“That’s all I ask.”
I doubled back and called out as I walked across the living room. “Chase, are you down here?”
“In the kitchen.”
I walked in and smiled at his mother who looked serene and not at all as if was something up.
“You two off on the town then?” she asked.
“Yep, I thought I’d show Lucy around and get some dinner.”
“Have fun then,” she said before wheeling off.
“Will she be fine for dinner?”
“Yes. Someone comes in to help her. She’s fine. Come on.” He had his keys in one hand, the other he placed in the small of my back, guiding me toward the front door. He was eager to go and that firm hand on my back made me feel, well, a little eager myself.
We returned to his massive garage where my poor, sick, old car sat tragically beside his expensive European luxury models. A little reminder of who I was, what my life was, and that this was merely a break from reality and nothing more.
He directed me towards a red MG.
“That’s very Austin Powers.”
“Oh, be-have!” he said, opening the door for me. “I like to think it was a little bit sophisticated and a little less comical than that.”
“We’ll see if it has the same effect on the ladies,” I started humming the theme song from the movie.
“It usually does.” There it was, that arrogance he had told me to expect.
The engine roared to life and he drove out the garage. The gates of the estate swung open and he shifted gears, and we sped towards the town. Glad I didn’t spend too long doing my hair as the wind was whipping it behind me like a mane.
And then all of a sudden we were pulling up in a narrow street beside a shingle-covered shop.
It wasn’t even a five minute drive. “We could have walked.”
“Sure, but this was more fun.” People were looking. He definitely had their attention. I didn’t know if that was the car or him. I suspected it was a little of both.
Marblehead was a quaint New England Village nestled on a headland. I knew a little of its history and importance in the American Revolution but not a lot. I like history as much as the next person, but I’m not ever going to be a girl who goes off on a Civil War re-enactment.
“Are you hungry? Still okay if we hit the pub for a drink first and then head to dinner.”
I was a guest, so of course I agreed. The pub had a restaurant and a sports bar. We headed to the bar where several men slapped Chase on the back and greeted him enthusiastically.
Lots of “hey, man’s” and “haven’t seen you lately’s”, especially from a group of men in matching baseball uniforms. “I play pick-up with these guys when they’re short a man, “he said to me. “Guys, this is Lucy.”
I felt a lot of male eyes run from my head to my toes. It would have been creepy if they weren’t so obvious about it.
“You may look, boys, but you may not touch,” Chase put his arm around my waist possessively.
I don’t know who he thought he was. If I wanted them to touch me then surely that was my business. Now, admittedly, I didn’t want that, they were a bit creepy but there was that arrogance.
“Surely that’s my decision, Manhattan.” I hissed in his ear.
He just chuckled and shook his head. “You can do better.”
I suppose that was a compliment, but what did he mean? Who and where was this better man? He surely wasn’t referring to himself. He was certainly a more arrogant man but he’d already warned me off himself.
“What can I get you to drink?”
I chose cider. I was tired and I thought my body had already ingested plenty of wine this weekend. I found a booth and he came over and sat opposite me.
“So this is your local hangout?” I asked.
“Sure, not that I’m around much, and when I am, I tend to hunker down at home, but when I need to see a familiar face and don’t want to trek all the way into Boston, then this is the spot.”
“You didn’t need to tell those boys to back off. I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He swigged his beer. “Maybe one of them could be your fake fiancé for your reunion.”
“I thought we agreed about that?”
He held up his cell phone and showed me a text message from Cherie. Damn her.
“She’s not exactly one to back away from an idea.” Of course he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Yeah, thanks for that. I’m glad the worst week of my life is fodder for your amusement,” I said, bitterly. Although, the truth was, this was probably only the second worst week of my life… which made me feel even more pathetic.
He leaned over our booth and patted my hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was laughing about the fact that Cherie is so hopeless, not about your predicament.”
“Oh, well, fine, I guess.”
“You want to tell me how you came to need a fake fiancé?”
“Not really.” I sighed.
“But you will.”
“Yeah, I probably will.” He was right. We had the whole evening to fill and I didn’t think my chances of remaining silent on the subject were all that good.
***
“Love does stupid stuff to your brain.” That’s one of the few things I remember my father telling me. It was right before he left my mother for a trapeze artist so maybe he knew of what he spoke.
Stupid stuff like allowing yourself not to see what’s in front of you. Like the way I didn’t see all along that my boyfriend and his family never thought I was good enough for him. An idea fuelled by the heretofore-mentioned runaway father and the fact that my mother then began dating—and I use the term politely—anyone in New Hampshire who would buy her dinner and take her dancing.
By then, Jacob and I had been dating a while and I guess I naively thought that he loved me enough not to care what his snooty mother thought of me. I thought the fact that I was off at college under my own steam, getting my business degree and waitressing and babysitting, proved that I was the sort of hardworking, determined girl a guy would want to be with. Sure, I wasn’t available to drop what I was doing and visit him on his campus every weekend, but plenty of long-distance relationships survived—or so my stupid, love-addled brain believed.
Right up until the time I went home for the weekend and found my boyfriend making out on the Main Street with Patty Lewis.
That meant two things: one, I was a fool, and two, the whole town knew.
That was the last time I went home. My boyfriend married my nemesis, and here I was ten years later.
***
“Ouch. That must have stung,” said Manhattan.
“Yeah, just a bit. Then again, I don’t imagine anyone dumped you because you weren’t good enough,” I raised my eyebrows in a challenge. “You’d be surprised.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Very. Anyway, that’s why, when Patty called me about the reunion, I made up a fiancé and now I’m screwed because I don’t even have a boyfriend, let alone a fiancé.”
“You’re not screwed. I already told you I’ll be your fake fiancé.”
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head. That would never work.
“What? I’m not good enough?”
“Yeah, right, Manhattan. Who’s going to believe that the guy living in the castle wants to marry the girl who lives over the pie factory?”
“Have you met Aaron and Piper? They’re in love. Why couldn’t that be us?”
“Apart from the fact that we don’t know each other, we aren’t at all attracted to each other and have nothing in common at all?”
“Yeah,” he grinned. “Apart from that irrelevant stuff, it’s completely believable. And for the record, Lucy, I am attracted to you.”
I felt the color rise in my cheeks all the way to my hairline. “Whatever. No one will buy it.”
“Of course they will. People will buy whatever you sell if you do it well enough.”
“Says th
e millionaire.”
“Exactly, and I bet there are plenty of people who want to see you walk back into town, head held high, living the dream. There’s no way that Patty and Jacob haven’t pissed off plenty of people who would love to see you beat them at their own game.”
“And how do you know that?”
“I watch TV. I see movies.” He grinned at me. “You weren’t the only one Patty screwed along the way, I bet.”
He had a point. I had had plenty of friends in high school and there were probably people who would be happy to see me happy. Still, this guy was too good to be true.
“I don’t know.”
“How about this? Let’s have dinner, hang out, and see if we can get through that without you rolling your eyes at me and calling me Manhattan and sighing when I talk.,”
“I don’t—”
He held his fingers to my lips. There was that tingle again.
“How about you try to act like you don’t find me spoiled and pretentious, and then let’s see.”
“And what will you be trying not to do?” I asked. The warmth of his touch still burned my lips.
“I will be trying not to kiss you, just like I have since last night.” He gulped down his beer and stood, then held out his hand. “Shall we go to the restaurant?”
This was so not going to end well.
The restaurant overlooked the Marina where yachts and cruisers bobbed on the water. It was a pretty spot. In fact, what I’d seen of the town was very pretty.
The maître d’ seemed to know Chase and we were escorted to a table by the window overlooking the water.
“This is romantic, isn’t it?” he asked. “Perfect for a date.”
I shook my head. Part of me was grateful for the car help, my little vacation from reality, and even the offer to be my fake fiancé, but mostly I was a bit cynical. What was in it for this guy?
It all seemed a little too good to be true.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“I was simply wondering how we ended up here.”
“It’s called fate.”
“Do you believe in fate?”
“Not really,” he said. “I believe in opportunity, luck, and hard work.”
The phone interrupted us. My niece, Katie’s, name came up on the screen.
“I have to take this, sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Chase returned his attention to the menu.
“Hi, Katykins.”
“Hi, Aunt Lucy.” Her voice sounded wobbly. “I wish you were here.”
“I know, honey. Me, too.”
“Are you really not coming back to live with us?”
“I’m really not.” I was aware that Chase was listening and I already felt as if I had shared too much of my life with this guy who effectively had been a stranger only a day ago, so I tried to talk without too many specifics.
“Please talk to Mom. I really want you to come back.”
“Is she home?”
“She’s downstairs with her boyfriend. She told us to go to our rooms.”
That didn’t sound good, but it sure did sound familiar. Exactly like our own mother back in the day, except we’d been older than Minnie’s kids.
“Well, why don’t you watch the mermaid movie? You all like that.”
“I miss you.”
“Listen, sweetie, I’m going to be staying in the apartment above the kitchen, so you can come by any day after school.”
“Tomorrow?”
“I haven’t moved in yet, but after tomorrow, any day is fine.”
“Okay.” She sighed.
“I have to go, honey. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I hung up with a heavy heart. I felt for the kids, but Minnie was right, they weren’t my kids, and I couldn’t fix this for them.
“Everything all right?” Chase asked, lowering his menu.
“Yeah, everything is just great.” I picked up my own menu to hide the tears that pricked at my eyes. This was one problem that I couldn’t solve. What to have for dinner? “So what looks good?”
Chapter 5
I had to admit I was having a good time with Chase. It was also painfully clear that I hadn’t been on a date in a really long time. I could barely remember my last one, in fact. Had it been three years ago? Or maybe only two? Either way, I was rusty. Lucky for me, Chase was clearly proficient in the art of dating. Asking attentive questions but not prying, listening to my answers, and generally appearing interested in me.
“So how did you end up working at Piper’s Pied Pies?”
“It was an accident, actually. I met Piper at O’Shaunnessy’s, our local pub, and she was setting up the first pie truck. I needed some part-time work, and she and I hit it off. Then, it turned out that my business degree was very handy as the business grew, and the role I’ve taken on, which is still hands on, has evolved into more management.”
“And is the franchise deal good for you?”
“Absolutely. I get a new title, a promotion, and shares. I’m the National Operations Manager when we go national. She had that built in to the deal.”
“That’s very exciting. Your family must be very proud of you of you.”
“I guess they will be.”
The truth was, I hadn’t even told my mother or my sister. I would have told Minnie if things at her place had been different, the way they used to be.
“And it will be very nice to go back to the reunion with that success story to tell.”
He was right about that. I knew Jacob and Patty had never left town; they were big fish in a very small pond. He worked for his dad’s accounting firm, and I really didn’t know much about her life. To be honest, I had tried very hard not to think about my hometown at all.
“That’s true. It also means I can make it a quick with a good reason. Work.”
“Sure.” He took a bite of his steak. “Of course.”
“I’m sick of talking about me. Tell me a bit about you.”
“What is there to tell? I’m named after a bank, I live in a castle, and I’m a writer.”
“You don’t like talking about yourself.” I stabbed a shrimp and popped it into my mouth.
“True.”
“Fine, I’ll ask five and you ask five. But nothing heavy or family-focused.”
“Shoot.” He sat back in his chair and laid his palms flat on the white cloth as if bracing himself.
“Well, you’ve assumed the position anyway.” I wanted to choose my questions carefully. “So… your dad?”
“That’s a family question, but I’ll answer. Deceased.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too, although we were not close. But now we never will be.”
“What about yours?”
“Ran off with the circus.”
“Seriously?”
“A trapeze artist specifically, but yes.”
“Wow. That must have sucked for you, but it’s also from a journalistic point of view very intriguing. Much better answer than mine.”
I’d never really looked at it that way. I’d seen it as sad and embarrassing, but I could see it did sound like something from a movie. “Yeah, well, it did suck but…I guess he went big.” I popped another shrimp into my mouth. “These are great. Want one?”
He stabbed one with his fork. “They are good. Next question.”
“Why did you become a writer?”
“Good one. Also a hard one. I’m working on a novel, but even I know that sounds pretentious and is hardly a full-time gig for an unpublished author. I wrote some articles in college and they got picked up, so it seemed like a good way to write for a living. I guess I’ve been lucky.”
“Sounds fun. I mean, traveling, meeting different people all the time.”
“Exactly.”
“Why did you study business?”
“Money. I figured it would pay well, translate into a lot of areas, and it was stable. I didn’t want to accrue a mass of debt for a course that would lea
ve me unemployed at the end. Also, when I started, I thought I’d be going back home and working there. Oh and I was always good at math. Lots of reasons, I guess. It felt right.”
“Makes sense. But you ended up making pies. First, I mean.”
“Yep, but that was due to family circumstances. That wasn’t a choice, really. I learned some things are more important than money.” I didn’t want to think about why I needed that job. The truth was, I had taken that job out of convenience, and when I looked back, it was the best decision I ever made. “I was lucky. I took it for the hours and convenience, and it’s turned into an unbelievable opportunity.”
“Yeah, but you girls created that opportunity.”
“It was mainly Piper. She had the vision and I was able to help.”
“From what Aaron told me, she doesn’t think she’d have realized it without you.”
“You guys were talking about me?” I wasn’t sure I liked that. I didn’t even know Aaron well myself.
“I liked you, and I don’t generally invite women I’ve never met before to my home. I know you find me arrogant, but lots of women look at me and see a meal ticket. I have to be a bit circumspect.”
“That must be tough.”
“Yeah, but it’s a first-world problem. Still, it’s an issue. Sometimes I don’t know if people like me for me or for the money.”
I gave him a slow smile. “I want you to know that, even if you were poor, I would have found you arrogant.”
He grinned, leaned back, and covered his heart with his hands. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
The waitress came to clear our plates and check on dessert. I was stuffed, and since I ate so many pies at work, I was not really a dessert girl. I wasn’t obsessed with my weight, but working with pastry every day made me conscious of it.
“You want to walk it off?”
Chase walked with his hand in the small of my back, guiding me down the street. It felt somewhat proprietary, but I had to admit it also felt really nice. I could see he would make a great boyfriend for someone. I wondered when his last relationship had ended and why. I still had some questions up my sleeve, but that seemed kind of personal.
He opened the car door for me and I lowered myself in. It wasn’t an easy car to get into without flashing some leg or having a man look down your top but I managed. We were silent on the short drive back. The sight of his home stole my breath again. It wasn’t that I was superficial; that place simply was magnificent.
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