Nice Until Proven Naughty

Me, that’s who.

I should be jaded beyond belief, but I’m not, because as much heartache and marital destruction as I’ve seen, I’ve also watched love prevail. Few and far between are the couples who work through their problems and remember why they fell in love in the first place.

Those are the couples I try to remember. I don’t care where a man works or how much money is in his bank account. I don’t even care if he has stock portfolio or a picture-perfect family. I just want a guy who is kind and considerate—someone who makes me laugh and opens doors and doesn’t mind spending the evening watching a movie and eating pizza.

I want the male version of my sister.

That thought makes me cringe, and I reach for my beer.

“Your usual?” Dani asks.

I nod. She jots my dinner order onto a slip and passes it through the window to the kitchen.

My stomach rumbles as the succulent smells of greasy burgers and french fries waft through the air. There’s nothing better than bar food, and I hit the lottery when Dani and Ben joined forces to saved Sal’s from closing.

Another gust of wind whips through the room, snatching the door from another unsuspecting schmuck’s hands. I laugh when I realize that schmuck is my and Dani’s best friend, Jamie.

“Holy scrooge balls, it’s cold out there.” Rather than take her coat off, Jamie pulls it tight around her body and sits on the empty stool to my right. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“What’s wrong with you?” she asks.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You look all…” She waves her hand in front of me. “…pensive.”

Damn, she’s good. “What? No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do,” Dani agrees, nodding like a damn bobblehead.

I shake my head and look at Jamie. She’s watching me with a don’t-try-to-lie-to-me-I-know-you-too-well look.

“How do you do that?” I ask.

She grins because she knows she’s got me. “Do what?”

“Take one look at me and know that something’s off.”

“I’ve spent my entire life with you and Dani. We’re practically triplets. Now spill it.”

“It’s nothing,” I say, fiddling with a coaster. “Before you came in, I was just sitting here thinking about stuff.”

“I’ll take a dirty martini,” Jamie whispers to Dani, her eyes still on me. “Keep going. What were you thinking about?”

Dani elbows Ben. “Make Jamie a dirty martini. I don’t want to miss this conversation.”

I roll my eyes and take another drink. “There’s nothing to miss. It’s no big deal. I was just thinking about...love, that’s all.”

“Love?” Dani cocks her head to the side, and when I turn my gaze to Jamie, she’s frowning. And then that frown turns into a full-on belly laugh that trickles to everyone around us.

Even Bill is laughing.

“What?” I scoff. “Why is that so funny?”

“Because you don’t do love,” Ben says, sliding Jamie her drink.

Offended, I straighten my back and square my shoulders. “I do love.”