“Well? What do you think?”

As soon as he stepped out of the dressing room, I knew this was the suit for him. He might have pulled a face at it earlier, but it looked fantastic on him, modern and fresh and new, bringing his look to the right here, right now. And hey, I had to admit he looked pretty damn handsome to boot. Not that it bothered me how he looked, but still.

“I love it,” I told him firmly, and I reached out to fix the shoulders and dust down the front. I had never done that before in my life, but I wanted to—to touch him? That sounded a lot less creepy in my head. I stepped away swiftly, letting my hands drop to my sides, and nodded with approval at the sight of him like that.

“You look awesome,” I assured him, and he looked down at the suit, shook his head, and grinned.

“You know, I would never have thought of something like this if it hadn’t been for you,” he said. “So thanks. You saved me from getting something terrible.”

“It’s the perfect thing for whatever date I set you up on,” I remarked, and I could see his face drop slightly. I wasn’t sure why, since we had talked at length about the dating thing before. Maybe it had been a long day, and he was tired. That could be it.

“Yeah, right.” He glanced toward the changing rooms. “I’m going to take this off and get it, and then I think I owe you lunch, don’t I?”

“You sure do,” I agreed, and I watched as he made his way back into the changing room and pulled the curtain over. I gave him some privacy, wandering away to look at the pocket squares idly. I found my mind drifting to what kind of date I would send him on in a suit like that—something fancy but fun, like a tasting menu at some hip restaurant. I felt my heart twist slightly in my chest and ignored it. I was nervous about setting him up with the right woman, that was all.

He emerged with the suit and paid for it, and I linked my arm through his again as we stepped out of the shop.

“So, where for lunch?” I asked, and he grinned.

“I actually think I have the perfect place,” he told me. “I used to go there all the time before the business took off.”

“Lead on.” I waved my hand, and he took me out of the mall and down a couple of side streets, and before I knew it, I was standing outside a tiny little coffee shop with big windows and comfortable chairs scattered around the floor inside.

“I used to live not far from here when Hunter was first born,” he explained as he headed inside. “They had a better internet connection than I did back then, so I would come down here to work all the time.”

“And you rate it?”

“Best place in the city.” He pulled the door open for me and gestured for me to go in. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had held a door for me, but it was the kind of thing a girl could get used to.

We took our seats, and I ordered a coffee and something from the artisan sandwich collection they had laid out under glass at the counter. He joined me at one of the low tables and took a long sip of his latte.

“Man, being here brings me back.” He shook his head. I smiled. There was something about this day, as low-pressure and silly as it had been, that had satisfied something in me I didn’t even know was awake.

“I still can’t believe you started your own business when you were raising a newborn.” I still had no idea what had happened to Hunter’s mother and, judging by his reaction the last time I had brought it up, I had a feeling it was best for me if I kept any comments on that matter to myself.

“Me neither,” he said. “That’s what it’s like when you’re young though, right? Boundless energy all the time, and you can’t imagine anything being any different.”

“I hear that.” I raised my coffee cup to him and took a sip. It spoke well to how much I liked him that I was able to spend time around him without a glass or three of wine. The conversation flowed as easily, maybe even better, than that first night, as though both of us could relax now that we knew we weren’t trying to impress the other in a dating sense.

We chatted some more over lunch, about his work and about mine and about how I had ended up doing what I was doing. We had more in common than I’d thought, even though we were at completely different ends of the career spectrum. I would have assumed that he spent as much time as he could at work, but he told me he was working hard on being able to leave the office without stressing and spend more time with his son. I thought that was sweet as hell and likely explained why he had turned to me for dating advice. He hadn’t dated anyone since his kid came along, and I couldn’t imagine how lonely it must have been for him, raising a child when the rest of his peers were out partying and having a good time. No wonder he wanted to catch up on that life now.

“Well, I can only thank you for all your help.” He extended his hand to me when we were outside, and I laughed and knocked it away.

“That’s a little formal, don’t you think?” I teased him, and I went to give him a hug instead. He seemed a little surprised, but he lifted his arms to wrap them around me for a moment, and I inhaled the sweet scent of his aftershave, masculine and classic, like him. Expensive, like him.

I pulled away swiftly and straightened out my sweater, then returned my attention to him.

“Thanks for today,” I told him. “I had a really good time. Better than getting lunch, for sure.”

“Thanks for helping me pick out a suit that doesn’t make me look a thousand years old,” he replied, and I grinned at him.

“You know, I’m going to have to find a woman to go with that suit,” I remarked. “I feel like I know you well enough now. I’ll start putting some feelers out, see who I can find—”

“Don’t you think you should spend a little more time with Hunter and me first?” He cut me off. “Just so you know what kind of dynamic we’re working with.”

“Uh, I suppose so.” I nodded. “Actually, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let’s do that. You call me up, and we can figure something out, all right?”

“Will do.” He flashed me another one of those rare but heart-spinning smiles and turned to head off. I watched him as he went and bit my lip. I had a hard time imagining him struggling with the women, yet he had recruited me for my help. Or something else entirely.

No, I wasn’t going to let myself think like that. I was a friend doing another friend a favor. Because that was all it was—that was all I had a reason to think it was anyway. Sure, he had seemed keen to spend more time with me, but that was nothing to read into. He valued his son and wanted to make sure anyone I set him up with was going to be compatible with the kid and with their dynamic as a father-child duo. I got that. I had worked with kids my entire career, and I understood better than most people how difficult it could be to find someone who would fit comfortably into that world.

Yet, as I made my way home, I couldn’t help looking forward to seeing him again. Which was, as I said, totally crazy because it was nothing more than platonic. From both sides. Wasn’t it? Either way, I was excited to see him again. As a friend, of course.

I arrived back at my place, but my brain was still running at what felt like a mile a minute, and I struggled to keep my head straight, so I decided to give Zoe a call. She was my go-to to get this stuff right, the voice of reason when I needed it the most. And damn, but did I need it right here and now.

“What’s up?” She yawned down the line.

“How are you tired? it’s the middle of the afternoon!” I scolded her playfully.

“Hey, I had a late one last night,” she shot back. “What about you? What are you up to? Want to go out and do something?”

“No, I just got back from doing something actually,” I replied, and I could practically hear her ears perk up on the other end of the line.

“Oh?” she prompted me. “Do tell.”

“I was out with Holden, remember?” I reminded her. “We went out for lunch, and I helped him pick out a suit.”

“So you were on a date with him,” she corrected me, and I pulled a face even though she was at least a little bit right.

“I was getting to know him better—”

“By going on a date with him,” she repeated, and I laughed and shook my head.

“You’re not going to drop this, are you? We’re a couple of people looking to help each other out.”

“The truth? No, not planning to,” she replied and yawned again. I could hear the creak of her old couch as she bounced back against the pillows and waited for me to go on.

“So what happened?” she asked curiously, and I pressed my lips together. I wasn’t sure how much of this I wanted to tell her.

“Well, like I said, he needed me to help him pick out a suit, so I did, and we found something really cool,” I explained. “Then he took me to a coffee place that he used to go to when he lived in the area.”

“Yeah, that’s a date,” she confirmed. “And a cute one at that. So, what happened after that? You’re calling me for a reason, I know that much.”

“I was saying to him that I probably knew him well enough to start setting him up with people,” I explained. “But then he suggested that I spend some more time with him and Hunter first.”

“Because he wants to see you again,” she pointed out. “Because you guys are totally dating.”

“Right, yeah, I remember now,” I replied, knowing she had gotten stuck on this and that there would be no shaking her from it. “So, what did you get up to last night? Anything exciting?”

“Nothing much, but I’ll fill you in anyway,” she replied, and soon I lost myself in a conversation with Zoe about her night, about work, about the parents we couldn’t stand. But at the back of my mind, I was beginning to tip over toward Holden once again and what exactly he had planned for the three of us when we ended up together next. I couldn’t wait to find out.