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As I disconnect the call, I drop my weight in the nearest chair and let out a self-pitying sob. “I’m going to hell!”
“Oh, honey, it can’t be that bad,” Liz says, stopping what she’s doing and crouching down in front of me. “So you made up a fake boyfriend and they want to meet him. We’ve all been there at some point in our lives.”
Shaking my head, I take a deep, steadying breath. “You don’t understand. It’s not that they want to meet him, it’s that they boughtus ticketsto go on afamily cruise.”
Liz’s eyes bug out. “They did what?”
I relay the rest of the conversation to her, explaining how adorable Aunty Joan is and that she’s so excited about my relationship with the fictional Liam that she’s booked and paid for a family cruise. “How am I gonna tell them Ilied? She’s so old! The disappointment itself could kill her! And I don’t want to be the person who sent a sweet old lady to her grave. Oh, God,” I wail. “What the hell was I thinking?”
“It’s OK,” Liz consoles. “We’ll figure this out.”
“How?” I ask, seriously close to tears. “I don’t know any dentists named Liam, do you?”
“No. But maybe we could find one?”
“Are you for real?” I laugh at the absurdity. “What do I do, put a want ad in the paper that says ‘Single Woman Seeks A Dentist Named Liam For The Holidays’? I imagine that’ll solve all my problems in a jiffy.”
“Well…it’d be a start, right? But I’m not thinking the want ads as much as I’m thinking an escort. You know, like that movie ‘The Wedding Date’. You could totally pull off Debra Messing in her heyday.”
“I’m two to three times the width of Debra Messing.”
She waves a hand dismissively. “Tomayto – tomarto. What we really need is to find your Dermot Mulroney. Some guy who’s super hot and will show everyone that Delaney Gilchrist isnotsome charity case who has to beg for dates.”
I bark out a laugh. “You’re right. I’m such a loser that I have topayfor one.”
“So? Better than killing your great aunt, right? And,ohmigosh!I just thought of the perfect guy for this!”
“What? Who?”
“My brother’s college roommate is in town. He just came back here after spending half his life chasing an acting career in LA.”
“An actor?”
“Yes! It’s like the gods are working in your favor. He’s down on his luck right now—he’s actually been staying in Burt’s guestroom for the last couple of weeks. And I think Burt would be more than happy to have his house back, and Nate could do with the cash to help him get back on his feet.”
“This isn’t currently convincing me.”
“No. No! Nate’s a great guy. It’s just my sister-in-law isn’t too keen on sharing her space, and you know how Burt can’t say no to a friend in need. So you’ll be doing everyone a favor while helping yourself, and just between you and me, Nate ishot.Think Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy vibe, but with the body of Chris Hemsworth.”
“Jeez.Nowyou’re selling it to me,” I say, feeling a little more positive about this plan of action. “Do you really think he’d do it?”
“Well, you’re paying him to go on an all-expenses-paid cruise, I think most humans would jump at the chance. Should I call him?” She pulls her cell from her pocket and holds it out.
Blowing out a slow breath, I try to think of any other way I could get out of this cruise without admitting I’m a liar, upsetting my entire family,andhurting my aunt in the process. When I draw a blank, I simply shrug. “Why not? It can’t hurt to at leasttalkto the guy, right?”
“Exactly! I’ll set it up right away.”
NATE
Istep into the coffee shop and look around, the sound of happy chatter filling my ears while the scent of coffee and baked goods hit my nose. It's an all too familiar scene. I spent more time running a coffee house than I did on set during my early years in LA. And even when I started working small parts enough to ditch the barista life, I never lost the feeling that I was only one step away from being right back inside one. And I suppose I was right. Fifteen years of striving yet never achieving and here I am, in a coffee shop for a role of a different kind. I wouldn't call LA the place where dreams go to die, but it won’t be remembered as my happy place either. San Francisco on the other hand, has always felt like home. And it’s where I’ll make a new beginning. I just need to find some direction first…
“Nate?” A small hand gently taps me on the shoulder, and I’m quick to turn around. Liz told me to look for a woman with red hair. But when my heart starts galloping in my chest, I realize this is more than a woman. What I’m confronted with is a curvy goddess.
Despite the nerves that clearly define her features, her sapphire-blue eyes shine like the gems they are, set in a heart-shaped face with bright pink lips and straight white teeth. Her skin looks so smooth that I immediately want to reach out and run the edge of my thumb along her cheekbone. And her hair…well, it isn’t justred.It’s a mix of auburn and copper, and it hangs in elegant waves over one shoulder, leaving the other exposed. If I was a vampire, I’d want to lean in and take a bite. Hell, I’m nowhere near being a vampire, and still I wouldn’t mind leaning in and biting the soft flesh in the curve of her neck. If the coffee wasn’t overpowering everything else in the room, I imagine she’d smell like frangipani and vanilla, or water lilies and apples. Something fragrant yet sweet to go with her timeless curves and lush-looking body.Liz has been holding out on me.
“You must be Delaney,” I say, a slow smile curving my lips as my eyes take a slow trek down her fuchsia-colored dress. It hugs her curves and shows me exactly where I’d like to grab onto as I drive myself inside her.Whoa. Calm down. She’s not yours…yet.
“I am.” Delaney smiles in return then gestures to a free table. “Should we sit?”
