7 Cora
Cora pulled into the parking lot of the outdoor shopping complex for her date at exactly five o’clock.
She wasn’t nervous because there was nothing to be nervous about. Whether this date went perfectly or flopped like an overhyped
movie made no difference to her. She could accomplish her goal either way.
The only way she’d lose this bet was if she actually fell in love with Jax Verona, and there was zero chance that would happen.
She almost felt bad for Bianca.
But since she was saving Bianca from her own self-destruction, Cora didn’t feel that bad.
Still, she felt a slight niggle in the pit of her stomach that she couldn’t shake. It wasn’t butterflies. It was more like
butterflies’ annoying little cousin, if that were a thing.
Excitement—that was it. She was probably just excited to make a pie.
She’d looked up the cooking class they were taking tonight. Kiss the Cook was a test kitchen attached to one of the local
restaurants and specialized in cooking classes of all sorts. The kitchen was set up so that two people shared a cooking space,
but every participant made their own dish. After the cooking lesson, participants were invited to stay and enjoy their creations,
which in their case was blueberry pie.
Of course, how much time Cora spent chatting over pie would depend on the cooking part of the date.
So far Jax had been funny and seemed interesting.
But Cora knew that in real life, not everything was as perfect as it appeared online.
She was prepared for, well, anything. She’d even brushed up on her self-defense moves.
Not that she intended on using them, but one could never be too careful.
The one thing she didn’t know was what Jax Verona looked like.
His profile picture on SoulMatch didn’t help much. It was an artistic shot of a breathtaking sunset in a setting she couldn’t
quite identify. A man, presumably Jax, was standing in the distance, back mostly to the camera, watching it. And while it
was a beautiful picture, the distance combined with the shadows of the setting sun made it impossible to make out any of his
features.
And a quick social media search hadn’t helped much, either. The few accounts she found listing a “Jax Verona” didn’t have
many pictures. Clearly Jax Verona valued his privacy. Or had something to hide.
Okay, yeah. She was definitely cynical.
But again, it didn’t matter what he looked like. It wasn’t like this was a beauty contest. Cora didn’t even have to be attracted
to him. All she had to do was charm him enough to get him to stick around for a few more dates. And she could be charming.
When she wanted to be.
Pushing the annoying mini butterflies aside, she took a deep breath and stepped out of her car. Showtime.
She smoothed out her shirt and adjusted how it was tucked in as she strode toward the cooking school with confidence. She
was dressed in the same black T-shirt and black joggers that she’d worn on the plane.
The outfit, which was half a step above loungewear, wasn’t what she normally would’ve chosen for a first date, but the only
other clothing she had was the neon palm tree cover-up. And since she’d already promised not to sabotage the date, that choice
was clearly out. At least Bianca’s gold necklace Cora had swiped off the bathroom counter helped dress up what she had. Kind
of.
Plus, she’d be putting an apron over it as soon as she got into the kitchen anyway.
The state of her missing suitcase was annoying.
After the airline “located” her bag in Fargo, its status had now been updated to “waiting to be loaded” in Portland, Maine, with a TBD arrival time.
Why was the bag in Maine? None of the airline reps she talked to seemed to know the answer to that question.
Or any question, really. It seemed they were reading the same limited information from the website she had access to.
The only difference was they ended every conversation with “Trust the process, ma’am” and “As soon as we have additional information, we’ll let you know. ”
Still, she made a mental note to call again in the morning. Because the one thing she knew about the system was that the squeaky
wheel tended to get the oil.
Also, she didn’t care what was on Savannah’s agenda tomorrow; shopping for a few essentials to get her through the next few
days was nonnegotiable. And with all the new stores in this shopping complex, maybe she wouldn’t have to drive as far as she’d
first thought.
She glanced in the window of the store she was passing. Three white wedding gowns hung in the front display.
Okay, maybe not that store, but she’d for sure hit some of the other ones. She loved supporting local businesses, after all.
She looked over her shoulder to study the stores farther down the sidewalk and gauge their selection.
“Cora?”
The sound of the deep, smooth voice calling her name sent the mini butterflies back into flight and she turned, ready to meet
the man who would help her win her bet.
Only when she caught sight of who it was, her charming smile and witty greeting fell away.
No. Way.
She let out a tired sigh that could most closely be interpreted as You’ve got to be kidding me and took the last few steps to join the man she’d already met before. Kind of.
“Well, well, well. Jax Verona.” Or, as she knew him, Gatsby from CVS.
Should she have tried to sound delighted or even entertained by the coincidence? Maybe. But she couldn’t help that he was
standing there looking as smugly amused as he did in the dental care aisle. She found that look incredibly annoying. Again.
“It’s nice to meet you officially.” His smolder widened into a grin. “How’s the toothbrush?”
“It’s perfect.” She had a feeling she looked self-righteous, but she didn’t care. “I went with a different brand than you
suggested. And stuck with a single. Since I, you know, only needed the one.”
He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Glad it worked out. After all, you gotta do what’s right for you.”
What was right for her was not going on a date with this doofus. She knew his type. He was overly confident with his macho swagger, walking around as if
it were a treat to meet him. He probably spent more time getting his perfectly straight teeth that white than he did keeping
up with current affairs.
And, yes, she realized that in order to come to that conclusion, she had to notice his nice smile. But since the majority
of their conversations so far had revolved around dental care, it would’ve been weird if she hadn’t.
The more important thing was that she hadn’t been dazzled by it.
“But you know what I’ve been wondering?” she asked.
He raised an eyebrow, looking amused. “You’ve been wondering about me?”
Okay, she walked right into that one. But since she wasn’t going to let him get to her, she ignored it and kept going. “What
kind of person can’t keep up with their toothbrush? Typically speaking, it’s not something that gets misplaced a lot. It generally
stays right there, in the bathroom, where it’s used.”
He chuckled. “It’s more of an occupational hazard. I travel a lot for work.”
“And you keep forgetting to pack it?” She gave him a look of mock sympathy. “I hear a packing list can help with that.”
“Sometimes the trips pop up last minute. No time to pack.” He shrugged as if that were a normal problem.
“Right. I hate when that happens.” She couldn’t tell if he was serious or joking. What kind of job had him leaving so fast, he didn’t have time to pack a bag? “What was it you do, again? Your bio was a little vague about it.”
To be technical, his bio only listed one word under occupation: consultant . There were zero references to what he consulted about. Or with whom.
“I’m actually in a period of transition at the moment.”
“So... unemployed,” she interpreted with a look that might have been considered challenging.
It wasn’t that she cared if he was unemployed. Life was known for dealing all sorts of unexpected turns. What bothered her
was that he was enhancing the detail to try to come across as more impressive than he was.
But instead of seeming offended by her calling him out, or even sputtering another excuse, he seemed more amused. “Not exactly.”
Let the record show he didn’t give any more details , Cora thought. Which she also wasn’t willing to let go of. “What, are you like a spy or something? You’d tell me what you
do, but then you have to kill me?”
“You know, that phrase is widely misrepresented. Telling you something you shouldn’t know might result in a relocation or,
way more commonly, heightened monitoring. But rarely is there killing over it. Too much red tape.”
Once again she rolled her eyes, because who did this guy think he was? She didn’t know who he was used to dating, but the
dangerous and mysterious act didn’t work on her. She wasn’t a damsel in distress looking for a hero, or someone who was easily
impressed by his muscular forearms. Frankly, she’d be more impressed by someone who had a regular schedule for cleaning his
home.
Although, he did have nice forearms.
Before she could be distracted by that thought, he opened the glass door that led to Kiss the Cook and flashed one of his
grins. “On that note, shall we?”
Cora stared at the open door. What she wanted to say was See ya never and head home to binge Netflix in her pink polka-dot jammies.
But walking away would mean she’d have to start over. There would be more questionnaires to fill out. More online chatting.
More meeting someone who turned out to be nothing like he said he was. She didn’t want to prolong this bet any more than necessary.
And since SoulMatch’s AI failed miserably on their first attempt, she didn’t want to see who they’d set her up with on the
second try. For the sake of winning the bet in the quickest way possible—and for that sake only—she refreshed her smile.
“Let’s.” Her answer might’ve come out a little more fake than she’d intended it to, but to be fair, she’d never been good