Page 37 of Love You Truly

Then there’s the rest of me. Dark circles rim my eyes because I haven’t slept in two days worrying about what will happen tonight with Dash. I’m not sure I’m a good enough actress to pretend I’m smitten with him. Or to convince myself that I’m not.

“It just feels like a lot. It’s stressing me out.”

“The lying part?

“Yes. I don’t know if I can make it seem believable that we’ve been secretly falling for each other when I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten how to do that.”

Mary studies my dress in the mirror before hiking it up at the waist. “Are you sure this wouldn’t look better with a belt?”

I laugh. “I’m sure.”

“It needs something. It’s too plain otherwise. Do you have jewelry or something? Or maybe it’s your hair. Can we do something to it so it’s not hanging down limp?”

Given that I went into St. Helena earlier for a blowout, I’m not thrilled with Mary’s opinion of my hair, but now that I’ve been studying myself in the mirror for the past ten minutes, I have to admit she’s right. Something is missing, and it’s not just undereye concealer.

“You think I should curl it?”

“No, I think I should curl it.” Mary tromps off toward my bedroom, where I hear her rustling around. She returns a moment later with my blow-dryer, a round brush, and a curling iron. “You have all these tools, yet you go to a salon for a blowout?” She tsks and walks right past me to the kitchen where she opens and slams cupboards.

I stand in my living room, the only place in my house with a full-length mirror, and contemplate biting my nails. The only thing that prevents me is the fresh coat of polish from my manicure earlier today.

A second later, I hear a staccato popping sound in my kitchen, followed by the slam of the microwave door. Mary appears with a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of beer. She hands the bowl to me.

“Here. This will keep your hands busy and won’t ruin your appetite for tonight.”

“Thanks. Where did you find popcorn here?” I try to recall buying it, and I’m pretty sure I never did.

“I brought my own. Never trust another person to have the right kind of snacks.”

Gesturing to the beer in her hand, I assume it’s part two of her plan to calm me down. “I don’t want to be tipsy before I get there, but thanks.”

She holds it close to her chest while she plugs in the curling iron. “Sorry, mate. This is for me. You need to keep your wits about you and remember why you’re doing all this. For the sake of your future, the one you’ve been busting your arse for all these years going to business school.”

“I know. You’re right.”

“Good. Now let me fix your hair and do your makeup. One benefit to growing up in a town where there’s not much to do is my friends and I were great at makeovers. I’ll have you looking so good that it’ll make Dash’s job easy. Everyone in the room will believe he’s fallen for you.”

I laugh at her confidence. “He’s got some acting chops. He’ll be able to pull it off either way. I’m just worried about keeping up my end.”

Mary chuckles and shakes her head.

“What?”

“You really think you’re going to marry Dashiell Corbett and not fall in love with him?”

“Come on, you’ve met him. He’s not all that.”

She bites her lower lip and shrugs. “I have seen him, and he’s quite nice to look at. And his hot meter went up even more when he sent Felix off running scared.”

“His hot meter?” I laugh, gathering all my makeup supplies in one hand and pulling a chair over so Mary can get to work. “I did enjoy that, I’ll admit. But now that I’m getting to know him a little bit, the spell is broken. He’s just a regular guy.”

“So you’re telling me you don’t fancy him even just a little bit?” Mary picks up some undereye concealer and unscrews the cap. She squirts a little onto the back of her hand and uses a brush to dab it beneath my eyes before blending it. Presto, my dark circles are gone.

“He’s fine. He’s no different from any other man I’ve gone on a date with in hopes of laying some groundwork in the winery world for when I start cooking on all burners and relaunch Autumn Lake. It’s just business.”

Lies, lies, and, oh yes, even bigger lies. But maybe if I keep telling them to myself, I won’t turn into one of his groupies. The last thing I need is to develop feelings for a guy who doesn’t do relationships.

“Look down.” Mary sweeps some powder across my eyelids. “If I wasn’t already your friend, I’d really dislike you. Your skin is perfect. Not a blemish.”

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