Fake Me

by Bonnie Edwards

  “See you later,” Eva said as she stepped outside with a brief wave. “I’ve got extra sitters ready to come at a moment’s notice if any more of the clients want adult time. Emails started arriving last night after people met around the pool.”

  “Success is sweet,” Farren said, hoping some of the connections between the adults would stick. But if not, the parents were having fun and getting what they came for.

  For her, last night had been a night to remember, just not in the way Farren had made Eva think.

  After the wonderful, romantic dinner on the beach, Grady had kept his distance on the way back. She’d leaned toward him with her hand open in an obvious invitation to hold hands, but he’d stopped walking to stare down the beach at something she couldn’t see. The moment had been lost.

  And then, when they’d come to her door, she’d stood close to him with her face turned up to his. The invitation to kiss her couldn’t have been clearer. Thankfully, she’d avoided closing her eyes and pursing her lips to kiss him. That would’ve been an embarrassment she’d never get over.

  Grady had stepped back from her and said, “That was great. Thanks for the update on your day. See you tomorrow.”

  The evening had fallen flat, and she wasn’t sure why. She’d tossed and turned through the night, trying to understand where things had shifted from romantic to business, but was no closer to figuring out the aggravating man AKA Grady the Grump.

  Tonight, the adults would have dinner at the Sands. Each course would mean a seat change as the singles mingled, ending with an after-dinner drink and a stroll back along Main to the Landseer. She hoped people would pair off for the walk home through town, but she had a feeling some clients were more cautious than others. At this stage in their lives, their hearts were guarded. Much like hers.

  It wasn’t that she’d had a big love destroyed, but when she and Denny had been young and she’d thought, in love, it had hurt when he’d left without a care for her. Through senior year she’d waited for him to talk about them being together in college, and when that didn’t happen, she’d decided not to speak up herself. Instead, after they’d gone to separate colleges, she’d waited for him to talk about life afterward. About him coming back with her to Last Chance Beach. That conversation had never happened, either. They’d talked mostly about how much fun he was having partying. Then even those conversations had stopped as Denny had moved on.

  By not asking for more from him, she’d saved herself from the most embarrassing conversation she could imagine. She’d nursed her broken heart on her own. Maybe that had been a mistake, but clearly, Denny hadn’t wanted a quiet, accepting girlfriend.

  He’d wanted fun and eventually the danger of having two families a state apart.

  Denny’s transgressions had come home to roost. All indications were that he was interested in rekindling what they’d had in high school. She wasn’t sure how to feel. Different emotions surfaced like a water wheel scooping up compassion, loss, regret, anger, even smugness. Sometimes the uppermost emotion was satisfaction that he’d been caught. She didn’t like that one, it seemed unkind. But he was wrong to think he could crook his finger and she’d come running. What did he take her for? Some kind of desperate loser? Pfft.

  She set aside her thoughts of Denny and her emotions around him. There was no time to wallow in the past when her future was at stake. After the morning pool time, she’d escort the group to the town center for the parade. Maybe by then she’d have heard from Grady about joining her for dinner tonight.

  Last night he’d been cool and noncommittal after their meal on the beach, but maybe he’d been distracted by business of his own. She couldn’t think of a single thing she’d said to him that would cause a wall to grow between them. Maybe she’d imagined his coolness.

  She walked to his private entrance and rapped on the door.

  GRADY STEPPED OUT OF the shower to the sound of a knock. Wrapping a towel around his hips, he strode, still dripping, into the kitchen to peer through the window.

  He double-checked that his towel knot was snug and opened the door to face Farren, looking intent and determined. “Hi?”

  “Are you coming to the dinner tonight?” Her purple gaze ran over his chest and bare legs. Her cheeks flushed, pupils dilated, and he realized she liked what she saw.

  Good. So did he. She was dressed in a short denim skirt and tight tee with the words Singles Fest stitched into the fabric over her left breast. She looked good enough to eat. Down boy.

  “I assumed you’d want to go with your friend. Denny, is it?” Lame, O’Hara. Really lame. He hadn’t wanted to expose his feelings on the man’s suspiciously timed reappearance.

  She blinked and he saw gears grind behind her eyes. She knew. Damn.

  “Denny’s here to give his children—er—fun together. He’s a busy guy and didn’t spend much time with them—er—before.”

  “He’s making up for lost time with his children?”

  “Sure!”

  “So, you’re here to ask me to escort you to this group dinner?” She was so beautiful when she blushed. But the blush was a clear signal that, again, she was hiding something about Denny.

  “Yes, last night we didn’t talk about you escorting me. Will you come with me or not?” She leaned close, bringing her unique scent into the kitchen. He was tempted to reach for her hand and tug her into the house. But she was too busy to spend an hour or two alone with him. He read hesitation in her gaze and in the way her brows pinched.

  He eased away from her. “Sorry for the towel. I don’t usually answer the door this way, but I know how busy your day is and I figured this must be important if you took the time to stop by.”

  Her eyes widened. “That’s fine, I just thought that with your sister here, we should, you know, be seen in public again.”

  “Right. For Delphine’s sake. Good. I’ll meet you there.” That was his tried-and-true way of saving time with his busy schedule. He’d meet his dates instead of picking them up, giving him more time on the phone or to check details with a client. With a schedule like his, every minute counted.

  He was beginning to hate it. Looking at Farren’s glowing face and the happy anticipation in her eyes, he wanted to take back the words and offer to pick her up in a tuxedo with a corsage for her dress. Stupid teenage dreams of romance.

  Farren stepped backwards two steps to give him room to close the door. As he shut it, he heard the grating voice of her friend, Denny. “Farren, hi!”

  Too late and underdressed to go outside with her, he could only peer out from behind the white gauzy window curtain on the door.

  Farren greeted Denny and then crouched to a pretty little girl in the stroller the guy was pushing. The child gave her a big wet grin and patted her cheek. After a moment of mutual connection, Farren rose and walked away beside father and daughter, looking content and happy.

  Grady blew out a breath and reached for the phone.

  Chapter Seventeen

  AT SIX THIRTY P.M. Farren slid the spaghetti strap of her dress to her shoulder and smoothed her hands down her waist. She fluffed the wide skirt and gave it a shake. The black shiny cocktail dress wasn’t new, but it was flattering and no one in the group had seen it before. She draped a multi-colored pashmina over her arm and picked up her clutch. The look was not exactly elegant, but nice. Not sexy, but dressy enough.

  Plus, it wasn’t so fancy that she’d outshine the single moms.

  If there was anything she’d observed during her time working at the Sands, it was the lack of up-to-date fashion among single parents. It was one of the reasons she’d wanted to start Singles Fest. She’d been in a unique position to see singles past thirty or forty wanting to find a match but competing with the twenty-somethings dressed to kill was impossible.

  Singles Fest would level the playing field and give dads and moms time to truly connect. Pride and excitement rolled through her and brought a smile to her lips. One last check in the mirror and she headed fo
r the door.

  A lot rode on the success of tonight’s dinner and the million dragonflies in her stomach were proof. They zipped and zoomed and banged into each other in her tummy, but she dared not think too hard about them.

  She had twenty-five minutes to return to the Sands. After the parade, she’d spent a couple of hours there preparing for tonight. She had plenty of time to see to last minute details on site.

  When she opened her door, she opened her mouth, too. In shock.

  Grady stood waiting for her, dressed in a perfect black tuxedo, and holding a corsage box. He stole her breath and she wondered if he’d give it back anytime soon.

  Then, he presented the cardboard box on his palm with a flourish and flipped open the lid for her to see inside.

  A perfect red rose corsage made up of three half-open blooms and a sprig of delicate Babies Breath filled the container. She gasped at the sight and recognized the elegance that the Beach Rose flower shop was known for.

  “I thought about the color you’d choose to wear, and I thought you were the kind of woman to have an elegant cocktail dress. I’m glad to see I was right. You look spectacular. What better to set off your dress than a dark red rose.” His gaze roved from the top of her head down to her feet.

  “Grady,” she breathed, barely able to speak. Spectacular? Hardly. Good thing he took charge and picked the corsage out of the box. He stepped up close, slipped his large hand to just above her breast and started to work the pins through the material. Each brush of his knuckles burnt a trail down to her toes.

  Any more of this and she’d be alight with fire.

  “It’s beautiful. Thank you.” She spoke next to his ear because his head was bent as he focused on pinning the rose into place. If she turned her head just so, she could kiss his cheek. Her lips tingled with the urge. “The last time I had a corsage was my high school prom.”

  He turned his head an inch to look at her, his eyes intent, focused and up close like this, tempting. “Let me guess,” he said. “Your prom date was Denny whatsisname.”

  “And my date tonight is you,” she responded softly and brushed her lips ever so lightly against his.

  “If I kiss you back, we’ll never get to the restaurant,” he murmured. He stared at her mouth and something wild inside her broke free.

  “Impossible timing,” she said. But oh, it was tempting to pull him into her unit and spend hours getting to know his body.

  “Seems like,” he agreed and straightened, breaking into her sexually charged thoughts. He held out his arm and she linked them together with a smile that barely trembled.

  “Do you want to walk, or shall I drive?”

  “Let’s drive there and walk back. I can kick off my sandals on the way home. I’d like to see if any clients partner up on the stroll back. There’s a lot of potential for mutual interest tonight.” Couldn’t she keep her mind off business for one second? Apparently not.

  He chuckled. “I’ll say there is. You must have a full house for this dinner. I saw a veritable army of teenagers arriving. Babysitters?”

  “Eva worked a miracle and found enough kids who wanted the work. I think we’ve created a job market. After tonight, those sitters may find themselves working all summer for Singles Fest.”

  “Let’s hope we see some fireworks then, and not the sparkly kind.”

  His double entendre made her laugh as he held his car door open for her. “The fireworks should be happening when we walk home. I tried to time things out for romance to the max.” After the dinner on the beach last night, she understood Grumpy Grady understood romance.

  She kept her seatbelt from crushing her corsage and bent her head to inhale the delicate rose scent. As her date rounded the hood of the car, her breath caught, and she blinked moisture from her eyes.

  This was not real. Grady had his own purpose in pretending they were a thing. She had to remember that. Sure, for now, he was being kind and attentive. He’d spent time getting to know her on the phone, but that was him unwinding after a long day.

  If they’d missed a night, he wouldn’t have noticed. She ignored all the times he’d called from airports or taxis from distant time zones, telling herself they didn’t count.

  “When are you going back to New York?” she asked as he backed his rental sedan away from his front door.

  He shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it,” he said, which was a clearly a lie. A man with his responsibilities would know his own schedule. He’d know where he had to be next week, whether it was New York, or London, or Berlin.

  She didn’t press him. She had her own responsibilities tonight and she took out her phone to run down her list of reminders. “I have to check that all the tables have place cards, and each table has a sheet of instructions on how the meal will run.” This was overkill because she’d put the cards by the place settings herself.

  “I’ll walk the room with you and check,” he said with a brisk nod. “I hope I didn’t hold you up too much?”

  “No, of course not.” She looked down at her chest again. “I love the roses. Did you notice I’m wearing dark ruby shoes?”

  “I notice everything about you,” he said under his breath.

  “Oh, I notice you, too. I’ve noticed you’re not a grump anymore,” she offered in a teasing tone. “Not often, anyway.”

  He gave a small snort of laughter. “I’m trying.”

  AT THE CAPTAIN’S TABLE, the Sands fine dining restaurant, Grady sat with Farren and Eva at a table for four. Delphine was at the far end of the room, watching things from there. She looked happy chatting with the other people at her table. He leaned into Farren’s ear.

  “My sister’s having a good time. I’m glad she came.”

  Farren’s eyebrow arched. “You didn’t expect her to?”

  “Hard to believe, but she can be shy around men. I don’t often see her openly flirting.” Right now she was smiling and engaged in a lively discussion from the looks of things.

  “Then my purpose is fulfilled,” Farren quipped. “I’ll tease her about it tomorrow.”

  Grady shook his head. “I’d prefer that you not mention it. Despite her bluster and nosiness she keeps her heart guarded.”

  “So, it’s okay for her to make matches for you, but she’s careful about romance herself?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll see if she brings up a man’s name and encourage her if she does.”

  “Perfect. But then, you always are.”

  She blushed deeply.

  The plan for the meal was standard for singles meet and greet, except most of these people had seen the others at the Landseer. The men moved from table to table between courses, chatting with the seated women. He’d heard a lot of happy conversations and quiet laughter as the group had moved through the ritual.

  Which was great except the man who’d been at the table during the entrée had been a huge bore. Now, they were waiting for dessert and coffee, entrée man having risen and moved on already. For the moment it was just the three of them.

  Entrée man had not left an impression on Eva. And vice versa. The main part of the meal had brought stilted small talk and bored responses.

  It was Grady’s fervent hope that no one else had been involved in similar exchanges. Any more of that and the night would fall flat. And he wanted Farren’s success. He coaxed a smile from her with a whisper in her ear. “He’ll be better with someone else.”

  Eva leaned in. “I’m dying to know if people have made connections,” she said softly. She tilted her head to entrée man as he took his seat at another table.

  “I’d say there have been some,” Grady replied. “A couple of these men have wanted to know more about you, Eva.” But she’d said little to any of them. He wasn’t sure why she’d come and agreed to the seat switching game if she weren’t interested.

  “I saw the same thing,” Farren chimed in. “You’ve been blowing them off.”

  Eva flushed. “Maybe.”


  Since Grady hadn’t moved to another table it was clear he was here with Farren. She was stunning tonight. Elegant, poised, but warm and caring, too. She was a hit with her clients, who had waved and smiled at them throughout the meal. For once, she wasn’t checking lists or her messages. She looked relaxed and happy.

  But to the single dads, Eva was fair game. Unfortunately, she’d made it plain she wanted nothing to do with a man with children. It was like a phobia or something. For a woman who provided daycare, and taught swimming and lifeguarded, all aimed at children, he found her curious.

  Maybe she didn’t want to take on someone else’s kids. He shrugged. Fair enough. Not everyone was cut out to be a stepparent.

  A server approached and leaned in to talk to Farren. She nodded and looked toward the kitchen. Catching sight of the chef, she smiled. She patted Grady’s hand, brushed her lips across his jaw and said, “Duty calls. I want to talk to him about a menu if anyone wants to do a dinner on the beach tomorrow night.” She left the table and Grady and Eva were alone.

  Grady complimented Eva on her dress, a stark white one that wrapped around her sleek body in some clingy material. “Your next man should be here any second,” he said. “But so far no one has passed muster. Am I right?”

  “I’m picky, I guess.” Eva shifted and tapped her wineglass with the tip of her index finger. “Bored, too, I think.”

  “Grady,” Jesse Carmichael greeted him as he took the seat kitty corner to Eva. “And Eva. It’s nice to see you both again.” His eyes lit up at the sight of her and Eva shifted under his scrutiny. “You look lovely,” he said, drinking in her face. The guy had it bad while Eva looked anywhere but at Jesse.

  “Thanks, I haven’t seen you at the motel. I didn’t think you’d made it, after all.” She spoke distractedly and took a sip of wine. Her eyes scanned the rest of the room.

  “I’m staying here at the Sands. My in-laws have the children again, so I didn’t need the playground.” He hesitated. “But maybe I should’ve brought them. The other parents are saying the place is great and their kids are making friends.” He nodded at Grady.