towards them. Navarro was seated at the end of the bar in his usual spot where he could keep an eye on everyone who came in.

  He raised his glass to the bartender and then signaled him for two drinks. I said hello to some friends as I made my way to Navarro, but didn't get into much conversation. I needed to talk, but not with just anyone. Becca came to mind, but I couldn't talk to her about her. That was the downside of falling for your best friend.

  The bartender set two glasses of the bar's most expensive scotch in front of Navarro. As I took the stool beside him, he slid one of the glasses in front of me.

  "We're drinking tonight," Navarro said.

  "Good, I think I need one. What happened to you?"

  "My dad died."

  He tilted the glass at his lips as he took a drink. One of the reasons Navarro and I were so tight was because we had similar backgrounds. Neither of us really knew our dads and everything we had came from a lot of hard work.

  I grew up watching my older brother struggle to take care of us until everything took off for him. Navarro and his four brothers had their mom.

  "How are you feeling about it?" I asked.

  "Angry," he said as he took another drink. "I mean, why should I give a fuck that he died? He never wanted anything to do with us and now that he's dead, his wife thinks we should pay our last respects."

  "Are you going?"

  "Damned if I know. All my life I've worried about being a fuck-up like him. I know you go through the same thing. It's messed up, right?" He shook his head, annoyed. "I won't deny it though, I'm curious. He's got all this family, brothers and sisters who are my aunts and uncles that I've never met. I'm sure there are cousins too. I don't even know if they know about us."

  "How are your brothers taking it?" I asked.

  "I haven't told them yet. I'm trying to get them all together to head back to Jersey. Mom bought the shore house we used to go to in the summer, and I think maybe it's time we all came home."

  "How about your mom? How's she taking it?"

  "That's one of the reasons I think we need to go out there. She says she's fine, but I know her. She's probably in her head. She needs us right now."

  "You remember him, right? I think I was around two when my dad skipped, so I don't remember him at all," I said.

  "Yeah, you're like Ryker. He doesn't remember him and then there's Kellen, who's never met him. I was six when he stopped coming home and I barely remember him. He traveled for work so he'd only come home on the weekends, but most of the time he was out anyway. Mom won't talk about him at all, but I suspect he had another family."

  "That's just crazy."

  "Yeah, I know, but I'm convinced somewhere out there are other Navarros that I should know about. It's the only reason I might go to this service."

  "When is it?"

  "Don't know. She's just planning it. She wants to do some celebration of life thing, but she said she wants his whole family there. I don't know why. I mean, he didn't give a damn when he was alive, why should anyone care now?"

  "I think people start thinking when people die."

  "Yeah, I've heard it before, the whole life is too short crap. I'm sorry, but if it takes someone dying for you to realize life is too short, then you screwed up somewhere." He took another drink from his glass and set it on the bar with a bang. "Anyway, what the hell is going on with you? Why are you here, and who's she? I thought you and Becca were a thing now."

  "You thought wrong. I really don't want to talk about it right now though. And the girl, she's just the sister of some guy I know. Long story, but I'm not interested."

  "That's good, because it looks like she's hooking up with Frosted Tips."

  "You're kidding me," I said as I looked for Alicia.

  Sure enough, she was smiling and batting her lashes at Frosted Tips. Frosted Tips's real name was Barry, and he made his money by hacking into people's websites and then securing those sites for them. One day he showed up at the bar with some strange blond pieces at the tips of his hair. We did what any friend would do, we gave him a nickname and never let him live it down.

  "At least his hair looks better now," I said.

  "Do you think you should warn her about Barry?"

  "Nah, from what I was able to piece together about her, we might want to warn Barry about her. She's just looking for a good time."

  "And what about you?" Navarro asked.

  "I need to get out of here. I need to get my head together and figure some stuff out. I'm tired of always being the joker."

  "Then come with me to Jersey. You're welcome to stay at the shore house for as long as you'd like, you know that. It's just going to be me and Colton to start so it'll be pretty quiet until everyone else shows up."

  As much as I didn't want to leave Canyon Cove, having some time away did sound like a good idea. I could focus on the things I needed to instead of obsessing about Becca. I had to get my life in order.

  "When are you leaving?" I asked.

  "I was planning on leaving in the morning, but I can wait if you need some time."

  "I can be ready in the morning."

  "Good, I'll swing by at eight and pick you up."

  Chapter Fourteen

  Becca

  I didn't know what to think about Gideon tagging along on my blind date. Part of me was happy. I liked that he was jealous, but another part of me dreaded how he would act. The fact that he was bringing one of his bimbos didn't make me feel any better.

  The taxi dropped me off in front of La Petite Rose and the hostess sat me at a table for four. It was a great table, right in front of the picture window facing the street. Unfortunately, the street lamps caused a glare, which made it impossible for me to see outside.

  Shortly after I was seated, a tall, handsome man made his way towards the table. He had spiked blond hair and the way his suit hung from him, it was obvious he had a great body. He was undeniably gorgeous, but there was something about him that wasn't for me.

  Taylor extended his hand as he introduced himself.

  "You must be Becca Draven. I'm Taylor Oliver."

  "It's great to meet you," I said. "I have to be honest. I've never been on a blind date before, so I wasn't sure what to expect."

  He sat across from me and his smile grew, deepening a dimple in his cheek. The way he smiled, it was as if he had known me my entire life, and I felt
comfortable with him right away.

  "Well, like I tell my patients, you're in good hands," he said before he leaned closer to me. "I'm sorry, but if I don't put it out there that I'm a doctor, my mother gets very mad."

  "You've got to be kidding. She's not even here."

  "Oh, you never know. I learned when I was young that a mother hears and sees everything."

  As I laughed, I glanced towards the door to see if Gideon had arrived yet. I should've known better than to expect him to be on time, but I still held out hope.

  "Waiting for someone?" Taylor asked.

  "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know if your mother told you, but my friend invited himself along." I shrugged as I tried to make light of it, then looked at my watch.

  "Yes, I heard about that. Friends can be funny sometimes. Is he always late? Maybe he texted you."

  Grateful to have him mention it since I didn't want to be rude, I pulled my phone out of my purse, checked it, then left it on the table.

  "Nothing," I said, smiling as I tried to hide my disappointment.

  "Sometimes no text is better than one."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Let me show you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Without looking at it, he set it on the table and slid it close to me. "Go ahead, check it. I bet you there's already a text from my mother."

  I tapped his phone and saw several sentences of a text from his mom saying she hoped he wouldn't be late. The time on it was right at the time we were meeting. As I laughed, another text from her came through.

  Mom: She's sweet, isn't she? What do you think? Will you ask her on another date?

  Taylor read the text but didn't reply to it. He put his phone back into his shirt pocket and patted it affectionately.

  "Eventually she'll ask me about my date before it's even begun," he said. "She's nothing if not committed."

  My phone buzzed as a text came through.