I ducked away from my grandmother’s earshot and told Dana everything I remembered from the other night that I hadn’t already told her—how Mystery Man and I had first met, how we’d spoken for over an hour and gotten to know random intimate details of each other’s lives over drinks and snacks, and how within just moments of being with him, I’d been desperate to get a taste of what lay underneath that tight grey shirt. It seemed really odd; I knew so much about him, yet I didn’t even know his real name.
Why had he lied and pretended to be Ben? It was so weird. I guess I’d never know the answer, though, so there was no point worrying about it.
Too bad I was still worrying about it.
“So much for forgetting about it,” I said with another sigh. “I figured I’d forget the whole thing straight away, seeing as it was just one weird date which ended with a terrible bang—not literally, thank god—but I’m still thinking about him two days later!”
“He really made an impression, huh?”
“I guess so,” I said bitterly. “Even though he was a lying prick.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Well, maybe you’ll run into him again. You said the manager of Clancy’s seemed to know him, so obviously he’s a regular. We could go there for drinks on the weekend and see if he’s there.”
I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me. “No way. I can’t stand liars, and like I said, he lied to me about who he was. On top of that, that Candice girl was his girlfriend, and he was trying to step out on her. I’m sure of it. He’s a dick,” I said.
“True. Then again, maybe she was just a crazy ex. You know how some people get when they see their ex-lover with someone new. They get all jealous and try to blow up the ex’s spot. So maybe they used to date and then broke up, and she was doing that.”
“Mm…maybe,” I said, moving back over to my Grandma so I could help her fold a towel. “But I doubt it. That sounds like a lame misunderstanding out of a rom-com movie. It would be too convenient.”
“Yeah, convenient for you, because you’d finally get laid again once you realize he’s actually not a cheating ass,” Dana said, snorting with laughter.
I ducked away from my grandmother again. “Careful! My Grandma might’ve heard you!” I said in a hushed voice.
“Sorry,” she said. “But seriously, Rory, we should actually go to Clancy’s for drinks and see if we run into him again! Even if you aren’t curious if he’s really single, I’m curious after this whole story you’ve told me. Not for myself, of course. For you.”
“I really don’t want to,” I said. “Even if he is single, he still lied to me about who he was and made a fool out of me. I don’t want to go near that place ever again after being humiliated there like that. The way everyone was staring at me was the worst. Hell, I’m not even going to go near the Crown Hotel ever again, just in case!”
Just as I said that, my Mom came breezing through the door, apparently having just returned from her short getaway. “Did I hear someone say something about the Crown Hotel? We’re having dinner there tonight with James, so get dressed in something fancy!”
Crap. In my haste to denounce the Crown and all of its associated restaurants and bars, I’d forgotten that Mom’s current squeeze owned the whole joint.
“Gotta go,” I muttered to Dana. “Talk soon.”
With that, I turned to my mother. “Hi, Mom. How was your trip? And sorry, what did you say about dinner?” I asked, silently praying that I’d misheard her. Maybe she’d said that only she was having dinner at the Crown tonight.
Of course, I had no such luck.
“Dinner tonight, at the Balmoral restaurant at James’ hotel. We decided to have a special meal, and you’re both invited.”
Ugh. The Balmoral was practically right next to Clancy’s.
My grandmother smiled at Mom. “That’s lovely, Anna. I’ll have to wear my special pearls, and Aurora can wear that pretty black and white dress she has.”
I forced a smile and nodded. I really didn’t want to return to the scene of the crime that was my date the other night, but I guess I didn’t have much of a choice if Mom had already organized it. “What’s the occasion?” I asked through gritted teeth.
Mom smiled enigmatically. “Oh, you know…just a little thing to celebrate our love.”
I raised an eyebrow. My mother always smiled like that when she was hiding something. Last time I’d seen her with that expression on her face in regards to a man was about two and a half years ago when I’d asked her why I’d seen her with my high school math teacher one day when I was leaving class. She’d been dating him, of course, but she’d just given me that same silly smile and told me they’d been discussing my grade for the semester. Sure, Mommy dearest.#p#分页标题#e#