Page 45 of The Ruse of Romancing

Mason

The next several days passed in a blur of pain as I tried to figure out how to fix things.

By the time I’d made it back to the duplex, Dani was already gone.

She hadn’t even left me a scathing orange sticky note, letting me know her thoughts, and I felt its absence keenly as I tried to pretend like it didn’t matter.

All that had waited for me was her orange and green bracelet left forgotten on the floor of her bedroom.

I’d slipped the bracelet into my pocket, needing the reminder of her, even if it felt more like a weight than a comfort.

I tried telling myself it was just another failed summer romance. That I’d survived it before with Rebecca. So why did it hurt so much more this time around?

I’d taken to wandering the beach for long stretches of time, lost in thought. Everywhere I turned reminded me of Dani, but at least at the beach I could focus on the sensation of the sand beneath my feet and use the sound of the waves to drown out my thoughts.

One morning after walking for a while, I returned to my car, not really sure what else to do with my day but knowing I couldn’t walk forever. I looked up to find a familiar lanky figure leaning on the hood of my car.

“I thought I might find you here,” Spencer said as I slowly approached.

“What do you want?” I asked, stopping a few feet away.

A part of me wanted to blame Spencer for Dani’s departure, but I knew that was wrong.

Maybe things would have played out differently if Spencer hadn’t sprung the truth on her, or if I could have softened the blow and told her who I really was beforehand.

Then again, maybe that would have just made everything worse.

But it didn’t matter now since there was no way to know and no one to blame but myself and my own stupidity.

“Initially, I wanted to punch you in the stomach for lying to me and Dani. But then I watched you walking all slumped over, and I realized something.”

“What’s that?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, only mildly curious to hear what Spencer had to say.

Mostly I wanted him to get off the hood of my car so I could drive home and get back to wallowing.

I’d been wrong before. This was so much worse than when Rebecca had left me all those summers ago.

“You actually love her. Somehow between all the lying and summer romancing, you actually let yourself feel again and fall in love.” The shock and incredulity in Spencer’s voice were borderline offensive.

Though his words echoed the conversation I’d had with Joane shortly after everything had started with Dani.

“You’re wrong,” I lied. Apparently lying was the only thing I was good at. “I don’t fall in love. Or have you forgotten all my summer flings? First rule of dating tourists—”

“Are you really going to keep selling me that BS? We both know you broke every single one of your supposed rules this summer, and you want to know something funny?”

“What?” I snapped, quickly losing my patience with this conversation. If I got in the car and turned it on, would he move? Not that it mattered. If he didn’t move when I backed out of my spot, he wouldn’t get hurt. Probably.

“That was the happiest I’ve seen you in a long time.”

Spencer’s words hit home, and I rubbed at my heart, which hurt more than any of my muscles after a punishing workout.

Because what he said was the truth, and, despite my best intentions, I’d once again fallen for a summer fling.

Except, unlike with Rebecca, I didn’t think I’d be able to move on this time.

“It doesn’t matter how happy I was. It’s over now. You saw it all implode,” I said, finally digging out my keys and unlocking my car.

Instead of taking the hint, Spencer took this as an invitation to climb into my car and continue our talk, folding his frame into the passenger seat as I settled into the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, that was painful. Why on earth did you think lying was a good idea?”

“Why do I feel like I’m being lectured by an overbearing parent?” I grumbled as I reached for my seatbelt.

“Because my mother is Joane and if I’ve learned anything from that woman besides the value of good sourdough, it’s how to host a guilt trip.

Congratulations, you’re in for quite the treat!

” Spencer said with far too much glee. “So how are you going to fix things? Because you can’t keep moping on the beach.

The tourism board is starting to get complaints about a broody man scaring away all the vacationers. ”

“Ha ha,” I said, deadpan. “Very funny.”

“I’m serious. You need to do something to fix this.”

“Or what? Life goes back to the way it was before, that’s what. I hurt Dani so bad she ran away; least I can do is respect her decision.” It was the logic I’d been telling myself with every phone call and text Dani refused to answer.

“Are you really okay going back to the way things were, chasing one fling after another, never really caring about anyone but yourself?”

I hesitated, really thinking about my answer.

“No,” I said, the single word seeming to contain the weight of the entire world.

“That’s what I thought,” Spencer said, looking at me with compassion. “Which brings us back to my question: What are you going to do to fix it?”

That night, long after my conversation with Spencer, I found myself back at the duplex, trying to draw.

But instead of making progress on Spencer’s commissions or any of the other projects that needed my attention, I found myself creating alternate versions of Dani’s first book cover.

With each rendering, I pictured myself and Dani as the two star-crossed lovers on the cover.

Since Dani had left, I’d binge-read Of Curses and Pomegranates , desperate for anything that helped me feel close to her and like our future wasn’t hopeless.

What I’d found in the pages was a vivid fantasy world covered in Dani’s fingerprints.

I could hear her voice in the descriptions, see her facial expressions in every character.

And instead of it making me ache and want nothing to do with the epic story she’d crafted, it had my fingers eager to sketch and create in a way I never had before.

I was in the middle of a set of monochromatic character sketches when my phone started ringing on the desk next to me. Not bothering to check the caller ID, I answered.

“Hello?” I asked, only half listening as I worked to get the expression of longing in Hypatia’s eyes right.

“Where do you get off?”

I froze. I’d only heard that angry voice once before, and it did not bode well for me that I was hearing it again, now.

“Avery, I get that you’re upset but—”

“Do I sound like I want to hear your excuses, Mason ? And yes, I know who you really are you lying turd.”

I winced. It wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever been called, but it definitely stung more than those other insults ever had.

“I’m going to ask you one question, and you better think about your answer very carefully because if you say one wrong word, I’m flying to Oregon tonight and making you regret hurting my sister.”

I already regretted hurting Dani, but I didn’t feel like it would do much to help my case to point that out to Avery in the middle of her tirade.

“Do you love Dani?”

The question caught me so off guard, I nearly fell out of my office chair.

“Is this a trick question?” I asked slowly, confused why Avery would be asking me this now.

“No tricks. I just want an honest answer. Do. You. Love. Dani?” This time, she said each word distinctly, as if I were a child.

“Yes, I love Dani.” It was the type of declaration I probably should have made to Dani and not her sister, but at this moment, I didn’t have much of a choice.

“And are you willing to do anything to make this right?”

This time I didn’t hesitate in my response. “Absolutely.”

“Then here’s what you’re going to do.” Avery’s voice had taken on a clipped, all-business tone and, for the first time since Dani left, I felt hope.