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But she didn’t want to know why. There wasn’t a reason that wouldn’t hurt. And she was sotiredof hurting because of him.
Wasn’t it easier to let things be as they were?
Because right now, they were getting along. Having fun even!
Right now, nothing was wrong and no promises were made.
Right now…
Well, right now she was hiding from him in the control room for Studio X.
Why was she hiding?
Why could she only think about André and his stupid hot suspenders and his stupid hot vulnerability?
* * *
Ryan had taken her to get burgers.
Not fancy burgers.
Just regular, franchise-made burgers.
He sipped from the straw of his vanilla milkshake and she realized he had a great jawline. She had never noticed.
In fact, looking at him in the light, Ryan was kind of hot.
In that all-American, Channing Tatum kind of way. Muscles and white teeth and the disposition of a golden retriever.
Again, it made sense that Al would think they’d be a match. More than once, Nikki had been told she “bounded through life like a puppy.” This was the kind of guy who could match that.
So why didn’t she feel anything?
It had been over two weeks between dates, and she hadn’t even noticed that much time had passed.
But she’d spent hours with André last night and she couldn’t stop thinking about what he might be doing at the moment. Was he having dinner alone? Or with friends?
“Listen, Nikki,” Ryan said.
His serious tone had her straightening her shoulders on her side of the booth.
“I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know you, but I think this should be our last ‘date.’” He did the air quotes and everything.
She blinked as her brain scrambled to make sense of what was happening.
Hewas dumpingher?
Huh.
His brown eyes gentled and he reached across the table to take her hand. She let him of course because she wanted to see what would happen next.
“You’re a really great person. Funny and gorgeous and way too smart for a guy like me.”
Why did this sound like the speech that she had been planning on giving him?
“But I’m just not feeling a connection.” He smiled apologetically. “I hope we can stay friends.”
Nikki licked her lips. “Yeah. Of course,” she agreed.
