For days, she’d been racking her brain for a way to get some photos of Keith and Nicole together. She’d even reached out to Blake, a freelance photographer she’d known for years. If she found and hired someone who resembled Keith to do pictures with Nicole, Blake guaranteed he could manipulate the photo angles and lighting so Maddie believed the man with Nicole was Keith. And when Maddie questioned him about them, it would be his word against what was right in front of her eyes. Unfortunately, although Lisa knew a lot of men, none resembled Keith enough, and so far, she had found no one on the modeling sites Blake suggested.
Thanks to some perfect timing and her cousin’s constant need to be anywhere but home, she no longer needed to worry about it.
Initially, she’d been confused when Nicole nudged her and announced it was her lucky day. Then she’d seen Keith walking toward the empty booth. The only other time she’d seen Keith in there alone had been the night he approached her at the bar. Fully aware this might be the only chance they got, Nicole didn’t waste any time. As soon as the restaurant employee walked away, she’d moved in while Lisa immortalized the interaction in photos.
Retaking her spot at the bar, Nicole reached for her drink as Lisa scrolled through the photos she’d taken. “Did you get what you wanted?”
“Yep.”
Now she just needed to decide which ones to send to Maddie. She’d started taking pictures as soon as Nicole sat down and hadn’t stopped until her cousin stood up, so she had plenty to pick from. “What did you say to him?”
Not only was the place noisy, but she’d been too far away to hear Nicole and Keith’s conversation.
“I invited him back to my house.”
Lisa reached the most incriminating photo of the group and one she’d definitely be sending to Maddie. Although she’d known it was all an act, she’d wanted to walk over and drag her cousin away when Nicole placed Keith’s hand over her breast.
“And since I’m sitting here with you, he turned me down,” Nicole answered as the sound of a bird chirping came from her phone, alerting her to a message.
Nicole’s answer didn’t surprise her. Keith wasn’t the type of guy to screw around behind someone’s back. Guys like him preferred to just move on when they got bored with a woman. Or, as in their case, when he wasn’t ready to admit he’d met the one. Soon Keith would come to his senses, though.
“Did he say anything about Maddie?”
“Only said he had a girlfriend.”
Just because they hadn’t arrived together didn’t mean Keith wasn’t meeting Maddie here. And if that were the plan, Lisa would have to put sending the pictures on hold. Thankfully, she could find out if Maddie was on her way there or not with a simple text.
Hey, I’m bored out of my mind. Do you want to grab some dinner and a drink?
After sending the message, Lisa gestured for the bartender to come over. Unfortunately, tonight, one Black and Gold would not be enough.
Next to her, Nicole stuffed her phone back into her tiny purse. “Shawn wants me to come by. So unless you want to call for a ride, we need to go.”
Lisa wanted the second cocktail and the beef stew she’d been about to order. Unfortunately, she’d have to find another way home if she ordered either, because Nicole had driven tonight. While she took the occasional taxi or Uber, she avoided both whenever possible. At least Nicole was headed to Shawn’s instead of the other way around, so she wouldn’t hear them again tonight.
Accepting her credit card back, Lisa followed her cousin toward the entrance. “Thanks for your help tonight.”
“You know I’m always there for you. But I still think you should move on. It’s not like he’s rich. And okay, I’ll give you that he’s good-looking, but he’s no CJ Ferguson.”
There weren’t many men outside Hollywood who could compete with Lisa’s favorite eye candy, actor CJ Ferguson. In her opinion, there weren’t many in Hollywood that could either.
“Why didn’t you tell me CJ is an option?”
Opening the car door, Nicole paused before getting inside. “If he were, I wouldn’t be sharing the news with you.”
“He’d pick me over you any day,” Lisa said as she climbed into the car. “Hey, did you see CJ and Anderson Brady are doing another film together?” If anything would move Nicole’s attention away from Keith, it was a conversation about their two favorite stars.
“No. What kind?”
“A romantic comedy. It’s calledIsland Love.”
A message from Maddie greeted her when she pulled out her beeping cell phone.
I would, but I’m in New York City.
The gods were really smiling down on her tonight.
Lucky. I love NYC. Have fun.
Smiling, Lisa put the device away. When she got home, she’d pick her favorite shots of Nicole and Keith and send them to Maddie. Hopefully, next week at this time, Keith would be with her instead of alone at Murphy’s Tavern.