Burned (11 page)

She groaned. “No. His parents invited us all over for dinner. Actually, I’m not so sure that included Max. My parents went, but Max and I declined, of course. I think Gwen still has this crazy idea that Collin and I will work things out.”

“The woman must be insane,” I grumped.

Holly laughed again. “Well, you
have
met her. You be the judge of that.”

An image of Gwen—dressed in flowing lavender silk—kneeling on the ground in front of a door flashed into my head. Holly and I had hoped for a moment of peace before her non-wedding to Collin. Gwen had frantically picked the lock with a bobby pin plucked from her hair. Little did she know that Holly had already made up her mind. The wedding was not to be. To this day, when I thought of Collin’s mom, that was the picture that flashed through my head.

“Yep, a bit crazy.”

“So what else am I missing back home?” Holly asked.

I filled her in on the latest in our tiny town and in no time at all, I had forgotten all about my mom’s troubling remarks.

“Is that him?” Paige asked.

I leaned around her so I could get a better look at the sprawl of beach. I squinted at the shapes off in the distance. A guy and a dog were lumbering our way. We were sitting out, steaming drinks in our hands to keep us warm. I had gotten myself a cappuccino—the sugary concoctions were the only way I could stand my coffee—and had gotten Paige her usual green tea. This early in the morning, the breeze off the ocean was pretty chilly.

“Can’t tell,” I admitted. I took another sip of my cappuccino and leaned back. If it was Jarrett and Quigley, they’d be here soon enough.

“Any time now you can tell me I was right about you and Jake,” she said smugly.

“You were right. He asked me out.” I tried biting back a smile and then decided it took too much effort.

“Is that weird? With him staying here?”

“Not really. Last night we cooked some burgers on the grill and then it started to rain. We ended up eating inside and having a Netflix marathon. He leaves pretty early in the morning so I have the house to myself most of the day. Besides, he’s not staying here forever. Just until his apartment is done.”

“When will that be?

“It’s supposed to be done a few days before Holly and Max get back. He has his doubts.” I shrugged. “If it’s not done yet he might end up spending a few nights on our couch.”

“Cozy,” she said with a grin.

“
Quigleyyyyyy
!”

I whipped my head to the side and thrust out a hand to stop the impending attack. For once, because I had notice, the dog stopped in his tracks. His feet skidded through the sand, spraying our ankles but at least I was saved from an abundance of slobber.

“Stay!
Stay
!” I said as firmly as I could.

To my surprise, he stayed.

Except for his tail. That continued to whip across the beach. Sand continued to bite at our ankles. The dog trembled in barely-contained excitement.

“I don’t know what it is about you,” Jarrett said as he jogged up. “He doesn’t bother anyone else. I swear.”

“Lucky me,” I said blandly.

“Not a dog fan?” Paige asked.

“Not so much,” I confirmed. I didn’t want to hurt Jarrett’s feelings so I decided a quick shift in conversation was in order. “Do you know who does love dogs?”

His gaze flicked to Paige.

“Oh, no, no. Not me,” Paige said with a quick shake of her head. “Sorry.”

“Clarissa. She loves dogs.”

“Clarissa?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yes. The girl I was here with the other day? The one that was loving up on Quigley?”

“Yeah, I know who Clarissa is. She works at the café.”

I nodded approvingly. He
did
know who she was.

“What do you think of her?”

“Real smooth, Lanna,” Paige said with what might have been just a hint of disapproval.

“What?” I asked innocently. If he wasn’t interested, Clarissa never had to know. Maybe I could even redirect her affection to someone else. But if he
was
interested, someone ought to move this possible love connection along.

She shook her head and made a face as if to say,
Have at it.

“So, Clarissa,” I repeated. “What do you think of her?”

He looked flustered. I smiled patiently. Finally he shrugged and said, “She’s…cute.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “She is. And
so
sweet.”

He nodded. “She seems nice. But I don’t really know her. I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“Or,” I said emphatically, “you could find out yourself.”

“Ahhh…?” He looked at me in confusion.

“Lanna’s trying to set you up. On a date,” Paige helpfully pointed out. Apparently she got bored letting me have at this myself.

“With…with Clarissa?”

“Yes,” I agreed. “Unless…are you seeing someone?” Whoops. Maybe I should’ve opened with that. I realized belatedly it might’ve been a good idea to find out if he was single before trying to send him on a date.

“No. I’m single at the moment.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Actually, I’ve been single for a while. To be honest,” he continued to ramble, “I haven’t dated all that much.”

“Perfect!” Paige chimed in again. “Then you should totally give Clarissa a chance!”

“She might not go for that,” Jarrett warned.

I waved a dismissive hand his way. “She will.”

“She knows about this?”

“Not yet. But trust me. I think you two would make a good couple. You’re both nice. You both love dogs, the beach, and…I’m sure lots of other things.” I wasn’t about to tell him about Clarissa’s crush. Setting them up was one thing, spilling my friend’s secret was another thing entirely. “Will you meet up with her?”

Jarrett glanced down at his sweaty chest. “Now?”

“No, not now, silly,” Paige said. She turned to me. “When?”

“It just so happens that I know Clarissa gets off work at four today.” I happened to know that because I had taken a peek at the schedule this morning when I’d picked up our drinks. Roberta had given me a curious look but she was busy with a customer so she hadn’t been able to reprimand me. “If today doesn’t work, I’m sure we can find another day that will.” I had memorized her schedule for the week. A knack I had picked up when I’d worked there myself.

“No. Today is good.”

“Meet me here and we can walk over there together,” I offered. “Be here a little before six.” I had to give the girl some time to get ready. It would be completely unfair of me to bring her the boy of her dreams right after she finished her shift.

A huge grin busted out on his face. “Thanks, Lanna.”

“No problem. See you later.”

He took off, Quigley running after him.

I grabbed my phone and sent a quick text to Clarissa, asking if she would be free to have dinner at six. Possibly I should’ve done that first, but I’d decided to take a bit of a gamble. She answered almost immediately that she was free.

I hummed happily to myself. I’d wait until her shift ended to tell her the real plan. No need to have her stressed out all day at work.

“You want to join us?” I asked Paige.

“Can’t. I teach a beginner’s yoga class tonight. But let me know how it goes.”

~*~*~

“You don’t really strike me as the matchmaker type,” Jake said. “But just look at you. First Max and Holly. Now these two?”

“Will you come with or not?” I asked, my tone hopeful.

He leaned against the deck railing.

“Please? We can consider it a pre-date. A warm-up for Friday night.”

He laughed. “Well, I guess a guy does need to eat. But are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I’ll admit, Clarissa had a minor meltdown but I think she’s over it.” I had assured her that I would take full responsibility for this. As far as Jarrett knew, this date was entirely my idea. He wasn’t aware of her pre-existing feelings.

“That sounds encouraging. I’m sure she was thrilled that you intervened on her behalf.”

“It’s not like I told Jarrett she has a crush on him. I pretty much made it sound like the whole thing was my idea.”

“It
was
your idea,” he reminded me. “Clarissa didn’t know what you were up to. You kind of went behind her back.”

“It sounds like you disapprove.” I frowned. “I just wanted to help Clarissa out. She’s a friend and she’s shy. She likes him and I know her, she would never take the initiative to ask him out herself. This way, all the awkwardness is on me.”

“I guess,” he said.

I punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Are you coming or not?” I glanced down the beach, assuming Jarrett would be strolling along any minute.

He grimaced, as if the thought wasn’t all that appealing but he just didn’t want to tell me.

“Oh, come on. What will it hurt? I’ll buy dinner, throw in ice-cream, and I’ll do all the dishes for the rest of the week.”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “I’ll go.”

“Was it the ice-cream that won you over?” I teased.

“Nah. I can buy my own ice-cream. But I really hate doing the dishes.”

“Hello? Anyone here?”

I frowned as I glanced down the beach. That had sounded like Jarrett but I didn’t see him. Not until he came trudging around the corner.

“Where did you come from?” I asked.

He nodded his head toward the street. “I parked over there.”

“Oh,” I said. “For some reason, I was expecting you to walk.” Probably because never once had I seen him in a car.

“Lanna,” he said with a laugh, “I live, like, three miles away.”

I grimaced. “Just how far do you run every day?”

“Eight, nine, sometimes ten miles, depending on the day. I’m training for a marathon.”

My eyebrows shot up. That was…insane. And yet, not particularly surprising.

“Impressive,” Jake said. “By the way, I’m Jake.”

“Jarrett.”

They shook hands and Jarrett gave me a questioning look.

“So I was thinking,” I said, “that the four of us could all have dinner. I talked to Clarissa. She’s just going to meet us at the café.”

“Awesome,” Jarrett said with a nervous smile. He glanced at his watch. “We should probably go. Don’t you think? I wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.”

We arrived at the café a few minute before six. Clarissa was already waiting. She looked adorable. Her hair was woven into a decorative bun and she wore a floral maxi dress.

I made official introductions and we all took a seat in a booth.

“Did you know you both attend Harmony Bay University?” I asked Jarrett.

He glanced at Clarissa. “I didn’t.”

She smiled shyly. “It’s a big campus. What’s your major?”

“Business. It’s kind of dull, but it’s pretty versatile as far as majors go,” he said. “What about you?”

“Education,” she said decisively. “I want to be a kindergarten teacher.”

I smiled because I knew this already. I thought it fit her personality perfectly.

“Yeah? That’s cool,” Jarrett said. “My mom teaches high school English.”

“Really?” Clarissa asked. “Where are you from?”

The two of them continued to chat until our waitress came to take our order. As soon as the order was placed, they picked up right up where they left off. I couldn’t resist giving Jake a satisfied smile. He just smirked back and shook his head.

By the time the meal was over, Clarissa was practically glowing.

Jarrett received a phone call and stepped outside to take it. It was his roommate and he was concerned there was an issue with his dog.

“I hope Quigley is okay,” Clarissa said with a frown when he left.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” I said.

“Do you think tonight is going okay?” she asked me worriedly. “I mean, I think it’s going okay. I feel like we’re clicking. But I’m not always the best judge of situations. What do you think? Do you think he likes me? Am I trying to hard? Do I ramble too much?” I winced. “I do. I know I do.”

“You’re doing fine,” I encouraged.

“Just keep being yourself,” Jake said.

Clarissa reached across the table, grabbed my hand and squeezed the hell out of it. “Thank you!” she squealed quietly. “Thank you for doing this!”

“I’m glad it’s working out.” I turned to Jake and handed him a napkin.

“What’s this for?”

“So you can wipe that judgmental look of your face,” I teased. He swatted the napkin away with a smile as he rolled his eyes.

“Jake, your girlfriend, is like, the
best
,” Clarissa gushed.

She was getting ahead of herself. Jake didn’t correct her so I just let it go too.

“Did I miss anything?” Jarrett asked as he slid back into the booth.

“Nothing much,” I said.

“How’s Quigley?” Clarissa wondered.

“Eh, he’s fine,” Jarrett said. “He just got into the dog treats when my roommate wasn’t looking. He ate the whole bag. Then he got sick. But I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

“Oh, poor puppy,” Clarissa said sadly.

By the time another hour had passed, Jake and I were ready to leave. Clarissa and Jarrett had hit it off so completely that they decided to stay, to get to know each other.

It was dusk by the time we walked out the doors.

“You can’t deny that that went well,” I said.

“Is that what you did with Max and Holly? Gave them a big shove?” he asked. A faint smile quirked up the corners of his lips.

“I would consider it more of a gentle nudge,” I amended. “Max was already totally in love. Holly was engaged to a complete ass. When the wedding was called off…yeah, I suggested Max take Holly out of town with him. From there,” I said with a shrug, “they made everything happen on their own.”