5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Addy
What have I done?
I rake my fingers through my hair as I bring up the calendar on my phone. I literally have one week to find a boyfriend who’s willing to fly with me to Hawaii for a wedding. It’s impossible. It’s not logical.
Why did I run my big fat mouth?
Shoving my phone into my dress pocket, I storm up the steps to my townhouse, a cute Manhattan-style home smack dab in the middle of Atlanta. I punch the keycode into the door and then step inside, breathing in the sweet, homey scent.
“I have to figure this out,” I say aloud as I hang my backpack on the hook and slide out of my sandals. Slowly but surely, I pad across the hardwood floors to the staircase. I’m still stuck in the soiled red dress—a pitiful reminder of what put me in this predicament in the first place.
I’ve got to get out of this thing.
Five minutes later, I’m in an oversized black T-shirt and running shorts, lying flat on my back on my fluffy white duvet. My phone is right beside me, and I know I have to do something to fix this…
I could just say we broke up…
But then everyone will know I was lying.
I could post an ad and offer a free vacation in exchange for someone posing as my boyfriend…
But that might draw in some real weirdos.
“Ugh,” I mumble, running my hands over my face. I pick up my phone and scroll to Blaze’s number, hesitating before clicking the call button.
As much as I love him, I don’t think he’d understand the dire aspect of my situation.
So, I call Penny instead.
“Girl, it’s been three days since I’ve heard your voice,” Penny chimes in my ear. She’s the closest thing I have to a childhood friend, and I met her at a rich-kid summer program in Europe when I was sixteen. “How are you?”
“Not good. In fact, I’m really stressed right now.” I sigh. “I just put myself in the worst predicament.”
“ Ooh ,” she hums. “Do tell. This sounds way more exciting than all the diapers I’ve been changing today.”
I furrow my brow. “I thought you had a nanny?”
“Yeah, I let her go. She had some other dreams she wanted to chase. So here I am, doing it myself.” She laughs. “I’m actually having the time of my life, really. But I don’t want to make you feel bad.”
I giggle, imagining the stately redheaded friend of mine elbow-deep in baby mess. “I’m not jealous of changing your twins’ dirty diapers, Penny, but thank you for your concern.”
“You’re welcome,” she chimes. “Now, onto your predicament . I’m dying to know what trouble you could’ve possibly gotten yourself into.”
“Well, you know Aurora is getting married in Hawaii, right?”
“Yes. And I thought it was supposed to be a small wedding, but I got an invitation. I’m not going, of course, because Sam and I can’t find a babysitter. That’s neither here nor there, though. Continue.”
I sigh, dreading the next part. “You also know that my family constantly reminds me how terrible it is that I don’t have a boyfriend or husband. They love to drone on and on about how I’m running out of time to find the right guy.”
“Mmm, yes.” She sounds like she’s frowning. “I, unfortunately, have witnessed this plenty of times when sitting in your circle.”
I nearly laugh at how proper she sounds—it’s just how she talks, having been raised all over the world and in a variety of cultures.
“Addy, just tell me what happened…”
“I lied and said I had a boyfriend to go with me to the wedding to shut them up,” I blurt out, facepalming myself as I admit the truth. “I’m literally going to look like such an idiot when I show up alone.”
“Wow,” Penny says. She falls into silence for a few moments.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. It’s not like I can find a boyfriend in a week.”
She lets out a sigh. “You can either own up to your lie—or cover and say you broke up with the guy or vice versa or…”
“Or I have to find an actual boyfriend.”
“Exactly. I mean, it couldn’t be that hard. You’d be essentially offering up a free trip to Hawaii. I bet tons of men would jump on that, especially with a pretty woman like yourself.”
I frown. “I can’t even get a guy to meet me two blocks from his house for a coffee date. How am I supposed to convince someone to fly across the ocean with me?”
“I don’t know, ask?”
“ Ugh. ” I let out a frustrated groan and shake my head. “This kind of stuff doesn’t come as easy for me as it does for you. You’ve always had men falling at your feet. But I don’t have that. I’ve never had a guy truly care about me.”
“Um…” Penny’s voice trails off. “You act like your best friend isn’t a man.”
“Who? Blaze? He doesn’t count.”
“Why not? He’s super hot, super rich, and would literally go to the ends of the earth for you.”
“As a friend,” I remind her. “He’s never seen me as anything more than his basket-case best friend.”
“I’m not going to argue with you there, because we’ve gone down this road before, but…” Her voice trails off. “I think you should give yourself a little credit. You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and you work harder than anyone I know. You’re a catch. And you need to start believing that you are.”
I sigh, pushing myself up into a seated position. “Okay, but here’s the problem. Even if I believed all those things, I still don’t have a date for my sister’s wedding, and I’m so tired of always being that person.”
“I don’t know what you mean by that.” Penny laughs. “But the answer to your problem is literally right in front of your face, honey.”
“Huh?”
“Blaze.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” she says. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t.”
I groan. “He’s my friend .”
Penny lets out an overdramatic, exaggerated sigh. “That’s the point. Have him pretend to go as your boyfriend. He gets to go to Hawaii, and you get to spend time with someone you’re comfortable with— strangely comfortable with, actually.”
I blow out a sharp breath, mulling it over. “My family would never approve of him as more than just my friend, though.” Penny is quiet for a few moments. “Penny?”
“Sorry,” she says. “I just think you’re nuts, but honestly, who cares if they approve of him? He’s a little rough around the edges, yeah, but maybe if you take him as your date, they’ll let up. Or maybe they’ll see they shouldn’t be pressuring you so much. I don’t know.”
I think about it for a few minutes, including how I would even go about trying to explain this predicament to Blaze, or if he’d even agree to it—and it makes me nervous. “Maybe I should try to find another date before I go asking him.”
“Okay, you could try. I mean, who knows, maybe you’ll walk out your front door and smack right into the man of your dreams? Though, I have to ask… Do you even know what the man of your dreams would be?”
I hesitate, trying to conjure up an answer. “I … I’m not sure. Probably someone who cares about me like Blaze does, but who also wants to kiss me and stuff?”
She bursts into laughter. “Oh, my goodness.”
“What?”
“Do you remember when you had a crush on Blaze in college? He was all you talked about. I thought you were borderline obsessive.”
“Oh, stop,” I warn her. “I was just a clueless, sheltered eighteen-year-old kid. And Blaze was the bad boy on the hockey team with all his mystery and intrigue. He rode a motorcycle. Tons of girls drooled over him.”
“And yet, he chose you.”
“As his friend,” I clarify for what feels like the hundredth time. “He chose me as his friend.”
“Has he ever had a girlfriend?”
I shrug. “Not that I know of. He pretty much puts all his time and energy into hockey. He’s always said that he doesn’t have time to date. You know, the typical excuse that a guy uses when he doesn’t want to commit. I’m pretty sure half the hockey team is like that. I don’t think any of them have serious relationships, except for Cam.”
Penny sighs. “Well, still, my point remains. I think your best bet is to ask Blaze to be your date—I mean fake date. That way, you’ll be with someone you know and trust, which will make the wedding way more enjoyable. And it wouldn’t be that awkward. I mean, the two of you have basically seen each other naked.”
I nearly choke on the air in my lungs. “What? No, we haven’t!”
“Oh, sorry. I guess that was just an assumption because you two watch so much Netflix together.” She giggles. “Anyway, just ask him. He’s made it pretty obvious over the years that he’ll do practically anything for you, so I can’t see why he wouldn’t agree to do this.”
My heart jumps to my throat as I try to picture the conversation. He’s going to balk at the idea, I know that—and he’s probably going to think I’m completely insane for not being honest with my family.
I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath.
I should just try to find a random guy to take, but…
Penny does have a point. I’m safe and comfortable with Blaze.
And maybe if I brought someone who’s the total opposite of all the previous guys I’ve dated, my family will finally back off.
“But I don’t know,” I think aloud. “I’d be putting Blaze under the scrutiny of my family. I don’t see how that could possibly be a good idea.”
“Like he hasn’t been scrutinized by them before?” Penny muses. “He’s been around your family for a decade. I don’t think there’s anything they could say or do that would surprise him. Besides, I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but your family is really not all that bad. Not your parents anyway.”
“I know, I know,” I mumble. “But when my mom gets around my granny Esme, it’s like she transforms into this Stepford wife.”
“Is that because she’s trying to keep up appearances for her own mother?”
I pause, never having considered this before.
“Maybe. My grandparents are very traditional and have high expectations for all of us. It’s exhausting. I mean, they think that women should be married and popping out babies by no later than twenty-five. And that may have worked for them, but times are different now. Dating is a whole lot more complicated than it was fifty years ago.”
“Those little old ladies gripe and complain about everything. And I get it. My aunty Jill spent two hours walking around my house and harping about my lack of old century décor. Do I know what that is? No. Do I care? Also , no. Maybe you should start focusing more on what you want and worry less about what your family thinks.”
“I’m not as tough as you,” I answer, feeling guilty. “Sometimes, it’s just hard living in Aurora’s shadow. She’s literally the golden child who followed the path laid out for her without questioning it. And this wedding has just amplified the fact that I’m going to be forever alone. I mean, not like that’s the worst thing, but—”
“You’re not going to be forever alone, Addy.” She laughs. “You have me. And Blaze.”
“You know what I mean.” I sigh. “I just want my family to leave me alone for a while. It’s exhausting being constantly chided and whispered about. Maybe having a wedding date will finally shut them up.”
“So, are you going to take Blaze as your date, then?” Penny asks, her voice expectant.
“I don’t know.” I hesitate. “I don’t want to make him angry.”
“Why would he be angry?”
“Because it might make things weird between us. I don’t want to make anything weird. I just want things to be … well, the way they’ve always been.”
“Sometimes, things need to change,” Penny says, a hint of something I don’t understand in her voice. “But also, nothing will change so long as you both work to ensure it doesn’t.”
“Contradictory advice.”
“Let’s not forget that you’re the one who’s trying to nab a boyfriend because you think you need to fit into some narrative your snobby grandmothers have.” She chuckles. “But I think you should just go talk to Blaze and settle your mind. I’m sure it’ll go fine. Like I said, that man would do anything for you. It’s admirable, really. Sam could take a few lessons.”
I laugh. “Oh, stop. Sam treats you like a queen.”
“As he should.”
Penny and I spend the next thirty minutes talking about her life, her three kids, and events in New York City. It’s our usual conversation, one we seem to have every few days or so, but I can hardly focus. All I can think about is what Blaze is going to say when I show up at his door…
Asking him to be my fake boyfriend.