Cassidy Lane

by Murnane, Maria

  Crystal grabbed Patti’s arm. “Oh my gosh, the way you just said stop it, it sounded exactly like the Peggy character in Rocky Road.”

  Patti looked at Cassidy and slowly raised an eyebrow. “The Peggy character?”

  “You haven’t read it yet?” Crystal asked.

  Patti laughed. “Given that it came out two days ago, Crystal, that would be a no.” She returned her gaze to Cassidy. “So you based a character on me, did you now?”

  “I think she was my favorite. So sassy,” Crystal said.

  Patti kept looking at Cassidy “Is that so?”

  Cassidy shrugged. “I have to draw my inspiration from somewhere. Sometimes I get a little desperate and have to fish off the company pier, so to speak.”

  “Does this sassy Peggy character, who I imagine is strikingly beautiful and off-the-charts intelligent, live in San Carlos and have three children with a penchant for misbehaving?”

  Cassidy held up a palm. “She does live in San Carlos, but she doesn’t have kids. She does, however, have a scruffy yet lovable husband named Roy who may or may not like to wear flannel.”

  “No kids? I envy the woman. Am I getting royalties for this inspiration?”

  “Do you pay me when I babysit your children?”

  Patti held up her wineglass. “Touché.”

  “Wow, this is like reading a conversation between Peggy and Melanie in the book,” Crystal said. “I feel like Harrison is going to walk in any moment.”

  Patti looked at Cassidy. “Harrison?”

  Cassidy shrugged. “He might be a little bit like Harper.”

  “I think Harper and I need to revisit this royalties situation,” Patti said.

  “I think I need a drink.” Cassidy pointed across the room.

  They said good-bye to Crystal and Stanley, then walked over to the bar area. Cassidy never drank alcohol during book signings so she could stay sharp while chatting with her readers, but now that the official part of the evening was over, she was looking forward to a glass of wine.

  As they each took a seat at the bar, Cassidy stole a quick glance at the entrance.

  “Are you watching the door to see if creepy Trent is going to show up? I could use a smoke right now, dude.” Patti briefly turned her eyes into slits, then squeezed Cassidy’s knee and gave her a knowing look. “Here you go, superstar.” She handed her a glass of wine, then held up her own for a toast. “To another bestseller.”

  “To a lifelong friendship,” Cassidy said.

  “To my future royalties.”

  Cassidy laughed. “In all seriousness, thanks for coming tonight. I know it’s hard for you to get out during the week.”

  Patti waved a dismissive hand. “Please. I would never miss one of your book launch parties. It’s fun to be in the inner circle of a C-list celebrity now and again. Crystal’s so jealous of me, it’s sort of funny and sad at the same time.”

  “Did you just say C-list? Have I been promoted from the D-list?”

  Patti nodded. “I think you’re ready for a bump up.”

  Cassidy put a hand on her chest and bowed her head. “I’m honored.”

  “As you should be. When do you fly back to New York?”

  “Tomorrow morning. I don’t want to miss the rehearsal dinner.”

  “Is your bridesmaid’s dress crazy ugly?”

  Cassidy shrugged and took a sip of her wine. “Not as ugly as the one you made me wear.”

  “I’ll take that. I should have known better than to listen to fashion suggestions from Roy’s grandmother.”

  They chatted until they finished their drinks, then Patti reached for her purse and pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “OK, missy, my hall pass is up. I’ve gotta hit the road.”

  Cassidy yawned. “Me too. I’m just going to run to the ladies’ room before I leave. I guess I’ll see you when I’m home for Halloween.”

  Patti stood up and put her hands on her hips. “It’s on October thirty-first. That’s a little over two months from now. Do you want me to put an alarm in your phone to remind you?”

  “Very funny.” Cassidy stood up too and hugged her. “Tell Roy and the kids I said hi.”

  After Patti left Cassidy walked alone toward the restrooms. As she washed her hands, she admired her manicured fingernails, which she hadn’t nibbled even once in more than a year now. She hadn’t been back to Annabelle’s either. She found that not returning made it easier to keep the fond memories of her visits there intact, which for some reason was important to her.

  She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn’t help but recognize the significance of tonight’s event, of how much she’d accomplished since that last trip to Annabelle’s.

  Not just professionally but personally.

  She’d kept going and she’d come out on the other side, with a novel that made her feel proud, one she’d written not just for her readers but for herself.

  And for Brandon.

  And most of all, for what could have been.

  By channeling the intense feelings she’d once had for Brandon into the world of Melanie and Andrew, she’d given those emotions a meaning, a purpose, and that was something for which to be thankful, even if she never saw Brandon again.

  She returned to the bar stool and picked up her lightweight wrap, then slung her purse over her shoulder and took one last look at the entrance.

  She’d lingered long enough.

  It was time to go now.

  He wasn’t coming.

  Real life was calling.

  She made her way slowly to the door. Once outside she walked through the parking lot toward her mom’s SUV, then turned for one last glance back. Though it had been bubbling with activity just an hour earlier, the place was now quiet and still.

  She got in the car and headed south on El Camino. When she reached the left-turn stoplight at Embarcadero, she glanced over at Palo Alto High School on one side of the street, then at Town & Country Village—and Mayfield Bakery—on the other.

  To the right buzzed a massive, blurry memory of being a teenager, too many individual moments to count or even categorize.

  To the left hovered a single vivid memory from adulthood, of the day she’d met Brandon for coffee. The last time he’d held her hand, the last time he’d kissed her. That story hadn’t had the ending she’d hoped for, but she was happy again, and that was all that mattered now. And who knew what would happen this weekend? Maybe life would imitate art, and she would run into a college classmate at Danielle’s wedding. Maybe the irresistible promise of romance would call her name again.

  Or maybe not.

  Either way she’d be just fine; she knew that now.

  At least Danielle had gotten a fairy-tale ending, and after quite a shaky beginning, to say the least.

  The stoplight switched from red to green, and for the briefest of moments Cassidy hesitated before turning onto Embarcadero Road.

  High school to the right.

  Heartache to the left.

  She squeezed the steering wheel and drove straight between the memories on either side, trying her best to keep focused on the road ahead.

  She had just parked in her parents’ driveway when her phone began to ring.

  She dug it out of her purse and caught her breath when she saw the name on the display.

  Brandon.

  Thanks!

  After pouring my life into four Waverly Bryson novels, to describe crafting something brand-new as daunting is an enormous understatement. The simple truth is that I couldn’t have written Cassidy Lane without the help of a few trusted friends, whose early feedback and encouragement helped shape a story I hadn’t imagined at the outset. Thanks to the following people for their candid advice and unwavering support throughout the process: Tami May McMillan, Patti Castaneda Bennett, Alberto Ferrer, Kat
ie Mahon, Terri Sharkey, and Lori Rosenwasser. A special hug goes to my lifelong pal Peggy Prendergast, whose valuable ideas for authenticity included throwing in a reference to the quintessential “mixtape,” a lost art of which the sheer mention will forever stir up pangs of teenage angst for countless Generation Xers.

  I openly admit that at this point in my career I would be lost without my editor, Christina Henry de Tessan. Sometimes when I’m writing the first iteration of a story I feel like I’m pushing an enormous boulder up a mountain and fear I’ll never reach the top. Christina helps me get there with her brilliant insight and suggestions, and then together we nudge the manuscript over the crest and joyfully watch it roll down the other side as a fully developed novel. Christina, at this point I trust your opinion as much as I do my own, and it’s a sheer honor to work with you. Thanks as well to Terry Goodman and Alex Carr at Amazon Publishing for encouraging me to stretch my literary wings—plus to Jessica Poore for her tireless efforts to keep Waverly’s world alive and well! And kudos of course to the most loyal (and free) proofreader in town, my dear, sweet, beautiful mother, Flo Murnane. Mommy Dearest, you will never know how much I love you.

  I’d also like to thank a handful of friends whose own life experiences, observations, and expertise influenced this book in various ways: Lauren Battle, Steph Bernabe, Kathy Carter, Diane Fishman, Joe Guggemos, Rob Henderson, Ariel Hoffman, Jenny Jongejan, Kristin Law, Courtney Carroll Levinsohn, Jen Livingstone, Mitch Miller, Manny Palugod, Brett Sharkey, and Anh Vazquez. Thanks for the insight, information, and inspiration!

  About the Author

  © Evi Abeler Photography

  A former PR executive who abandoned a successful career to pursue a more fulfilling life, Maria Murnane is the bestselling author of the romantic comedies Perfect on Paper, It’s a Waverly Life, Honey on Your Mind, and Chocolate for Two, which garnered a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Originally from California, she now lives in Brooklyn.