Page 16 of Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date

“I already have someone to bring,” he blurted out.

There was a short pointed silence. “You do?”

“Yeah,” he lied. “I’ll bring a date. Tell the Deacons I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to accompany their daughter.”

“Are you sure? Jenna is very pretty, and their family owns a big—”

“I have a date, Mom,” he repeated, heart thundering.

“Are you seeing someone?”

It was Calvin’s turn to be quiet for a beat. “Sort of,” he lied.

“‘Sort of’? What does that mean?”

“It means we aren’t exactly shouting it from the rooftops yet.”

“Am I allowed to know her name?”

“You’ll meet her at the event.”

“‘Meet her’? So I haven’t met her yet? Is she from Fernley?”

“Oh, someone just knocked on my office door,gottagobye.” He hung up the call and tossed the phone aside like it would turn into a venomous snake and bite him. Then he combed both hands through his hair and groaned.

There he stayed, mind whirling, wondering how he’d get out of this one. He could make up an excuse and go on his own, then endure his mother’s comments. That was probably the best option, because otherwise he’d have to actually find a date to bring to his mother’s vow renewal.

He couldn’t in good conscience submit someone to that kind of torture. And anyone whowantedto go wouldn’t be someone he’d willinglyspend time with in the first place. It would be an evening of gritting his teeth and pretending to be happy for a woman who had failed in her duty to him.

But coming to Fernley was supposed to be the turning over of a new leaf. Calvin had grown up. He’d made something of himself. Sure, he still nursed old wounds and he’d become strict with himself out of necessity, but he wasn’t the angry, hurt kid he’d once been.

He could be happy for his mother. Or at the very least, he could acknowledge her happiness and wish her the best. And he’d be there for Ceecee, which was what mattered most.

A knock on the door made him glance up. Daphne poked her head through the opening. “Shirley’s taking lunch orders. Any requests?”

He met her blue eyes, wishing those bruises would heal already. He hated looking at the evidence that he’d been too slow. In a month, they’d be all gone. Maybe ...

No. Was he delusional? Did it take one simple conversation with his mother to make him lose all his common sense?

Daphne would sooner bite his head off than attend a family event with him. Besides, why would he want to spend any more time than necessary with her? Sure, it was fun to needle her into snapping back, but that was different. To bring her along on what could potentially be called a date ...

Hellno.

Even if he decided he wanted to torture himself for an evening, and even if Davis agreed, his mother would kill him for bringing Daphne to the vow renewal. The Davis women had a reputation for trouble on the island, even though Daphne was supposedly the exception. But judging by what had happened at the Winter Market, who knew what kind of chaos Daphne could cause?

Which made him think: Maybe he should bring Daphne along, just for the entertainment value. He could pay her. Would she want money? There had to be a reason she’d accepted this job in the firstplace, a reason she’d come back to Fernley. Maybe she was like him—here to exorcise old demons. They could find common ground.

“Flint? Sandwich?”

He blinked. “Nah,” he said. “I’ve got to go out. I’ll grab something while I’m on the road.”

“Suit yourself,” she said, and let the door close again.

He waited a full five minutes before gathering his things and heading out to his truck. He had paperwork to do at the office, and no real reason to go for a drive, but judging by the direction his thoughts had taken, he needed to get away.

The day he told himself it was a good idea to take Daphne Davis out on a date was the day he’d know something had gone seriously wrong.

Chapter 6

---