On paper, we never made sense.

He’s always wanted a family; I never even planned to get married. He surfs and hikes, bikes and runs; I hate sand and sun, and run only if death is the alternative or procuring coffee requires it. He’s an extrovert and charms everyone he meets; I like dogs more than people. He’s always down to dance with every grandma, drunk bridesmaid, and adorable flower girl at a wedding; you could not forcibly peel me from the wall during the “Cha Cha Slide.” He works to live; I live to work.

But when I surprised everyone and took a long weekend to attend my cousin’s wedding in Las Vegas, all it took was hearing his laugh from across the banquet hall for everything I thought I knew about myself to change.

Our eyes met, and his smile faltered for just a breath before he turned to the heavily tattooed man he was talking to, said something, and then made his way across the room to me, his eyes locked on mine. When he was only a foot away, I registered how tall he was, how broad, how attractive.

Shit.

I wanted to find some visible flaw. I couldn’t.

Beneath my sternum, an anxious lever flickered desperately, begging the universe to let me not fuck it up. I’d never been good at meet-cutes; my best friend had long since stopped bothering to set me up on blind dates. The first time, I apparently turned the guy off by talking about botflies while he tried to eat his orzo. I pissed the next one off by correcting his use of “less” when he meant “fewer.” Then there was the guy who talked the entire meal about the mountain of supplements I should be taking—and could I use his referral code at checkout?—before asking about my gym routine. Joke’s on him: I don’t even know where the nearest gym is. The final nail in the blind-date coffin was the one that ended before we’d even ordered entrees. It started out fine, but then he mentioned his favorite book was American Psycho. I knew my time would be better spent back in the lab. For, like, forever.

So that’s what I did, and gave up on dating entirely. My job was the best partner I could ask for anyway.