Page 38 of Ten Rules for Faking It
“That was Old Dominion, in case you didn’t know, with their newest single. Speaking of newly single,” Stacey said, letting the word hang.
Stage laughter cut in, and Chris smiled, knowing that his deejay was messing around with the soundboard.
“Uh-oh, the daggers my producer is shooting me through this glass makes me glad it’s triple pane.What?Oh. She’s shaking her head. It’s not. Which means I’d better not make any corny jokes.”
Chris could picture the look on Everly’s face. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the seat.
“No more joking around. Thank you, SUN listeners, forsending in your very worthy bachelors for my best friend. You may have read on our Facebook page that date number one was a success. She doesn’t like to talk much on the air, so I had to get her preapproval for this, but Everly’s going to answer a couple of questions. You ready?”
Chris’s eyes popped open as Everly’s “Yes” came through his speakers.
“Can we rate the dates from one to ten?” Stacey asked.
“No.”
“Would you date Owen again?”
“It would be cheating to tell you,” Everly said, her soft voice sending a jolt of energy over Chris.
“No cheating. That’s what got us here in the first place.”
“Stacey,” Everly’s voice warned.
“My bad. Sorry. What’s the most important quality in a man?”
Chris sat straighter.
“Honesty. Transparency.”
“Good answer. I totally would have gone withabs,but yours is nice, too.”
Stacey went on to share some of the highlights that Everly shared and then read a series of Twitter questions from listeners. Chris turned off the radio and grabbed his phone from the passenger’s seat. Opening the social media app, he typed in the hashtag everlyafter.
@962SUN I went to high school with Owen. He’s the best. You should totally date him again. #everlyafter
@962SUN My nephew is single and better-looking than the guys you chose this week. DM me #everlyafter
@962SUN Simon sucks. Team Everly. #everlyafter
Chris nodded in agreement and scrolled through a few more. They’d had over five hundred new followers on Twitteralone. He’d hired a remote social media person to work specifically on the traffic brought in through this. He hoped Everly wasn’t scrolling through this stuff. There was a lot of positive, but there was negative as well, and she didn’t need the extra stress. What he hadn’t anticipated was the way it would play out for the selected bachelors.
Even if this Owen guy wasn’t the one Everly chose, he’d have no trouble getting dates in the future. None of the candidates would. This was, in a sense, giving a lot of guys their fifteen minutes of fame.What’s it giving Everly?Hopefully, everything she deserves, including a good guy.
And no, that doesn’t get under your goddamn skin because this is exactly what was supposed to happen.His phone rang, saving him from his own thoughts.
“Hey,” he said. He started up his car and pulled into traffic.
“You there yet?” His brother wasn’t known for patience.
“Just about. I got tied up in meetings. I thought you were going to fly out here.”
Something rattled in the background before Noah replied, “I am. But I just want your opinion first. See if, on first glance, it’s worth taking my time to check it out.”
Noah wanted him to take a look at a run-down mansion that was rumored to have been owned by a deceased Hollywood starlet. It was on the water, which, despite the fact that he lived in California, Chris didn’t get out to enough.
Taking the exit for Harlow Beach, they talked more about the property. His brother was looking at a few different ones, trying to decide if he wanted to step away from their father’s empire and forge his own way. Chris understood the thought but had worked too hard to jump through all his father’s hoops to give up when he was this close. About twenty minutes later, Chris pulled up in front of a sprawling estate. That was the only word for it. The house and the grounds, both overlooking the ocean, were massive.
“I don’t think anyone’s lived here in a while,” Chris saidinto the phone, getting out of his car and leaning on the back of it. High, wrought iron gates let him see through to the overgrown yard, the worn, cobbled path that led to the house.
