Page 20 of The Ruse of Romancing
“You know way more of my life story than you probably bargained for, so tell me about you. How long have you been in Cascade Harbor? Are you a local or a tourist like me?”
“I’m a tourist,” I said, thinking quick to build my backstory in a way that I would hopefully remember. “Well, sort of. I’mstaying with my grandparents a few towns over but like to come here for the...” I scrambled to think of something Cascade Harbor offered that the other nearby towns lacked, “bakery and bookstore. I visit most summers, which is why I’m so familiar with the town. It only takes one summer to learn to stay away from Joyce Campbell.” I forced a laugh, hoping Dani bought my story. “She’s worse than any of the meddling middle-aged ladies back home in... Rexburg.”
I winced again. Rexburg, Idaho? Really? I mean it was a town I was very familiar with, thanks to it being where my dad had grown up, but it wasn’t exactly somewhere exciting. Not only did I give myself the worst name but now I was from one of the most boring states in the country. What was next, telling her I collected stamps for fun?
She seemed to take what I said at face value, though I again wished I could flip on the light to read her expression. Not that I’d given her any reason to doubt what I was telling her, but I kept waiting for her to see right through me and call me on my lies.
Note to self: Never become a secret agent. I wasn’t built for deception.
“Makes sense. I’d visit Cascade Harbor every summer just for Sugar and Sea Bakery. Joane’s baking is going to be very dangerous for my waistline.”
I’d lost track of how long we’d been hiding in the office, and I didn’t register that the voices near the cash register had faded until Spencer opened the door. The sudden brightness from the bookstore surprised us for a moment but by the time my eyes adjusted I could still see the hurt and disappointment on Spencer’s face. Even though Dani clearly wasn’t interested in him, I would still owe my friend a giant apology when all of this was over.
But first I needed to make sure he didn’t blow my cover. Another piece of the deception I hadn’t considered: how to keep my secret without anyone revealing I was Mason. And of course I had to start with the man who couldn’t lie to save his life. What could possibly go wrong?
“I see you two have met. Why are you hiding in my office? I could have really used your backup with Joyce, Mas—”
I stepped from the room, cutting him off with a hand on his chest and a mostly gentle nudge out the door.
“I wanted to save Dani the pain of Joyce’s customer service lecture. Didn’t want to give her a bad impression of Cascade Harbor on her first full day here.” Or at least, not a worse impression after I apparently bungled things so royally.
“From what I understand, it was the heroic thing to do.” Dani gave me a shy smile and a delicate shrug, as if we now shared our own inside joke. It was good to know I hadn’t scared her off completely with my antics.
Spencer cleared his throat, obviously trying to regain Dani’s attention.
“The writing craft books are this way. If you’ll follow me?” Spencer waved toward the nonfiction section of the bookstore before disappearing between the shelves.
Dani made to follow him, but I snagged her arm, stopping her for just a moment. I was about to break one of my summer tourist rules but, if this thing was going to go beyond hiding in bookstore offices and lead to a career opportunity for me, drastic measures needed to be taken.
Dani turned to me, her eyebrow arched in curiosity. I released her arm and gave her my best smile. Hopefully it still worked without the beard and didn’t come across as trying too hard. Knowing how this day was going, I probably looked like a grinning fool. I was going to have to double check all my go-to moves in the mirror now that I was working with different assets.
“Before you disappear with Spencer, can I get your number? I would love to show you around the area, introduce you to the magic of the Oregon coast.”
She paused, pondering my request, and it took everything in me not to reach up to stroke my non-existent beard or find some other way to fidget.
Finally, she gave a sheepish shake of her head before softening her rejection with a smile. “No, but not because I don’t want to. This is going to sound ridiculous and like I’m full of myself, but since publishing my book, I’ve had to be careful about who I give my number to.”
I felt a twinge of disappointment but could understand where she was coming from. Based on how some of the women I’d interacted with earlier this summer had talked about Dani’s book, I could only imagine the types of messages she’d received. Not getting her number did put a damper on my plan though, and I scrambled to figure out a way to salvage our exchange. Maybe she wouldn’t give me her number, but maybe I could get an email or something. That was the professional thing to do, right? Exchange emails. Or was it business cards? Did people still use business cards?
Though giving her a business card would not only reveal my name was Mason but it would also tell her what I did for work before we’d gotten to know each other. While I was hoping to use this exchange as a networking opportunity, she didn’t need to know everything just yet. I didn’t want her to think I was only using her for her connections. That would hardly lead to the industry introductions I was hoping for.
“I guess that makes sense,” I said, taking a step back. There was a fine line between accepting a woman’s rejection while also trying to pivot and figure out a plan B. Not chasing a womanfor a quick fling was new territory for me. If I assured her my interest was not romantic, would that make things worse or better? “I just figured you could use a friend, someone who knows the area.”
Now it was her turn to grab my arm and stop my retreat.
“I’m saying no today, but,” she bit her lip, hesitating for just a moment before continuing, “if you were to ask me the next time I see you, my answer might be different.”
She smiled at me and then seemed to realize her boldness. “From a purely friend perspective, of course.” She rushed to tack on.
And before I could react, she released my arm and slipped between the shelves to follow Spencer, leaving me staring after her.
My heart gave an unexpected thump of excitement at her parting words. It was a sensation I wasn’t used to, and I told myself it was because this was a step forward in my career, nothing more. However, a part of me worried it could be something more. I tried so hard to keep all women at arm’s length, but I had a sinking suspicion Dani could be a different story, and I had no idea what I was going to do about it.
Shaking my head, I disappeared into the bookshelves in the opposite direction of Spencer and Dani. I still needed to talk to Spencer, assuming he’d still give me the commission after I’d disregarded his wishes and made a move on Dani.
If I told Spencer it was for professional reasons and nothing more, would he believe me? I’d never hidden what I was doing with tourists in the past, but telling him about my hopes for my time with Dani felt weirdly vulnerable. Not to mention if I told him, he’d likely blurt the truth to her the first chance he got. Best to keep the details to myself for now.
I settled into one of the bookstore’s armchairs to wait for Spencer, pulling up the official social media pages fortheDanielle Baldwin. If I was going to try my hand at designing her next book cover, I might as well do some research, so I’d be ready for our next exchange. And there would be a next exchange. As her next-door neighbor, I’d make sure of it. I just had to make sure she never figured out I was her actual next-door neighbor.
