"You want it non-fat with extra whip cream?"
"Yes," I repeated for the third time. "Extra whip."
The young barista judgmentally turned away from me to start making my coffee. I knew why he looked at me like I had three heads—after all, who got extra whip when their coffee was non-fat? Yep, the answer was simple: this girl.
With all of the wedding planning going on for Harper, not to mention the bridal shower that my mom and I were throwing for her, I was under a lot of stress. The sad part was...none of the stress was Harper's fault. Its was my mother's.
Even though I told her I would find my own date for the wedding, she was still trying to play matchmaker. The part that had me stocking up on Hostess cakes and adding extra whip to my coffee were the phone calls.
Multiple phone calls.
Not from my mom.
But from men.
That's right—not only has my mom been trying to court men for me, but she has been giving them my phone number under the assumption that I'm looking for a husband.
Which I wasn't.
With everything that happened in my last relationship with Adam, I was not interested in men in the least. But I also needed to get my mom off my back. So, the answer was simple. I needed to figure out what I was going to do. As sad as it was, I was probably going to have to ask one of my co-workers at the school where I taught if they would be my date. The only downside about that was that they knew a lot of my business already. I've requested so much time off lately and had to take a leave of absence to help tale care of my mom. It was hard to hide that.
"Grande white non-fat mocha...with extra whip."
I rolled my eyes at the barista's sarcastic tone when he called out my order. I walked over to the counter and picked up the coffee. "Thanks." With a fake smile, I turned and found an empty table.
After falling into the empty chair, I took a sip of the hot coffee and closed my eyes as I savored the taste. Perfect. This is what I needed. Coffee and girl's night. When Jackson called me and told me about girl's night tonight, I was surprised by how excited it made me. The last time we had a real girl's night was when Ayden and Nate had been overseas and Lanie was pregnant. Even then, it was an emotional night. That was when I told them about my mom and her situation.
Of course, they had all been extremely supportive. Just like I knew they would be. I didn't blame them for being a little confused as to why I hid the truth from them for so long. I would have felt the same if the roles were reversed. But I just couldn't being myself to tell them. Speaking it out loud to them would have just made it more real and I wasn't prepared for that. At the time, the odds of my mother living for another year were slim. It had always just been me and her and I couldn't imagine my life without her. Even though she tended to annoy me like crazy.
But thankfully she was doing better. Much better, apparently. So much better that she has made it her new job of finding me a—cringe—husband. What year was this that my mom thought that was okay? God, she was starting to act like Harper's mom. I shuttered at the thought.
When I found out that Harper's engagement to Ryan was all part of some random arrange marriage, I was actually relieved. Sure, I was surprised, but I was so happy when they broke it off. I could tell that Harper wasn't very happy with him. Whenever I asked her about it, she always told me some bullshit lie.
I figured it wasn't by business so I should just stay out of it. I just wish my mom did the same with me.
Ring-ring-ring
I frowned at the unknown number on my phone before I put it to my ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, is this Jamie?"
I took another sip of my coffee. "Depends. Who's asking?"
"My name is Alex. I was calling about the wedding coming up? I heard you needed a date."
You have got to be kidding me. "Did my mother tell you to call me? Did she give you my number?"
He hesitated at my annoyed tone. "Yes...she said you were expecting my call."
I shook my head. "I told her to stop giving my number to men I didn't know. I don't need her to set me up. I can find my own date."
"I'm sorry," he stammered, "I didn't mean to—"
"You seem like a nice guy. But I'm not interested. Thanks for calling. And if you talk to my mother again, tell her to stop this. Because clearly she isn't listening to me."
I hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of my nose. Was it ever going to stop? What did I have to do you get my mother to back off and leave me alone? At the very least, I just wanted her to stay out of my personal life. Was that too much to ask?
"You okay?" a male voice asked.
I turned my head to the right and saw a man with a beanie and eye glasses staring at me. He had a pencil in his hand that was hovering over what appeared to be a sketchbook.
"Excuse me?"
He shrugged a shoulder. "I couldn't help but overhear. Guy trouble?"
I scoffed. "Ha! No. No guy trouble. More like mom trouble."
A little chuckle from Mr. Beanie. "Yeaaaah," he drawled. "Sounds like she wants to set you up with someone?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I thought you didn't mean to overhear."
"I said I couldn't help but overhear." He gestured around the café. "I'm pretty sure everyone here heard your phone call."
My cheeks heated with embarrassment. The sudden urge to flee hit me and I grabbed my coffee before getting to my feet. "Well, I'm sorry that I was so obnoxious. I'm gonna leave."
By the time I made it outside of the café, Mr. Beanie' s voice was right behind me. "Wait!" he called. For some reason, I stopped and turned towards him. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make you feel uncomfortable."
The deep V of his brows made me realize that he actually felt bad. Dammit.
"No, I'm sorry" I breathed and ran a hand through my hair. "I'm just under a lot of stress and feeling kinda bitchy." I exhaled a heavy sigh before I continued to ramble. "I'm trying to keep my mom from attempting to marry me off. She can't seem to stop meddling in my love life. But I currently have no interest in dating right now. So, I just need to find a date to my best friend's wedding and that should keep her off my back. For awhile, at least."
When I finally shut up, I noticed Mr. Beanie was watching me with an odd expression on his face. Great. Now, I've gone and done it. This guy probably thought I was insane or something.
I closed my eyes briefly before I hooked my thumb over my shoulder. "I'm gonna go. Again."
I started to turn and he reached for my arm.
"Wait. Please."
I faced him and eyed him wearily. "Why? Are you a masochist or something? Because I'm torturing myself with this incessant rambling."
He smiled and I relaxed a little. "I'm not a masochist. I was just thinking that I might be able to help you."
"Help me?" My face fell and I shook my head slowly. "I think I'm beyond help at this point."
He chuckled at my joke. "I can be your date for the wedding."
I continued to stare at Mr. Beanie. What did he say? Be my date? For the wedding? As I studied him more closely...he wasn't half bad. If I had my Man Hunting Glasses on he would probably haunt my dreams. But I didn't have my Man Hunting Glasses on. I had my Man Hating Glasses on.
He waved a hand in front of my face. "Hello? Anybody home?"
Shit. I was staring. Like an idiot. "You don't want to be my date." I rushed the words out a little too quickly.
He frowned. "Sure I do. I offered, didn't I?"
"But you don't even know me. Or my mother. If you show up with me, she's going to grill you and try to find out every little detail about you. Believe me, you'll regret it."
A corner of his mouth lifted and he shrugged a shoulder. "Sounds like fun. Besides, I'm not looking for anything either. I'm actually moving out of the country for work in a month. So no strings attached with me."
It sounded good in theory—some random guy to be by date. One who would look decent in a suit and finally get my mom to leave me alone? Just what I needed.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked with disbelief.
He smirked. "Why not? I love weddings. Besides, it seems like you could use a little break from all those guys your mom is sending your way. I'm happy to help."
Ring-ring-ring
I glanced at my phone. Shit. It was my mom again. I hit ignore and dropped my phone in my purse.
"Do you have a tux?" I asked Mr. Beanie.
"I do."
"Can you dance?"
"Most definitely."
I smiled and offered him my hand. "I'm Jamie."
He took the hand I offered and shook it. "I'm Ollie," he said with a side smile. "It's nice to meet you."