I sat up and crossed my legs under me.

Me: Plants brighten a room. And yes, I like to garden. I move too much for it though.

Justin: So the same thing really happens to you? The good luck charm thing?

Me: It does. So why are reporters trying to figure out your secret identity?

He typed for a minute, and I dabbed on some lip balm while I waited.

Justin: Because everyone wants to know who the guy who can guarantee you a happy ever after is. I don’t think anyone even cared about the rest of the story. The good luck charm part was what made it viral.

Me: I could see that.

Justin: My DMs are off the hook. I had to turn off notifications, it was driving me bonkers. I only answered you because you said the same thing happens to you and I figured you weren’t trying to date me just to break up with me.

I laughed. Again.

I looked at the time. It was late.

Me: I have to go to bed. I have another twelve-hour shift tomorrow.

Justin: Okay. Nice chatting with you.

I smiled.

Yeah, you too.

CHAPTER 2 JUSTIN

I spotted Brad and Benny at the back of the restaurant and made my way over.

“Finally,” Brad said as I slid into the maroon booth. “You know some of us have limited lunch breaks, dick.”

“Sorry, I had to give Brad his dewormer. I brought some for you too. Faith said you’ve been dragging your ass on the carpet?”

Benny snorted and Brad tried to keep his face serious, but he couldn’t.

My best friend was in a Hawaiian shirt and pink cargo shorts. He was a general manager at Trader Joe’s. I missed not having to go to the grocery store now that he had moved out. Actually, I missed a lot of things now that Brad had moved out. Like having another human to talk to, even if it was this one.

I plucked a mozzarella stick off the appetizer platter they’d ordered and dipped it in marinara. “What’s good here?”

“The wings,” Brad said.

“How did I know you were going to say that?”

Brad got wings at every restaurant we went to, without fail. He’d get wings at a sushi place if they had them.

Benny nodded at the menu. “The burgers are good. They make their own buns.”

“Oh cool,” I said, taking off my jacket. “How’s Jane?”

“Good. She says hi.”

Brad put an arm over the back of the booth. “Yeah, Faith says hi too. And to rename your fucking dog.”

“Nope.” I made a popping noise on the P while I grabbed the menu. “It’s viral. I can’t back down now, where would my principles be?”

“That Reddit thing’s still going?” Benny asked.

“Yeah, pretty much,” I said, talking while I looked at the menu. “I think it hit TikTok the other day, so it started up again. It’s been nonstop all week.”

“What are people saying?” Benny asked.

I laughed a little. “Mostly that I’m not the asshole.” I looked directly at Brad, and he smirked.

“A few people told me I should have sued you for breach of contract.” I laughed at this. Never. “A bunch of comments said we’re both assholes.”

“This is true,” Brad said, looking at his phone. “We are assholes. But only to each other. It’s the foundation of our friendship.”

“I had a bunch of girls ask if I’d date them and break up with them so they can find their soulmate,” I said, amused, perusing the burger options.

“Are you gonna do it?” Brad asked. “Offer your services?”

I scoffed. “No.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“They only want to date me to break up with me. I have like two hundred messages right now and they’re all the same.”

“What if there’s someone cool in there?” Benny chimed in.

I gave him a look. “Someone cool who wants to break up with me? Before we’ve even met? I’m a novelty. A fun story to tell their friends. They got to date the good luck charm guy from Reddit. No thank you. Besides, my streak’s not even a real thing.”

“As someone on the benefiting end of it, I’m gonna tell you, it’s real,” Brad said.

“It’s a series of coincidences,” I said. “There is nothing magical about any of it.”

Brad shook his head. “Look, you can believe whatever the heck you want. But when I met Faith, and I mean the second I laid eyes on her, it was like I got hit by a truck. It was the same way for her. You’re ferrying women to their happily ever afters. You could charge for this shit.”

“Oh, now you tell me,” I said, slapping the menu shut. “I could have used the extra twelve hundred bucks last month.”

He flipped me off.

I grabbed another mozzarella stick. “You know, I actually did sort of meet somebody from it.”

Benny looked interested. “You did? Who?”

“Just some girl. A nurse. She messaged me a few days ago. Said she’s got the same thing I do.”