Page 4

CHAPTER 4

CASSIE

I hold my brush tightly between my fingers, concentrating on keeping my hand steady so I can put the intricate details of the highlights in the hair of the woman I’m painting. I get really close to the canvas and squint in order to see if I filled in the lines that I have envisioned to give the hair color some depth. The ringing of my cell phone startles me, and my hand goes adrift, causing me to paint outside of her hairline.

“Ugh,” I groan in frustration and toss my brush into a cup of water. Normally, I put my phone on silent when I’m painting, trying to minimize any distractions for the few hours that I get to do this, but I must’ve forgotten. I look to see who’s calling and Grace’s name pops up on my screen. Grace Harper is like a sister to me and has been my best friend since high school. Typically, I wouldn’t pick up the phone while painting, but I’m just not into it today. I’m frustrated and Grace’s phone call is a welcome distraction right now.

“What are you doing?” I ask her as I answer my phone and take a seat in my chair.

“Getting ready to be an adult and go to work. What are you doing?”

“I was trying to paint, but I’m just not in the mood. If this is how it’s going to be before my next job, then unemployment is going to be a real doozy.”

“What are you even talking about?” She scoffs. “You sell your print on demand art, that’s technically not being unemployed.”

“I told you I haven’t sold much yet. Definitely not enough to cover the bills.” Fortunately, my only bills are my student loans for art school and my car payment, not to mention food, cell phone and insurance.

“Isn’t Marissa paying you to house sit for her?”

“She is, but I was only housesitting to let the movers come in and get everything. The house is basically empty now with just a couple of things left for me to pack up for them.” With Marissa and Alec already owning a home in Kelowna, they decided to sell their house here to one of Alec’s teammates who is buying it after signing a multi-year contract. The guy and his family move in next week.

“So, you're back at your dad’s house?”

“Yeah, just for the time being.”

“You can always move in with me,” Grace offers, and I smile at her generosity. One of the things I love about Grace is that she’s always trying to take care of other people and save them when they need it, which makes becoming a nurse the perfect occupation for her.

“Love you for offering, but I need to live rent free for a little while. Besides, your mom told me she might have another job lined up for me.”

Grace’s mom, Katherine, owns a nanny agency who caters to celebrities, athletes, doctors, and other high-end clients. She’s always treated me like another daughter and when my art career wasn’t taking off, she suggested I try being a nanny for the time being. The pay is great, and I usually have time to paint.

“Nice. Did she give you any details yet about who the family is?”

“Not yet, but she said she should know more later this week.”

“Well before you go back into full-time work mode, I think you should meet me for a little pow-wow before the blind date I set you up on.”

Blind date? Did I hear her correctly?

“I think our connection is breaking up because I could’ve sworn you said you set me up on a blind date.”

She laughs. “That’s exactly what I said.”

I shake my head and groan, because the audacity of her thinking I would even want to be set up on a blind date is comical. “Why would I ever agree to go on a blind date? You know exactly how I feel about dating right now.”

“Cassie, you’re a twenty-four-year-old hermit. Do you know how sad that is? You need to get yourself out there and meet new people. I can’t be your only friend for the rest of your life.”

I roll my eyes at her dramatics. “You’re not my only friend, Grace.”

“Oh yeah? Name your other friends who you talk to and see on a regular basis?”

I pause for a few seconds and realize I can’t name anyone else. Somehow after my breakup with my ex, I stopped talking to our mutual friends. Grace, her mom, and Marissa are the only friends in my life right now.

“That’s beside the point.” I brush off her comment, refusing to admit she’s right. “A blind date is not going out with a friend; it’s going out with a stranger. A stranger who could be a serial killer.”

She giggles. “You’re being ridiculous. A blind date could lead to a new friend if you don’t want to be romantically involved with him. Don’t worry though, this guy is hot.”

I'm already skeptical about this. Grace’s taste in men is questionable at times. “If he’s so hot then why don’t you go on a date with him?”

“You know I can’t do that if I’m supposed to be in this fake relationship with Carter.”

“Your ‘fake’ relationship is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Grace met Carter Callahan, a pitcher for the Tennessee Terrors, while he was at Nashville Hope Hospital doing charity work. A lot of the baseball players make the rounds occasionally, some for the right reasons, some only for publicity. I haven’t figured out which reason Carter was there yet, but if publicity was the goal, he got it and then some. One of the mothers to a patient was an overzealous fan and bothering Carter, so Cassie swooped in and pretended to be his “girlfriend” so the woman would leave him alone. When a video of him kissing Grace went viral, she agreed to fake date him to save both their reputations.

“Yes, you’ve made your feelings regarding my relationship crystal clear, and I don’t need another reminder of how stupid you think I am.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid, I think you agreeing to a fake relationship was a poor decision.” I chose my words a little more carefully this time since Grace is being sensitive about the subject. Grace is one of the smartest people I know, but when it comes to good-looking men, she loses all her rational brain cells. This could also be a ploy to save her from the doctor her father wants her to marry, whom she despises.

She clears her throat. “Well, I’m not going to admit you’re right, but maybe I should’ve taken more time to think about the consequences.”

I snicker because she basically just said I was right but not in so many words. “I’ve thought about the consequences of going on this blind date and the answer is no.”

“I already told him that you would meet him, so it’s a little too late for that.”

Now this makes me irrationally angry. “Why would you do that, Grace? That’s pretty messed up. Best friends don’t do that to each other.”

“I know and I’m sorry, Cassie,” she whines in her high-pitched voice that drives me crazy. “But he keeps asking me out and I’m not interested in him that way. I told him I was seeing someone and he just looked so disappointed, so I tried to soften the blow of my rejection by telling him all about my sister from another mister who’s even kinder and hotter than me.”

“So, you want me to go out with someone who wasn’t even interested in me in the first place?”

“How could he have been interested if he didn’t know you even existed?”

Fair point, but it’s still not cool that she told him I would go before asking me about it.

“I don’t know, Grace. You know how I feel about these things. I just don’t think this is a good idea.”

“His name is Aaron and he’s a pharmaceutical rep that supplies the pharmacy inside the children’s hospital. He seems like a very nice guy who makes really good money.”

“You know that doesn’t appeal to me.”

“A hot guy making a lot of money doesn’t appeal to you?”

“Right now, dating doesn’t appeal to me.”

“Please do this for me, Cassie,” she begs, and I can feel my resolve withering. “It’s just a drink and possibly a meal. I didn’t even tell him your real name.”

This amuses me and makes me slightly happy. “What name did you tell him?”

“Amber. I just thought it would be easier to give him a fake name in case you don’t want to talk to him again.”

“But then what happens if I do end up liking him? How do I explain lying to him about my name?”

“Can we cross that bridge when we get to it, please?”

I sigh and give in like the sucker that I am. “When’s the date?”

“Yay!” I hear her clapping in excitement. “It’s in three days.”

“ Three days? ” I screech like a parrot. “What the heck, Grace? What were you going to do if I refused to go?”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down because you love me, and you hate disappointing people.”

“Way to play with my emotions, Grace.” My tone is snide and heavy with sarcasm. “I have no idea what I’m even going to wear.”

“I’ll come over and help you pick something out. We definitely want you to look sexy.”

I scoff. “Why would we want that? I’m not having sex with him. In fact, I don’t even want him to like me.

“Of course you want him to like you! And it’s okay to have casual sex, Cassie. If you are vibing on each other, then why not?”

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose with my free hand. “This is all becoming overwhelming.”

“Now that I think about it, I think that’s exactly your problem. When was the last time you had sex?”

I groan, hating that we’re having this conversation. My ex was the last person I’ve been with and that was three years ago. “You know when the last time I had sex was, and I have no interest in having sex with anyone right now.”

“You act like a grandma. In fact, I take that back—grandmas are having more sex than you are.”

“Shush up, Grace,” I tell her over her hyena laughter. “You’ve already made me ruin my painting by calling me and now you’re ruining my day by demanding I go on this date.”

“Let’s think positive: maybe Aaron will be the one and you guys will fall madly in love.”

“Highly doubtful. Plus, you and I have opposite tastes in men so you saying he’s hot is debatable.”

“I promise you he’s good-looking. Hold on and I’ll send you a photo.”

“Why do you have a photo of him?” I question, thinking about how odd that is.

“I don’t, it’s from his social media pages.” I can hear her clicking on her phone and then my phone dings, letting me know that I have a text. I open up the text and look at the photo. He is good-looking in a very preppy, good ol’ boy kind of way.

“So, what do you think?” she asks after I’m silent for a couple of minutes.

“Honestly, he looks like he could be the cousin to Mr. Rogers with the clothes he’s wearing.”

“Cas, that’s so horrible of you to judge someone by their clothes. This guy could be your soulmate and you’re going to make fun of what he’s wearing?” She tsks at me and I feel like I’m being scolded by my elementary school principal. “You know better than that, young lady.”

“Good lord, thanks for the epic guilt trip and making me feel like a shitty human.”

“You’re welcome,” she responds cheerfully, and I know she’s enjoying every minute of this. “So, can I confirm with him a time and location for you to meet? I was thinking you guys can meet at Uncle Choy’s in the Gulch. It’s a nice restaurant with a great bar, so at least you’ll get a good meal out of it.”

“You can’t assume that he’s going to pick up the tab, Grace.” I’ve heard Marissa talk about Alec taking her on a date there, so I know it’s going to be pricey. “That’s a very expensive restaurant and not what my budget can afford right now.”

“I’ll give you money,” she offers. “You deserve to go somewhere nice, Cassie.”

“I don’t want your money.”

“It’s the least I can do for setting you up without your permission.”

She’s right—she does owe me for taking one for the team. “That is true. Fine, give me your money.”

“Awesome, it’s a date!” She squeals in such giddy excitement that I can’t help but laugh.

“What the heck am I going to do with you, Grace Harper?”

“You’re going to love me forever.”

I snort at that because if she keeps these shenanigans up, I sure won’t be. “We’ll see. I better not be stabbed and thrown in the back of a pick-up truck and dumped in a landfill.”

“I’ve got eyes on you all the time since we can see each other’s locations on our phones. I expect a play-by-play of the action, including any sexy time that might occur.”

“Yeah, not happening.”

“You’re such a party pooper. Hey, listen, I need to get going. I have to pack a bag to change at work for Carter’s opening night tonight. You will need to come to some games with me.”

“No, thank you. It was bad enough I had to sit through some hockey games. Baseball is even more boring.”

“When you go to a game with me they aren’t.”

I laugh. “I bet they aren’t.”

“I’ll call you later. Love you and thanks again.”

We hang up and I put my phone on my desk. I look over at my painting and sigh, my conversation with Grace playing over in my head. She’s right that I should be getting out more and meeting people my age. I know it’s not healthy to hole myself up at home, but it’s my protection mechanism. Not meeting people keeps my heart from getting re-broken. I know that’s an unhealthy outlook and I need to not believe the worst in people. It’s something that I’ve been working on and going on this date is a step in the right direction.

I stand up, grab a paint brush out of the cup, and squeeze it with a towel to absorb some of the excess water. I start to hum, feeling a little bit more optimistic. Maybe this date won’t be so bad after all.