Page 25 of Fool Me

“Nice weather for a day at the beach, huh?” he said eventually, sounding exactly as lame as he felt, but she ignored his question.

“Oh, look at that spread,” she exclaimed. To their left, an enormous, creamy yellow beach umbrella with crocheted boho trim protected a large colorful beach blanket. On it lay a dozen color-coordinated cushions of differing sizes, and a shiny metal cooler. “Someone was out to impress.”

Grant’s heart crumpled anew. He’d prepared this for the two of them. The yellow umbrella reminded him of the outfit she’d worn to the Indian festival, and the sofa at her college apartment always held a tumble of colorful pillows. But had he done too much? Wouldthiscome off as stuffy too?

“Uh, I got here early and…this is our spot. I hope I didn’t go overboard.”

Painful seconds ticked by like hours as she stared at his efforts, saying nothing. Finally, she started moving toward it. “It’s fine.”

As they took seats on the blanket, both of them facing the water, three women walked by. One veered close enough to step on the blanket.

“Excuse me!” Grant said. The woman giggled into her hand and winked at him as the trio kept walking.

“Looks like you’ve made some friends,” Sadie said.

He leaned forward and shook sand off the blanket. “Not my kind of friends.”

“Why not? They look like they’re ready for some fun.”

“Because I’ve already got a friend here.”

She simply stared out at the water.

Maybe hunger was making her irritable. The cooler waited behind them. He patted the lid. “Do you like sushi? I seem to remember that you do?” He opened the lid and showed her the tray he’d ordered just for her. After picking it up from the sushi place that morning, he’d stopped by the florist and added delicate purple orchids to the standard garnishes. “I went with California rolls because I didn’t think raw fish was the best idea out here in the heat.”

Again, she paused for a long time. “It’s so nice, Grantee.” She reached out and gave his arm a perfunctory squeeze. “Maybe later.”

He pulled two tall glasses from the cooler. “I’ve got iced coffee, flavored seltzers, or mojitos. What are you in the mood for?”

She tilted her head up and around, looking at the umbrella. “Can we take this down? I'm afraid it’s going to block the photographers.”

“But I thought you were worried about the sun?”

She gave him a raised eyebrow, are-you-kidding-me, stare. “Not wearing this I’m not.”

He looked up at the umbrella too. “You really want me to take it down?”

“I do. It will upset Julia if no one can get good pictures on our last date.”

Reluctantly, he stood and walked around to the back of the umbrella. It probably was obstructing the photographers—he just didn’t see that as a bad thing. Their earlier photos had done what Julia and Ronny needed them to do. Surely, Julia’s contract with Brad was safe. Grant craved private time on this final date with Sadie, and the umbrella offered a chance at that.

Suddenly, two women approached.

“Are you Grant Mason?” one of them said, her voice breathy. The triangle of fabric making up the lower half of her bikini was smaller than your average toast point.

“Itishim! We love you on social media!” squealed the other woman, whose one-piece looked more like beginners knitting than something designed for water.

Before Grant knew what was happening, the women grabbed his arms and began pulling him away. A third showed up to push him from behind.

“Come take selfies with us,” the knitted-suit wearer said.

“No…I…” Grant protested.

“Take us swimming,” the toast-point woman cooed.

“But…”

“Will you autograph my body?” said the third. “You can do it anywhere you want.”

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