Miss Matched [COMPLETED]

4. Simon

I'm not sure what sort of greeting I expected. Not a good one, which is why I brought Rex. To realize I've been nicknamed Fucking Simon, as though I'm some sort of plague, is a bit much.

"Nice to see you again, Ruby." I tuck my phone back into my pocket and gesture to Rex who is in danger of achieving liftoff with his wagging tail. "Can I let him loose?"

Tayla's brown eyes, which widened from shock when she saw me, transformed to granite when realized Ruby heard me, now soften into oozing chocolate when she gazes at my dog. Seven years ago, she helped me pick him out of his litter. "Aw, Rexie. At least I'm happy to see you." She crouches on the ground, her dark ponytail swinging onto her shoulder, and Rex bounces his front paws in excitement but doesn't leave my side.

When I drop the leash, he bounds toward her, slurping her face as she laughs. "Aw, look at you." He sits in front of her, preening. She takes one of his paws in her hand and stares into his eyes. If it's possible for a dog to have the look of love, he's got it. "Has dickhead Simon been looking after you okay?"

"Actually," I say, undeterred. She's got a right to be angry. As long as she talks to me, I'll let her call me dickhead for years. "I have documentation which proves I am, in fact, Soulmate Simon. Might be the alliteration throwing you off."

"Yes," Tayla says, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "The alliteration is the problem. It wouldn't be because whenever I look at you, I see a giant dick where your head should be."

I pretend to think about her comment as I shove both hands into my pockets. "You know, I always suspected you had a penis fetish, but this visualization work you're doing is next level."

Her cheeks turn pink, and her jaw tightens. Rex whines and nudges her hand. "To be clear, the penis I am picturing in place of your head is neither yours nor is it attractive."

"So, what I'm hearing is that you think my penis is attractive? Well, this conversation has taken quite a—"

"Stop!" Ruby holds up both of her hands, her eyes closed. "Please, it's not scientifically possible to scrub my brain of memories yet." She cracks open one narrowed eye. "Is it?"

"It is not," I confirm.

"Great." Ruby huffs. "Here's the recap." She points at me. "So, you're a douche. You're not her match. There was some kind of mistake at the company." She swirls her hand around as though she's erasing me from the room. "We're working with them to find out how a glitch this awful could have happened and so we can get Tayla the right match."

"A glitch?" I frown. That might explain the other three emails I received over the last few years. Well, at least two of them. They're making pretty expensive mistakes if that's the case.

"You didn't email me back, did you?" Tayla stiffens, but she's still stroking Rex.

"Why does that matter?" Did that matter? None of the other women asked me that question. Of course, I did email them back just to meet and explain I was not their soulmate. Emailing Tayla wasn't necessary. She planned to open this office with Mike after veterinary school, and she was almost done when we broke up. Tracking her down had been a breeze...and a floodgate of suppressed memories. I've tried so hard not to think about her, about how stupid I was.

Tayla frowns and shrugs. "No reason."

Evasive. I narrow my eyes. Easy enough to force her hand. I whip out my phone and open my mail app. "I can email you back right now, if it's that important to you."

"No!" She shakes her head, the ponytail almost whipping her in the face. "No, no, nope. We're good. No need."

I narrow my eyes. "It's probably best to close the loopholes, what with the glitch. I wouldn't want anyone to think I wasn't contacted." I may not have seen her for six years, but she hasn't gotten any better at bluffing.