14 Bianca
“Where are we going again?” Luke asked as soon as Bianca opened his truck door.
“A building day for some charity. I think they make beds for kids who don’t have one.” She climbed into the truck that was
becoming familiar and shut the creaky door with the exact amount of effort required to make it latch on the first try, but
not so much it would be considered slamming. It was a learned talent for a door that required a lot more oomph than the normal car door, and she’d finally mastered it.
Luke shifted into Drive and pulled onto the street. “Sounds like a worthy cause. But what inspired you to do it today ?” He punctuated the last word with a questioning look.
“It’s where Cora and Jax are.”
“And you’re stalking them. Again.” There was a heavy note of accusation in his voice, and for a second she thought he might
refuse to go. Which would be unfortunate because not only did she need a ride, but she also needed a cover story. And an ally.
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “ Stalking is such a negative word. I like to think of it as ‘discreetly checking in on them to make sure everything is going well.’”
He gave her a look that said she was full of baloney, but didn’t turn his truck around. “And why am I going on your wellness
check?”
“Because you’re my cover story.”
Luke shook his head. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”
Maybe he wouldn’t, but regardless of what he thought, this plan was actually perfect.
“It would look suspicious if I showed up on my own. But if I show up with you, someone who loves this charity and has done it before, it’s not weird.
You were already going to help out, and you brought me along with you. ”
“So we’re going to lie?”
“Of course not.” Again she wrinkled her nose at the negative word. “Think of it as a spy mission and this is our cover story.
The well-being of several people is on the line here, and we have to do what it takes to protect them.”
He shot her another glance that had a healthy dose of judgment. “You realize we’re talking about your adult sister, who is
on a date that she planned herself, right?”
“And?”
“And if anyone can take care of herself, it’s Cora.”
“Clearly you don’t know my sister very well.” Bianca crossed her arms in front of her chest defiantly. “Plus, like I said
earlier, if you do this for me this morning, I’ll do the whole dinner on the beach setup on my own tonight. Cleanup and everything.”
“It would be nice to have a night off.” He seemed to weigh the options. “Why do you care so much that this relationship works
out? I mean, it’s Jax Verona. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t think any relationship has ever lasted with
Jax Verona. He’s kind of known for it.”
“Which makes him an even more perfect candidate.” She caught herself just in time. “I mean, boyfriend.”
Luke shot her an accusatory glance.
“It’s complicated.”
He shook his head but didn’t argue. Instead, he headed in the direction the GPS told him to go.
Technically speaking, Bianca wasn’t breaking any rule by following Cora on a date. Crashing her dates was nowhere on the official
terms Savannah had drawn up. Was it a gray area? Maybe, but Bianca was willing to risk it because she had a lot on the line
here.
It wasn’t just about marrying Zander. Of course, she wanted her sisters’ support—family was important—but she didn’t need it. At the end of the day, she was an adult and could marry whoever she believed to be the best choice for her.
The main reason she wanted to win the bet, the far more important reason, was to prove that she wasn’t a disappointment. And
right now, that’s what her sisters saw her as. A joke. Someone who couldn’t get her act together in a world of people who
were slaying it.
And maybe they were right. She didn’t exactly have a stellar track record. Her career aspirations were still in the TBD category
and, at twenty-five, her dad still paid most of her bills. She couldn’t even seem to commit to a hobby long enough to finish
it. But it wasn’t because she wasn’t motivated. She just couldn’t find the right fit. Her future was there, she just couldn’t
quite see it yet.
And honestly, letting her dad pay some of her bills was just smart money management. The family plan cell phone was just a
better deal for both of them. And why change car insurances when what she had was working?
Now that she’d met Zander, all of that was about to change, because she had a plan for her life. Sure, it might have been
Zander’s plan, but it was a perfect fit for her. Help Zander open his own legal practice; buy a house zoned for a good school.
Have three kids three years apart. It was perfect. Her life was going to be perfect.
If her sisters couldn’t see that, she’d have to prove it to them by winning this dumb bet and demonstrating just how capable
SoulMatch was.
So, yeah, she was meddling in Cora’s date. But it was the good kind of meddling. The justified kind.
“Okay, there’s one thing you should know,” she said to Luke.
“Please tell me I don’t have to pretend to be someone else. I’m going to be honest, I’m not a good liar. I don’t think I could
pull it off.”
“Of course not. We’re not actual spies.” She gave a slight that’s-the-most-ridiculous-thing-I’ve-ever-heard shake of her head. “I was going to say we’re getting there late. Everyone else has already been working for an hour out of
their three-hour shift. I don’t think our entrance will be all that noticeable, but just in case I thought you should know.”
“And why are we that late?”
“Because I just found out where she was going this morning, and it took me a while to get us registered and out the door. But when I talked to the director this morning, he said being late was not a problem and they’re happy to have us.”
“I’m guessing there’s a spy-games answer on why I’m late for my favorite charity?”
“Managing all those properties can be so unpredictable. Things come up.”
Luke shook his head. “I don’t know why I agreed to this.”
“I do.” She beamed at him. “Mostly because you’re a great guy. And partly because you want the night off from setting up another
romantic dinner on the beach.”
“You can say that again. Which reminds me, I got three new requests today that I need to go over with you. Who knew private
dinners on the beach would be such a big business?”
“People love a fairy tale,” Bianca said in a singsong voice.
And she loved creating them. Dreaming up and then creating the perfect scene for each individual dinner was fun. Honestly,
it didn’t even feel like work. She almost felt bad that Luke paid her to do it. But since she quit her job before she came
to Sunnyside, she sure wasn’t going to refuse the money.
“Anyway, we can talk about the new jobs on our way home. After we make sure my sister doesn’t tank her relationship.”
And it was a good thing she’d come to check, because when they got there, Cora was about as far away from Jax as possible.
As soon as they got checked in, Bianca did her best to put herself in Cora’s line of sight. It didn’t take long before Cora
saw her and did a double take.
Bianca feigned surprise. “Cora!” She waved across the busy stations full of people doing various woodworking jobs, pretending
to be surprised by this turn of events. “Luke, look, it’s Cora! What a coincidence!”
She left Luke, who was heading for the sanding table, and wound her way over to where her sister was.
“What are you doing here?” Cora glanced in both directions as if surveying who was listening to them, her expression leaving little guesswork for how she felt about her sister’s unexpected appearance.
“Building beds.” She gave her sister a look like duh . “What an incredible organization.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here. On my date.”
“Really?” Bianca made a big show of scanning the area for Jax. As soon as she made eye contact with him, she gave him a little
finger wave. “Look at that. Your date. On the other side of the workshop.”
“It’s a shared experience.”
“It’s something, all right.”
Cora huffed. “You can’t interfere with my date. It’s against the rules.”
“First of all, I’m not interfering. I’m volunteering.” She held up her volunteer sticker as if she needed proof. “And secondly,
I’m pretty sure tanking the date is against the rules, too. Jax walking away because you pushed him out the door isn’t the
same thing as leaving.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” There was a bite to Cora’s words.
Bianca ignored it and smiled brightly. “Then my being here won’t be a problem.”
Cora huffed.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some sanding to do.”
Bianca sashayed away to join Luke at the sanding table. Clearly, he understood the assignment because he’d chosen a spot close
to Jax. Bianca took up the spot right next to him.
“I hear you’re stalking,” Jax said with an amused grin.
Okay, maybe Luke hadn’t understood the assignment as well as she’d thought.
Luke shrugged. “I told you I can’t lie.”
Bianca refocused on Jax with an innocent smile. “We’re not stalking. We’re just checking in to make sure everything’s going
well.”
“Going great. Thanks.”
She raised a questioning eyebrow. “Really? Do you often go on dates where you don’t spend time with your, um... date?”
Jax didn’t respond, but there was a slight hitch in his attitude that said maybe he wasn’t handling this as well as he would’ve liked.
“What’s your plan?” Bianca continued. “For after this, I mean.”
Jax ran his hand along the board he was working on to check for rough edges. “I have no plans. This is her date.”
Bianca gave him a disapproving look. “Does sitting back and seeing what happens usually work out for you?”
“Typically speaking, my dates tend to work out.”
“Past the second date?” Again, with the raised eyebrow.
That one got him. “What are you suggesting? A double date?”
She pointed between herself and Luke. “We’re not dating, so no. We’re just here to sand.” She held the sander up for emphasis.
“And stalk?”
“Support,” Bianca corrected.
“Literally just here to sand,” Luke added, focusing on running his sander along his board.
“Well, thanks for the support, but I think I got this.” Jax tucked his earplug back into his ear.
“Ocean views,” Bianca blurted out.
“What?” Jax paused the earplug task.
“She has a soft spot for ocean views. The more photographable, the better.”
Jax stared down at the table, seeming to process that information. After a second he looked up, every bit of the confidence
she’d seen that first night returning. “Good to know.”
And just like that, she knew they were back in the game.