Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Animal Attraction
JAMIE
If hunting for a date had felt fun, festive, and rife with possibilities, Jamie had resolved that getting ready for a date with a stranger had her riddled with self-hatred and bad wardrobe choices.
Dressed in a black linen romper that was a little too tight, Jamie decided to put her unruly nest of blond hair in another messy bun, just like it had been that morning when she’d taken Dash for a walk and ran into the cute guy at the Petal Café.
When she went back in, however, he was gone.
She never got a name. Still, she kept thinking about him.
Smoldering dark eyes framed by thick dark eyebrows, salt-and-pepper hair, rakish smile.
It was only a few moments, but she picked up ambitious, warm, dog lover …
but that was it. He seemed familiar in some way, but she couldn’t land on where she might have seen him before.
She decided to focus on her short-term goals.
There was the odd chance that tonight’s date might turn out to be him.
A handsome stranger at a coffee shop named Theo.
It was possible. She’d never managed to get a really good look at Theo.
All his profile pictures were far away, and he’d been clad in sunglasses in all of them.
Maybe the scales of love would tip in her favor.
Or maybe he was an ogre? Time would tell.
She had applied some makeup and glanced at herself in the mirror, vaguely unhappy with what she saw. She didn’t have time to shave her legs because a call with a chief marketing officer accused of belittling an intern had run long.
Jamie kept her toxic self-criticisms at bay and reminded herself of the goal at hand: This was not love, this was a stop-gap measure to preserve her inheritance.
She needed a suitable candidate, someone her mother would believe she might marry.
Someone she could get along with for a week in Hawaii.
It was not a tall order. She slipped into her wedge flip-flops and walked the short distance down to The Strand to Pier Avenue.
The sun cast its late golden light all over the little beach town, gilding the patio railings and casting all the people milling around in a warm glow.
The locals were out in force enjoying the cooler air, which had a hint of salt on it.
A squad of pelicans flew by on their way to hunt for dinner.
She heard the sounds of cutlery and clinking glasses, the scratch of skateboards on pavement, the lilt of an acoustic guitar from a pub across the plaza.
The soundtrack of Hermosa Beach. It was calm and the sunset should be spectacular, a perfect night for a date.
She arrived at their appointed location on Tenth Street, looked out onto the ocean and saw two men on the sand, about fifty yards apart. One was wearing a corduroy shirt, hands in pockets, watching the water. The other guy was dressed in a tie-dyed T-shirt and was doing Tai Chi all by himself.
“Please don’t let it be the Tai Chi guy,” Jamie mumbled to herself just as the Tai Chi guy turned around and waved at her. She froze.
Jamie desperately turned around to pray he wasn’t waving at her, and much to her delight, she saw a very tanned, skinny white girl with neon pink hair in dreads and wearing a macramé halter top lazily waving back.
Tai Chi Guy and Macramé Girl met at The Strand wall and shared an open-mouthed cringe-worthy kiss just as Corduroy Shirt Guy walked up.
He was tall, with curly brown hair and intense brown eyes. He had bit of an overbite that made him seem disarming, edging on goofy. He smiled and she felt at ease.
“It’s their first date too,” the guy said as he discreetly pointed a thumb toward the couple who had progressed into groping each other. “Hi, I’m Theo.”
Jamie laughed. “Hi, Theo.” She shook his hand and then pointed to the couple, who were vigorously making out. “Let me start by managing expectations.”
“You’re not up for a public mauling?”
Cheeky. “Depends on how good your Tai Chi moves are.”
Theo grinned. “Nice to meet you.” He held out his elbow for Jamie to grab.
Jamie smiled and took it. She was picking up all good things so far from Theo. Confident, respectful, easygoing manner … but there was something else. Something weird. She couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Hey, do you mind if we pivot slightly?” Theo asked. Uh-oh
“Depends on what we’re pivoting to,” Jamie said warily.
“A friend of mine just opened this super cool speakeasy a few blocks this way.” He gestured to the north. Uncorked was to the east.
Jamie was caught off guard by the change of venue but was not fast enough to object.
She nodded even though she would be more comfortable at the wine bar.
She knew people there, and no one to her knowledge had been drugged and raped at Uncorked.
Far from it. It was one of her favorite spots.
But Theo seemed nice and he had suggested a special place, and there was no reason for her to be difficult, something her mother always accused her of.
“Okay,” she said but started sweating a little. It’ll be fine.
Fine.
Everything’s going to be fine.
Maybe that was the something weird she was picking up from Theo. Just his change of venue. Sure. That’s it. She wished she could mute her talent. Stop prejudging and give the weirdo a chance!
Theo started talking about what he did for a living, something to do with craftmanship and processing. She could hear the pride in his voice, but she wasn’t paying complete attention as they walked north toward a part of town where two boutique luxury hotels now stood.
Developers had mowed down a string of small shops and a few historic beach bungalows to make way for a new high-end hotel, a testament to the theory that progress marches on and paves over.
These several blocks had once been home to a surf and skateboard shop, an old- school barber shop, Either/Or Bookstore and her favorite breakfast joint, the Backburner Café.
Best pancakes in town. It had been a special place where her dad always took her on Sundays.
Her heart stuttered at the memory of her father.
“Here we are,” Theo said as he stopped right in front.
“Welcome to the Beach Lodge.” The Backburner Café’s original patio had been transformed into a dark wood portico, with gas lamps flickering on each side of the opening.
A heavy door with an iron doorknocker faced them.
Theo went on to explain how his friend had reimagined the idea of a speakeasy, but Jamie’s memories came flooding in and drowned him out.
The Backburner patio with her dad. She was ten, still wore braids in her hair. She ordered the short stack, no powdered sugar, her dad got fried eggs and sourdough toast, his usual. The salty air mixed in with the nutty scent of freshly brewed chicory coffee.
They talked about all the things Jamie couldn’t talk about at home.
“Don’t be silly, your mother loves you. She just has a hard time with affection.”
“No, Dad. You don’t understand.” Reluctant tears formed in her eyes.
“What don’t I understand?” Her dad rubbed her back and tried to calm her down.
“She’s mean. She took my diary. And she uses my secrets against me. Doesn’t she do the same thing to you? I saw her take your favorite journal from your office.”
“Wait. What?” Her dad seemed instantly alarmed. “When?”
“Last week,” Jamie answered.
Her dad’s blue eyes clouded over for a moment as he looked out to the street, as if seeing a storm approaching.
“Dad?”
He stood up so fast, his chair bounced back with a clatter. Jamie turned to see what he was seeing. A pair of policemen had pulled up. One of them walked up to their table.
“Hal Frisco? We have a warrant for your arrest.”
Jamie was bewildered by the siren chirping and her father being put in handcuffs.
Just then that same siren chirped as it sailed by Jamie, bringing her back to the moment with Theo, standing in front of the imposing portico that used to be the Backburner patio.
“Hey, Jamie, you still with me?” Theo waved a hand in front of her face and snapped his fingers.
Jamie shook her head to dispel the memory. “Wow, sorry, I really got lost there. A lot of memories of this place.”
“Oh yeah? Good ones, I hope.” Theo smiled. He seemed chivalrous. Maybe it was the Crocs Theo was wearing that put Jamie off. Maybe.
You’re on a date! Be normal, you freak! Jamie pushed away her annoying intuition and took his arm as he guided her into the dark entryway.
He knocked on the door. A small window opened and Theo said, “Mad Hatter.”
The heavy door swung in and they strode into the bar. He looked at Jamie. “You need a password, isn’t that cool?”
Jamie half-heartedly smiled. The last thing I need is to remember another password to get a drink. She walked inside and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Jamie could smell orange peel, the musty scent of old books, and new leather.
A polished dark walnut bar ran the length of the room on the right-hand side. Edison lamps were strategically placed around the room to create a glow more than actually cast light. On the left, rich brown leather sofas sat facing each other.
When Jamie looked up to the walls, she began to see all manner of mounted animal heads.
There was your basic taxidermy represented: deer, elk, and various trout families.
But upon closer inspection, there were some bizarre additions.
She stood there trying to take it all in when Theo interrupted.
Little alarm bells were going off in her ears.
“The house special is a Maple Old Fashioned. Would you like one?”
“Uh, sure.”
Theo led Jamie to two barstools. She took a seat and gazed back at the walls, trying to grasp what she was seeing.
This was taxidermy on overdrive. Some of the stuffed creatures were given human accoutrements.
A wolverine with an eyeglass holding a book, a rabbit with a martini shaker, two foxes with ping-pong paddles.