Just One Fake Date: A Contemporary Romance (Flatiron Five Fitness Book 1)

by Deborah Cooke

  “I’m so up for this,” Kyle said. “I can start now. What are you doing in about an hour, Meesha?”

  She laughed at him.

  “But we’re not movie stars,” Damon argued.

  Meesha tapped the table. “You’re superstars right here. The point is that you can shape the narrative and influence results, if you take charge of this.” She smiled. “And if you hire me. And a photographer who does great candid shots.”

  There was a beat of silence.

  “You’ve given us a lot to think about,” Ty said. “Thank you, Meesha, and thanks Cassie for setting this up. Cassie’s got all your contact information, and Theo has your credentials so we’ll be in touch.”

  The guys stood up and each shook hands with Meesha, then she gathered her laptop and left, walking a lot taller than when she’d come in.

  Sadly, the image of Ty and Cassie together went with her.

  “Tragic lack of confidence,” Kyle said with a sigh.

  “Takes one to know one,” Damon countered.

  Kyle pointed at him. “You should go first, with your Friday night thing, whatever it is. Who is she? How serious is it? Meesha needs all the details.”

  “You just want all the details.”

  “Of course, I do. It’s not natural to avoid taking a shift at the dance club, which is filled with writhing, glistening, gorgeous bodies, all swaying to the beat. The pheromones in there are enough to stun the uninitiated...”

  “Natasha,” Damon muttered, probably sliding out the confession in the middle of Kyle’s soliloquy in the hope that he’d miss it.

  Cassie could have told him it was a long shot.

  “Natasha!” Kyle nearly dove across the conference table. “What does she look like?”

  “Of course, that’s the item of interest for Kyle,” Theo said.

  “With his profound interest in character,” Ty agreed and they fist-bumped.

  “What does she do? Where did you meet her?” Kyle asked. “I want pictures!”

  “You’re out of luck.” Damon was grim.

  “But most importantly, when do we meet her?”

  “Never,” Damon said with finality, biting off the word.

  It was an unexpectedly hard answer and the room was quiet for a beat.

  Then Ty cleared his throat. “If we consider Meesha’s plan, members have to be able to opt-out,” he said. “We need to make sure the club remains a place where members feel safe.” There was general agreement to that and he nodded. “Let’s move on. The alumni magazine is sending someone Saturday to take some photographs for the article. They want candid shots so Kyle suggested a game of pick-up on Saturday morning, if we can all be in around eleven, then we can do a more formal shot later...”

  A photographer. Cassie didn’t know anything about one coming in. How did Ty know? Did this have something to do with his change of tone earlier?

  She definitely wanted to know.

  Seven

  Silence.

  Ty checked his phone again, but there were no messages from Shannyn. It was after nine by the time he got back to his apartment, his work done for the day, and reheated his take-out dinner. He changed while it was in the microwave, then stood at the kitchen counter, eating it out of the box.

  Just another day.

  But on this particular Wednesday, Ty was impatient with his routine. His life felt stale instead of fulfilling, dull instead of focused.

  All because one unpredictable woman hadn’t even texted him.

  Of course, she didn’t have a reason to text him, but that didn’t stop other women of Ty’s acquaintance. He’d thought she might be curious about his plan.

  But no. She kept him guessing, one more time.

  It had been great talking to Shannyn in the middle of the night, her voice a soft murmur in his ear, her jokes making him smile. He didn’t think it was his imagination that she was less defensive on the phone and wondered why that would be. He had to stay alert because he never knew where she would go with anything, and he enjoyed having to lift his game. Shannyn never let him get away with an easy answer.

  Ty respected that.

  She also, apparently, was the one woman in the universe who didn’t need his reassurance or his skill at fixing things. Ty scrolled through his messages, noting that they were all from women who wanted something from him. His sister Paige had called while he’d been meeting with a client, probably intent on changing his mind about her tagging along with Derek. He should probably call her Princess Persistence, since it was so impossible for Paige to consider not getting her own way. His mom hadn’t called again, evidence that she was still annoyed with him. Ty was good with that for the moment.

  Giselle had left a message that she was flying home and changing her routes, along with some commentary on his character that proved her views were similar to Shannyn’s. She was a lot less succinct about it, though, and Ty was much more indifferent.

  Then there had been Cassie’s message, received loud and clear, that she was available, at the partners’ meeting that night. Neon lights couldn’t have made it more evident and Ty was both embarrassed and annoyed. They’d talked about this before, obliquely. He was going to have to be more direct, and wasn’t looking forward to that. It wasn’t that he was worried about breaking any hearts—in a lot of ways, Cassie was like Paige. In others, she was like Kyle. She just wanted what she wanted and unfortunately, it was him.

  The salient point was that there wasn’t one word from Shannyn. Not a text message. Not a missed call. Silence. They had a deal and she was sticking to it. Ty respected that, but was intrigued that she wasn’t following up about his idea about her roof. Did she think he’d forgotten? Or that he wasn’t going to bother? Wasn’t she even curious?

  He suspected that she’d just carried on, intent on solving her problem herself. As much as that was refreshing, he wanted Shannyn to want his help.

  He couldn’t wait until Saturday to talk to her. He wanted to tell her about Derek. He also had to warn her about what had happened with his family. It was the responsible thing to do.

  And Ty was always the responsible one. He finished his dinner, cleaned up, then called her.

  If he was holding his breath while the phone rang, he was never going to admit it to anyone, least of all a certain woman with a house with a leaky roof in Flatbush.

  Shannyn was cropping images and listing the very few she had to retake when her phone rang. Fitzwilliam was snoring on the old laptop and her tenants had finally turned off the television for the night. She was enjoying the silence.

  She smiled when she saw the caller. “Are you calling to admit defeat or celebrate a triumph?” she asked by way of answering.

  “Couldn’t I call just to talk to you?” Tyler replied, a smile in his voice.

  Shannyn found herself smiling. “You could, but you probably wouldn’t. You’re a very goal-oriented kind of guy.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “No. It’s a consistent thing.”

  “You make that sound like a bad thing.” He sounded relaxed and thoughtful, as if she had his undivided attention, which was seductive. Shannyn wondered if he knew he was keeping his voice low, just the way she liked it best. If he guessed how effective it was at making her knees melt, he was probably doing it on purpose. The man had charm and he knew how to use it.

  The realization didn’t change one bit of her reaction.

  “I don’t know. Is it that bad to be reliable?” she asked lightly. “Some women really go for that.”

  “But not you?”

  She laughed a little. “We’re totally opposite, Tyler, and if you don’t know it, I’ll tell you so. I would never work two jobs for a decade just to make sure all my retirement funds were topped up. I’ll bet you just got home and ate take-out for dinner. Again.”

  There was a pause, as if she’d startled him. “Point to you,” he ceded. “How did you guess?”

  “That kitchen of yours looks like it’s in
a model home or a hotel. I knew with one look that you didn’t cook.”

  “I didn’t realize I was so transparent.”

  Shannyn laughed. She couldn’t help it. The suggestion that Tyler was easily read was absurd. “You’re not.”

  “I thought you had side hustles. Doesn’t that mean you work a lot?”

  “But that’s because I don’t have nearly enough money and want to keep this house. I’m motivated, but I’m hoping it’s a short-term thing. Life isn’t just about work, you know.” She gasped in mock outrage. “Oh! No, you don’t know that. You’ll have to trust me, then.”

  His voice dropped to become all growly. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with financial security.”

  “I’m not adverse to it either. I just want to have some fun, too.”

  “What kind of fun?”

  “I don’t know.” She paused, then decided to throw him a bone. “Impulsive sex on a random Tuesday night, maybe.”

  “That was definitely a good choice.” His voice was so warm with approval that Shannyn wanted to close her eyes and purr.

  “Yes. It rained in the Sahara and now the cactus are blooming.” Why was she telling him all this?

  “What does that even mean?”

  “That I’d had a little dry spell. We ended it with style.” She paused then figured she might as well say it. “Thanks.”

  “It was your idea,” he reminded her.

  “An inspired one. I’ll have to try it again sometime.”

  “We could....”

  Shannyn sat up straight, realizing a bit too late that she’d led the conversation exactly where she didn’t want to go. “Nuh, uh, uh. We have a deal, and the whole point is sticking to the terms.”

  She could hear him thinking, then Tyler changed the subject. “You sound like you’re in a good mood tonight. Have a good day?”

  “I had a great day,” she said quickly, hoping he wouldn’t guess the truth, that she was happy just because he’d called her.

  “There’s a blow to my pride. I was hoping you were just glad to hear from me.”

  Shannyn’s heart jumped. “Why? So, you can pursue the quest of convincing me that you’re a nice guy?”

  “I am a nice guy.”

  “That’s your story and you’re sticking to it.”

  Tyler chuckled a little. She imagined him standing in his apartment, looking out the windows toward Brooklyn. No fire tonight, just the light of the city illuminating him. She opened that picture of him looking at the rock wall and made it fill her screen, just for inspiration.

  Time to give him a nudge before she got soft.

  “I had an excellent day,” she said. “Good work and good conversation.”

  “We’ve only just started.”

  “Not you! My roommate from college and best friend in the entire world called.”

  “The math teacher,” he guessed and Shannyn was surprised that he remembered.

  “Yes. Kirsten. She’s getting married next week—”

  “Don’t you need a fake date?” Tyler asked, interrupting her smoothly.

  “No, I’ll go stag. I can defend myself.” She let him think about that for a second, then continued. “They’re having the ceremony and reception at a new restaurant and I’m excited about it. Good company, a fun celebration, and I’ll get culinary ideas.”

  “You cook?” There was definite interest in Tyler’s tone.

  “I cook.” She replied firmly. “And you don’t. Go on, tell me you don’t have time.”

  “I don’t.”

  Shannyn made a disgusted sound. “Keep your money, Tyler. I’d rather have a life.”

  He seemed to be startled by that. “What about your roof?”

  “That was a neat circle back to the subject at hand. Another point to you.”

  “Who’s keeping score?” he murmured.

  “Not me. Go on, tell me. You are officially admitting defeat on the challenge of the roof.” Shannyn sighed. “Oh well. No dinner date. Boo hoo.”

  “I’m not doing any such thing.”

  “Really?”

  “Wait. You didn’t think I could solve it?”

  “I didn’t think you’d be sufficiently motivated to bother,” she said and heard Tyler’s sharp intake of breath. “You don’t have to step out of your comfort zone to prove anything to me. It’s not about competence...”

  He interrupted her crisply. “No, it’s about your conviction that people will let you down.”

  Shannyn fell silent, surprised.

  “You expect it,” Tyler continued. “You wait for it.”

  “Point to you. Call it a learned response.” She heard how tight her voice was.

  “Well, learn to make an exception,” he replied, his tone stern. “I’m not going to let you down, and I haven’t.”

  “If you think you’ve fixed the roof, you should know that it’s still leaking.”

  He took a breath. “There’s good news and bad news about that.”

  “I’ll take the good news first, Alex, for five hundred dollars.”

  Tyler didn’t laugh. “My brother-in-law is a contractor. He might be able to give you a deal.” He gave her Derek’s contact information.

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Because I told him that we’re seeing each other. It would be kind of a family discount thing.” He cleared his throat when she didn’t say anything. “I said to him that you might be able to meet him on Saturday, after you finish at Flatiron Five Fitness.”

  Shannyn fought her sense that she was being managed, which was one of the things she hated most in the whole world. “I might,” she said carefully. “That’s a good contact. Thank you.” She waited a moment. “And the bad news?”

  “The fake date thing is out there.

  It took Shannyn a moment to accept what Tyler was saying.

  “Because we exist as a fictional couple at least for Derek and his wife, who is your sister.” She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that, or even if she should feel about it. She definitely shouldn’t be having flutters.

  She and Ty were going to his sister’s wedding together. His family would assume they were dating.

  But that was a month away. She felt a need to put the brakes on the construction of this fake relationship, the one Tyler seemed so determined to build.

  “Since about five after two this morning,” he continued, his voice so filled with regret that she knew he hadn’t seen it coming.

  Which was odd, but there it was.

  “You called them that early?”

  “I just wanted to solve it,” he admitted. “My mom has been talking about them being up all night every night with their son, who has colic, and so I just called right away. They were up.”

  “But they wondered why you were.”

  “Exactly.” She could almost hear him wince. “They don’t know I swim at night. They assumed I was with you, at the house in question.”

  Ah.

  “Do you think your sister told anyone else?” she asked.

  Tyler gave a short laugh but it didn’t sound like he was amused. “What do you think?”

  Shannyn’s heart stopped. “Everyone related to you within a hundred mile radius knows already?” she guessed.

  “Two hundred,” he acknowledged easily. “And possibly most of the eastern seaboard. Paige is not big on discretion.”

  Tyler’s entire family knew not only about her existence but believed she was sleeping with him. This wasn’t the set of assumptions Shannyn had hoped to face at the wedding.

  “Damn. My mom might have heard already,” she said, trying to hide her dismay.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

  He just wanted to make a deal with her, so she’d go for dinner.

  Shannyn felt a little wave of panic then reminded herself that she didn’t have a roof yet, or even another bid. She took a deep breath. “You said there were two things,” she reminded him, her tone as wary as s
he felt.

  “I should be there when Derek comes to the house, whenever it is.”

  “Why?”

  “If we’re seeing each other, he’ll expect it.”

  “You’re making this complicated.”

  “It’s just a case of what’s plausible.”

  “Plausible,” Shannyn repeated, dragging it out. “We keep coming back to that word.

  “We do, because the key to a successful fake date lies in the details.”

  “You’re speaking from experience here?”

  “No, but it just makes sense...”

  “Because I might be insulted to realize that I was number forty-six in a long line of fake dates.”

  “You’re not.” Tyler sounded stubborn and a bit annoyed. Shannyn knew his mouth would be a hard line and his eyes would be glittering. Once again, she had that urge to push him over the edge and jump on when he lost control. She’d ride him right into the core of the volcano, with no regrets. “You’re first and only.”

  “Thus far.”

  “Thus far.” He paused, then continued in a tight voice. “Shannyn, we need to make this work. I’m trying to help you with the roof...”

  “No,” she said, interrupting him. “You are helping me to further your own agenda. You’re trying to corral me into doing what you want me to do, which is not the same thing as being nice. I told you that.”

  “You said you needed a roof!”

  “I do.”

  “You said we could make a new deal.”

  “I did, but you just keep pushing into new territory. It’s too much. It’s too far. You keep adding items to the list. Dinner. Next there will be the rehearsal dinner and the brunch the next day, driving together both ways, two nights at the hotel, lots more sex. It’s like this yawning pit of commitment.”

  “A yawning pit of commitment,” he echoed. “Thanks for that. Just FYI, it’s not how I would describe the potential of two nights together in a nice hotel.”

  Shannyn refused to be flattered.

  “Don’t forget the bridal shower,” he added when she didn’t say anything.