Page 77 of Just One Fake Date

“You might have been secretly gay.”

“Seriously?”

“If so, you did a really good job of hiding it. I’ve never met anyone so obviously heterosexual.”

“Is that a crime?”

“No. It’s reassuring. I’m curious to meet the woman who’s challenging your assumptions. She’s got to be good for you.”

“You want me to come down and get you a cab?”

Lauren laughed lightly. “Which is another way of saying don’t let the door hit you in the ass. I’ll get my own cab, thanks.” She paused to wave from the threshold. “Thanks for the drink and the conversation. It was exactly what I needed. There you go again: knowing what’s best for everyone.” Her smile turned mischievous. “Maybe that comes with the territory of being a smug entitled asshole.”

“I’m not!”

“Which is why it’s so interesting that she made that accusation. You’re not the only one intrigued by Shannyn.”

Ty did go down to the lobby with Lauren and he did flag her a cab. He paid for it as well, waving off her thanks. She had her own shop but still didn’t make a lot of money as a stylist. Her gift was making people look their best, which had a value beyond money.

He stood on the curb, the city swirling around him, and watched the cab’s tail lights as it headed uptown. Lauren waved from the back window, then the cab merged into the traffic and he lost track of it in the throng of traffic.

He’d never told Lauren as much, but he really didn’t like Mark. Never had. Never would. If their marriage was falling apart, Ty wouldn’t cry. In fact, if their marriage was falling apart because Mark didn’t treasure Lauren, then the bastard didn’t deserve her. Ty’s mom would see things differently, but divorce might be good for Lauren. They didn’t have kids, so there wouldn’t be that complication.

Divorce might give Lauren a chance at real happiness, and Ty wanted that for her, and all of his sisters, as much as he wanted it for himself.

Why had she come downtown to see him on a Saturday night?

Where was Mark and what was he doing?

Ty doubted he’d ever know. He returned to his apartment, hearing the echo of dance music as he crossed the empty lobby, and decided it was another good night for a swim.

Two days of silence.

The echo was deafening.

If Tyler had a negotiating strategy in this, Shannyn couldn’t figure out what it was. She knew he wanted her to go for dinner—at least hehadwanted her to—but as the hours ticked by and he didn’t contact her, she began to consider the possibility that Aidan might be right.

On Saturday, she’d finished up the cropping of the images and delivered them to Deanna. She saved some candid shots and submitted them with her application for the job at F5F. She got an auto-reply, but doubted Tyler knew anything about it. The application had gone to Cassie.

On Sunday, she made her final list of needed images for the Met. She had her weekly call to Harte’s Harbor, including a very happy exchange between Aidan and her mom. Shannyn told her mom everything she knew about Tyler’s sister’s wedding, and was relieved when her mom immediately had a plan.

She’d sent pictures of the furniture to her mom and they talked about the upholstery. Her mom gave her an address in the garment district to get some leather at a good price, and reminded her which zippers to buy. They agreed that Shannyn would cut out all the pieces, using the upholstery of the old cushions as her pattern, and pack it all up for Aidan to take home on Wednesday. Her mom would be able to sew it more quickly on her industrial machine and Aidan would bring it all back when he returned.

Aidan, meanwhile, was cleaning and polishing the wood. Her place smelled like lemon oil, and it was hard not to get excited about how good it all looked.

Shannyn wished Tyler could see it. She wanted to show him the results of his efforts, then ask if it was worth the dry cleaning bill for his suit. She made calls to some potential leads for the furniture and left messages.

Monday was crazy, because she had to go to the Metropolitan Museum to meet the curator there for the final pictures, then go to the garment district, too. Aidan met her when she was done with her shoot, purely to act as a beast of burden. Once again, Flatiron Five Fitness emanated a magnetic pull as she rode the subway past it, but Shannyn didn’t surrender.

She did, however, look up the address for Fleming Financial. If she was going to ask Tyler about his assumptions, maybe challenge them, she wanted to see his face. He’d be able to disguise his thoughts in a text message or on the phone, but not in real life. It was easy to guess the path he’d take from his day job back to his apartment at the end of the business day, so she knew she could intercept him.

Shannyn found Derek’s quote for the roof on the floor of the foyer when she came home Monday, and guessed he’d slipped it under the door. She had to wonder if Paige had tagged along.

On Tuesday, she cut all the fabric for her mom to sew, still hoping her phone would ring. No luck. On Wednesday, she took Aidan thrifting in Brooklyn and found him a new wardrobe in record time.

“You’ve refined your skills,” he said with appreciation.

Shannynhadbeen lucky since meeting Tyler again. “Just a coincidence,” she said. “Like the phases of the moon.” She decided to ride with her luck and that this would be the day she confronted Tyler. “I’ve got to go downtown.”

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