Chapter Three

Siren

I want to call my sister, but I don't want her advice. She's too close to the situation to understand or be objective. After all, she's in love with the man who's begrudgingly helping me. Instead, I call my best friend, Dot. We've known each other since we were kids, and while we don't always see eye to eye, she's always there to listen.

One year, she spent a week's worth of recess time hiding under the slide with me while I avoided all the kids that were picking on me— the ginger thing . She even told a few of them to screw off. My young heart fell in love with her that year. We've been friends ever since.

She picks up on the first ring. "Hey, babe!" Her tone is upbeat and cheerful, as always. Every time I hear that voice, I know my day is going to get better. "What's up?"

"Oh, just questioning all my life decisions. What's up with you?"

"Umm… I'm not at the questioning my life decisions part of the day… yet . Tell me what's going on."

"I did the thing… the thing you told me not to do."

She laughs. "You're going the fake date route? I mean, it could work. Did you meet the guy yet?"

"Met him today. We're going to dinner tonight."

"You don't sound happy about it. I thought this was what you wanted."

"Well, I did. I do. I mean, this guy is going to make everyone jealous, including my mom. He's a total smoke show, but his personality needs some work."

She laughs. "Well, didn't you know that going in? You couldn't have thought that you would pick up a random guy who would be amazing at everything to be your fake boyfriend, right?"

She has a point. I did put my eggs in the former military with communication issues basket.

"I only met him for a few minutes today, but he has this really dominating presence. It's like he has to push through every conversation to get to the point or else you're wasting his time."

"So, let's think this through." She's so good at managing problems, even in the way she speaks calmly to me. "He's a dominant man, which you don't care for, but dominance isn't all bad. I mean, you want him to control the situation on Saturday, right?"

"Yeah, but—"

"But nothing. You've spent a bunch of time to find a man that's dominant enough to manage your mother, and now you're worried he might be too much? I'm sorry, Doctor Frankenstein, but you created this monster of a situation." Dot chuckles under her breath as she says, "I love you, Siren, but you keep going in circles like this with every guy you date."

"First off, I'm not dating him. He's someone I've hired to do a job. Second, how did my love life bleed into this?"

"You've just created your real-life dating scenario for this wedding. After dating Fred for a bit, you said you wanted a guy who's not as aggressive, then you date a softer dude, and you hate that he's so placid. Pick a lane, girl." Her tone is curt and to the point. "No one is everything. You have to take the good with the bad, and as much as you claim to hate alpha males, you clearly want one."

"What? No, I don't."

"Yeah, you do!" She laughs. "You broke up with your last boyfriend because he didn't plan things and take you out, and the one before that wasn't good enough because he left everything up to you. You like a man who is in the driver's seat. Hell, what was the first type of man that you wanted in your fake date scenario? It was a dominating, alpha type of guy. Why… because that is the type that you think has the most value to show off."

"I've also dumped my share of these kinds of guys before, too. You remember Eddie?"

I swear I can hear her eyes roll. "Eddie was psychotic. Psychos are excluded from my experiment. Do you remember Carlos? He was sweet as pie. That man brought you coffee in bed every morning and wrote you a poem every day. You dumped him because he wasn't aggressive enough." She sighs. "I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice this about you. Talk to your sister."

"Not necessary." I bite back a grin. I know Dot's right, but I'll never admit it out loud. "After all of this, I think I've decided to trade teams. I've decided you're my date to his wedding now."

"Yeah, not happening, but when I'm down for trading teams, I'll let you know. Lord knows men are annoying as a whole. I'm not sure why women haven't risen up and created an entire society of our own yet. We'd do this so much better than men."

"How have things been since you got back?" Dot has lived in Seattle for the past few years. She only came back a few months ago because of a weirdo ex. Another reason men can't be trusted. Though, in truth, I can think of just as many women who stalk their exes. They're just better at not getting caught.

"Umm… I'm fine, but my dad is losing it. He's always been hyper-protective, but this is getting crazy. I think he wants to put cameras on the property. I don't know. I'm trying to talk him out of it."

"That's tough. What are you going to do?"

She sighs. "There has to be something, but I can't figure it out. Now, if only I had a good friend who could solve all my problems like I did for you, I'd be all set."

I try to hold them in, but the giggles come out uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, babe, but Doctor Frankenstein is only good at reanimating drama. I still love you, though."

I can hear Dot's smile through the phone as she says, "I love you, too. Good luck tonight. You'll figure out the best way to handle this whole thing. Talk to you later."

When the phone call with Dot has ended, I take to the bathroom to ready myself for the night. I already tossed on a little black dress and a dark red cardigan. It's fall, so I want to look the part. I'll probably wear my boots with it, even though in reality it's still seventy-five degrees until six p.m.

I push some makeup on my face, curl my hair, spritz on some perfume, and stare at myself, wondering why this man didn't seem attracted to me. I'm not saying everyone is attracted to me. They're not, but I'm used to getting the once over by the majority of men. Perry did none of that. He was unphased the whole time.

I tug down the front of the dress, showing off more cleavage. Maybe this'll do it. I don't know why I'm acting like I need his approval. I don't . His approval means nothing to me. I'm not even interested. A guy like Perry would walk all over me and I'd spend every day trying to assert myself. That gets exhausting.

All I really need is for him to be semi-interested so that this weekend will look real. That's it. Nothing more.