Page 34 of A Fall to Remember

This time, the call was from her mom.

“Shelby, good. I didn’t know if I would catch you. Have you spoken with the mortgage company?”

Her mom sounded vulnerable, as if she were the child in this relationship. She had been a stay-at-home mom when Shelby and her sister were young and deferred the big decision-making—things like the mortgage, insurance, and taxes—to Shelby’s dad. Now that he had bailed on the family, her mom had decided Shelby was the best person to handle their finances since she had a corporate job. Shelby had repeatedly tried to remind her mom that she was grossly unqualified to make these kinds of decisions. But her mom was in a dark place emotionally and tended to shut down. If Shelby didn’t take on the responsibility, no one would.

“Mom, I told you, I’m in Half Moon Bay for work.” She hated that their roles had reversed. She wasn’t supposed to be the parent. “But yeah, the bank called earlier. They’re preparing to move forward with the foreclosure in thirty days. They’re sending you a notice.”

“Sorry, I know. I’m just so worried. They came to the house today. It was mortifying. They handed me a certified letter. I’m sure the neighbors are gossiping.”

Shelby felt queasy. She pressed her hand to her stomach and closed her eyes briefly, trying to remember the calming techniques from her therapist.

The neighbors’ gossip was the least of her worries. But clearly, Citizens Bank was serious about putting the house up for auction. There was no chance she could come up with the balance due in thirty days. Not unless she landed the promotion and got that bonus.

She breathed slowly and opened her eyes just in time to see Elise and Pete coming toward her. “Listen, Mom, I need to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Pete looked effortlessly hot in a pair of well-worn jeans and a pale blue pullover sweater. Shelby had to press her thumb and index finger together as tightly as she could to stop staring at him. He and Elise looked like they’d coordinated their outfits, and they also seemed prepared for much colder weather. Elise was dressed in leggings, knee-high boots, and a sky-blue sweater dress.

“We’re here. Let the matchmaking begin.” Elise said, pulling Shelby into a half hug. Her bubbly and effervescent energy made her feel like an instant friend. Shelby was glad to have her and Pete on her side. Hopefully, between the three of them, they could come up with a reasonable plan.

“Are you going to be warm enough?” Pete asked, running his eyes from her bare shoulders to her sandals and looking at her with concern.

Shelby had opted to wear a sundress she’d had stuffed in the back of her closet and yet to find the right occasion for. It was a halter-style cotton dress in a soft brown with bright white polka dots. “I live in Seattle, remember? This is summer for us.”

Pete winced. Elise shook her head. “Uh-oh.”

“What? I brought a sweater.” Shelby pointed to her chair where she’d hung a thin cardigan. “It’s like forty degrees and raining back home. Trust me, California fall is basically Seattle summer.”

“You’re not familiar with California cold,” Pete said with a little laugh, pointing toward the beach. “We’re right on the ocean. As soon as the sun sets, the wind will kick in, and it’s going to get pretty chilly.”

“Yeah, like frigid,” Elise added, rubbing her arms and blowing on her hands.

“I’ll be fine.” It was sweet that they were concerned about her, but Shelby had bigger problems to tackle. She grabbed the guest list that the organizer had shared with her. “I’ve reviewed the list and seating chart, and it looks like there are about fifteen single guests. Do you two want to take a look and see if you recognize any names? I don’t want to set you up with your middle school teacher or an ex.”

“An ex won’t be a problem,” Elise said, taking the list and nudging Pete. “When’s the last time you broke up with someone?”

“No comment.” He looked at Shelby again, his blue eyes holding a tiny hint of mischief. “Are you sure you’re not cold?”

“Not in the slightest.” She gestured to the list. “If we can identify a few options, I’m thinking when they arrive, I’ll introduce myself and explain that we’re doing an experiment tonight. If nothing else, we can get you seated next to one of the women and film your dinner.”

“Film my dinner? You want to watch me eat?”

“I’m speaking in a broader sense,” Shelby said. “I’ll film a few vignettes of you meeting, chatting, that sort of thing. Keep it light. Keep it simple. I’ll mainly focus on how gorgeous the table, food, music, and farm are. We’ll lean heavily into the aesthetic of our surroundings.”

“You’re just going to ask a random woman if they want to have dinner with me?” Pete asked, running his hand over his sweater. “I mean, if nothing else, I guess I’m a fashion icon, yeah?”

“Pete, come on. Don’t sell yourself short,” Elise said, punching her cousin in the shoulder. She tapped her finger on a name about a quarter way down the list. “I went to high school with her. She was a bit wild, but she’d probably be up for it.”

“What about you?” Pete looked at Shelby again. For a minute, their eyes locked, making Shelby feel anything but cold.

“Me?” Shelby shook her head, confused. Surely he wasn’t suggesting what she thought he was? “What do you mean?”

“Why can’t it be you?” Pete held her gaze, almost challenging her to say yes. “That makes the most sense to me.”

“No, I work for Voyager.” Shelby’s heart rate kicked into high gear at the thought of being Pete’s dinner date. “It can’t be me.”

“Why? You work on the backend. You don’t have a public-facing account or anything. I checked.”

He checked?