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“No.” I took the blindfold off her eyes. “It’seightpuppies.”
“Oh my gosh!” Daphne’s face lit up when she saw the litter of golden retriever puppies.
They were in a large puppy playpen that spanned the gazebo. I held Daphne’s hand as she stepped over the side railing. Her smile was from ear to ear as she sat in the center, and the puppies crawled all over her. The date went by so fast, I completely forgot that we were mic’d and that there were cameras on us. We were just laughing and talking and playing with the puppies. There was one in particular that she fell in love with and who fell in love with her. His name was Cowboy, and he curled up and fell asleep on her lap.
When Lydia came up and called cut, Donna came out to gather the puppies. It broke my heart when she lifted Cowboy from Daphne’s arms. I could see that she didn’t want to let him go. After the puppy party, the next segment was dinner. I’d arranged pizza, which Daphne had said was her favorite food, and had wine on the gazebo and watched Daphne’s favoriteGilmore Girlsepisode where there was a 24-hour dance marathon projected on a large screen I’d rented. The puppies hadn’t been difficult to get cleared, but Lydia had almost nixed the show because they needed to get the rights to theGilmore Girlsepisode. Ultimately, they decided to cut around it.
Once the show ended, we had to change into different clothes and take photos for our “second date.” I wished that there was going to be an actual second date, but I would take what I could get. We wrapped, and Daphne and Lydia immediately started walking back to the library, where Daphne had been getting ready.
I followed behind them. “Daphne.”
She stilled for a moment, and I thought she might ignore me. But finally, she slowly turned around. When her eyes met mine, I could see that they were guarded. They’d been more open when the camera had been on us. We’d just spent hours together, and her walls had been down, but now they were back up.
It’s not real.That’s what she’d said about the dates. I didn’t know why I thought ours would be any different.
“Can we talk?”
“Um.” Her eyes cut over to Lydia, then back to me. “I actually have a meeting with my boss right now. I’m sorry.”
“Just five minutes?” I knew that she was leaving town now that the show was over. I didn’t know when exactly, but since this was the last date she was going on, it could be anytime. There was a possibility she might fly out tonight.
“Um...” She licked her lips, and I could see the indecision in her eyes.
“Daphne!” The woman who did her makeup called out from the doorway of the library entrance, holding up her phone. “It’sher!”
“Sorry, I have to go.” With that, Daphne turned around and walked into the library.
My heart broke as I watched her leave, knowing it could be the last time I saw her. I had no idea how long I stood there before I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw it was a message from Dawson.
Dawson:It looks like your girlfriend has a boyfriend.
There was a link attached with a headline which read:
Kale Butler Caught Dining with Mystery Blonde After Jessica Knight Seen with Massive Rock on Her Left-Hand Ring Finger
These past few weeks had felt likeIwas in the ring taking hits, but this, this was the knockout punch.
Daphne was dating Kale Butler.
Whatever I thought we had was just like the show. It wasn’t real.
29
DAPHNE
My eyes openedto the familiar sound of my alarm going off. I rolled over and checked the time. It was seven fifteen a.m. We had a ten a.m. flight, which meant the crew would be here in half an hour to pick me up to go to the airport.
I’d set my alarm for seven, but I’d been sure that Aunt Rhonda would have woken me up before now. She typically came into my room at six a.m. every morning to let me know that coffee was ready, and we’d sit in the sunroom and enjoy toast and coffee together.
Maybe she’d let me sleep in this morning because when I got home from my date with Harlan last night, I’d told her I was too tired to stay up and have a cup of tea with her. The truth was, I just hadn’t wanted her to start asking me questions about my date because I was scared that if she did, I’d start crying and tell her that I thought I was in love with her neighbor and I didn’t know what to do about it.
Harlan had planned and executed the most perfect date I’d ever had in my life. Puppy party. Pizza. Wine. My favorite Gilmore Girls episode under the stars in the gazebo, that is a nearly exact replica of the show. Before last night, I didn’tthink he could get any more perfect, but I was wrong. I’d told him those things weeks ago, just in conversation, and he’d remembered them. All of them.
After the date, I’d wanted to talk to him. Just me and him. No cameras. But if I’d done that, then I wasn’t sure I’d be getting on this plane today.
Which might have been the reason Aunt Rhonda allowed me to oversleep. She might have hoped I would miss my flight. For the three weeks I’d been here, she’d been dropping not-so-subtle hints about me moving to Firefly permanently. But that was not going to happen. I needed to get in the shower and tell her goodbye.
I hated goodbyes. I couldn’t count the number of times I had to leave friends, schools, and towns I loved because my dad got a new job or ‘opportunity.’ It was probably why I liked living in a big city; I felt anonymous, and so did my neighbors.
