Mr. Wonderful Lies (2 page)

Anna took a deep breath, a sure signal that she was about to go into mom mode. “I know you said you never wanted to date again after the Professor Jackass incident last year.”

I bobbed my head up and down in the affirmative. Jared remained silent, a fact I was grateful for. I had no desire to hear the hottest guy on earth comment on my relationship failures.

“But two months ago when we talked, I told you I thought you shouldn’t give it more than a year.”

She was pausing again, probably so she wouldn’t say the last part, which was that I wasn’t getting any younger. As if I could miss that fact.

“So,” she continued. “Cupid is here to remind you to get moving. In fact, I think I may have an idea or two for potential dates.”

Now I love my Anna. Don’t get me wrong. But when she starts talking about dates like pieces of real estate, I get a little grumpy.

Anna exchanged a brief look with Jared. His expression was sort of mixed. I hoped she wasn’t entertaining the idea of setting me up with any of Jared’s friends. They’re all hot, sure, but hot doesn’t really mean husband material. Refer back to my list.

“So what do you think, Megan?” Anna turned her expectant gaze on me.

This was going to be the tricky part. See, when Anna had first approached me with reminders that my year was up, I’d started anticipating this conversation. The idea of going on a bunch of Anna-sanctioned blind dates was horrifying. Shy people don’t function well in a blind date scenario. We either clam up and look stupid or start talking nonstop about nothing. So that was when I made my New Year’s Resolution. If I was going to start dating again, I would do it on my own terms.

I began slowly, testing the waters. “Actually, I think I’ve already met someone.”

Anna’s vibrant excitement almost made me miss Jared’s subdued reaction. No smile, no dimple, nothing. Nada, zilch. He could’ve been listening to the weather report for all the emotion he showed. I knew my dating life wasn’t nearly as exciting as his, but sheesh!

“You met someone?” Anna nearly shouted, bouncing in her seat like a teenager about to hear a juicy piece of gossip about the prom queen.

“Yeah, I met someone. I don’t live in a vacuum.”

“So,” she prodded. “Tell me everything.”

I shrugged. “His name is Elliot Oliver and he’s a native, lived in South City all his life I think.”

“South City, hmm?” I could see the wheels turning in her head. “Employed I hope?”

“He works for the brewery. I’m not sure exactly what he does. We’ve never discussed it in detail.” But I was going to have to in order to keep Anna satisfied. I wrote myself a mental note.

“So what’s he like?” Anna leaned forward eagerly.

I wondered what I should say. What was Ollie like exactly? “He has a wonderful sense of humor and he loves to laugh. Not narcissistic, likes to try new things, loves taking float trips on the river. What else do you want to know?”

Anna sat back in her chair, her sharp brown eyes gauging my every move. “What does he look like?”

“He’s tall, six one or two, with brown hair and green eyes.”

“Facial hair?”

“Goatee.”

Jared cleared his throat. “You sound like you’re reciting a list of personal facts you read off a want ad.”

I froze.

Anna leaned forward, her gaze intent. “Where exactly did you meet Elliot Oliver?”

She had me right there and she knew it. I’d been hoping to avoid that question. See, I don’t lie. Not that I never have a chance to or never want to. I don’t do it because I have so many tells, I’m worse than a toddler playing poker. Lies just feel wrong. Something in the pit of my stomach twists up into a knot, and I start to feel nauseated. I’ve always been like that. Nobody rats me out like I do. And right then, I was hanging myself out to dry.

“C’mon Anna,” Jared chided softly. “Back off a little. It’s not like Megan belongs to some convict outreach program or something.”

“Don’t you start,” she told him. “You know half the players in the city. I shouldn’t have to explain to you why I’m being nosy.”

Jared slanted a sly look in my direction. “As if Anna Thompson needs an ironclad reason to be nosy.”

I passed him a grateful smile. He and Anna grew up together. Their moms were, and still are, best friends, so they were raised like brother and sister. It’s why they’ve never dated, and why he’s so good at distracting her by pushing her buttons. Unfortunately I knew that wasn’t going to work this time.

“Quit trying to change the subject, you two.” Anna narrowed her sharp brown gaze. “Where did you meet this guy, Megan?”

I sighed, giving into the inevitable. “Facebook.”

“
What
?”

Their collective horror actually drew attention from a few of the other people in Cheeky’s. I glanced around, throwing nervous smiles at them so they’d go back to their own thing and quit staring.

“You aren’t serious?” Anna demanded.

“Quit being so melodramatic,” I told her, my eyes busy watching my fingers peel the label from my beer bottle. “People have been using dating services for years. How is this any different?”

“Megan, it’s a lot easier for someone to lie about who and what they are on the Internet,” Jared said quietly.

I lifted my gaze and was surprised to see genuine concern in his blue eyes. I knew we were friends, but I hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from him. From Anna, certainly, but Jared was a guy and a serial dater. Surely he’d used every tactic in the book to find his dates.

“How did you meet him on Facebook?” Anna prodded. “Is he a friend of someone you know?”

“Yes.”

“Someone you know personally?” she clarified.

I shrugged. “A friend of a friend.”

“This is crazy, Megan!”

“It’s no different than a blind date.”

“A blind date is pre-screened!” Anna sat up and waved her hands in the air for emphasis.

“Do you have a lot in common?” Finally, a rational question from Jared.

I nodded at him. “We seem to.”

“Like what?” Anna demanded.

I struggled to answer. It wasn’t that simple. How do you explain to someone that a list of activities we both liked didn’t matter when there were so many other things we had in common. That was what had astounded me the most about Ollie to begin with. We’re both laid back and willing to try something new. We weren’t inclined to force our opinions on people and didn’t expect anything but respect in return for acceptance. How could I explain to my friends that the most important thing Ollie and I had in common was our outlook?

“It’s complicated,” I began hesitantly. “We have a lot of the same personality traits.”

“Maybe it just seems that way,” Jared offered realistically. “Sometimes what seems like a good match in a chat doesn’t pan out when you get real chemistry involved. It’s always easy to get along with someone when there’s a time delay in the conversation.”

I appreciated his point of view. It wasn’t like I hadn’t had those same thoughts a thousand times before. I mean, I’d started chatting on a daily basis with a virtual stranger. It was like falling in love with a television character. How did I know the whole thing wasn’t a figment of my imagination?

“I thought of that,” I admitted. “But when we talk on the phone it’s just like our chats. We can talk forever about nothing or everything and it doesn’t matter. I just like talking to him.” I paused, trying to put what I felt into words. “He listens to me.”

It sounded so simple, but it really wasn’t. If you’ve had this with another person, you can understand. If you haven’t, you won’t ever understand until it happens to you. It’s that one person you want to talk to no matter what. The one who maybe doesn’t always agree with you, but still manages to make you feel like a million bucks anyway.

Jared smiled at me, his full lips tilting up at the corners though I didn’t see the flash of perfect white teeth from his full, devastatingly handsome smile. I think he got it, even if Anna didn’t. That was sort of strange since his relationships typically had an abbreviated lifespan. I wondered if he’d ever had a real connection with someone, only to have it fade away over time. It was the one thing I was most afraid of with Ollie and the number one reason I’d resolved to take things slowly. I’d jumped in headfirst with Professor Jackass. There was no way I was going down that road again.

“Please tell me talking on the phone is all you’ve done,” Anna moaned. “What if this guy is a psycho axe murderer? We should check him out on casenet.com or something.”

I sucked in a big breath and held it. “He wants to meet.”

Anna snatched my hand, squeezing it until I thought my fingers might pop off. “Megan Myers, are you insane?”

I did a sort of noncommittal shake of my head. “I don’t know. I’m thinking about just doing it.”

“Megan…” Anna gasped.

“In a public place somewhere!” I shot back defensively. “I just want to know if this is a real connection or just some freak accident.”

“Meeting him in person will definitely answer the chemistry question,” Jared murmured. “But you have to remember that people can lie in person too.”

“Anyone can lie,” I told them bitterly. “I thought I knew Professor Jackass. Look how many lies he told.”

“You know what?” Anna announced, “This is a good thing! You’ll meet him and realize he’s some freak who looks like the Elephant Man or something.”

I looked at Jared and we both burst out laughing. It was so like Anna to put a slant on something that was to her advantage. It was how she operated. She eyeballed the two of us laughing like crazed hyenas and her face took on a distinctive pout, which made Jared and I laugh all the harder. No matter what life held for me, I was really thankful for my friends.

“You’re not helping her see reason, Jared,” Anna told him, reaching over to smack him on the back of his blonde head. “I could use some back up here.”

“Baby, you’re on your own,” he rumbled before lapsing into another chuckle.

As always, Jared’s Missouri drawl made my heart thud against my ribcage. It reminded me a little bit of Ollie’s distinctive voice, also guaranteed to melt you from the inside out.

Just as that thought bounced through my head, my fully charged and full volume phone began to sing inside my purse. I didn’t even have to wonder who was calling. My face blushed red hot and my heart began to race. Why did this have to happen right here and right now?

“Are you going to answer that?” Jared asked, picking up his glass and taking a long swig of honey-colored beer.

I swallowed, wishing I didn’t feel as if I’d just run five miles on the treadmill. I was even sweating!

Anna gave me a penetrating stare before skinning her olives from their green plastic sword with her even white teeth.

I dug my iPhone from my purse and slid the touchscreen to answer. The happy Marimba jingle blasting at full volume told me exactly who it was, and because Anna and Jared knew that I had firm feelings about chipper, upbeat ringtones versus traditional ringers, they did too.

“Hey baby,” Ollie’s baritone rumbled in my ear. “I’m missin’ you.”

That new and yet familiar tone of his voice tickled my ear and sent a riot of chills all over my body. I’m not usually a big fan of pet names, but every time the man called me baby, it gave me that butterfly sensation in my stomach.

“Hey Ollie,” I said, trying to keep my voice somewhat normal. “What’s up?”

“I was thinking about what you said earlier, about meeting somewhere public. I was thinking over a couple of possibilities, but I want you to be the one to make a decision. I just want you to feel good about it. If you don’t want to do this yet, just tell me.”

My heart swelled and I stopped worrying about my audience. That was one of the things I liked best about Ollie. He was the antithesis of pushy about our relationship. I smiled into the phone, more than ready to make this decision. “I’m ready to do this. Just tell me where. You know my schedule is more flexible than yours.”

“Okay, then how about we meet tomorrow for breakfast at that café like we talked about earlier? It’s pretty much halfway between work for both of us.”

The butterflies in my belly exploded like the Fourth of July. “I’ll be there.”

He chuckled nervously. “I feel like a teenager again. I’m afraid I’ll get tongue tied and you’ll think I’m an idiot.”

“I feel the exact same way. We’ll probably sit and stare for half an hour, and that’s okay. One step at a time, right?”

I could practically hear him smile into the phone. “That’s exactly right. Listen, I know you’re out with friends tonight, so I’ll let you go. I miss you, baby, and I can’t wait to meet you in person.”

“Me too,” I murmured, hanging up while trying and failing to suppress my gigantic grin.

I was going to meet Ollie! Finally after three weeks of Facebook chatting and phone conversations, I was going to meet the man who seemed almost too perfect for me. It was wonderful and horrible and scary and exciting all at the same time. I wasn’t completely deluded. I knew that I could be walking into a total disaster, but something inside me knew I had to try it or I’d always regret the not knowing.