Page 140 of Just One Fake Date

“No problem. By the way, if you want to forget the rest of our deal, that’s fine by me.”

Shannyn paused in the act of picking up her messenger bag. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t have to come to Katelyn’s wedding. We don’t have to do the fake date. It’s fine. We’re square.”

Whathadshe said?

Shannyn couldn’t make sense of Tyler’s offer or of her own disappointment. He wasn’t in any mood to talk about it, though. He gestured to the door and grabbed his jacket on the way out. They rode down the elevator in silence, then crossed the lobby of the club, a distance between them that felt infinitely bigger than it was. Once on the street, he thanked her for the day before and hailed a cab. He was headed uptown and she was going to the subway. She stood on the sidewalk, still shaken by the change, as Tyler got into a cab and headed away.

He never looked back.

Her biggest fear had happened. He’d walked away.

And Shannyn’s devastation was infinitely worse than she’d ever thought it would be. She turned and trudged to the subway, reminding herself of all the things that were going right and unable to forget the one big one that had gone wrong.

What could she possibly have said to make Tyler McKay abandon a challenge?

What could she do to fix whatever she’d done wrong?

Shannyn tookthe job at F5F, but just as Tyler had predicted, she didn’t run into him at the club. She was there repeatedly during the week, making plans with Meesha, setting up the shoot of Kyle who would be featured in the first billboard ad, getting to know the rest of the team a bit better, but she never caught a glimpse of Tyler.

He might have been avoiding her.

Or making sure he didn’t influence her decision about Saturday. With each passing day, Shannyn became more convinced that he was gone for good, that she’d put her foot into it so badly that even their fake date couldn’t be saved.

She arrived home Thursday night to discover that the dress had arrived from her mom. It was in a big box, delivered by courier, that Lisa had left leaning against Shannyn’s door in the foyer.

Shannyn wasn’t sure she was attending a wedding anymore, but she was curious about her mom’s work. She cleared the kitchen table then carefully opened the box, folding back the layers of tissue to reveal the most perfect dress she’d ever seen. At first, she thought it was navy, but then she realized it looked deep purple when the light hit it from another angle. It was full-length, the underdress made of satin, and layers of chiffon on the skirt. Shannyn gasped in wonder as she lifted it out of the box.

She had to try it on immediately, and stood staring at herself in the mirror for long moments. She felt transformed.

The bodice was sleeveless and fitted, the neckline curved to display the tattoo on her back. The layers of fabric were embellished with subtle embroidery and beads, some on the top layer and some on the ones beneath, so that the dress seemed to change as she moved. It was filled with shadows and glitter and mystery, a perfect dress for dancing at night. She spun in front of the mirror and laughed, loving that her mom had gotten it so perfect.

There was a stole in the box, too, made of the same satin and also embroidered and beaded, along with a dark beaded clutch purse. Her mom had tucked in a note, suggesting which shoes Shannyn should wear. She’d need her highest heels, because the skirt was long.

She smiled, remembering that she’d told her mom how tall Tyler was.

She called to thank her, still wearing the dress, and ended up telling her mom everything. Of course, her mom gave her one piece of advice, and it was exactly what Shannyn needed to hear.

Silence.

Ty didn’t hear a thing from Shannyn all week long. Cassie had told them on Wednesday at the meeting that Shannyn had taken the job and brought them all up to date on how the two new hires—Shannyn and Meesha—were setting the club’s social media on fire. Otherwise, Ty heard nothing. He didn’t see her, and he struggled to keep his word not to even try. He stayed late at Fleming Financial each night, and remained in his apartment, working, until it was time to swim.

Not a word.

He also avoided as many of his mom’s calls as possible, telling her how much he was working when they did talk. He wasn’t going to field any questions about Shannyn. He continued as if his life was business as usual, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Shannyn.

It figured that she’d be the one to teach him that he couldn’t have everything he wanted and that he couldn’t fix everything. Ty realized he’d trade everything just to have her in his life, a sure sign of how hard he’d fallen.

By Thursday night, he knew it was time.

Ty believed that nice guys took no for an answer, but he also believed that men fought for what they wanted most. If Shannyn really wanted to ditch him, he’d respect that, but first he’d argue his case.

There had to be a reason why she’d made her rules. By his counting, they’d broken the first three but not the fourth, and he was ready to use poetry, if it was the last weapon available to him.

It was almost midnight on Thursday when he called her, and it was raining, just like the first time he’d talked to her late at night. He stood staring out the window of his bedroom as the rain drummed against the windows, looking across the city to Brooklyn, willing her to answer the phone and at least listen to him.

But his call went straight to voice mail.

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