She wished she'd never agreed to this.

It was only to get Toby off her back. He had already signed her up and paid her entry fee. To back out seemed like...what were his exact words? A big fat red flag that she wasn't over her genius ex.

And regardless of whether or not that was true, she was hardly going to give Toby the satisfaction of believing it was.

It wouldn't have been so bad if Happy was there as her wingwoman. The mechanic had staunchly refused and was not at all moved by her pleading. Jerk.

Paige took a deep breath and moved one seat over. So far, she'd been paired with a pushy sales guy who consistently talked over her, a man whose tan line was still visible where he had removed his wedding ring, and a taxidermist who stared at her like he wanted to use her skin for a special project.

Speed dating was an absolute, abject failure.

Greg was an accountant. A fairly attractive if generically handsome man who immediately complimented her blue top. He seemed nice. She nodded, making uh-huh noises at the appropriate times while not truly grasping anything he was saying. A skill she'd picked up after hearing Drew drone on about baseball strategy for years.

Paige smiled, grateful when the bell chimed and Greg didn't ask to continue the conversation.

Only four more to go, by her calculations. Another deep breath. Another move.

She choked on the breath.

"Paige?" He looked just as utterly startled to see her. Walter glanced around uncomfortably, as if he was formulating an exit strategy, before tentatively sitting across from her. "What are you doing here?" they both asked at the same time.

"Oh. Um…" She cleared her throat, suddenly feeling a thousand degrees hotter and assuring herself that it was just embarrassment and anger. Nothing else. "Toby paid for my spot. He wouldn't shut up about it...you know how he is." Paige pressed her lips together. He looked...it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore. "Why are you here? Where's Florence?" she asked to break the spell.

Walter's face contorted. "Florence? Why would…" His confounded expression dropped, and he cocked his head. "Oh. I don't...I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Well, we don't talk outside of business hours. So no. I don't know what she does in her personal time."

"Okay." Paige desperately wanted to dig further, to know with complete clarity that he meant they weren't together. But she was too scared of the answer. Just like that night at the garage, when it had been easier to walk away not knowing than to know for sure and lose any remaining shred of doubt. "We don't have to do this, Walter. Let's just move to the next one."

"I tried that earlier. Ginnie the event organizer was not agreeable. It made the last three minutes of my conversation with Megan the personal trainer exceedingly awkward."

Paige stifled a laugh. He was still the only person she knew whose everyday observations were far funnier than his intentional jokes.

"I don't know why I came," the genius said, shaking his head. "I should've told Cabe I wasn't interested."

She narrowed her eyes. "Cabe wanted you to come?"

"Yes. He'd already made all the arrangements and paid the-." Walter's eyes widened as the realization hit him. "Oh."

"I can't believe they would…" Paige snickered despite herself. "Actually, I one hundred percent believe that they would conspire against us."

"We've been bamboozled." They shared a smile, the first genuine smile she'd seen on either of them since the night she realized he was hiding something. The memory of their last truly happy moment together killed the mood and she swallowed, looking away. "Paige? Are you okay?"

"Toby and Cabe shouldn't have gotten involved. It's not their place," she said shortly. "It was good to see you, Walter. But I should go."

"N-No. Don't," Walter insisted, standing before she had a chance to do so. "It was good to see you too, Paige. Please enjoy the rest of your night."

He didn't wait for her to respond. When the bell finally rang again, it felt like she'd been sitting in that seat for hours.

Her makeup was ruined. Paige was glad she'd managed to wait until the last date ended before practically sprinting to her car. Not that anyone had been worth the effort anyway.

Maybe they were. Maybe there was a genuinely good guy hidden among all those creeps and bores. She would never know, not after Walter had unwittingly waltzed in and torpedoed her chances of thinking about any man that wasn't him tonight.

She almost wished he had set off the sprinklers or knocked out the power to sabotage her dates. Reminded her of how petty and immature he could be instead of leaving so she still had a chance to meet someone. Someone else.

She didn't want someone else. After her surprise at being face-to-face with him again had faded, she felt...relieved. He was her comfort in an uncomfortable place. Somehow, that hadn't changed.

Damnit.

Paige wiped at her eyes, trying to pull herself together enough to drive home and maybe cry more in the privacy of a hot shower. She would give Toby a piece of her mind in the morning, along with a potential hard kick to the shin for putting her through one of his harebrained schemes.

The tap on her window scared her senseless, but the familiar face helped bring her adrenaline levels back down to non-lethal levels. "What the hell, Walter?" she snapped as she opened the door.

"I'm sorry," he said gently, squatting down until he was slightly below her eye level. "I didn't intend to scare you."

"It's fine. What are you still doing here? I thought you left half an hour ago."

"Oh. Um…" His face flushed, his slightly guilty expression alerting her to the fact that he wasn't proud of whatever he was going to say next. "I w-wanted to make sure you got to your car okay. There were a few people in there who didn't seem incredibly...trustworthy...it doesn't matter. You were visibly upset and you didn't leave right away. I was concerned. I am concerned."

The kindness in his tone was too much for Paige and she buried her face in her hands, her voice muffled when she said, "Tonight has been mortifying."

"Why were you crying? Did something happen inside? Please tell me."

It seemed impossible that he didn't know. But of course he didn't. Not after she made it sound like she'd been counting the seconds until she could get out of their relationship because every single thing he did made her miserable.

And now she actually was miserable. Funny how things turned out, right?

Hilarious.

"You know what happened," she said softly, shifting her position to face him.

"I don't…" Paige raised her eyebrow and Walter looked startled for the second time that night. "B-But I thought…"

"I was so angry. And humiliated. I don't even remember most of what I said that night." She tucked her hair behind her ear, aware that she was an un-hot mess at the moment but too exhausted to care much. "You were afraid I would get bored with you. I was afraid of the same thing. When it seemed like you'd gotten there first, I decided to make it even."

Walter was silent for a long moment, processing her admission. "I really wanted you to be happy with me."

"I was. More than you probably think."

"I was happy with you. There are things I wish we'd done differently, but you were…" He rested his hand on her knee, cautiously at first, then more firmly as she trapped it with her palm. "What does that mean?"

"Hell if I know," Paige shrugged. "Maybe we can use that genius brain of yours to figure it out?"

"Well, we didn't really give our speed date a chance," he said with a melting half-grin. "I suggest getting a booth at Kovelsky's and in five-minute increments, we can decide if we want to continue."

She smiled, tilting her head against the seat. "Sounds...weirdly perfect."