by Paige Tyler
“They’re dog friendly. George and I can both go. I have to make sure he approves, after all.” I grin again, hoping my reason for avoiding a fancy restaurant sounds convincing.
At La Chanterelle, we would definitely be spotted by some G&G fans, and the veil of secrecy I have over my identity would be yanked away. At Franco’s, no one will notice us, especially at night. It’s a cozy little place that not many people know about, and it’ll be a perfect evening getaway for George, Grayson, and me. Besides, they have seriously good burgers.
He grins. “It’s a date.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card with his name and number. “Text me your address and I’ll pick you up at seven sharp.”
“It’s a date,” I repeat, hardly able to believe it.
Grayson walks backward toward the café door, his eyes locked on me the whole time.
When he finally disappears into the late day crowd of people outside, I don’t know whether to scream with excitement or trepidation.
I’ve finally got a date with the man of my dreams—but he has no idea who I really am.
CHAPTER SIX
“Sutton! Liv!” I call the second I throw open the door of the house and rush inside.
When they have the nerve not to respond right that very instant, I shout for my besties again as loudly as I can. All the while, George leaps and barks at my feet even when I offer him some zealous pats. My exhilaration, apparently, is contagious.
I’m going on a date.
A date!
My dream life just got even dreamier.
“Kali! I’m live on Insta right now!” Sutton whines from our sunlit studio down the hall. “Sorry, Glammers, my roomie is demanding some attention right now. Remember those tips I gave you on choosing the right fit for your denim jeans and stay tuned. We have lots of fun announcements coming up. Mwah!”
I hear Sutton noisily smack her lips for the camera. A moment later, she and Liv emerge from the room to look at me with bewildered expressions.
I ruffle George’s head one more time and then beam at them.
“I did it,” I announce breathlessly
Both of my BFFs continue staring blankly at me.
“Um, did what, Kali?” Liv finally presses after sharing a shrug with Sutton.
“Seriously?” I moan, but my excitement is way too strong to be snuffed out that easily. “I did it. I have a date. I finally ran into that cute guy from the library again and he asked me out!”
All at once, Sutton’s green eyes go huge and Liv slaps her hands to her face with a giddy squeal.
“Really?” they both cry in unison.
When I eagerly nod, they run over and throw their arms around me. Although, maybe tackle me would be a better word for it since all three of us almost fall to the floor.
“Our followers are going to eat up some love advice!” Sutton exclaims. “I just thought of something! Do you think he’ll come on our channel? If he’s as much of a dreamboat as you say, our fans will go wild. What does he think of G&G? Does he want to be an honorary Glammer?”
I clear my throat hard. The last thing I want to do is to lie about the fact that I’m kind of hiding my identity from Grayson. Besides, I’ve done enough subterfuge for one day anyhow.
“About that...” I start haltingly. “I kind of told him I just do makeup.”
“Just do makeup?” Sutton echoes woundedly. She frowns and steps back from me to fold her arms over her chest, a hurt look in her eyes. “So, you told him you’re like a solo act or something?”
Liv shakes her head emphatically. “No way. Kali wouldn’t lie about something like that.” She turns her hopeful brown eyes back to me. “Right?”
While Liv waits patiently for an explanation, Sutton is tapping one impatient stiletto on the ground.
“Well, he…um…doesn’t know about Glossed & Glammed at all actually,” I explain quietly. “In fact, he doesn’t really know who I am. Not exactly. When Grayson and I were chatting, I left out the part about how we’re kind of famous. I want to keep things simple for now and fame is definitely not simple.” I give them a hesitant smile. “That makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” Liv answers at the same time Sutton lets out a distressed, “No!”
I twirl a lock of blond hair anxiously around one of my fingers. “Anyway, we’re going to Franco’s tonight. We won’t be recognized there. I’ll figure out the right way to tell Grayson eventually.”
“I don’t get why you’re hiding this, Kali,” Sutton protests, following me into the kitchen. “We’re famous. We’re influencers. It’s not just what we do, it’s who we are. You’re not being honest with him.”
“It doesn’t have to be the entirety of who we are,” I argue. “I'm still just plain Kali, too, you know.”
Sutton shakes her head. “There’s nothing just plain Kali about you. There hasn’t been since G&G took off. Don’t you get that?”
My best friend’s sharp question is enough to make me furious. As much as I love my girls, we still fight about stuff sometimes. Sutton just isn’t seeing things from my perspective. I didn’t do anything wrong by hiding my internet fame from Grayson. I’m just trying to take things slow with him.
But before I can explain that to her, Liv interrupts.
“I hate to break this up, but we have another Insta live scheduled in ten minutes.” She wedges herself between us and looks at me and then at Sutton. “You two better put on your best smiles and get ready to give some makeup tips. Got it?”
I’m not sure if Liv is being as bossy as she is to halt our squabble—at least momentarily—or because she knows how important our deadlines are. Either way, she’s got a point even if I don’t like it. Whether we’re getting along or not, once that camera is recording, we’ve got to pretend to have the perfect friendship. It’s part of our brand, and our followers expect it. One time when we were live, Sutton rolled her eyes while I was talking and all of our social media accounts were flooded not only with concerned comments and questions, but also memes—some of which weren’t so funny. We definitely don’t want to repeat that low point in our career. It’s simply another reminder that every second on camera counts.
Liv herds both Sutton and me into the studio and as soon as we plop down on the plush peony pink couch, brilliant smiles light both of our faces. I’m beaming so brightly, I hardly even recognize myself on the big computer monitor beside Liv and the camera where everything she films shows up in real time for us to see, along with the comments and questions our fans post.
“Hey again, Glammers!” Sutton announces as she eagerly waves at the camera, then throws one arm around me and draws me in close. “I’ve got Kali here with us and we’re going to answer all your questions about makeup.”
I grin. “That’s right! We’ve read all your Q’s and we’ve prepped all our A’s, so let’s get right down to it!”
As we give our Glammers tips and tricks, I watch the number of viewers skyrocket the longer we talk. A thousand watchers turns into five hundred thousand into a million as the video progresses. The whole time, Sutton and I are smiling and laughing so much that my face and abs ache.
By the time we’re done filming, I’m too tired to even be mad anymore. Sutton, however, seems to have more energy than I do. As soon as we’re finished, she storms out of the studio and upstairs to her room. Knowing she’s still angry with me hurts in a way I can’t describe.
At least Liv stays with me. She takes Sutton’s seat on the couch beside me and gently grasps my hand.
“Your date is going to be amazing tonight,” she assures me warmly. “You’re going to have so much fun with Grayson. And you better come home ready with all the delicious details afterward, too!”
“Thanks, Liv,” I murmur sincerely. I can always count on her to try and lift my spirits.
She squeezes my hand and I work up one more smile before heading upstairs to get ready for my date.
Normally, I’d ask the girls for fashion ad
vice before going out with a guy for the first time, but something tells me that Sutton wouldn’t be interested in helping. And asking Liv makes me feel like I’d be leaving Sutton out. As a result, I spend less time finding something to wear without all the girl-talk mixed in and I’m slipping my feet into a pair of cute platform sandals just as the doorbell rings.
The sound makes my pulse skip a beat.
Grayson is here.
Ready or not, I’m going on this date with him. I only hope I’ve made the right decision.
This could be the best night of my life.
Or it could be a huge mistake.
CHAPTER SEVEN
As we drive to the little burger place tucked away on the beach in my date’s cherry red BMW M4 sports car, the butterflies in my stomach churn wilder and wilder. At least George—who despite his growing size believes he’s no bigger than a teacup poodle—is a welcome distraction from my first-date jitters. My lab mix pup clambers across my lap to thrust his head out the half-open window. Snuffling and snorting, George greedily inhales the scent of palm trees passing by and frying burgers in the distance. His ears flap in the wind and he has to close his eyes so much that he probably can’t see a thing, but his tongue lolls joyfully out of his mouth anyway. His tail wags so fast that it whizzes through the air and I can hardly hear the tall, dark, and handsome man in the driver’s seat next to me laughing.
The date has hardly even started and I’m already having the time of my life. I think Georgie is too, judging by his goofy canine smile.
When Grayson arrived at my beach bungalow twenty minutes ago, George and I were the only ones around to welcome him. George was ecstatic for a new friend and could hardly contain himself, but Sutton and Liv and their respective fur babies were nowhere to be seen.
It was a rare—and almost certainly deliberate—choice for Sutton, who thrives off every ounce of attention she can get. I wish she could have come downstairs long enough to at least meet Grayson so she could give me her opinion later on how mind-blowingly cute he is, but I suppose she was too busy pouting over our argument. In retrospect, maybe that’s a good thing. Because some people don’t quite understand Sutton’s sassy snark before they get to really know her.
Liv, on the other hand, probably just wanted to make sure that my secret stayed safe. There’s no way to know if Grayson has ever seen any notable pics with Sutton or Liv in them. Our faces are plastered all over the internet, after all. It’s sheer luck that has kept my career a secret from Grayson so far. No doubt, he will curiously Google me at some point—if he hasn’t already—and the charade will be over. I’ll have to figure out a way to fill him in on the finer details of my professional life before then.
I cringe to think of him learning that he’s dating a famous beauty influencer from a meme online or something. It needs to be handled with more delicacy than that, especially since I’ve already made it seem like I’m simply a regular makeup artist.
George barks, sticking his head out a little bit more and I tighten my hold on him. When we first climbed into Grayson’s car, I tried to wrangle my spirited puppy into the backseat before we headed out to Franco’s, but George wasn’t having it. He quickly made it known that he’s a front seat pup only. Fortunately, Grayson had no problem with that.
Even now, Grayson reaches over occasionally to pat Georgie’s head—when it isn’t stuck out the window, that is—while he keeps his other hand on the wheel and his gaze on the road ahead. I find myself mesmerized by the way the passing streetlights illuminate his milk chocolate brown eyes.
This unbridled happiness I feel with wind whirling through the car, George in my lap, Grayson at my side, and a whole empty highway ahead of us is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
I feel whole in a way I’m not sure I have before.
It’s like I’m only realizing now that I’ve been missing a piece of myself. I have my besties and my G&G fame and my money, but Grayson has opened my eyes to there being more to life than simply a booming career. Which is wild, especially since we only just met, but there it is.
As if sensing me staring at him, Grayson’s gaze shifts briefly away from the road. Our eyes lock for just a moment and lazy tendrils of heat spiral through my veins. Every time Grayson grins at me, I swear a hot air balloon inflates in my chest. I could happily float off into the atmosphere right now.
Grayson reluctantly turns his attention back to the road, but I can’t convince myself to look away from him just yet. Hands down, he’s the most gorgeous guy I’ve ever seen.
“Wow,” Grayson whistles as we turn the final corner between us and the burger shack. “Who knew Franco’s was such a hot spot?”
At his words, my heart sinks and I finally force myself to look away from Grayson. Ahead of us, Franco’s Burgers is absolutely alive with movement. The parking lot of the tiny restaurant is so full that we even have to pull onto the side of the beach to park instead.
There must be some sort of event happening tonight, which I hadn’t anticipated, because it’s buzzing like a beehive. People wander in and out onto the beach directly beyond the restaurant, carrying drinks and food. Music pulses in the air, punctuated only by the crash of waves on the shore and the occasional barks and howls of rambunctious dogs. Usually when I make the trip out here, it’s calm and quiet and George can play off-leash in the dunes, but it’s packed tonight.
“It looks like we picked a good night to come here,” Grayson remarks, leaning over to pat George’s head as he flashes one of his drop-dead gorgeous smiles at me.
I swallow hard and muster a grin of my own, even though I’m not nearly as pleased about the busy atmosphere as my date is. Still, I want him to think I’m excited about being with him tonight. There’s no way I’m going to put a damper on this date, and I can’t exactly suggest going somewhere quieter when he’s clearly enthused about this place.
“Totally!” I answer as cheerfully as possible.
I wish I’d thought to bring my floppy Panama hat along to hide my identity, but I did my hair and makeup during the G&G video shoot right before Grayson picked me up and I didn’t want to have to redo it. I’m thinking now that I should have dressed much more low-key at least. Lace-trimmed Daisy Dukes paired with a sunny yellow blouse and navy-blue duster cardigan aren’t exactly subtle, even if I know I do look damn good.
Grayson climbs out of the car and makes his way around the passenger side, where George and I are sharing a seat. I take a deep breath, telling myself to chill out and have fun. It’s nighttime and everyone is going to be focused on themselves. No one is going to notice me.
Tugging open my door, Grayson pretends to dramatically bow like a chauffeur. The happiness glinting in his eyes is enough to make me momentarily forget my worries and woes. For our first date, he’s opted to exchange his sexy suit and chosen instead to go with a pair of jeans that fit his toned legs so well he looks like he stepped out of the pages of GQ. He’s rolled the sleeves of his black button-down to show off his toned forearms, and the top button against his collarbone is tantalizingly undone. I have to remind myself not to stare too long. It’s only the first date, after all. There will be plenty of time to ogle him later.
Hopefully, anyway.
“Do you like what you see?” Grayson asks playfully when he notices my wandering gaze, though there’s a husky tone in his voice that makes a delicious shiver roll down my spine.
I wet my lips and eye him with feigned haughtiness. “I’m just surprised you ditched your suit for the night. Feels like a bold choice for a stuffy lawyer.”
He laughs, throwing his head back, before smirking at me. “Maybe there’s more to me than meets the eye.”
“I don’t doubt that,” I quip, blushing a little.
Grayson reaches into the car to help me and George out just as an oversized pickup truck abruptly barrels past us onto the beach. I don’t even have time to shriek, but Grayson manages to flatten himself against the side of the car to avoid being hit. I’m gl
ad now that George is a handful to extract from the car.
“C’mon, dude!” Grayson shouts over his shoulder at the truck. “I’ve got precious cargo in here!”
He winks at me, making me blush even brighter, then checks the street again before finally helping me out onto the sand.
We walk side by side toward Franco’s while George trots eagerly a few steps in front of us on his leash. The sand is still warm from the balmy afternoon and every breath I take is flavored with French fries, saltwater, and Grayson’s alluring cologne. It’s an unusual combination, but an intoxicating one. I haven’t had a sip of alcohol tonight, but it feels like my head is already spinning.
Franco’s is as packed inside as it looked. I’m a little worried we won’t get a table, but the hostess manages to find us an outdoor one on the beach.
“Your house is really nice by the way,” Grayson says after we’ve put in an order for a shared plate of chili cheese fries, cheeseburgers, and chocolate shakes for us as well as a special doggy burger for George and a bowl of water.
Fairy lights are strung up all along the seating area, bathing the night in soft, twinkling colors, and music plays from the outside speakers. Nearby, people are laughing and dancing and eating dinner. It’s been forever since I was out at a crowded place like this without having some sort of VIP booth to sneak back to. Just like I’d hoped, however, everyone is too absorbed in their own fun to notice me. I need to relax and try to savor this special moment with this special man.
Smiling at him, I ruffle George’s furry head. My pup leans against my chair, his sweet chin resting on my knee so that he can gaze adoringly up at me and beg for both a taste of my food and more pats. The food hasn’t arrived yet, so all I can give him are the pats right now.
“Thanks,” I say, running my hand over George’s soft fur. “It’s basically my dream home, if I’m being honest about it.”
Grayson waited until the server placed our shakes on the table then left before answering. “And you live there with just two of your friends?”
