"I feel horrible," Charlotte commented, sipping her coffee the next morning. "My head has grown another head."
Veronica chuckled and offered her some buttered toast. "Eat something so you can take the Advil and then try and sleep through the hangover." Charlotte hummed a yes and took a small bite out of the toast.
They were sitting in her kitchen. Charlotte had spent the night at her place with a bucket placed next to her in case her stomach decided to upturn its contents. Veronica was glad that no actual throwing-up had happened. She had asked if Charlotte felt like eating something specific, but she didn't feel like her stomach could handle anything other than buttered toast.
Veronica poured herself some coffee and leaned against the kitchen counter. "So, I have to go to the Inn to help this hiker's group coming in because Martin would rather gouge his eyes out. Do you want to get dinner together?"
"People like to go hiking on a Saturday?" Charlotte asked. "And I thought nothing could feel worse than this." After a beat, she replied, "Dinner sounds good, but I should probably check in with Mom first."
"Of course, talk to her and then tell me."
"Did I mention how grateful I am to you for all of this?" Charlotte said. She was wearing Veronica's 'Pretty Girls Like to Read' shirt and her penguin pajamas.
She had met Charlotte five years ago. Now that Veronica thought of it, she was just eleven. Tiny with two piggy tails and a Barbie backpack. And now there she was, sitting in her kitchen sipping coffee and terribly hungover. Five years felt like such a short time.
"You don't have to be grateful," Veronica commented, pushing past her emotions. "But I would like you to be careful. Ethan is a dick and what he did is disgusting and unacceptable. But I would like you to be considerate of your reaction."
She walked over and sat next to Charlotte. "You will face countless shitty situations in your life as time passes. Getting drunk shouldn't be your first reflex. Now, I know you are 16 and that you have plenty of hangovers ahead of you. God knows I was a mess when I was 16, but I would still like you to be careful."
Charlotte reached over and grabbed her hand. "Got it, Mom."
Veronica swatted her hand away and got up. "The Advil is in the cabinet in the bathroom. There's food in the fridge and if you want to borrow some clothes, feel free. I will see you at the inn."
She turned around and grabbed Chan's car keys and stuffed them in her bag. She quickly checked the mirror and applied a final red coat to her lips before leaving the apartment.
"Did everything go smoothly?" Veronica asked, checking the guest book.
"Oh yeah," Cassie replied, making a face. "They arrived all sweaty and disgusting, and we passed towels and chilled water bottles. I doused the hall with room freshener, but alas, the sweat molecules had already set in."
Veronica shuddered. "Thanks for that vivid description. Did you tell Minho that two of the hikers are vegetarian and requested a vegetarian dinner?"
Cassie nodded, tapping against Veronica's desk. "So... do you have anything to tell me?"
"Do I?" Veronica asked, not bothering to look up from the register. She made a mental note to remind Lucille that the Mandels had called to tell her that their arrival time had changed from 10:00 PM to 11:30 PM.
"I don't know," Cassie said in an insinuating voice. "How about the date you were on yesterday?"
This made Veronica look up. "The date? Yesterday? What do you even mean?"
Cassie was grinning. "I saw you. At the Mano's yesterday. After work."
Veronica shook her head, getting ready to rebuff her claims when she saw Chan walk in. He was wearing a black oversized hoodie and jeans. The outfit was nothing special, but he looked good. Cassie turned around to see who Veronica was staring at and whistled.
"That must have been some good date if he's already coming here to see you."
"Oh please, it's nothing like you make it out to be. We weren't - "
"But I saw you at the club," Cassie explained, her eyes narrowing. "I might have been high as fuck but I can recognize my best friend anywhere. Especially when she's talking to a hot guy."
"I was at the club but-"
Just as she was about to finish her sentence, Veronica saw Selena Hawthorne enter the building. It was pretty obvious after whom Charlotte had taken. The two of them looked so similar with their golden hair and sharp faces. Selena usually liked to come around the inn in the afternoon and have lunch with Veronica and Martin.
Unfortunately, instead of making her way to the front desk she noticed Chan standing near the entry and exclaimed, "Christopher!"
Christopher? Veronica remembered him saying that their families were close friends last night. Chan for his part looked genuinely happy to see Selena and hugged her back. She was wearing beige linen pants and a royal blue silk shirt. Veronica watched them exchange quick updates before they started walking towards the front desk.
"Selena, Hi," Veronica greeted her boss.
"Veronica," Selena replied, "I would like you to meet Christopher. He is the son of one of my closest friends. I am just so surprised to see him here at the inn."
Veronica's eyes slid to Chan. This was a pickle. They couldn't very well tell Selena that they knew each other beforehand because that would elicit explaining the circumstances they had met. They could just pretend that this was their first encounter.
But before Veronica had even finished processing that thought Cassie was already speaking, "Oh, they know each other. I saw them together yesterday."
Veronica could feel her breath getting lodged in her chest. She tried not to show absolute panic on her face.
"Saw Veronica and Christopher? Together?" Selena asked, her eyes widening. "Where?"
Cassie's tone was gleeful. "At the club! I think it was a date!" Veronica couldn't help but wonder what exactly Cassie saw to make her think that they were on a date. The club was dark and she was high. Cassie very well could have hallucinated whatever it was she thought she saw.
Selena turned to look at him, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Well, I'll be damned. Is this true Chris?"
Veronica and Chan started at each other for a moment. They couldn't very well tell the truth because she had promised Lottie but the only other option was to embrace what a big clusterfuck this was becoming.
Veronica opened her mouth to interject. "Selena, actually-"
But Chan beat her to it. "Yes. It was kind like a date."
Selena clapped her hands in delight. "Oh, this is lovely. I am absolutely floored. Where did you two meet?"
Veronica was still trying to absorb what was going on but Chan had no problem jumping in and answering the question. "We actually met a couple of days ago and really hit off. Then when I ran into her at the club, it was like fate. Veronica mentioned that she worked here so I just wanted to surprise her."
This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. This is insane. I can't lie to Selena, I owe that woman everything. This is not right.
She realized that everyone was looking at her expectantly to add something to the conversation. There's no other way out of it now. "Oh yeah, I too had a great time last night. I am really glad you came by."
"Oh," Selena exclaimed. "This is possibly one of the best things that could have happened. I want to invite the two of you to dinner tonight. It will be nothing big just a couple of close friends."
Veronica felt like she was watching a train wreck happen but could do nothing to stop it. They had accelerated this fiasco, there was nothing left but to roll with it at full speed.
"Of course," Veronica agreed, sending a quick look in his direction.
"It would be our pleasure," he chimed in.
"Perfect," Selena said, looking at Veronica with a huge smile. "Now I have embarrassed the two of you enough. I will go and have lunch with Martin given that Veronica clearly has plans."
With that, she went away and Veronica exhaled the biggest breath ever. Cassie winked at her and made a gesture with her fingers that exaggerated how good-looking Chan was and left too. Veronica was glad that she was leaning against her desk otherwise her legs would have given out from under her.
Chan whistled. "That was something."
"I need coffee," Veronica said. Walking away and exiting the building. "And fresh air. Manny, I am taking my break if anyone asks for something go to Martin."
The moment she stepped out of the inn, Veronica took in a deep breath. She felt dizzy. She just lied to Selena, and it wasn't a small fib like the time she said she liked the oysters Selena had made for dinner for Christmas. That woman was the only reason Veronica was able to live the life she was living, and lying to her made her feel like a giant stone was sitting on her chest.
"Hey." Veronica jumped a little. Chan had followed her outside and was watching her with concern. "Are you okay?"
Veronica nodded, pushing her hair behind her ears. The wind outside was kicking up. "I am okay. A bit rattled about the whole thing, but okay."
"I feel like I should apologize," he started. "I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to get Charlotte in trouble, and it was the first thing that came to my mind. Didn't realise that I was digging us into a deep hole."
"It is okay," Veronica replied, turning to look at him. "There was no way out of that situation. Cassie saw me at the club yesterday and thought that we were on a date. She was high, so I think that plays a major role in the hallucinations she had."
Chan chuckled at that. "I just," she continued. "Selena has done a lot for me, and I just don't like lying to her. And she seemed really happy at the prospect of us dating."
"Yeah," he said. "She did." A pause. "This place is really beautiful."
Veronica agreed. The inn was surrounded by a beautiful garden that looked heavenly no matter the season. A couple of the guests were sitting on the benches, reading or talking. With fall approaching, the ground was covered with orange-red leaves that made the place look right out of a postcard.
"How about a coffee?" He asked.
"Huh?"
"You know," he added. "You said you needed some coffee."
She chuckled. "That's my go-to response for everything." She stared at him for a beat longer before saying, "But yeah, coffee would be nice. And maybe we can figure out what to do about this dinner."
"Oh yeah," he replied, his hands stuffed in his pockets, eyes still on her. "She very cleverly roped us in. Shall we?"
â¤ï¸
The coffee place he took them to was a fifteen-minute car ride from the inn. The Mudhouse was smushed between a boutique and a bookstore. The interior of the cafe was pretty charming, with wooden chairs and a vase of flowers at every table. One of the walls was covered with postcards from probably every country in the world.
She and Chan took their seats at a table next to a window that overlooked the street. It had started drizzling, and Veronica cursed herself for not bringing an umbrella.
"Can I get you guys anything? Oh hey, Chan!" It was the waiter. He was looking at Chan with a smile.
"Han," he replied, getting up and hugging the guy. "I didn't know you worked here."
Han shrugged. "For now. However, if people continue being indubitably stupid today, I might just quit."
Veronica laughed. Han noticed her and wiggled his eyebrows at Chan. "Oh, is this a date?"
"More like a war council," Veronica amended.
Han nodded, turned towards her, stomped his foot, and saluted. "And what might you like to sip on while planning strategy?"
"Black coffee, please."
"And you, sir?"
Chan was laughing as he said, "Green tea."
He stomped his feet again and walked off. Veronica snickered. "I like him. How do you know him?"
"He is in my Music Theory class," Chan supplied. He leaned back in his chair and put his hand behind his head. "So, Veronica Lovejoy, tell me something about yourself." There was something in the way his eyes were so intent on her that made Veronica lean forward.
"I don't even know your last name, Christopher, which I, as the girl you are fake dating, should know. How about you start by telling me that."
A surprised chuckle came out of his mouth. "Bang. My full name is Christopher Chan Bang. I study music at the University of South Molton and work part-time at Mano's, but that part you know."Â She liked the way he pronounced his last name. The gravity and heaviness of his tongue.
Han came back with their orders along with a slice of a cheesecake, which he said was on the house since the two of them were the easiest customers he's had all day.
"Hmm," he continued. "What else, I have two younger siblings and a dog. I like making music and am hoping to make a career in it after university."
"Do you play any instruments?"
"Piano and guitar." He took a bite out of the cheesecake. "Oh god, this is delicious." He licked the fork and looked up at her. "So, Ms. Lovejoy, what are some things that I should know about you as the guy you are fake dating?"
"Well, you know my name and that I work at Selena's Inn as Martin's assistant, which means half of my time is placating him that I won't burn down the place. Or making sure that half the staff doesn't end up killing him."
Chan chuckled. "Spending an extended period of time with Martin does bring out homicidal tendencies in the best of us."
"I guess that's it," Veronica concluded, taking a sip from the coffee. "This is good coffee."
He raised an eyebrow. "That's it."
Veronica looked him right in the eye and replied. "That is it."
Neither of them spoke for a while. Veronica wasn't comfortable sharing any aspect of her life with anyone she knew, let alone with someone she had known for barely a day. Whatever little skit she and Chan had to put up in front of Selena didn't require either of them to know each other's secrets.
"So," Veronica changed the topic. "About the dinner. What do we do?"
She knew that Chan knew she was trying to change the subject. "I guess we'll have to attend. Knowing Selena, it won't be small or intimate. She likes the extravagance."
Veronica agreed. She had known Selena long enough to know that that woman liked to party and needed an excuse to pull people together for a soiree. "We go in together. Chat a bit. Make nice, and then a couple of days later, I can tell her that we both decided to just stay friends. No harm, no foul."
He took a sip out of his tea. "And who, hypothetically, would be the one to suggest that we should stay friends? Because I, personally, would never say that."
He was a shameless flirt. Veronica had to force herself to not smile. "And I, personally, have no problem in saying that."
He shook his head in amusement and asked for the check. Veronica protested, but he insisted on paying for the whole thing.
"I would never let the girl I am fake-dating pay for her coffee," he replied, opening the door for her.
It was still raining, and it wasn't a drizzle anymore. Veronica wondered if she could ask Cassie to come and bring an umbrella with her. Chan must have noticed that she had stopped walking because he turned around and asked, "Is everything okay?"
She snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she was standing at the threshold of the cafe. "Oh yeah, I am just going to call Cassie and ask her to bring me an umbrella. I will see you tonight."
He walked back a couple of steps until he was standing in front of her. "Um, Veronica, remind me how did we get here?"
She scrunched her eyebrows. "In the car. You drove us here. Was there something in the tea you drank?"
He stepped sideways, letting a guy pass by and enter the cafe, and blew out an exasperated sigh. "So Sweetheart, if I drove us here, I would also be driving you back to the inn. You aren't walking back in the rain and in those heels."
"Oh." Veronica bit the inside of her cheek. "Thank you."
This time, when he turned around, Veronica followed him to his car, mentally smacking herself in the face.
"We should also get our stories straight about how we met?" Chan said, strapping on his seatbelt.
"Yeah," Veronica agreed, biting her lip. "I have seen too many movies to make that stupid mistake."
He pulled them out of the parking spot and turned on the radio. "We have to make it believable. What are some places you like to hang out?"
Veronica thought. "I mean, the inn takes up most of my time. But let me think."
Chan turned up the volume of the radio, nodding his head along to the beat and singing the lyrics under his breath. "I like going to the bookstore and the bakery on Redwood Street because Margret always gives me a free slice of pie. We could say we ran into each other at a coffee place. No one will have trouble believing that."
"Yeah, let's say we met at The Mudhouse," he replied, referring to the cafe they had just gone to. "It was very crowded and I couldn't find a place to sit. I saw an open spot next to you and asked if it was okay if I sat there and we started talking- and why are you looking at me like that?"
Veronica was staring at him in disbelief. "How are you so good at this? Fake-dated a lot of girls?"
He chuckled. "I watch romcoms too, you know."
Veronica shook her head and adjusted her seatbelt. "Sounds good."
Neither of them spoke after that. Veronica wondered how she had landed in this situation, and Charlotte's face flashed in front of her eyes. The thing was, she wasn't even mad at Lottie. As much as she hated lying to Selena, she had promised Lottie to cover for her.
Chan stopped outside the inn. Veronica unbuckled herself and was about to open the door when he asked, "So about tonight? Should I pick you up or.."
"We can meet outside Selena's house, I have to run a few errands after work."
"Okay, see you then, Veronica," he said, watching her step out of his car.
"Thank you for the coffee and for lying to Selena," she said before shutting the door close.