Page 34 of Fool Me

Ginny reached over and turned off the faucet. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

Sadie shut her eyes as she scrunched her face in thought. She’d never had a more confusing morning. “Wait…were there two women?”

“No. Only one. Here.” She woke her phone and quickly found a photo of Grant and the woman.

Sadie set the dripping kettle down in the sink, wiped her wet hand on her bathrobe, and grabbed Ginny’s phone. It was a close-up, probably taken from someone in the crowd directly around the pair. In the picture, Grant sat back on his haunches looking a little exhausted and like he wasn’t in the mood for photography. The woman on the sand with him, with her blood red nails and black swimsuit, matched the woman Sadie sawand didn’t match Julia. Sadie’s heart pounded like a heavy bass drum. She’d been completely wrong.

“Pretty impressive for a mashed potato sandwich on white bread with the crusts cut off,” Ginny said. “How did you two end up at Be-Seen Beach, anyway? Monique says that place is super exclusive.”

Sadie gave the phone back to Ginny and slumped against her kitchen cabinets, her knees no longer up to carrying her weight. The room swirled.

Ginny hopped off the counter and grabbed her by the elbow. “Hey! You all right?”

Eyes glued to the floor but seeing nothing, Sadie spoke. “I saw Grant and that woman from a distance. I thought they were kissing, and I was certain it was Julia. I thought she’d come to the beach to be with him, so that’s why I left.”

Ginny did a small shrug. “But they’re dating, right? So that’s not so…hold on.” She gave Sadie’s arm the gentlest squeeze. “Were you upset when you thought it was Julia?”

Sadie closed her eyes to try to stop the tears building there, but it only hastened their journey down her cheeks. The air in her lungs felt like it didn’t belong, like she didn’t deserve oxygen anymore. “I wasn’t lying when I told you Grant was only here for a few minutes this morning, but I didn’t tell you everything he said.”

“Hey, let’s go sit on the couch,” Ginny said, worry in her voice as she grasped Sadie’s upper arm firmly. “The coffee can wait.”

Sadie let Ginny lead her to the living room, where they sat down next to each other on the couch.

Her sister had grabbed a paper towel as they’d left the kitchen. She used it to dab at Sadie’s tears. “Now, what else did he say to you?”

“That he’d been in love with me since the moment he first saw me freshman year.”

Ginny’s green eyes bulged. “What? But I thought he dated all your roommates? You never even went out with him, did you?”

“No, but I guess he tried and tried to get me to like him and I…I ignored him, wouldn’t give him the time of day. So, he said he started dating my roommates, but more as friends, as an excuse to hang out with me.”

Ginny tapped her chin as she looked at the ceiling. “A bit questionable, but also kinda romantic.”

Sadie swallowed hard. “Is it? I don't know. He upset them. Or I think he did. He says they’re all still friends, but that can’t be right.”

“Does he seem like the kind of person who would lie to you?”

“No. I mean, yes. I mean…” Her shoulders drooped like melting wax. “I don't know anything anymore.”

They were quiet for a bit, before Ginny said, “Why don’t you call your friends and ask them?”

“Right now?”

“Why not? I’ll leave if you want some privacy.”

Sadie dropped her face into her hands. “I don't need privacy. I need sanity.”

22

Grant had no memory of the short drive home from Sadie’s. After pulling into his parking spot, he sat in the car trying to convince his leaden body to move. The Surf Summer launch party at Ronny’s was that night, and he needed to get a haircut and wash his car. He had things to do, but his thoughts kept snapping back to Sadie accusing him of lying and then dismissing him down a back staircase. Out of sight, out of mind, out of her life. Somehow, leaving his car would make final the reality of what had just transpired between.

All this time, through all these dates, he’d convinced himself that cracks were forming in the wall Sadie had erected between them so long ago. Yesterday, he’d even learned what the bricks of that wall were made of. And while his excuse for dating her roommates wasn’t blameless, he had hoped his confession of love for her might have helped her see things in a better light. It had not.

A stinging burned behind his eyes, and he pounded the steering wheel to make it stop. Julia was right—he was naïve, a country fool. Someone like Sadie Heppner could never be interested in a dope like him. His dad had turned love at first sight into a successful marriage, but that didn’t mean Grant could do the same. Just more evidence of his naiveté.

He’d led a pretty charmed life so far, getting into the school he’d wanted and getting roles—and soon a leading role—in major movies so quickly. A lot of actors would sell their souls to be in his shoes, so he could hardly complain that true love wasn’t also in the cards for him. And yet…it was way more important to him than money or awards or career accomplishments would ever be. If acting didn’t work out, he could always be a farmer. But if his love for Sadie remained one-sided, he knew deep down he would never find true love at all. Others would call him ridiculous for even thinking such a thing—plenty of fish in the sea and all that—but there was only one fish for him.

The slam of a nearby car door made him look to his left. Someone was getting out of a limo that had just pulled up. That was unusual enough, but they appeared to be headed for his apartment. Grant sat up, trying to get a better view, but they disappeared into the landscaped courtyard.

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