Any Way You Dream It

by Monique McDonell

  “I like to think it’s because I’m not ready for a relationship and neither are the women I hook up with. So we have some fun and then get on with our lives. I’ve told you, I’m not a relationship guy, and I never pretend otherwise.”

  “Except with me.”

  “Yes, but I’m pretending with you, not to you, so that’s a whole other ball of wax.”

  He had me there. “I still don’t get how you know.”

  “I just do.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Now let’s take our lunch outside and enjoy the sunshine.”

  ***

  “I’ve got one.”

  “One what?”

  “Question.”

  “Oh, right. We didn’t finish them all last night.” We were lying on the front of the boat after an awesome chicken lunch. Chase’s long tanned legs were stretched out before him and his hands were beneath his head. His sunglasses obscured his eyes, but did nothing to obscure the fact that he looked incredibly natural and comfortable and very, very hot. Cherie had been right about that.

  “If you could go anywhere in the world, where you would you go?” he asked.

  “That’s easy. Paris in a heartbeat. I’ve always wanted to go and it looks so romantic, and the food and, well, I bet you’ve been, so I guess I don’t need to tell you...”

  “True and it is an excellent choice.” He had a wistful look in his eye.

  I had a little account where I put some money every week that I’d named The Paris Account. I didn’t need to share that with him. I’d been pretty close to my goal when my sister threw me out. Still, the amount of money I gave her for board and the extra I spent on the kids and food meant I probably wouldn’t be that much worse of paying rent.

  I would get to Paris.

  “Paris is a magical city, there’s a reason like people say so. Day or night, summer or winter, it has something to for everyone.”

  “Where would you pick?”

  “Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I think the Galapagos Islands.”

  I didn’t really know anything about the Galapagos Islands, so I just nodded rather than show my ignorance. “Why?”

  “You know, nature and all that,” he said.

  “Of course.” Note to self: google the Galapagos.

  It fell silent again. Silence with Chase was easy. I thought about my interactions with men and realized that, apart from my late brother-in-law Joe, I hadn’t spent a lot of time with men over these past few years. I was used to the incessant chatter of my nieces and nephews and the companion ship of my girlfriends. Chase didn’t seem to have a need to fill those empty spaces, and it was refreshing.

  I laid back and listened to the water lap at the boat, the clink of the anchor chain, and the whip of the wind through the air.

  Then I felt Chase’s hand squeeze mine. “This is nice, right?”

  “This is very nice.” I replied. So nice that a girl could get very used to it very fast.

  We pulled up in front of the castle, and I felt a bit like Cinderella. Pretty soon the clock would chime midnight, Prince Charming would disappear, and I’d be back to my imperfect reality.

  “Penny for your thoughts.”

  “Do people still say that?”

  “I do.”

  “I was just thinking what a fun and unexpected weekend this turned out to be.”

  “For me too, Lucy.” He gave me that panties-melting smile that I was sure had gotten him into and out of an awful lot of trouble over the years. “I guess we all get caught in a rut. It’s good to shake it up a bit.”

  “What would you have done had you not been busy rescuing me this weekend?”

  “Mainly writing, I guess. You?”

  “I have no idea.” That was the truth. I had only wanted to get through last week; I had made no other plans. “This was an unexpected bonus.”

  “So you still don’t want to tell me what happened to leave you without a permanent residence? I know you said you had been living with your sister.”

  “Not really, well not the details. Why ruin a nice day with a sad story? Let’s simply say we had a difference of opinion.”

  “A girl after my own heart, light on the facts.” he said, getting out of his car. “Let’s get all your stuff loaded and get you settled in your new place, then.”

  I had a feeling my life was about to remain unsettled for the next couple of weeks while Chase was a part of it.

  Very unsettled indeed.

  Chapter 7

  Chase looked like a cartoon character because he had so many of my bags under his arms as he headed up the stairs to my new home.

  I raced ahead to turn on the lights and make sure there was a clear path. I’d always liked Piper’s old apartment because it had a cozy, welcoming feel, but today, it seemed so tiny. That’s what happened when you spent a weekend in a castle; everything looked small and a little bit less sparkly for a little while afterwards.

  Chase almost dropped the bags as he reached the top of the stairs. “Those bags are much heavier than they look.”

  “Sorry. I have a lot of books. I did try to warn you.” But he’d gone all macho on me and insisted he could manage.

  “What kind of a fiancé would I be if I let you carry your bags in, Lucy?”

  “Given some of the men I know, probably a reasonably normal one.” I unlocked the door. “Still, I appreciate your efforts, and really, since it’s just us, there’s no need to pretend to be my fiancé right now.”

  “I’m getting into the role.” He grinned at me and my heart did an involuntary skip.

  “Method actor, huh?”

  “Something like that.”

  He took a moment to look around the small apartment. It was decorated with an eclectic mix of second-hand furniture and IKEA specials. Piper had livened it up with bright colors, but it was essentially one big room with a bathroom off to the side. The main room was divided by a screen. There was a kitchen, a living room, and a small dining table on one side, and the bedroom was on the other.

  “This is nice. It makes me feel young again. Like I’m back in college.”

  “I bet your dorm looked nothing like this.”

  “True, but despite your pre-conceived notion that I only hung-out with other trust-funded babies, I did know a wide variety of people in college and many of them had rooms like this.”

  “I guess.” I looked around the room again. It was huge compared to the room I’d been living in at my sister’s and my dorm room in college. Come to think of it, this was my first apartment. I didn’t think I’d share that with Chase.

  “I guess I better go and let you settle in then.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I might need to do a grocery run and work out what I do and don’t have.” And what I was doing with my life from now on.

  “Fine, but before I go, I just want to make sure: I’m in for the fake-fiancé gig right?”

  “If you want to be. I don’t want you to feel like you have to. Why don’t you think on it?”

  “Nothing to think about. I said I’d do it and I’m happy to.”

  I didn’t know why Chase wanted to help me. I’d already made it plain as day that he and I were not going to happen. “Thanks.”

  “Good. That’s settled.” He brushed his hands. “Well, I’m off. I’ll call you later.” He walked out the door.

  He took the stairs at a clip and then he was gone.

  I was alone.

  I dragged my suitcase to the bed and unzipped it. I wasn’t used to being alone. Since I’d moved to Boston to help Minnie and her family, I’d barely had a moment alone. Now here I was with my own space and no clue how to fill it.

  The silence was palpable as I pulled open a drawer and shoved in some clothes.

  I needed some time alone to work out what to do next and how I could get some of my energy back. I knew I was being negative and that was not going to help anyone. I wasn’t sure what was most frustrating for me: that I had let my sister get under my skin and force my hand, o
r whether I’d let Patty get under my skin and force me to create a fake fiancé.

  I suppose in Patty’s case, the truth was, it was all me. She had caught me at a bad time and pushed my buttons… but why had I let her? I was a grown-up, so why did I care what she thought? I didn’t still love Jacob after all. I didn’t want him back, I didn’t want her life, and truthfully, I was exceedingly happy that life had taken me out of my hometown. I loved my job, and I had good friends. Why wasn’t that enough?

  Well that was easy to answer. Growing up with our mother meant two things: one, the whole town felt sorry for me, and two—which was even worse—my own mother thought you were pitiful if you didn’t have a man.

  All of which brought me back to my sister. She had that same soundtrack in her head. She needed a man and at any price. Which was, of course, why I was now unloading my very boring underwear into the dresser?

  I bet Chase didn’t date women with generic cotton undergarments. Why was I thinking about Chase? That man was never—never—going to see me in mine. I wasn’t changing for a fiancé, fake or otherwise.

  I didn’t have too long to think about it when I heard high heels on the stairway. That could only mean I was about to be graced with Cherie’s appearance.

  “Hey, girl.”

  “Hey Cherie,” I said, turning to see her standing there with a couple of shopping bags of food. And a large bunch of flowers.

  “Welcome home.” She thrust the flowers at me and placed the groceries on the table. “I figured you and Chase didn’t spend the weekend grocery shopping, so I thought I’d help out.”

  That was incredibly thoughtful, which I told her. “I was thinking I’d better drag myself out and get bread and milk; now I don’t have to. Thanks.”

  “Why would you want to ruin a fabulous weekend doing that?”“What makes you think the weekend was fabulous?”

  “Hello? You spent it with Chase—who is hot—in his very nice house on the coast. It doesn’t take Einstein to figure it would be fabulous.” She began unloading the groceries for me as I imagined she’d done more than once for Piper when she’d lived here. Cherie wasn’t the sit-back-and-watch kind of friend, much more the get-into-the-action type.

  “I have to admit, it was a pretty nice change of pace.”

  “The weekend or Chase?”

  “Both.”

  “See? I knew you two were perfect for each other.”

  Oh, she was in full matchmaking mode. I could tell by the satisfied smile on her gorgeous face. She, Piper, and I couldn’t be any more different. Piper with her titian locks, Cherie like a curvy Italian goddess, and me, a tomboy-ish blonde.

  “Don’t go getting any ideas. Chase and I are the opposite of perfect for each other.”

  “You know what they say about opposites, Lucy.”

  I threw a t-shirt I was unpacking at her. “Chase and I are not attracted to each other.”

  “That’s ridiculous. He’s hot and you’re hot. Of course you’re attracted to each other.”

  “That’s ridiculous. You’re not attracted to every good-looking guy you see.”

  “Honestly? I am attracted to an awful lot of them. I don’t always act on that attraction, but if it’s mutual and the opportunity arises...”

  I shook my head. How was I going to make her see that Chase and I were a bad idea? Even the fake-fiancé scenario seemed nuts to me. I didn’t believe he’d date me for real, so there was no way the folks in my hometown would buy it. He was out of my league.

  Yes, he was cute. Yes, he was sexy, and he had turned out to be far better company than I had anticipated. He wasn’t as arrogant, either, as he had come off as being at first, but he was still a millionaire trust-fund baby, and I was still, well, me.

  “Look, Lucy.” She sat at the table and cracked open a can of soda. “I know you’ve been burned before, but Chase is a good guy. He likes you. I think he really likes you, and I think it’s really sweet he’s offered to help you out with this little situation you’ve gotten yourself in.”

  “I can’t argue with any of that, but that’s all it is. He’s helping me out. It’s not real and it’s not going to turn into anything real. We’re very much wrong for each other.”

  “You are aware that people from different backgrounds do meet and fall in love all the time.” She assured me.

  “Not in my experience.”

  “Piper and Aaron.”

  “Piper and Aaron are an exception.” I didn’t add that they were just married after a whirlwind romance that seemed to me more fairytale than reality-based.

  “You could be an exception, too.”

  “Cherie, I can assure you there is nothing exceptional about me.”

  “And I can assure you that, with that attitude, there never will be.”

  She was right; my attitude did kind of stink. Everyone else seemed to think it was entirely believable that Chase could fall for me. Even he said he was attracted to me. I wanted to believe Cherie’s version of me, that I was worthy of someone wonderful, but those old memories were going to be hard to shake. Still, I’d be sure to work on it, starting tomorrow.

  Chapter 8

  Starting work as early as we do at Pied Pipers Pies required a few important items: coffee., of course, stamina, and the fortitude to not take days off because getting out of bed when all the party animals hadn’t even been to bed yet, was a habit best not broken.

  As she had predicted when she had offered me the flat, I beat Piper to the kitchen. I had the ovens warming, the coffee percolating, and the first batch of pastries on the go when she arrived.

  “Morning,” she said. Her red hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and her eyes were still soft with sleep.

  “Hey, yourself. Did you survive without me?”

  “Just,” she said, pouring a large mug of coffee. “How about you? Are you settled in upstairs? How was Chase’s? Is he really going to be your fake fiancé? Did he fix your car? Is there something going on between you?”

  “Kind of. Gorgeous. Yes. Almost, and no.” I tried to answer each question in order.

  “Hang on, I’ve lost the train. The caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet.”

  So I filled her in on the last few days as we moved around the kitchen in what was a familiar rhythm. I was glad to be back to work where things were familiar. After a crazy few days, what I needed was a slice of normal. By the time I was done filling her in on the weekend, we had three types of pies in the ovens, and were busy on another three.

  “I think that was the most eventful week you’ve had since we met,” she observed.

  “It has been quite the month for the women of Pied Piper’s Pies.” A familiar voice came from the doorway behind me.

  Chase.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Good morning. How are you? Great to see you, too, Lucy,” He was leaning on the doorframe looking very pleased with himself. “And ladies? Nice hairnets.”

  They were so much a part of the uniform that I barely remembered I had mine on. More than once in the past few years, I’d walked home with one on.

  “Thanks,” said Piper. “Vanity is a small price to pay for no hairs in the pies and our business crumbling as a result.”

  “True.”

  “Glad you think so. “She tossed him on. “So you won’t mind wearing one as well.”

  He put it on and managed to still look cute even while looking ridiculous.

  “Again, I ask, ‘Why are you here?” I slammed a tray down on the counter.

  “Didn’t Piper tell you?”

  “Obviously not.” I glared at my boss.

  She shrugged. “Sorry, I got side-tracked.”

  “Well after I left you last night, Lucy, I tried to think of a way for us to spend more time together so I’ll be a credible fake fiancé.”

  “Of course.”

  “And then I thought the Pied Piper’s Pies story is a great one about the food industry, successful women, and Boston, so I’ve decided
to write a story and sell it on spec. That gives me a reason to be here that’s credible. Plus, we can say that’s part of how our love blossomed.”

  “Did you really just say, love blossomed’?” I looked at Piper. “You knew about this?”

  “You know what they say: There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” She didn’t meet my eyes, being—all of a sudden—very busy dicing potatoes for a potato-topped pie. “It would be good publicity for the business.”

  That was true. But we both knew she’d agreed because it would be a good way for Chase and I to spend time together. I wasn’t sure how I felt about actually having to spend time together.

  “All righty, then.” It would look ridiculous if I said no, so when in Rome… I got back to slicing mushrooms for a chicken and mushroom pie.

  “So this is where the magic happens?” Chase surveyed the kitchen.

  “I hope so,” said Piper with an unmistakable glint in her eye.

  This was going to be a very long day. I’d come to work to feel normal and having Chase here was going to make this day anything but.

  By the time I was ready to leave the kitchen, I had experienced enough of Chase’s interviewing style to know I didn’t ever want to have a story done on me again. Especially by him. So many questions and so much prying. I was more than happy to talk about aspects of the business, but not about myself or my life.

  Maybe it was my imagination, but he seemed to spend a lot of time standing a little too close and watching me a little too intently. Nothing over-the-top, or that I’d had reason to ask him to step back, but still, it was unnerving. There was obviously chemistry between us and I was aware of his presence at every turn. I didn’t want to deal with how Chase made me feel.

  Lucky for me, he was hanging with Piper to discuss some of the early aspects of the business. It gave me some space to find my balance and make my escape at the end of the very long day.

  “Bye. See you tomorrow,” I said, beating a hasty retreat out the door and into the hallway where I nearly knocked over my niece Katie

  “Oops, sorry, honey. I didn’t expect you to be here.”