Four Last First Dates

by Kate O'Keeffe

  “Brushing,” she repeats, enacting a brushing movement with her hand in case I missed her point. “Fluffy, he has very long fur. Very old cat, very old. Needs brush every day. Your mother not so good at it, no?”

  My mouth drops open. She knows about the cat’s grooming requirements?

  “Wh-what else does she say?”

  Kosmic Kandi’s middle-aged face creases into a small smile. “I do reading now?”

  I let the curtain drop behind me and return to the seat. The last thing I expected was for her to mention how my mom forgets to brush Nana’s old cat. It’s unsettling and a whole lot more specific than I’d expected.

  I take some cash out of my purse.

  She pockets it with a nod of acknowledgement. She shakes her hands out and places them a couple of inches above the ball in the center of the table. She closes her eyes, her upturned face illuminated by the glowing lights.

  I wait for her prediction. I tell myself it’s so I can get the heck out of here, but I’m thrown. Nana’s question plays on my mind.

  Are you happy with the way you live your life?

  I tap my foot on the ground. Of course I’m happy. I’ve got my friends and my career at Sefton’s Recruitment Agency, which I know is going to take off soon. Sure, my bestie is getting married next month, and I’m barely dating, let alone in that place. But I’m happy. Super happy. And anyway, it’s probably just some standard line the psychic uses when she thinks she may lose her eighty-five bucks.

  Isn’t it?

  Kosmic Kandi opens her eyes and levels me with her gaze. “You come looking for answer. You come looking for love. Your heart is ready, but you do not know it yet.”

  I shift in my seat, uncomfortable. More than anything, I want to meet the right guy, to create my own little family, my own little world.

  “He is out there. His heart is ready for you. He does not have your,” she waves her hand in the air, “blockages.”

  “Blockages? You make me sound like a clogged sink.”

  She waves my joke away with a flick of her wrist. “You cannot hide from your true feelings. You keep everything inside, in here.” She balls her hands into fists and places them against her ribs. “You must open your eyes, see what your heart knows you need.”

  “Sure. Great. Someday I’ll meet the guy I’m going to marry.” It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see I’m hiding behind my flippant tone.

  “No. You misunderstand,” Kosmic Kandi snaps. “He is ready for you, and he is out there.” She points to the entranceway.

  “Out there?” My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline. The man of my dreams, the one who will expertly deal to my “blockages,” is standing outside this tent, just waiting for me to step outside so he can sweep me off my feet?

  Yeah, and there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

  “You do not believe here,” she taps the side of her head, then moves her hand to her chest, “but you must believe here. Deep inside, you know what the truth is. He is ‘the one,’ your soulmate, your love.”

  I nod, wanting so much to believe her—all the while reminding myself I don’t go for this kind of gimmicky crap.

  She leans across the table toward me. “Listen carefully. Before the sun progresses into Libra, you will have locked eyes with him, and you will know. Make sure your heart is open.” She closes her eyes. “I can see him now. He will be dressed in blood-red orange, his eyes as green as a tropical ocean. He is waiting.” She opens her eyes and squares me with her gaze. “You go now. It will happen. Much sooner than you think.”

  I blink at her, not quite believing my eighty-five dollars bought me about eighty-five seconds of this woman’s time. “That’s it?”

  She leans back in her seat and nods in reply.

  I collect my purse from the floor and stand up. “Err, thanks.”

  Kosmic Kandi doesn’t reply.

  I find the curtain, pull it open, and step through the dark entranceway and out into the warm, bright sun. I squint, shielding my eyes with my hands. I look around, testing out Kosmic Kandi’s prediction. Fisherman’s Wharf is teeming with people, as it always is on the weekend, but other than a girl in an orange tank top, there’s not a single guy dressed in the required color.

  So much for “the one” being right outside the tent.

  I spot Ashley a few feet away, reading something on her phone. I make my way through the crowd.

  She looks up at me, her face creasing into a grin. “Oh, there you are! How was it? You have to tell me everything.”

  I search my brain, looking for a way to describe what just happened. I mean, how do I tell my friend I went into that tent as the die-hard Queen of Cynicism and came out as . . . what? A believer?

  No, definitely not. Fluffy the cat was a lucky guess. And meeting the man of my dreams before the sun moves into Libra—whenever that is—well, that’s just the kind of stuff people want to hear.

  I don’t let myself think about Nana.

  “I guess it was surreal. But probably a load of crap.”

  Her eyes widen. “Probably? You mean there’s a possibility you might believe her?”

  I shake my head.

  “You’ve got to tell me everything.”

  “She knew about Nana’s cat.”

  She raises her eyebrows. “Fluffy?”

  I nod.

  “That’s amazing! How could someone know about Fluffy? She’s got to be the real deal. Did she say anything about your career, whether you’re going to meet the man of your dreams, anything?”

  “She said some stuff.” I try to pull myself back to reality, my head full of the psychic’s words.

  “Jake? What are you doing here?” Ash exclaims, her eyes focusing past me.

  I glance up as Ash’s big brother collects her in one of those hugs siblings specialize in—friendly but almost a wrestle kind of thing.

  Jake puts his little sister back on the ground. “I’m meeting some of the guys before the game. Your fiancé included. You?”

  “Hanging out, our usual Sunday. Oh, and Taylor’s just been to see a psychic.”

  He raises his eyebrows at me. “You? Tay Tay the Cynic?”

  I throw my eyes to the sky. Jake Harrison always uses my childhood nickname from when I was, like, seven. I’m sure he does it just to annoy me. And it usually works.

  This time, I let it slide. I’m kinda knocked sideways right now. I couldn’t think of one of my usual witty retorts if you promised me a life-supply of chocolate. Instead, I simply shoot him a sarcastic smile as I look up into a pair of teasing green eyes, set in a handsome face with a square jaw, smiling down at me.

  Wait. Green eyes . . . as green as a tropical ocean? I take another furtive glance. Yup, definitely. How had I never noticed those? My breath catches. Quickly, I look down at his shirt. Kosmic Kandi said blood-red orange. Jake’s is navy and white checks. I let out a puff of air.

  Huh. It’s not Jake Harrison. Which is a good thing. His family is my family, after all. Messing that up for a playboy like Jake would be, well, it wouldn’t be worth even thinking about.

  So why do I feel a sudden stab of disappointment?

  I chance another glance at his face. He’s still looking at me with those green eyes, his features serious, questioning. Something stirs inside me. It feels . . . new. Nice.

  Nice and wrong wrong wrong.

  “You okay there, Tay Tay?” he asks.

  I blink, breaking the spell, pushing stupid, inappropriate thoughts away. Stupid, inappropriate thoughts that would wreak havoc in my world. I force a smile. “Of course.”

  “Oh, she has a lot to tell me. Don’t you, Taylor?”

  I nod.

  “We’re going to get some burgers.” She hooks her arm through mine. “Catch you later?” Ash says to her brother.

  Jake returns his attention to his sister. “Sure. Enjoy your last single girl girl-date.”

  I try not to watch as he walks away. Fail. I bite my lip. What has gotten i
nto me? Not only have I started believing Kosmic Kandi about the green eyes and orange shirt, but I’m sizing up Jake Harrison as a contender? Jake Harrison—my almost-brother, the guy who’s seen my prepubescent self in all its dorky glory, the guy who only thinks of me as his kid sister’s friend?

  I push my hair behind my ears. No way. Not going there. This psychic stuff is all a big fat hoax, and I’m a fool to even think of entertaining the idea of some guy with green eyes in an orange shirt sweeping me off my feet.

  I just need to keep reminding myself that.

  *

  You can preorder your copy of The Right Guy here. It’s released on March 4, and it’s only 99 cents right now.

  Acknowledgments

  As always with a new title, I have lots of people to thank! First up has got to be my family. You are so supportive of me and my obsession with all things to do with writing. Thank you for the cups of tea, the chocolate bars, the encouragement, the patience. You rock!

  Thank you to my new editor, Karan Eleni at Karan & Co. Author Solutions. Working with you has been a breeze, and your suggestions and tweaks have helped make this title what it is: something I’m very proud of. Thanks also to the talented Sue Traynor, who designed all the beautiful book covers in this series. I adore them!

  Thank you to my wonderful, super-smart beta reading team: Leanne Mackay, Julie Crengle, Kirsty McManus, Jackie Rutherford, Mary Smith, and Claire Tanton. Your advice is invaluable to me, and my books are better because of you.

  Thank you to the incredibly supportive writers’ groups I belong to, specifically Chick Lit Chat HQ and the Hawke’s Bay chapter of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. Your support is invaluable in this wild world of writing.

  And lastly, but definitely not least, thank you to you, my readers. Without you, I wouldn’t be writing, and I so love to do this! Please keep reading, and I promise to keep writing.

  About the Author

  I am a bestselling author of fun, feel-good romantic comedies and chick lit. I live and love in beautiful New Zealand with my family, two scruffy dogs, and a cat who thinks he's a scruffy dog, too. He's not: he's a cat.

  When I’m not penning my latest story, I can be found hiking up hills (slowly), traveling to different countries around the globe, and eating chocolate. A lot of it.

  My books include the Wellywood Romantic Comedy Series: Wedding Bubbles, Styling Wellywood, Miss Perfect Meets Her Match, and Falling for Grace, and the Cozy Cottage Café Series: One Last First Date, Two Last First Dates, Three Last First Dates, and Four Last First Dates, plus standalone titles, One Way Ticket and I'm Scheming of a White Christmas. Romantic Comedy The Right Guy is due to release on March 4.

  All my books are available from Amazon to buy or to read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

  Right now, I’m working on a fun new rom com series, so sign up to my newsletter to hear about it and find out about competitions, advanced copies, and great deals on books.