Undateable

  A Happy Endings Novella

  Lauren Blakely

  Contents

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  About Undateable

  The good stuff!

  Author’s Note

  1. Gavin

  2. Gavin

  3. Savannah

  4. Savannah

  5. Gavin

  6. Gavin

  7. Gavin

  8. Savannah

  9. Gavin

  10. Savannah

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  Contact

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  Big Rock Series

  Big Rock

  Mister O

  Well Hung

  Full Package

  Joy Ride

  Hard Wood

  * * *

  Happy Endings Series

  My Single-Versary

  A Wild Card Kiss

  Shut Up and Kiss Me

  Kismet

  * * *

  Rules of Love Series

  The Rules of Friends with Benefits (A Prequel Novella)

  The Virgin Rule Book

  The Virgin Game Plan

  The Virgin Replay

  The Virgin Scorecard

  * * *

  Men of Summer Series

  Scoring With Him

  Winning With Him

  All In With Him

  * * *

  The Guys Who Got Away Series

  Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend

  The What If Guy

  Thanks for Last Night

  The Dream Guy Next Door

  * * *

  The Gift Series

  The Engagement Gift

  The Virgin Gift

  The Decadent Gift

  * * *

  The Extravagant Series

  One Night Only

  One Exquisite Touch

  My One-Week Husband

  * * *

  MM Standalone Novels

  A Guy Walks Into My Bar

  One Time Only

  The Bromance Zone

  The Best Men (Co-written with Sarina Bowen)

  * * *

  The Heartbreakers Series

  Once Upon a Real Good Time

  Once Upon a Sure Thing

  Once Upon a Wild Fling

  * * *

  Boyfriend Material

  Asking For a Friend

  Sex and Other Shiny Objects

  One Night Stand-In

  * * *

  Lucky In Love Series

  Best Laid Plans

  The Feel Good Factor

  Nobody Does It Better

  Unzipped

  * * *

  Always Satisfied Series

  Satisfaction Guaranteed

  Instant Gratification

  Overnight Service

  Never Have I Ever

  PS It’s Always Been You

  Special Delivery

  * * *

  The Sexy Suit Series

  Lucky Suit

  Birthday Suit

  * * *

  From Paris With Love

  Wanderlust

  Part-Time Lover

  * * *

  One Love Series

  The Sexy One

  The Only One

  The Hot One

  The Knocked Up Plan

  Come As You Are

  * * *

  Sports Romance

  Most Valuable Playboy

  Most Likely to Score

  * * *

  Standalones

  Stud Finder

  The V Card

  The Real Deal

  Unbreak My Heart

  The Break-Up Album

  * * *

  The Caught Up in Love Series

  The Pretending Plot (previously called Pretending He’s Mine)

  The Dating Proposal

  The Second Chance Plan (previously called Caught Up In Us)

  The Private Rehearsal (previously called Playing With Her Heart)

  * * *

  Seductive Nights Series

  Night After Night

  After This Night

  One More Night

  A Wildly Seductive Night

  About Undateable

  A Happy Endings Novella

  Some guys are just undateable.

  * * *

  Look, I’m all for romance novels, but life doesn’t always work out like it does in a book. Friends don’t usually turn into lovers, fake dates don’t often become more, and billionaires rarely have carved abs. I’m not a negative Nelly; I’m just a realist. As a friend and a co-worker to Gavin Sexy Pants Clements, I fit firmly in the “undateable category.” When he asks me to be his pretend date for his sister’s engagement party, I’m positive there’s no way this night will lead to a happy ending. But I’m his friend, so I say yes.

  * * *

  Then I learn the secret to how friends can become lovers…

  The good stuff!

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  Did you know this book is also available in audio and paperback on all major retailers? Go to my website for links!

  Author’s Note

  Gavin and Savannah’s romance first appeared as a short story in Instant Attraction, a free collection that was offered briefly in September 2019. Their love story has been updated, expanded and added to the Happy Endings world! I hope you enjoy their novella!

  1

  Gavin

  Truth—you will never, ever want to be set up with someone your mother claims is a perfect match.

  My mother’s been on a set-up-her-son bender since my status shifted to single a few months ago, so I naturally presume when she calls me midday on a Wednesday that she’s persisting with that plan of attack.

  I’m at work, so I step out of the booth of the recording studio owned by the indie label I work for. One of our bands is cranking on some new tunes. I swipe to answer the call.

  “Hey, what’s up, Rose?”

  “Gavin, I have exciting news!” It comes out like a song.

  I decide to toy with her since, well, that’s always fun to do. “You bought ten new flower shops. No, that’s not it. You’ve decided to build the treehouse I begged for as a kid? Wait. Nope. Lady Gaga asked you to duet with her and wants me to produce it. Am I close? Either of those would be super cool.”

  She laughs. “I’m quite content with my one flower shop. And I agree you never outgrow the love for a treehouse. But no. I’m excited because I’m throwing an engagement party for your sister.”

  “Because she found somebody who wants to marry her? I know, it shocked me too,” I say, teasing.

  “Gretchen’s very happy with Todd. And I’ve been thinking lately how wonderful it would be if you met someone who makes you as happy as Todd makes Gretchen. What do you think about that fantastic idea?” she asks in a tone that says she thinks it’s better than tiramisu, and Mom loves her espresso-drenched cakes as much as she loves matchmaking.

  She’s been relentless since I was in high school. She’d call me during college, suggesting different women in the dorms. After I graduated, she’d attempt it with ladies in the neighborhood. The fact that she set up my sister with her financial planner—Mom’s financial planner—has only fueled her belief that she knows how to mix and match her kids.

  “It’s great that Gretchen is so happy,” I say, attempting to steer the conversation.

  “Isn’t it?” Mom asks, sighing happily. “And I just thought, love is in the air, so let’s grab it, bottle it, and make it work for you.”

  She’s not only driven by her past success—singular. She’s also convinced I’m failing in life without a partner. Admittedly, I did wash a red sock with my whites a few weeks ago, but I don’t think that’s proof that it’s time for me to settle down.

  And fine, my fridge only has mustard and beer inside it, but this is New York. No one has anything but condiments and booze in their homes.

  I’m not interested in locking down my options. I had a steady girlfriend for several months until she took off recently. FOR ANOTHER GUY. Ergo, I’m not interested in commitments that might go up in flames.

  I turn and pace the other way down the hall. “I don’t know if I’m really ready for a bottle of love, Mom. But that would make a fun title for a song.”

  “Yes, tell one of your bands. Because love makes people happy. You think you’re not ready, but of course it’s time for you. Let me set you up. I’m so good at it. You know, I was an HR manager before I opened my flower shop.”

  “I know, Rose. I was literally raised by you.”

  “And being a former HR manager means I have excellent people skills,” she says, continuing to tout her setup abilities.

  I stop outside the studio, gazing in through the glass at the engineer and my empty chair. I’m one of the managers here, and I need to get back in there and manage. “Your people skills are the best, Mom. But that doesn’t mean I want to be set up.” I need to be firm with her or she’ll never let it go.

  She huffs. “How long are you going to be on this dating sabbatical?”

  “Mom, I appreciate your efforts, but I don’t have a clock. I’m going to be on the sabbatical as long as I need t
o be on the sabbatical.”

  “I understand, but I think it’s time for the sabbatical to end. And your sister’s engagement party would be a wonderful opportunity to say goodbye to your dating diet. I think Christine from Gretchen’s book club would be fantastic. She’s well-read. She’s perfect for you.”

  I furrow my brow, surprised she mentioned Christine. But then I’m delighted because I can mess with my mom. “She never reads the book club books. She admitted that to me.”

  “Hmm. How unusual.”

  “No, it’s quite usual. A lot of people fake it through book club. But don’t you want to know how I know this?”

  “Sure,” she says tentatively.

  I stop in my tracks and drop the mic. “You set me up with her, oh, say, three years ago. It didn’t work out then.”

  “Oops.” A self-deprecating chuckle comes next. “Well, isn’t that proof I’m always thinking of my son? But you’re so insistent on saying no that it makes me wonder.” She says it like a detective assembling clues. “Are you seeing someone and haven’t told me yet?”

  Oh.

  Wow.

  Holy shit.

  She’s offering me an out. And all I can think is—take it. Just fucking take it.

  “As a matter of fact, I am seeing someone.”

  When I say goodbye to Mom, I need to figure out who the hell that’s going to be.

  2

  Gavin

  Tonight, I’m having a beer with my best friend at our favorite bar in Williamsburg.

  “Now all I have to do is find someone to bring along to the engagement party,” I say, as I thank the bartender for the IPA then take a drink.

  “How about your receptionist? She’s pretty fucking foxy,” Eddie offers, lifting his glass and knocking back some of his drink.

  “The receptionist at Glass Slipper is foxy?” I ask. “She’s fifty-five years old.”

  Eddie narrows his eyes. “And you don’t think fifty-five-year-old women are foxy? Don’t be ageist, Gav. Just because you’re twenty-nine doesn’t mean a fifty-five-year-old woman can’t be foxy.”

  I hold up a hand. “Okay, I am one hundred percent not ageist, but I just had no idea you had a thing for her.”

  He shoves a hand through his floppy hair. “Dude. I have a thing for every woman.”

  I laugh as I knock back some beer. “Truth.”

  Eddie is nondiscriminatory. It’s pretty simple to be Eddie.

  He stretches his arm across the back of the barstool. “Don’t avoid the issue. We need to discuss the fact that you’re an ageist. Do I need to take you to sensitivity training? I expected better of you, man.”

  I laugh. “Yes, please. Because it’s so insensitive not to consider Sally Jo as dating material on account of the fact that she has three grown kids. Also, she’s married.”

  He snaps his fingers, frowning. “Damn. All the good ones are taken.” His expression lights up again. “Hey, how about that stripper? Angelina. Or Angelica. Or Angel. Why don’t you take her to the party and pretend she’s your date?”

  I shoot him a look like he can’t be serious. “That was you who dated the lady-cop stripper. Not me. Don’t you remember your b-day?”

  He drops his jaw. “Shit. I did date the stripper. And you know what? She was a sweetheart. A total doll.”

  “Also, her name was Lisa.”

  “Her real name was Lisa?”

  “No, her stripper name was Lisa.”

  He snaps his fingers. “Angel’s the woman who walked my friend’s ferret in Prospect Park. The stripper was Lisa. Sweet, leggy Lisa.”

  I roll my eyes as I down more of the beer. “You dated her because she was a sweetheart? Is that what you want me to believe?”

  He sighs happily as a tune by Astronaut Food floats through the neighborhood dive bar we frequent. “She was the kind of stripper you take home to Mom.”

  “My mom is not as chill as your mom,” I say.

  Eddie sets his beer on the counter, signals for another, then mimes rolling up his sleeves. I don’t think he owns a shirt with rollable sleeves; they’re all of the T-shirt variety. “Okay, let’s figure this out. Let’s get a date for the Gav-man after Denise dumped his ass.”

  I shoot him a stare. “Gee. Thanks for reminding me of that.”

  He claps my shoulder. “Hey, don’t be ashamed of being dumped. All the good guys have been dumped. I’ve been dumped. You’ve been dumped. It’s a rite of passage. I only mention the dumping because it’s going to make it that much sweeter when you find the woman you’re meant to be with.”

  Eddie is a strange mix of crass and, well, romantic. He does believe in true love. He believes it’s coming for him, for me, for everyone.

  The door to the bar opens, and in walks my co-worker and good friend, Savannah Waters. Her hair cascades down her neck to her shoulders, and her trim figure catches my eye. Eddie whips his head around and calls out to her, “Yo, Savannah. Come here.” Eddie pats the stool next to him.

  She joins us, her dark-blonde hair framing her face. “I’m meeting Emerson and Jo in a few minutes, but what can I do for you two troublemakers?”

  “Who says we’re making trouble?” I ask with an I’m so innocent smile.

  She arches one eyebrow, and the look on her face is a little flirty. “Isn’t that what you do?” she asks. “You cook and stir it up like a couple of chefs.”

  “We have a vat brewing in the back,” Eddie says.

  “Just add a little sriracha.” She leans against the bar. “Some hot sauce and I’ll have it like soup.”

  I hold up a hand. “I want this trouble soup, especially if it’s extra spicy.”

  She gives me a droll look. “Always spicy. I always like it spicy. That’s my mantra.”

  Mine too. Food, sex, you name it.

  Briefly I wonder if Savannah likes it spicy or sweet in the bedroom, but then I strip that thought from my mind. We’re friends, and I’m not looking for anything more.

  Eddie waves a hand, big and bold. “I got it!” He clamps the hand on Savannah’s shoulder. “Ask Savannah to be your date.”

  3

  Savannah

  I’ve kind of, maybe, sort of had a thing for Gavin for a long time.

  As in, since I started working at Glass Slipper Records a couple years ago, handling PR for a number of our top acts. It’s not just a looks thing, because I’m not just a looks gal.

  But he has those. Oh hell, does he have a fabulous face, with strong cheekbones, yummy blond hair, and bright eyes that mesmerize me.

  But looks fade.

  What caught my eye and still ignites my brain is the way he holds the door for me and how we can endlessly obsess over music together, and the fact that he loves to try new food trucks at the farmers market near our office.

  Plus, he remembers my coffee order. And I don’t know why that’s some magical thing guys do, but it feels like it is. When a guy bothers to remember your coffee order and that you like your Thai food extra spicy, and thinks you would love this cool new girl band Glass Slipper signed (and he’s right)—that’s the someone you should be thinking of as boyfriend material.