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I applied some lip-gloss in the mirror next to her.
“Hot date?” she asked.
“Actually … yes,” I said, lying. But in a way not lying. I would call Mark. I would have a date with
him. That wasn’t a lie.
“Ooh, with who?”
“Just some guy I met.”
“Anyone special?”
I thought for a second. “I don’t think so. But, you know, I might just fuck him anyway.”
And I left her alone in the washroom to pick her jaw up off the floor.
Why did I say that? Because I knew she’d tell Will. Hell, I wanted her to. And because sometimes
you have to say things out loud to gather the gumption to go through with them.
The Coach House door was open. I tiptoed past the foyer into the reception area and found Danica on
the phone. She covered the receiver with her hand.
“You’re early. Matilda’s at the Mansion, but she’ll be here in a minute. Go on in,” she whispered.
“Dauphine’s not here yet?”
“I’ll watch for her. A new girl! So exciting!”
The boardroom door was ajar so I slipped in and saw for the first time the mythical Fantasy Board,
to which only the Committee was privy. It was usually kept hidden behind a sliding wall. But there it
was in all its colorful glory. Some of the men’s names were struck out. Some I recognized. My heart
sped up when I saw “Theo” on a purple card—my sexy French ski instructor—but there was a black
slash through his name. There was also “Captain Archer,” the helicopter pilot who’d led me to
“Jake,” the tugboat captain. Next to that was a card with “Captain Nathan” and a question mark; I
didn’t recognize that name. I inched the board back a little more and saw more strange names, then
two that made my heart feel like a deep bruise with a finger pushing on it, including ”Pierre Castille,”
covered by an X. My fantasy with the Bayou Billionaire had been extraordinary. The Ball, that sexy
limousine ride home; he was incredibly hot and so assured. But his attentions turned toxic after the
burlesque show, when he just assumed I’d pick him over Will for my final fantasy. I figured the X
meant the Committee had dumped him from the fantasy roster, something I would have suggested had I
been asked.
But the other familiar name was Jesse, my third Step fantasy, and his card had a number two
scrolled on it. Jesse! My sexy-as-hell, tattooed pastry chef. Had it been almost a year since he
overcame me in the kitchen at the Café Rose? Each of the men I’d had sex with was amazing in his
own right, but I had made a special connection with Jesse, one strong enough to almost cause me to
quit my fantasies early for a chance to get to know him better. Matilda convinced me to stay in
S.E.C.R.E.T., to push through. And though I was grateful in the end when Will and I tumbled into bed,
now I wasn’t so sure I’d taken the right risk with the right man.
“Cassie!”
I almost leapt out of my skin at the sound of Matilda’s voice.
“You scared me!”
She stood in the doorway, her arms crossed.
“Cassie, you know better than to come in here unsupervised. You aren’t supposed to see the board
unless you’re a full Committee member.”