Page 6 of Eye of the Hurricane (Weathering Doves Harbor #2)

Katherine

My first full week of prep for the new job was absolutely grueling. Still, the hard work is the easier part of all this. The hard part is holding up my promise to Jacob to rest and have fun. Work-life balance, blah blah blah.

I may be having trouble with that side of things. But my best friend, Luna? Jacob telling me that is like a gift to her personally.

“So you told her you have a serious boyfriend and she thinks you’re bringing him to the wedding?” Luna asks, chewing on her bottom lip to hold in her laugh.

“Yep. You can laugh. I know it was stupid,” I groan. She wastes no time letting her laugh loose. Luna has the type of laugh that’s contagious, high-pitched, and loud.

“I get it, though. Your mom scares the shit out of me.”

“You’ve never met her.”

“I’ve heard the legends.”

“Well, the legends hold true.”

“So what are you going to do?” Luna asks. I can’t help but to groan, throwing myself back on my bed .

“I don’t know. Probably make up some story about a breakup. Then again, it’s my mom we’re talking about so no matter what I make up, she’ll be pissed and think it’s my fault,” I huff. Then I consider how silly it is to be worried about being blamed for a fake breakup.

“You could always find a date to take,” Luna says, shrugging.

“You know I don’t have time for dating, especially with this job.”

“I’m not suggesting you get a real boyfriend. I’m just suggesting you take someone with you to the wedding and fake it for a night. What about Ares?” She gives me a wiggle of her brows. “We know he’s into you. It could be fun. And it’s not like he’s an eye sore,” she finishes, winking at me.

“Absolutely not. I might consider it if I hadn’t embarrassed myself by getting drunk and asking him to hook up with me.”

“You’ve seen him, Kat. I’m sure women get drunk and ask him to hook up all the time.”

“Yeah but not me. We’re friends. It was weird.”

“Then let’s go to the single’s night event at The Sand,” she suggests. The last Friday of every month The Sand has a single’s night event for people to go and meet each other.

“Why?”

“To find you a fake date for that wedding.”

I think about saying no, putting up a fight and demanding we stay in. But it kills two birds with one stone, the first being the lie I told my mom and the second being the promise I made to Jacob. So, fuck it. Singles Night it is.

“Fine. But I’m wearing what I have on,” I tell her, standing up to show her. She looks me up and down before rolling her eyes .

“Kat, you live in dresses. You’re already dressed up,” she says with a laugh. It’s one of my less fancy dresses, but she’s right.

The dress I’ve got on is a baby blue dress that sits about mid thigh with a swoop of fabric sitting a little higher on the other thigh.

One strap is off the shoulder and the other sits normally.

It’s just solid blue, no sparkles, no lace, just blue.

She’s right, though. This is still dressing up for most.

“Right, I don’t know why I said that.”

I walk through the wooden doors of The Sand behind Luna, watching as the sea of people part to make way for her. She has a brightness and boldness about her that demands attention.

“Pick your poison,” she says, gesturing to the dance floor that’s normally vacant. Tonight, it’s packed with college aged singles like me looking to find someone to partner up with.

Some are looking for something for the night, some are looking for someone more permanent. I think it’s safe to assume I’m the only one looking for a fake date to a family wedding.

I scan the room and land on a tall brunette in the corner. He has that sexy nerd look about him. Plaid pants, a button up, big glasses that don’t seem too big.

“Okay, I’m going to go talk to him,” I tell Luna. She nods and shoos me away.

I approach him and I’m greeted with a big and bright smile .

“Hi, I’m Katherine, you can call me Kat.” I stick my hand out for a handshake but he pulls me into a hug. The bright and bubbly smile falls from my face quickly at the unexpected contact.

“I’m Dalton, nice to meet you.”

“What are you here looking for, Dalton?” I ask, flashing him a bright smile. Maybe it’s a basic question but I’m looking for something specific, not to lead someone on.

“I feel like I’m finally ready to settle down. I’m ready to find my wife, you know?” The word wife makes me physically recoil. If it wouldn’t be extremely rude I swear I would have turned and ran in the opposite direction.

“Oh… well, I’m not really looking for anything serious.

Not that I’m looking for some hookup,” I add quickly.

“I just mean… I’m not really looking for a husband.

Or a wife. Spouse? Regardless, that’s not…

I’m not…” Holy shit, I’ve never stammered over my own words like this in my life.

I’ve never been the nervous type. I guess this whole thing just really has me out of my comfort zone.

“Got it. Something casual,” he says, putting me out of my misery. He’s looking at me like I have a third eye but I can’t blame him considering the word vomit I was just spewing at him.

“I’m sorry this is new for me,” I admit. He offers me an sympathetic look.

We share some awkward pleasantries before parting ways. I make my way back over to Luna where she’s sitting at a booth alone, nose deep in her phone.

“I hate this,” I grumble, plopping myself down on the opposite side of the booth.

“You talked to one person.”

“He was talking about marriage, Luna. Nothing like talking rings and cradles on the first date. The first conversation, really.” I physically cringe and shiver. All Luna does is laugh.

“Not everyone has a phobia of marriage, you know.”

“You can thank my mom. Beverly ‘women-are-wives-and-mothers’ Graeves.” I slump forward, craning my neck to rest my head on my fist.

As I’m waiting for Luna to give me the all clear and tell me I can go home and pretend this never happened, the little bell above the door rings. I turn my attention to the door.

Ares walks in the doorway, scanning the room.

For about a second I find humor in him coming to a single’s night.

It only takes about fifteen seconds for me to realize he wouldn’t come to something like this.

That can only mean one thing. This is Luna’s doing.

I whip my head in her direction, shooting daggers at her.

“You know anything about this?” I ask, raising a brow at her.

“I’m team Ares, I let that be known. Had to give him a fair shot,” she says, shrugging.

I steal another quick glance at Ares before noticing him making his way over to us.

“What did you say to him?” I grumble, as quietly as possible. Before she can even answer, he’s standing at the end of our booth, towering over us.

“Luna says you asked her to invite me.” The wiggle of his eyebrows and the crinkle of his eyes is annoyingly alluring.

“I did not.”

“Oh come on, Kitty Kat, I know you better than that. I know you didn’t ask.

But I figured whatever made her lie about it was probably interesting enough for me to come see.

” He slides in the booth next to me and gives my shoulder a nudge.

All I can do is roll my eyes. At this point, I don’t even know which one of them it’s directed at.

“I’m going to head out, you’ll get my girl home safe?” Luna asks, directing her attention at Ares.

“Wait, what? You’re leaving?” I cut in. She brushes me off with a wave of her hand.

“I’ll get her home safe.” He gives a firm nod to Luna. She pushes her way through the crowd and walks through the wooden doors. I’m jealous of her as she leaves.

“So, what are you doing at a singles night, Miss ‘I-don’t-have-time-to-date’?” he asks, turning his head to face me more directly.

“It’s a long story.”

“And I have a long time. It would appear you’re in luck.” He winks and my stomach flutters. Immediately I’m shaming that part of me.

“Lucky me,” I say sarcastically.

“We need drinks if you have a long story,” he says, scooting out of the booth and making his way over to the bar. I stay back and watch. I figure he’ll probably bring me back a beer or something else in a can. It’s not my go-to but at this point, I’ll choke down whatever he brings me.

He doesn’t, though. Instead, he comes back with a martini in hand. If that wasn’t already good enough, it’s an espresso martini. My favorite.

He sets the glass down on the wooden table, sliding in front of me. He slides back into the booth next to me.

“How did you know?” I ask, grabbing the glass and taking a sip.

“You were pretty drunk on espresso martinis when you came to my house. In fact I remember you gushing to me about how delicious they are. ”

“Right, should have known. Drunk Kat spills all.”

“So I’ve heard.” His lips tip up in a smile. My cheeks burn red remembering that night. He must notice my embarrassment because he changes the subject. Unbeknownst to him, the new subject isn’t any better.

“So. Singles Night. Why are you here?”

“You want the long version or the short version?”

“My best friends are women. I want the longest version with all of the details, obviously.”

“Okay. Well, my parents are very conservative. Like past the point of Ivy Leagues and into ‘women belong in the kitchen’. As in every time I talk to my mother she tells me I need to drop out of school and find a husband.”

Ares takes advantage of the pause in my story and cuts in.

“So that’s what you’re doing? Looking for a husband?” He looks around the room, unimpressed with the potential suitors here. I can’t blame him. I’m pretty unimpressed myself.

“No. She called the other night and was laying into me about how there’s no chance I get the job I want because I’m a woman and it’s a man’s field, and essentially rendering me useless because I’m single at my old age of twenty-four.

So, I may have told her I have a serious boyfriend to get her off of my back, thinking no harm could come of it.

I was, as I’m sure you could guess, incorrect.

” I chuckle ruefully remembering the fateful phone call.

“She then informed me that my cousin will be getting married here in the fall and she expects me to bring said boyfriend. She also invited herself and the rest of my family to stay with me for the weekend while they’re here.

” The moment I finish what I’m saying I grab the martini and down the rest of it. Ares’ eyebrows rise to his hairline.

“Okay, so your mom sounds really fun,” he says, sarcasm laced into every word. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here or why Luna called me.”

“Well, Luna thinks I should find someone to be my fake boyfriend for the wedding. She thought I should ask you but when I said no, she suggested I try finding someone here.”

“Luna’s right, you should have asked me.”

“I thought it would be weird.”

“Why would it be weird? We’re friends, you’re allowed to ask me for a favor.”

“Because of the other night, I guess,” I admit.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you have nothing to be embarrassed about?”

“I don’t know. That’s just not like me. I feel awkward about it.”

“So that settles it then? I’m your fake boyfriend?” He pops his chin onto his fist and flashes me a megawatt smile. The devil on my shoulder is telling me to say yes.

“No. Definitely not.”

“What? Why not?” He sticks his lip out in an adorable pout. The thought of taking that lip in my mouth flashes through my mind and I have to mentally slap myself on the wrist. What the hell are we doing, team?

“You’re trouble. You’re a distraction. And most of all, no way in hell could you actually sell this thing.”

Ares pulls his hand to his chest in a dramatic show of offense.

“Ouch? I could absolutely sell it. Could you sell it?” The defensive part of me jumps to yell ‘yes’. But when I give it a moment of thought, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve ever been someone’s girlfriend before. It’s not like I have any dating experience .

“I don’t know. I’ve never been someone’s girlfriend before.”

“Okay, so we can practice,” he says simply.

“Practice?” I echo.

“Like pretend in places where it doesn’t matter before we pretend in places that it does. Go on fake dates.”

I don’t want to admit it, but it’s smart. Not only is it smart but it’s a level of effort I can’t picture anyone else putting into being my fake boyfriend. That’s the exact thought that brings me to the conclusion I can’t believe I’m making.

“Okay. Fine. But we’re definitely doing a trial run before I take you around my mom.”

“Deal.”

I hesitate at how quickly he agrees, feeling for all the world that he needs the same warning I’ve given everyone I’ve ever exposed to my family. “Ares, my parents really are not kind. They might say something to you that hurts your feelings. I don’t really take anyone around them.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?”

“Okay.”