Free Hard to Love by Kendall Ryan

in my body. “What’s that?”
    “Have your fun with the porn star, but promise me that you won’t involve your heart.”
    I nearly laughed at her ridiculous warning. My heart? I wanted to assure MacKenzie that there was no possibility of me falling for Cade, but my mind flickered back to his gentle nature with Lily and the words stuck in my throat. I nodded my consent. “My parents set me up with another son-in-law candidate. His name’s Peter and he’s taking me to lunch tomorrow .”
    She rolled her eyes. MacKenzie was well-briefed in my parents ’ meddling ways. “Okay. Can I give you one tip, in all seriousness , if you’re going to do this?”
    “Sure.”
    “You’ll want to shave everything — thoroughly — he’s used to those girls in the videos, and you won’t find a speck of hair anywhere on them.”
    I rolled my eyes. This was her advice? I wasn’t about to shav e off all my pubic hair just to appease a man. W as I ?
    “I’ve got to get back to work.” I tossed the cup into the trash and stuffed the last bite of bagel into my mouth.

*****
     
    Why I’d agreed to a date with Peter Wyndham III today was beyond me. It was a moment of weakness — my mom had caught me coming off the high of spending time with Cade, and I’d agreed.
    I’d first met Peter at last year’s Christmas party at my dad’s office. The same party where they’d parad ed me around like a prized possession since the day I turned eighteen. A s if I wanted a fat, bloated accountant for a husband. Thankfully Peter had been different. He was twenty-four, fresh out of business school , and felt just as out of place with the middle-aged accountants and their spouses as I did.
    We’d spent the evening sitting on a balcony, me with his suit coat draped across my bare shoulders talking about our favorite college courses — mine, philosophy, and his, economics.
    My parents had been delighted to see us hit it off . H e was a prized catch in their eyes, everything they wanted for me — a white male aged twenty to thirty, good genetics, well-bred , from an upper - middle - class New Hampshire family. Wholesome as a glass of milk. And just as exciting.
    Their excitement alone caused me to squirm. I’d avoided his calls and their feeble attempts to set us up for the better part of six months. Which was why I found it baffling that I was currently curling my hair, and ironing my navy shirtdress , getting ready for my date.
    We’d made plans to play tennis at the country club where both he and my father were members. I packed my tennis outfit into my large purse, which MacKenzie had named the Mary Poppins bag and went to wait for Peter.
    When he pulled up in his sleek silver Lexus, I jogged out to meet him. Peter emerged from the car, all gelled blonde hair and straight white teeth indicating years of orthodontia. He met me at the car door, dressed casually in jeans and a button-up shirt and kissed the back of my hand before helping me inside the car . The rich smell of leather en veloped me and I settled back in my seat.
    Something about Peter was familiar, like a pair of worn - in jeans , or you r comfy flip flops , but nothing about h is presence — and certainly not his kiss — brought me anywhere close to fireworks . More like tolerable indifference. Cade on the other hand… well, my nipples pebbled at the mere thought of him.
    After a n uninspired tennis match, which he’d predictably let me win, we had lunch on the spacious stone patio at the club. I o rdered a champagne strawberry salad and Peter the truffle risotto. We sipped sparkling water while we ate and Peter told elaborate stories designed to impress me. He began with adventures on his father’s sailboat, crazy parties with his friends from prep school, and finally his career ambitions — to make partner by the age of thirty-five . N ever once did he ask about mine. Or anything about me, really. I found my mind wandering to Cade and Lily. I wondered what they did