Page 19 of Pity Parade

Paige looks to the left and then to the right and then she turns her attention back to me. “Excuse me?”

“Essentially, he kissed me and then told me not to get ideas.”

“What a pig!” she yells. Which causes several sets of eyes to turn toward us with interest. “Who kisses someone and then says that?” Leaning toward me, she whispers, “Unless you’re a bad kisser.”

“I’ve never had any complaints,” I tell her, not sure whether I feel like laughing or crying. I’d never considered the possibility a man would find me subpar in that area.

“Was he looking for a fling?”

“I couldn’t say. I was so offended, I simply walked away and hailed a cab to get me out of there.”

“What a loser.” I knew I liked Paige.

“Yes. But Heath doesn’t matter one way or the other to our plan. I need to be in a relationship with somebody to get Tom off my butt.” I point at the paper she’s holding. “What do you say we get started?”

She pulls out her phone and punches in the first number I’ve written down. Dr. Daniel Martin. Daniel and I dated for a month and while he was a nice guy, I was his rebound from another relationship. Much like Heath, he wasn’t looking for anything serious. OMG, it’s me, isn’t it?

“Is this Daniel Martin?” Paige says into the phone.

I’m assuming he says yes, because she continues, “I wanted to let you know that you won a week’s getaway to Elk Lake, Wisconsin!” She sounds very excited.

Daniel clearly has questions how this can be because she further explains, “We received an entry with your name at one of the participating bars in town. It’s a contest for singles. Are you single?”

He must say yes because the next words out of her mouth are, “You can choose between this coming week or next week.” This appears to set off warning bells in his head because she adds, “I realize this is short notice, but your name was picked last and there were only two weekends left.”

Paige listens for several moments before smiling. “Excellent, I’ll text you the details.”

“He said yes?” I demand the very instant she hangs up.

“He’ll be here the day after tomorrow. Apparently, he was planning on taking some time off work and just hasn’t gotten around to deciding where to go.”

“This seems too easy.”

She ignores my pessimism. “Tell me about Daniel.”

I wrack my brain to recall pertinent details. “He’s tall, maybe six one. He’s a heart surgeon at Northwestern Memorial, and he’s allergic to onions.”

Paige makes a face. “Who’s allergic to onions?”

“Daniel is,” I tell her. “Oh, and he grew up in a small town in Idaho that only had one traffic light.”

“Then he should feel right at home here in Elk Lake,” she decides.

Before either of us can say anything else, Faith joins us. “Are you two going to Missy and Jamie’s tomorrow night?”

“Tim and I are,” Paige says before pointing to me. “You should come too.”

“That would be nice.” I’d like a chance to get to know Paige’s friends without Heath around.

“Teddy won’t be there,” Faith says. “He’s leaving tomorrow to meet with the production company of a new movie he’s been cast in.”

“You’re not going with him?” I’d think traveling with her movie star husband would be high on her list of things to do.

“I’ve been so tired with this baby, the last thing I want to do is go anywhere. Plus, he’ll only be gone for a few days.”

“It must be an exciting life,” I say.

“You’d know better than we would,” Paige says. “You’re a celebrity, too.”