Page 9 of Pity Parade

TRINA

“This place is really cute,” I tell Paige as we look around the cottage I’ve decided to rent to entice my potential beau. Walking out on the back deck, I look out onto the lake. “In fact, it’s a lot nicer than where I’m at in town.”

“You can stay here in between guys,” she tells me. “But this is way more the kind of location you’d expect to win in a contest.”

I think about my rental above the yarn shop and smile. Paige’s friend used to live there before she got engaged to her boyfriend Jamie. “Don’t get me wrong. Missy’s place is nice, but the view here is unparalleled.”

I turn and look at the cottage next door. A pair of very masculine legs are stretched out on the deck, but even leaning forward, I can’t see who they’re attached to. Although I know this for certain—he’s clearly a fine specimen.

Paige’s friend Anna walks outside to join us and immediately sees what’s caught my eye. “His name is Heath,” she says. “I invited him to the fish fry tonight.”

“Is he here with his wife?” Paige wants to know.

“I don’t think so,” Anna says. “According to his rental agreement, he’s vacationing solo.”

Paige eyes me with interest. “You’ll have to make his acquaintance. Want to go over now?”

I shake my head. “I’d rather get freshened up first.” The truth is, it makes no difference to me if I meet him now or later because I’m not excited about what I’m doing here in Elk Lake. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to be in a relationship for real, I just don’t like feeling that my back is up against the wall. And to be honest, I don’t see the guy I’m going to pretend to be involved with for Tom’s benefit as the guy I’ll really wind up with.

“So, are you ready to sign a contract, Trina?” Anna asks. “I hate to rush you, but I need to go home and nurse my baby.”

“Boy or girl?” I ask while pulling out my phone and opening my Venmo app.

“Boy. He’s only six weeks old.” The look of bliss that crosses her features makes me a little envious. My maternal clock has been flipping on and off for the last several years, and it’s currently locked in the “on” position. I’ve even recently started toying with the idea of adoption.

“You should see him,” Paige says. “He’s the chubbiest little nugget around. You just want to pinch him.” She mimics a crab’s claws and reaches out toward her friend.

Anna says, “My husband, Chris, is Japanese, so little Christopher looks like a miniature sumo wrestler.” She pats her legs while adding, “He’s got my thighs, which helps.”

“Are you bringing him tonight?” I want to know.

Anna shakes her head. “We’re not taking him out in public until he’s three months old.” Shrugging her shoulders, she says, “I’d take him everywhere now, but Chris’s mom is afraid he’ll contract the bubonic plague and honestly, it’s easier for me to just go along with things than have my mother-in-law declare war on me.” It sounds like there might be a bigger story there.

“Do your in-laws live in town?” I ask.

“They moved here when we told them I was pregnant. But my parents live here too, so we have a lot of babysitters.”

“That sounds like the perfect set-up,” I tell her. “My parents moved to Florida, and I can’t ever see myself living down there.”

“Maybe they’ll move closer to you when you have a family,” Paige suggests.

“Not unless you can get all of my dad’s golfing buddies to come with him,” I assure her.

Paige brushes her hands together like she’s trying to rid them of excessive crumbs. “First things first,” she says. “Let’s find you a man.”

“Remember, I’m not really looking,” I remind her.

Her eyebrows shoot up toward her hairline. “I thought you were keeping an open mind.”

“I just don’t want to get my hopes up,” I tell her. Meanwhile, my hopes are so low only a mouse could limbo underneath them.

Anna hands over a set of keys. “These are for you. Your guests can use the keycode and you can change codes between them. There’s a manual in the kitchen drawer.”

After she leaves, I tell Paige, “I’ll make a list of men and give it to you later.”

She smiles excitedly. “I’ll grab a ride back into town with Anna if you want to hang out here for a while.”

“I think I might take a walk down the pier,” I tell her. “Then I’ll change at my place and meet you up at the club.”

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