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are about to get interesting.”
    “Yes, they are,” I said, watching her bounce out of the closet with a huge smile. It still bugged me that she’d made a move on Nick when he’d clearly noticed me first. Wasn’t there a girl friend code on first dibs?
    Not that I wanted dibs, necessarily—let’s face it, I couldn’t make a move in any dating direction without authorization from Patti—it just wasn’t right how Erica had jumped in front of me.
    “Back to work, people.” Steve clapped his hands. “Especially me, ugh.”
    I stood motionless, watching Steve hold his head high as he left.
    “Everything okay?”
    I jumped, not having noticed Matt come up next to me. “Not really.”
    “That’s right,” he said. “I’m sorry your date didn’t go the way you wanted.”
    “It’s okay.” Surprisingly, I found that I didn’t really miss Brad at all. Patti’d been right—I hadn’t really been in love with him. Wow. I pictured the figurative bright yellow light bulb flashing above my head. I’d been so excited about finding love that I hadn’t noticed I didn’t have it. What a confusing revelation.
    He put a hand on my shoulder. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
    My shoulder tingled from where his hand lay. “You’re a good friend, Matt.” A big part of me would rather just hang with Matt and have a good time—forget about finding love, commitment, and that whole elusive mess.
    But, I couldn’t give up on true love. That’s what my mom had done.
    Nick seemed nice. Maybe he was the type to make a relationship last. That is, if Erica didn’t snatch him up first. For the first time, I felt truly grateful that I’d have to check in with Patti. I’d tell her about Nick and let her point me in the right direction.

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    Twenty minutes before my aerobics class started, I stretched out in the aerobics room with Patti, who attended my classes at least once a week. Sitting with my legs out in front of me, I folded my chest onto my knees and decided to spill the news. “I’ve met a guy.”
    Patti stared at me blankly as if waiting for the punch line. After a few seconds, she pointed a finger. “You better not have given whoever-this-is your phone number. That would be a violation of The Boyfriend Bylaws and Betty would be mine.”
    “No, I didn’t give him my number.” I bent one knee, brought my heel to the inside of my thigh, and reached for the opposite foot. “Although he might already have it.”
    Patti twisted her body left until it cracked. “You sneak. Did you have someone else hand your number to him? I hereby invoke Rule Number Six by adding Rule Number Seven: No third party interference.”
    Darn. That had been a great loophole I’d missed. “Relax, Patti. He has my number because he just bought Totally Fit. My number must be in my employee file.” Well, assuming Rudy was that organized. I released my foot and turned to Patti. “His name is Nick. He seems like a total gentleman, not to mention he’s insanely gorgeous. Can I get permission to go on a date with him before he asks me out?”
    Patti scoffed, stretched her leg out, and reached for her right foot. “No way.”
    Why did she have to be so difficult? I was playing by her rules. “What’s the point of waiting until he asks me out, and then calling you? That’s just stupid.”
    “Why should you wait? Let’s see. Brad. Paul. Mike. Marcus. And don’t think I didn’t see the wink your co-worker, Matt, gave you at lunch today.”
    “Matt?” Sweet, intelligent and, unfortunately, enjoys-playing-the-field Matt? Remembering the way he’d smiled intimately at his lunch date made me ill. “I’m not interested in Matt.”
    “You looked awfully jealous of the girl he was with earlier.”
    “Well, she didn’t seem right for him,” I said, defensively. She was too…something I couldn’t put my finger on. Time to change the subject. “Nick is different.”
    “Oh, I’m sure.” Patti