Chapter 38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

MOLLY

I stare at Blake as confused as if I were trying to solve a calculus problem. Which would be a real stretch for me, as the farthest I got in math was trigonometry. "You're a reporter?" I lash out.

Before he can answer, another woman at our table stands up and accuses, "You're not looking for a relationship! You're here to spy on us so you can tell everyone how pathetic we are!"

I've been so caught up in the fact that Blake lied to me, it didn't even occur to me that he's here in an official capacity. "Do you even work at a coffee house?" I ask.

Shaking his head, he says, "No, I don't."

"So, you're not here to find out how to help single people meet one another?" He shakes his head again. "You're writing a story about Trina's event?" I can't wrap my head around that.

"That's why I'm here," he says. Then he looks at Ellen and adds, "I was instructed to remain incognito and not tell anyone who I was."

Ellen visibly blanches but she remains silent.

"I told you that I would never date another liar," I yell. "And you assured me you weren't one."

Blake's face pales. "I never wanted to lie to you."

"If you don't want to lie to someone, Blake, then you don't lie. That's all there is to it."

"I couldn't tell you the truth …" He doesn't seem to know what to say after that, so he simply looks at me with a pitifully pained expression on his face.

Ellen decides this is the perfect time for her to rejoin the conversation. "Sportswriters make decent money."

I turn my head in her direction so quickly I nearly get whiplash. "Are you for real?" I shriek.

Ellen shrugs. "At least he's not a barista."

The other barista at the table, Aspen, wants to know, "Dude, what's wrong with being a barista?"

My sister responds, "Nothing if you're twenty and you're hard at work getting your engineering degree." Not knowing when to leave well enough alone, she asks him, "Are you twenty, Aspen?"

"I'm thirty-four and I think you're a real witch," he tells her. Honestly, he's not wrong. That's exactly how she's acting.

It's my turn to go after Ellen. "Are you saying that you think it's okay for me to date Blake now?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Because he lied to me, Ellen."

Tipping her head from side to side, she decides, "I can see how it might look that way, but he was really just working undercover."

"I told him I would never date a liar, Ellen. And I can't believe you would want me to after what Kyle did to me."

"Kyle cheated on you," she says like I don't already know this.

"Kyle lied to me," I insist. "He told me that he loved me and that he couldn't wait to have a future with me, and all the while he was seeing Amelia."

Blake interjects, "I never wanted to lie to you. In fact, I was going to tell you the truth but then my boss said she wanted me to write about a personal experience I was having … "

I don't let him finish his sentence. "You asked me out to be fodder for a story?"

"No, no, no," he says quickly. "I liked you before she asked me to do that."

"Did you ask me out before she told you to write about a personal experience?" A slow head shake this time. "So, you've agreed to write about us? When did you plan to get around to telling me that?"

He shamefacedly answers, "As soon as I turned in the article. But there's more to it than that, Molly."

"I don't care, Blake." I stand up so quickly I don't realize I'm clutching the tablecloth.

When I lift my fist in rage, I pull the entire thing upward and upset several full glasses of water and wine spills everywhere. I'm unbothered by the mess. I just continue my rant. "If I forgave you, I would essentially be telling you it's okay to lie to me. And it is NOT."

The whole ballroom is now staring at us, including Kyle, who somehow feels the need to join in the fray. He strides across the room and stands right in front of me. "I know I made a mistake, Molly. And I know I told you I wasn't ready to date again. But I am ready! And you're the woman for me!"

I cannot believe this is happening right now. The man I was so excited about is nothing but a lowdown sorry excuse for a human. And to make matters worse, my cheating pig of an ex is trying to win me back.

"Go straight to hell, Kyle," I tell him as I gesture wildly with the clutched tablecloth.

"But I thought we were friends now." He sounds horribly confused as he adds, "I thought you'd forgiven me."

"I don't forgive you, Kyle. You and Blake are two sorry peas in a pod, and I don't care what happens to either of you!" Then with all the dignity I can muster—which honestly isn't much considering I'm covered in red wine and have just made the biggest scene of my life—my support tablecloth and I stride out of the ballroom with my head held high.

As soon as I reach the door, I realize I have something else to say. As luck would have it, all eyes are still on me. Spinning around to face the room, I announce, "It takes real courage to do what you're all doing. It takes faith in love to put yourselves out there like this. I have a lot of admiration for all of you, and if you don't want to be made a laughingstock, I think you should stay as far away from Blake Walsh as you can!"

A roar of cheers fills the airs, which further ignites my sense of injustice. I point at Kyle and add, "Kyle Rogers cheated on me after dating me for an entire year. If you have the sense that God gave a slug, you'll stay away from him, too!"

And with that, I storm out of the ballroom. My whole body is shaking so badly, I'm not sure how I don't fall right over the tablecloth. But for the first time since arriving in Wisconsin, I don't even stumble. I just glide.

I don't get far before Trina catches me. "Molly." She sounds so concerned that I almost burst into tears. "Are you okay?"

"Not even a little bit," I tell her. "In fact, I know you hired me for two weeks, but I can't stay here for another minute if Blake is going to be here."

I expect her to tell me that she's kicking his sorry butt out of her event, but instead, she reaches for my checked hero cape and replies, "I totally understand. I don't see why you can't finish your proposal from home."

"You're letting him stay?" I bluster.

"I don't care that he's a reporter. After all, any press is good press. This is a great way to bring attention to what I'm doing here."

"You should be livid! He lied to you, too."

"Molly," again with the concerned and caring tone, "I knew from the start there was something off about Blake."

"How?"

"I don't know," she says, "I guess because he was working the room like he was hosting a party. He talked to everyone, not just the women."

"And you're not mad? How can you not be mad?"

She answers, "This is my first singles' event at the lodge, and I already have a reporter from a big news outlet here. In my book, that's a win."

"I can't forgive him," I tell her. "I won't."

"I don't blame you. You've been hurt before and that doesn't help. Having said that, are you sure this isn't something you can't overlook?"

"You're a matchmaker, Trina," I tell her. "Do you often suggest that people date liars?"

"I think this situation is a little bit different, Molly. Just try to keep your mind open."

I shake my head forcefully. "No. There are some things you don't compromise on, and this is one of them." I stick my hand out to shake hers before saying, "I appreciate the job. I'll send you a final list of ideas by the end of the week."

I'm about to turn and walk away, but then I remember something. "My sister's here. She wants her money back for my spot in this farce."

But before Trina can respond, Ellen walks up to us. "Great event, Trina," she tells our host. "Seriously, if I were in the market for a man, I might give something like this a try for myself."

"Are you actually insane?" Yeah, I'm back to shouting. "You told me today you wanted your money back."

Ellen sheepishly confesses, "I didn't actually pay anything. Trina volunteered to host you when I was up here writing an article about the lodge."

I'm surrounded by liars. "If you didn't pay, then what are you doing up here, Ellen? You said you came to get your money back."

"I wanted to meet Blake. I couldn't believe that of all the men you were meeting, you were going to settle for a guy who made coffee for a living. "

"Well, I'm not settling for him, or anyone. In fact, at this moment, I'm pretty sure I'm never going to date again."

Ellen and Trina both look at me like I'm the most tragic person in the world, and it's seriously ticking me off. Women are supposed to have each other's backs. We're supposed to stand up for each other and fight for each other, not tell each other it's okay for a man to lie to us.

And if nothing else, Blake is a liar and a fraud and that is not going to work for me.