“If it’s a boy, you’re naming it after me, right?” Kevin asked.
“No, I think Dwayne is a much better name. Kevin sounds like awimp.” Dwayne dodged a smack from Kevin.
The celebration went on for several more minutes, and Nick evencracked open a bottle of champagne. Rebecca was not a big drinker, but she madean exception and accepted the plastic flute to toast. Then it was back to thecard game.
“Any luck on the dating site, Rebecca?” Dwayne asked some timelater, rubbing a hand over his bald head as he studied his cards.
Rebecca lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Meh. It’s reallykind of disheartening.”
“My advice is to stick with it,” Kevin said. “I met Maria on adating site.” Rebecca had met his wife; she was super nice, and they seemed tocomplement each other well.
“What about that one chick?” Nick asked. “Didn’t you have a lunchdate set up?”
“Yeah, that was today.” Rebecca wasn’t at all self-conscious abouttalking to these guys about her dating life. After all the time they’d spenttogether over the years, they knew as much about her as she did about them.With a grimace she told them, “She didn’t show.”
“Seriously? No text or anything?” Dwayne sounded irritated forher, and she appreciated that.
“We hadn’t gotten far enough to exchange numbers yet. I’m alwayshesitant about that.”
“Understandable,” Dwayne said. “Lotta crazies out there.”
“You must’ve been bummed,” Nick said, and gave her shoulder asqueeze with his meaty hand before discarding.
“I was until…” This time she did hesitate, but only for a second.“Spencer showed up.”
“Spencer…?” Dwayne looked at her questioningly.
“Oh! That’s the chick from the bridal class, right?” Dave said andpointed at Dwayne. “The one whose girlfriend signed her up ’cause she’s too fatfor the wedding, remember?”
“Right, right, right,” Dwayne said with a nod.
“She’s not fat,” Rebecca said, feeling a need to defendSpencer…and then was irritated by it.
“She showed up to lunch?” Nick asked, obviously confused.
“Apparently, her office is across the street, and she eats there alot.”
“Well, that’s a weird coincidence.” It was the second time in aweek Nick had made that comment regarding her and Spencer. He wasn’t wrong.
“She saw me before I saw her and just…plopped herself down at mybooth.” Rebecca remembered Spencer’s soft smile and kind eyes, how pretty she’dlooked.
“And you had lunch together?” Dave was dividing his focus betweenhis cards and Rebecca.
“No, I’d already been there for half an hour. I needed to get backto work.” Rebecca laid down a card, drew another. “So, just a quick chat.”
“How’d she look?” Dwayne asked. “You said she’s not fat?”
God, men were so blunt.
“Does she even need to be at the gym?” Dave asked.
“No, she’s not fat, Dwayne, and everybody needs to be at the gym,Dave.” Rebecca rolled her eyes but did her best to keep a grin on her face.
“You should ask her out,” Nick said, not looking at her. “You keeprunning into her. Maybe it’s for a reason.”
Nods and murmurs of agreement went around the table before Rebeccacut them off with, “You guys. She’s engaged. I’m not asking her out and shewouldn’t say yes anyway.”
“Then don’t ask her out,” Kevin said. “Just…tap that.”
