Chapter 7
Seven
What the hell did I do? The question echoed through Kara’s mind for the rest of her shift. Why did I agree to go out with him when I’d already decided that wasn’t going to happen? What is wrong with me?
None of her questions came with easy answers. She couldn’t deny that talking to him had made her realize how lonely it had been to wallow in the injustices of the past. She’d spent two whole years of her life licking her proverbial wounds, and she was sick of herself and her bitterness.
Dan was a pain in the ass, to be sure, but he was also handsome, charming, thoughtful and he made her laugh. She hadn’t laughed in so long she’d nearly forgotten how.
Being heartbroken was exhausting.
She was sick of it, and ready to bust out of the shell she’d been in since that dreadful night with Matt and the Merlot.
Whether or not Dan would turn out to be anything more than a charming ass pain remained to be seen.
She refused to make it into anything more than a harmless flirtation, a few exchanged confidences, a small spark of attraction and a couple of laughs.
Her biggest concern since she had, in fact, agreed to go out with him was what she would wear.
After work, she stopped into the marina’s restaurant, where Stephanie was running around behind the counter.
Kara was surprised to see her there. “Isn’t your restaurant opening tomorrow?”
“It is.”
“What’re you doing here?”
“I still work here.”
“Ahh…”
She shrugged. “Most restaurants fail in the first couple of months. I need a backup plan.”
“Your restaurant is not going to fail.”
Stephanie stopped short behind the counter and turned to Kara, her expression vulnerable. “How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve seen how hard you work, and I’ve heard great things about what you’re doing over at Stephanie’s Bistro. Everyone is so excited about it.”
“Are they?”
“Yes. You’re going to be a big hit. I know it.”
Stephanie’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you. You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that.”
“You’ve got this.”
“I sure hope so. You’re coming tomorrow night, right?”
“I’m looking forward to it. Where should I go around here for something fun to wear?”
“Go see Tiffany at Naughty & Nice. She’ll fix you right up.”
“Isn’t that a sex shop?”
Steph laughed. “Among other things. She has amazing dresses and clothes in addition to the sexy stuff.”
“Ah, gotcha. I’ll check it out.”
Since it was getting late, Kara decided to head into town right away rather than go home to change first. She was working early tomorrow and didn’t want to be stressing about the date all day.
Ha! She probably would even if she had something to wear on her first date in this new chapter of her life.
Bells rang on the door when she stepped into the boutique across the street from the ferry landing. Everyone had been talking about Tiffany marketing her store by wearing the sexy stuff outside the shop and causing car accidents. Kara admired fearless women and was looking forward to meeting her.
“Hi there. May I help you find something?” a pretty dark-haired woman asked.
“I’m looking for a dress, but this seems to be an underwear store.” Despite what Steph had told her, she didn’t see any dresses.
“Actually, we have some summer dresses in the back. Could I show you?”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
“Have we met?” She led Kara to the back of the store. “You look familiar.”
“You were at Luke and Syd’s party last fall, right?”
“Yes! That’s it. I’m Tiffany Sturgil, Maddie McCarthy’s sister.”
“Kara Ballard. I run the new launch service in the Salt Pond.”
“It’s all coming back to me now.” Tiffany gestured to the racks of sundresses that lined the back of the store. “What’s the occasion?”
“The opening of Stephanie’s restaurant.”
“I’m so looking forward to that. Should be a great party.”
“I have no idea what to wear.”
“You’ve come to the right place.” Tiffany looked through the racks, seeming to have something in mind. “How about this?” She held up a red halter dress with exotic flowers on the skirt. “Summery, but not too flashy. Something tells me you don’t do flash.”
“Not really my thing,” Kara said with a grin. “But I love that. Could I try it on?”
“Absolutely. Patty, would you please open a dressing room for Kara?”
“You got it, boss,” a younger woman said.
“I’ve got the perfect strapless bra that’d work perfectly with this dress.” Tiffany glanced at Kara’s chest, trying to be subtle. “Thirty-four D?”
Kara stared at her. “How’d you know that?”
“She knows her breasts,” Patty said, making Tiffany and Kara laugh.
Kara took the dress into the fitting room and didn’t check the mirror until the last second. She loved what she saw, and that never happened. As a rule, she hated being dressed up.
“Fabulous,” Tiffany said when she stepped out of the room.
“Definitely,” Patty agreed.
Kara stood in front of the three-way mirror and looked at the dress from all angles. “I have to say I agree. Perfect.”
Tiffany held up a silky thong. “This would make it perfect.”
Kara eyed the thong with trepidation. “Never gone there.”
“Oh, honey, you can’t have panty lines with that dress,” Tiffany said.
“I suppose you’re right. I’ll take it all.”
“Great!” Tiffany started for the register but must’ve caught a glimpse of Kara’s hesitance out of the corner of her eye. “What is it?”
“I, um… I have a date. First one since a bad breakup a couple of years ago. You think he’ll like this?”
“Any man with a pulse would like that dress and how it looks on you.”
Kara laughed. “You sure know how to fill a girl with confidence.”
“That’s my job.”
Kara went into the dressing room and emerged a few minutes later with the dress on a hanger.
Tiffany rang up the sale. “Going out with anyone I know?”
“Maybe… Dan Torrington?”
“Oh, I love Dan! He did a great job with my divorce, and I have so much admiration for his career.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t know about him?”
“Not too much beyond the fact that he’s an LA lawyer with a healthy ego and a handsome face.”
“He is rather handsome, isn’t he?”
“Rather.”
“Girlfriend, you need to spend some time with Google.” Tiffany spun her computer monitor around and pushed the keyboard across the counter. “Have a look.”
Kara, who’d refrained from a deeper dive on him out of sheer self-preservation, though she’d been tempted many times, typed Dan’s name into the browser.
She scanned the headlines about his successful career helping to exonerate people who’d been unjustly incarcerated, including Stephanie’s stepfather, and was shocked to the core.
Why had he never told her that was what he really did?
How had she not heard about what he’d done for Charlie Grandchamp?
“He never said anything,” Kara stammered. “He never said.”
“Ought to make for one heck of a book, huh?”
“Yes, I’d imagine so. Wow. I thought I had him all figured out, you know?”
“That’s a man for you—just when you think you know him.” Tiffany grinned as she handed Kara the bag containing her purchases. “I’ll see you at the opening.”
“Thanks so much for your help.”
“My pleasure.”
Kara carried the shock of what she’d learned about him with her as she drove home with the dress hanging from a hook in the back seat. She felt so stupid. Not only was he doing the kind of work that would earn him an automatic place in heaven, but he was famous, too, and she’d had no clue.
She just kept wondering why he hadn’t told her. In her experience, most people loved to talk about themselves and their achievements. He’d waged a months-long campaign to get her to go out with him without ever mentioning the one thing that might’ve swayed her.
Why?
How was she supposed to wait twenty-four hours to ask him that?
Because she’d gone out of her way not to encourage his attention, she had no idea where he lived or how to get in touch with him.
She could probably find out if she really wanted to.
Gansett was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone else’s business.
But if she went looking for him, that would send a message she wasn’t certain she was ready to deliver.
So she’d have to wait until tomorrow night before she could ask him why he hadn’t told her what he really did or what his book was about.
The next day crawled by slowly and wasn’t broken up by a visit from a handsome man with dimples.
Kara was annoyed with herself for missing him when only yesterday, she’d been trying to get rid of him.
Something had changed for her after he told her what his ex-fiancée and ex-best friend had done to him.
It occurred to her that he probably understood her pain better than anyone else ever could.
They’d both been deceived by people they loved.
She rushed home after work to shower and get ready.
The red dress looked amazing, Kara decided as she twirled before the full-length mirror one last time.
She’d taken the time to blow-dry her hair, which she did twice a year, usually for weddings or funerals.
Which is this? she wondered. Though she felt lighter and more frivolous than she had since the Great Betrayal, she wasn’t sure she was ready to risk her heart again.
Going out with a new man meant the end of her self-inflicted mourning period over her relationship with Matt.
To portray him as only a villain didn’t do justice to the two years they’d spent together.
She’d been happy for most of that time and thought he was, too.
Only when he’d confessed to having feelings for her sister had she discovered he wasn’t happy at all.
He’d been miserable, she later learned, trying to figure out a way to tell her his feelings had changed.
In some ways, that was the worst part of the whole thing.
She’d had two long years since it blew up to consider the various injustices that’d been inflicted upon her.
Time after time, she came back to the same thing—how had she not known?
Had there been signs she’d missed? There must’ve been, but she’d gone over and over the last few months they’d spent together and couldn’t recall anything that would’ve indicated what was going on behind her back.
She’d spent time with her sister during those months, too, and again, nothing had stood out.
After it all came to light, Kara had been left with her self-confidence in shambles along with her judgment.
If two of the people closest to her could betray her so completely, how could she ever trust anyone again?
That thought filled her with unwelcome sorrow and grated on her nerves as she grabbed a sweater to take with her.
She was determined to go out with Dan tonight and have a good time without making it into a big bloody deal.
He was just another guy who wanted the same thing every guy wanted from a woman, though she had no interest in that with him or anyone else.
She was still mid-pep talk when he arrived with a light knock on her door.
“Here goes nothing,” she whispered as she went to answer the door.
She pulled it open and had to bite back the gasp of amazement that nearly slipped from her lips.
He was gorgeous. Dressed in a navy sport coat with a light blue dress shirt and khakis, he’d combed his dark hair into submission and looked positively dashing.
He held out a festive-looking bouquet of red, yellow and orange Gerbera daisies. “For you.”
Rattled by his appearance and the unexpected flowers, she stepped back from the door. “Come in.”
He came into the big open room that housed her living area and kitchen and took a look around. “What a great space.”
“I like it.” She took the flowers from him and went to rummage around in the cabinets for something she could use as a vase. “Mr. McCarthy rented it to me. He and his family are really nice people.” Stop yammering.
“I like them, too. I’ve been friends with Grant for years, but I’d never met the rest of his family until recently.
” He picked up a picture of Kara with her parents, studied it and returned it to the table.
It was the only photo of them she’d brought with her when she moved, even though she was still disappointed in them.
All her other family photos were in storage for now.
“They make you feel like you’ve known them forever. ”
“Yes, they do.” She finished arranging the pretty blooms in a beer stein. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re my favorite.”
“Are they really?” He seemed pleased to hear that he’d gotten something right. “I took a guess that you’d prefer them over the more obvious choice of roses.”
Kara recalled how Matt used to bring her roses, even after she’d told him she was one of five women alive who didn’t like the smell of them. How was it possible that this man she barely knew already understood her better than Matt had after two years together?
“Did I say the wrong thing again?” Dan asked, seeming genuinely concerned.
“No.”
“Right when I think I’ve seen all your expressions, you surprise me with a new one.”
Kara had no idea how to respond to that. She’d never had anyone pay that kind of attention to her before.
“By the way,” he said, “you look amazing. When you answered the door, I was rendered speechless for a second there. You probably know me well enough by now to suspect that doesn’t happen very often.”
Kara couldn’t help but laugh at the self-deprecating face he made.
“I like when you laugh,” he said, watching her intently.
“It’s been a while since anything made me laugh.”
“That’s too bad.” He extended a hand to her. “What do you say we go have some more laughs?”
Kara stared at his outstretched hand for a breathless moment before she took what he offered.