Page 29 of Reckless Liar

I thought of Xander’s lips pressing against mine, the way his arms felt under my hands, the rush of heat and shame as I backed away from him. Scarlett kept talking, oblivious. “No excuses. It’s a guy Emma knows from high school. Really nice. I think you two would be perfect together.”

“Scarlett, I’m really not sure...”

She leaned forward; her eyes big in desperation. “Please, Ana, pretty please! Will you do this for me? I promise if he’s a total ogre, I won’t set you up ever again.”

I sighed, looking around The Cabin, for some sign of how to respond. “Fine. But one date. That’s all I’m agreeing to.”

She clapped her hands together in glee. “Yes! Oh, thank you. You won’t regret it. This guy is so perfect for you.”

“I doubt that.” I thought Max was perfect for me and look where I ended up—brokenhearted and pissed off. There was a flash of sitting next to Xander, our shoulders touching as we watched TV together. It was nothing special, nothing heart stopping. Only familiarity, the warmth of his body against mine. That moment felt perfect.

Alldaylong,Iwas nervous about my date. Scarlett offered to come over and help me get ready. She even tried to get me to wear a new outfit from the shop on loan. But I refused. If I was going to go through with this date—and I still wasn’t sure if I was, I changed my mind about every fifteen minutes—I needed to do it as myself.

I changed out of my jeans and T-shirt. Standing in front of my closet wearing only my underwear, I flipped through my clothes. Everything I had seemed too casual, or too nice, too old-fashioned, or just plain old. It’d been so long since I needed to dress up to impress someone. Taking out a floral print sundress, I studied it. If I wore it with a cardigan, it might work. Holding it up to look at my reflection in the mirror, I considered myself. It made me look like I was shooting a country music video. I put it back in the closet and pulled out a blue silk top.If I wore this with black slacks, maybe?I shook my head. I looked like my mother before her charity group meetings.

Glancing at the clock, I saw he was going to be at my place in thirty minutes and I still hadn’t done my hair or makeup. Shoving the silk top in the closet, I pulled out a little black dress that Bronson’s fiancée, Becca, bought me for my birthday last year. I had nowhere to wear it to before, so I almost forgot about it. I pulled the dress over my head, smoothing the lacy fabric on the skirt down over my thighs. Luckily it was an A-line skirt, so I didn’t need to break out the slim wear. Scarlett swore by them, but I had a hard time relaxing with such constricting underwear.

Rushing through my hair, I opted to straighten the funny spots on my already fairly straight hair. I wouldn’t try a new style tonight. I’d planned on trying out a cat eye look, Scarlett and I had been practicing the last time we hung out, but I was still perfecting the steady hand it took and knew I’d end up with raccoon eyes if I attempted it in such a short time period.

Troy McConnell was perfectly punctual, knocking on the door at 6:15 p.m. just like he said he would when he called to set up the date. Opening the door, I was surprised to see he was cuter than I thought he’d be. I realized I’d expected an ogre. His strawberry blond hair was cut into a perfectly gelled crew cut. He was a good seven inches taller than me—a good height, but not too tall. Xander was too tall. It was impossible standing next to a guy who was a whole foot taller than you. His dark purple button-down shirt with a black tie set off his green eyes nicely. He was handsome, and I was surprised at how relieved I felt about that.

“Hi, Ana? I have the right place, right?” he asked.

“If you’re Troy, then yes, if not...” I trailed off, not knowing how to finish my joke. He laughed anyway, even though I hadn’t really been all that funny.

He held out his arm to me. “Shall we?”

We enjoyed a nice dinner at Burrata Bistro, splitting a bottle of wine that he picked out. Over osso buco and olive bread, I felt myself relaxing more and more. I found him to be charming and kind. He certainly was everything Scarlett said he was. Handsome in a clean-cut, proper way, reminding me a bit of my brother. He was pleasant and gentlemanly, pulling out my chair for me and holding the door open. Though I balked, he insisted he pay for dinner, telling me, “I’ll let you buy me dinner next time.”

He drove me back to my apartment and insisted on walking me to my door and opening the door for me. Standing on the doormat, Troy tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“I’m really glad Emma told me to call you.”

I nodded at him. “Me too.”

He smiled, flashing me a straight white smile that only came from years of expensive orthodontia. “Could I call you? We could try out that new tapas bar. I’ve heard good things about it.”

“I’d like that.”

He bent down, pausing an inch from my lips, trying to gauge my reaction. I leaned forward and he pressed a soft kiss to my lips. It was a tender, perfectly pleasant feeling. But I couldn’t help but compare the feeling to the last man who kissed me.

He pulled away, a goofy smile on his handsome face. As he withdrew his hand from the respectful spot on my upper arm, he pressed one more delicate kiss to my lips.

“I’ll call you soon, okay?”

I let myself into the apartment, locking the door behind me. The apartment was empty as I made my way down the hall. I wondered where Xander was. He’d been seeing more and more of that Sherie girl. I tried not to think about what they might be up to.

I changed into my pajamas, washing the makeup off my face. My reflection looked about twelve years old compared to how I looked dolled up. Would Troy be shocked to see me without makeup? I had a feeling I’d see him again. He met all the criteria. He listened intently as I told him about the basics of my job. He asked the right questions, joked about whether the Huskies would make it to the Apple Cup this year. I knew my parents would like him. He was handsome, successful, and came from a nice family. He wasn’t the type who’d beat up my classmates in a parking lot or get caught kissing another girl at a house party. He had the same job since he graduated college, a nice condo in Illahee with a partial view of the water. He drove a newer sedan. Thinking about Troy was like checking off little boxes in my mind.

Heading to the living room, I was surprised to find Xander on the couch. He must have come in when I was getting changed and I didn’t hear him. His arm draped across the back of the couch and a nonchalant look on his face.

“So how was the blind date?”

“Good.” There was a tick in his jaw as I spoke. “Did I tell you I was going on a blind date?”

“Scarlett told me. She brought me a coffee when I was working on the courtyard at the Winslow Pavilion.”

“Oh,” I said stupidly. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t told Xander. I had ample time to mention it. “I guess that makes sense.” I wasn’t sure why I didn’t want Xander to know about my date. Why I scheduled it for a night when I knew he’d be out.

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