Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sandy comes for coffee on Friday, dressed in a short little sundress.
“Where’s Stella?” I ask.
“Oh, she’s with her grandmother, so I bounced to get some baby free time. And I wanted to do some tanning.” She shimmies her shoulders as she passes me.
“Wow, this looks great,” she says as she enters the backyard.
The deck is now almost fully done. The only part Logan is still working on is the barbecue and fire pit area. But we can finally use our backyard and walk to the pool without getting dirt on our feet.
“It’s good, right?” I grin.
“It’s better than good. You only need some furniture now.”
“It should come in a few days. I can’t wait for it to be finished.” The words turn bitter as they exit my mouth. I am excited for this massive project to be done, but I’m less excited for Logan to stop working here. I can’t even imagine how the house will feel once he finishes the job.
“Where’s the boy toy?” Sandy asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“First, he’s not a boy toy. Second, he’s on another site today. He’ll be back on Monday.” I won’t share the fact that I miss him already. I’ve gotten used to the casual flirting between us and newly developed hobbies of ours are easy to become addicted to.
“Ok, he’s not a boy toy, degradingly. But he’s still a boy toy, respectively?” Her eyes are wide with expectation.
“Yup. I’m still toying with that boy.” I snort at the silly wordplay, but Sandy squeals with delight.
“Tell me everything,” she says, laying down next to the pool.
I fill her in on the interesting events and her eyes almost fall out.
“That sounds almost … possessive,” she states after I tell her about the things he told me.
“Nah. It was just part of the foreplay.” I shrug it off, like those words haven’t been on replay in my head 24/7.
“Why would I be looking at your little assistant when it’s you I can’t stop thinking about?”
“When it’s your scent I can’t get out of my fucking nose?”
“When it’s your pretty little cunt I keep tasting on my tongue.”
“Well, it’s damn good foreplay,” Sandy concludes, and I couldn’t agree more. “So you don’t think this could be something more serious?”
“Come on, Dee. He’s not even thirty. There’s a whole life ahead of him. He probably wants a litter of babies, and you know I’m not doing that again. Besides, he’s a playful, charming guy. I don’t think he’s looking for serious, either.”
She stares at me for a second before saying, “So, you don’t mind continuing with the list?” Her words are a challenge.
“Like it’s been a great success so far.”
“Well, I have a date lined up for you. A fake date, if you will.”
“You know fake dating is my favorite trope. But I’m afraid it only works in fiction.”
“Look,” she chuckles. “I’ll pretend I don’t notice you avoiding giving me a straight answer, though I definitely do.
But this is actually a fake date.” My brows furrow in confusion so she continues, “Dean, Liam’s friend and coworker, has a grandmother’ s birthday to attend.
Apparently, it’s a big deal and the whole family will be there.
They will all badger him about his girlfriend. ”
I’m still staring at her, so she sighs.
“The thing is, Dean is gay and doesn’t want his family to know,” she says, all in one breath.
“I would be … a beard?”
“In lack of a better word, yes. Look, I know this isn’t what you’re searching for.”
“Are you kidding me?” I interrupt her. “This is much better than any real fake date you could have arranged for me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I was dreading another date like the first few ones, but this could be fun. It will also undoubtedly give me a million ideas for my books.”
“That’s true. So you’ll do it?” She grins at me.
“I’ll do it.”
“The birthday’s next weekend, and I’ll give him your number so you can make plans.”
“Sure.”
Turns out, Dean is a pretty cool, devastatingly handsome guy. He picks me up in his BMW, opening the door for me and handing me flowers.
“Thanks for doing this.” He flashes me a perfect smile, his stunning green eyes wrinkling at the corners. His light brown hair is meticulously groomed, and the crisp white shirt fits him like a glove.
“Full disclosure: I’m here because I love family drama.”
He lets out an honest chuckle. “I appreciate the honesty. And there should be plenty of it today.”
“So, should we get our stories straight? Pun not intended.” He chuckles again. “Do you have a character for me? Should I have practiced an accent? ”
“You and I are going to get along just fine.” He grins. “No accents and no character. I thought you could play yourself.”
“Well, I’m a single mom of two, which could be a source of family drama on its own.”
“That’s perfect. It makes it more real. At my age, it makes more sense for me to be with a single mom than an aspiring college age influencer, you know?”
“Yeah, I guess. But we still need the part of how we met.”
“Well, I guess Liam introduced us. I’ve been complaining about the horrible online dating experiences, and he told me about his gorgeous, brilliant sister-in-law.”
“Makes sense.” I shrug, jokingly and we both laugh. “I know we just met. But if you don’t mind me asking, how come you’re not out to your family?”
“It’s a long story. But in short, it involves a conservative family and a father who called me the F slur all my childhood.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“He died.” He shoots me a sad smile. “In a way, it makes it even harder. I also feel like this part of me is mine, and I don’t want to give them an opportunity to ruin it.”
“Sure, I get it.”
Grandma Eleanor, as Dean informed me, is celebrating her eightieth birthday. He describes her as frail in posture but rough in character, and I can tell what he means right away.
She’s a tiny woman in a classic, dark blue skirt and light blue blouse.
Her hair is silver and short, framing her face in a way that showcases a recent blow-dry.
Her eyes are lined with wrinkles, but she eyes me with suspicion of a much younger woman until Dean introduces me as his girlfriend, making her thin but contoured lips curve with a smile.
“Girlfriend, you say? Well, isn’t that a birthday surprise?” She reaches a delicate hand toward me, but she squeezes it with more strength than I expected.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Williams. What a lovely gathering you have here.” I gesture around me, laying on the charm.
Her eyes gleam with delight and I know it’s working.
The backyard we’re in is truly gorgeous.
The first thing I notice is the impeccably made deck, almost as wonderful as mine will be when it’s done.
My eyes trail over the place, taking in the kids who run around, screaming with delight, while adults laugh and chat in small groups.
If I didn’t know Dean’s story, I would have thought this was a picture-perfect family.
He introduces me to a bunch of family members who are all thrilled to meet me.
“This is going ama-zing!” he singsongs. “I should probably ask you to marry me. That would completely blow their little minds.”
I chuckle at his suggestion. Sandy would die if she heard I got an offer for a marriage of convenience.
I find it funny, too. But the other part of me, the vulnerable one, realizes that marrying Dean wouldn’t be any different from the last few years of my marriage with David.
Matter of fact, marrying Dean would probably give me more intimacy and romance than David did, even if it’s only friendly.
“You know what?” I respond. “I could be coaxed into that.”
With my lips turned up, I look around, my gaze catching on a small group of people on the very edge of the backyard, two men and a woman.
I wonder if I’m going crazy for a second, because there, with a drink in his hand, stands Logan, in a tan polo shirt and navy slacks.
The second I notice him, his eyes snap up to mine, as if he felt me.
We’re both frozen for a second before his jaw gets stiff, his eyes narrowing.
Not sure what happened, I turn around, only to realize someone is approaching us and Dean has put his hand around my shoulders. I haven’t even felt his hand, not with Logan’s eyes on me. Dean introduces me to his aunt, and by the time we’re done with the pleasantries, Logan is nowhere to be found.