CON MAN

by T. Torrest

  “Am I interrupting?” he asked.

  Kat was already halfway up the beach as she answered back, “No, not at all! I’m gonna grab another beer. Why don’t you two go for a walk and find some shells or something?”

  Oh my God could she be any more obvious?

  But Jase simply raised those thick eyebrows at me to ask, “The girl is a mindreader. That’s actually why I came down here. So...?” He gestured his head down the beach, silently asking me to join him.

  “Oh yeah. Sure,” I answered, trying to keep my cool. Not an easy thing to do because come on. The guy was gorgeous, he was charming, and he was way too smooth for his own good.

  How could I ever tell him no?

  ALSO COMING SOON!

  BITCH

  (previously titled “Bridesmaid from Hell”)

  A standalone, dual POV chick-lit starring characters from “Down the Shore.”

  Turn the page for a preview!

  BITCH

  Excerpt from Chapter Three

  I head to my bedroom via the hallway off the kitchen. The original design of our house intended this area to be the “Maid’s Quarters,” but years ago, my parents had converted the space into an apartment for my grandmother. When Gram had to move into the nursing home, it became mine.

  It’s not a bad setup. Lots of square footage and plenty of closet space. I only had to put up a small fight when my younger brother Cooper tried to lay claim to the room. But seeing as he was getting ready to head off to law school at the time, there was hardly an argument.

  My dog, Snowball, is on my bed waiting for me as usual. I pick him up and tuck him under my arm as I flop down onto the bed. I pick up the remote and try to watch TV, but my brain is still mulling over the conversation I had with Tommy in the car. He was acting a little weird and I can’t make heads or tails of it.

  I pick up the phone and call Livia for a second opinion.

  “Hello?” she answers.

  “Hey Liv!”

  She whispers into the phone. “Shana? Are you alright? What time is it?”

  Ooops. I quickly check the Piaget clock on my nightstand. One-thirty.

  “Shoot, Liv, I didn’t realize it was this late. I guess I figured you’d still be up. Can you talk? I’m kinda freaked out right now.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Hang on a sec, okay?”

  I can hear her shuffling around, probably going into the other room so as not to wake Mr. Perfect.

  “Shane, jeez, is everything okay?”

  “God, Liv, don’t be such a worry wart. Were you actually in bed already?”

  “Well, yeah. It’s one-thirty.”

  “On a Friday night!”

  “Sorry. I didn’t realize I was expected to leave my boogie shoes on. In any case, I’m awake now. What’s up?”

  Man. Ever since Livia got back together with Jack, she’s been a wet blanket. In the old days, we wouldn’t have thought twice about going out at this hour, yet here she is already asleep at one-thirty on a Friday night. I decide to lay off the ballbusting, however. After all, I called because I need to talk and I don’t want to aggravate her to the point where she won’t. I did wake her up out of a sound sleep, for godsakes.

  “It’s Tommy. He was acting a little weird tonight.”

  “How do you mean?”

  I pause for effect, just so my friend knows how serious this is. I give Snowball a scratch under his chin and say, “Well, we were having a great time at dinner and I suggested that we head over to Gentleman’s for dessert.”

  “Wait. The Gentleman at Leisure? The strip club? Tell me you didn’t!”

  “I did. But when I started to give him a lap dance—”

  “Shana, shut up!”

  I start cracking up. I knew Livia would find a recap of my evening entertaining. “No, you shut up and let me finish.”

  “I can’t believe you gave Tommy a lap dance at Gentlemen’s. What was it like?”

  “The club or the lap dance?”

  “Shane!”

  “Oh, alright, alright. Lots of red velvet and candles. Very Poconos, very Mount Airy Lodge, only classier.”

  “Is that even possible?”

  “I know, right? Anyway, this big, fat bouncer comes over and tells me I can’t do that and threatens to kick us out if I don’t stop, so we leave. So, I’m thinking after my little dance number that Tom’s probably all worked up and all, but when we get back to my house, he wouldn’t even come inside. Isn’t that weird?”

  “That’s what you’re so freaked out about?”

  “Yes. Don’t you think that’s a little strange?”

  I can hear Livia sighing on the other end of the line. I know this isn’t the most pressing matter and it certainly isn’t the first time I’ve asked her to play amateur psychologist with one of my boyfriends, but she seems a little less tolerant whenever we discuss Tommy. I guess she gets a little skittish whenever she thinks there might be a problem between us.

  She wasn’t crazy about the idea of me dating one of Jack’s friends in the first place, probably because if things end badly, it could create a rip in the space/time continuum or something. Maybe she should have thought about that before she practically set us up! The way I see it, she’s the best person to consult on the matter of Tommy. Who better to offer insight than someone who knows him so well?

  “I don’t know, Shane. Maybe he was just tired or something. Did he tell you why he didn’t want to spend the night?”

  “He said he had to get up early for work tomorrow.” I didn’t mention the part about my mother at the window, waiting up for us.

  “Well, okay then, Captain Obvious. I may be going out on a limb here, but I’m going to have to go with A: He has to get up early for work tomorrow. Final answer.”

  “Gee, thanks a lot, Liv.”

  “Ha! Okay, look. I think you’re just overthinking this. You do this, you know. Just chill out and roll with it, okay? Tom’s a good guy, you’re a hot, happening babe... Just play it cool, huh? I’m sure he’ll call tomorrow and turn back into Prince Charming once he’s got a few hours of sleep in him. Capice?”

  “Yeah, I ‘capice’ perfectly.” I bite my lip nervously, anticipating the reaction to what I’m about to suggest. “But do you think that maybe you could ask your boyfriend to talk to him? Just to find out what his deal is?”

  There’s a big silence on Liv’s end. Crap. I’m thinking I probably went too far with that one. I know she’s been trying to keep her distance from the goings-on between Tom and me. So it catches me off guard when I hear her say, “Jack’s not my boyfriend anymore.”

  Shit. Here I’ve been rambling on about my stupid crap and Livia’s been dealing with losing her boyfriend of five years. Some friend I am. “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I was planning on it. At a more decent hour tomorrow morning.”

  “But what happened?”

  Liv pauses, unable to find the words. She takes a deep breath and then blurts out, “Well, he proposed, that’s what happened! So he’s not my boyfriend anymore. He’s my fiancé!”

  I can hear her busting a gut laughing over there in Shangri-La, while I’m still trying to digest what she just said. “Holy crap. So you’re engaged?”

  “I am engaged. I am of the affianced! We’re getting married next year. No date set or anything yet. He just did it tonight and my head is still spinning.”

  I know the feeling.

  All I can say is, “Wow…”

  “I know, right? Hey, I’m sorry if I just dumped this on you. You called me. But I just couldn’t wait to tell you. It’s okay, right?”

  I say, “Yeah, of course. Wow. How’s the ring?”

  “Gorgeous! I am marrying a man with exquisite taste. Wait ‘till you see it. Do you have plans tomorrow night?”

  I was kind of hoping to see Tommy tomorrow and make sure everything is still okay between us, but I answer, “No. Not really. Why?”

  “Well, I really wanted to do this in person, but
obviously, I’d like to ask you if you’d be a bridesmaid. So... will you?”

  A bridesmaid. This from the girl who knows she will be Maid of Honor at my wedding someday. Although, I guess it’s pretty obvious that her sister will be the one to take the lead role in this wedding.

  So, even though I’m miffed, I answer, “Of course I’ll be a bridesmaid. I’d be honored.”

  “Okay, great! Because I’d like to get my wedding party together tomorrow for a Girls’ Night Out. You in?”

  Without thinking, I ask, “Who’s going?”

  Livia laughs and says, “What are you, brain damaged? The usual suspects are going: Vix, Tess, Sam, Isla… and you, hopefully.”

  Of course. Those Girls.

  What I try to forget on a daily basis is that Livia has this group of girlfriends that she hangs out with when she’s not hanging out with me.

  The problems go all the way back to high school. Livia and I had met when I was a senior and she and I took the same art and photography classes that year. She was a grade behind me and has been fighting to catch up ever since.

  The girls in my grade never really formed a “clique,” at least not one I was ever part of, but that junior class was as thick as thieves. Her little group consisted of girls who just did not like the idea of Liv befriending someone outside of the five of them: (Trumpets, please...) Livia and Victoria Chadwick, Tess Valletti, Samantha Baker, and Isla St. Parque.

  Vix is Liv’s twin sister who has essentially despised me from Day One. I guess she felt threatened by how close Livia and I had become. But the girl is my best friend’s sister, for godsakes, so I’ve had to put up with her.

  Sam and Isla are basically lap dogs. They don’t necessarily offend me, yet I’ve never really found the desire to get to know them extensively for any reason. At least I have the capability to stomach either of those two when I need to.

  But Tess...

  Tess Valletti has been in a class all her own since the day she came strutting through the doors of our high school her freshman year. What sucks most about her is that she is beyond beautiful. And believe me, I take no joy in admitting that. Back when we were teenagers, she even dated some guy who’s now an actual Hollywood movie star. I’d tell you who he was on the off chance you’ve actually heard of him, but I’m not a name-dropper.

  The point is, Tess is the kind of girl that things like that happen to.

  Aside from that annoying little fact, she also happens to be an absolute hellraiser. She’s never hidden her distaste for me and doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut about it. It’s not like I’ve ever gone out of my way to be friends with her or anything, but at least I have enough class to be civil. That girl can barely contain herself when we’re in the same room together, which thankfully, isn’t too often. Not that she goes out of her way to push my buttons, but I try to steer clear of her whenever I’m in her vicinity, just to avoid giving her any opening for a confrontation.

  I can’t believe Tess has been married to Ronnie for like four years already. Ron is another friend of Jack’s, like my Tommy, so I’m forced to be in her company slightly more lately, ever since he and I started dating. The way I see it though, is if that bitch can pull off a happy marriage with one of Jack’s friends, then getting Tom to fall in love with me should be a cakewalk.

  Key words there being: ‘should be.’ That’s always the tricky part when it comes to guys—trying to predict what they’re thinking in order to hang onto them.

  Attracting them, at least, has never really been a problem for me.

  Looking back now, it all seems rather incestual, but Livia and I have always had the same taste in men and we look alike, which naturally put us in the position of dating a lot of the same boys during our school years. Back then, we were so wrapped up in the microcosm of high school that picking the same guys out of that particular dating pool wasn’t so taboo.

  It was really weird once we grew up and were forced to deal with the rest of the world’s time-honored policy: Another girl’s boyfriend is off limits for life, even after a breakup.

  Which is why I almost choked on my tongue the day her boyfriend Jack walked into The Studio for the first time. To borrow a phrase from my mother’s dictionary, that boy is a world-class hunk. No wonder it took Livia five whole years to wrangle a proposal out of him. If he were with me, I would have closed the deal within a year, two tops. Unfortunately, I’ll never get the opportunity to prove that theory.

  Jack had broken up with Liv only a few months after they first started dating. Lord, what I wouldn’t have given for the chance to sidle on in there. But I was honor-bound to our newly adopted Code of Dating Ethics. And besides, more importantly, Liv was heartbroken at the time. What kind of friend would I be if I made a move on her ex while she was trying to put the pieces of her life back together? Sure enough, those two eventually patched things up anyway.

  And now, here I am, listening to my friend impart the news of their engagement. Even worse, however, is the fact that now I have no choice but to spend a night celebrating the event with Those Girls tomorrow.

  “Yeah. I’m in,” I respond flatly.

  I’m sure it will be tons of fun.

  OTHER BOOKS BY T. TORREST:

  The REMEMBER WHEN Trilogy

  Head back to the 80s with this decades-long coming-of-age romantic comedy between a Hollywood actor and his high school sweetheart.

  DOWN THE SHORE

  A contractor-turned-rockstar breaks his own rules when he falls for an infuriating groupie down at the Jersey shore during the summer of ’95.

  BREAKING THE ICE

  A second chance romance between a former-NHL-star-turned-bar-owner and the cold-shouldered event planner who comes barging back into his life.

  A WAY TO GET BY

  “They started to fight when the money got tight and they just didn’t count on the tears…”

  Find out what really happened to the king and the queen of the prom.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters and places in this book are the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance or similarities to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017