The Grudge Match (Disastrous Dates Book 3)

  The Grudge Match

  Disastrous Dates Book 3

  Kayla Tirrell

  Copyright © 2018 by Kayla Tirrell

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

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  Chapter 2

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  Chapter 3

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  Chapter 4

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  Chapter 5

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  Chapter 6

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  Chapter 7

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  Chapter 8

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  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Let me know what you think!

  ***

  Acknowledgments

  Let’s Keep in Touch

  Also by Kayla Tirrell

  River Valley Lost & Found

  Mountain Creek Drive

  Date Maker

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  “How would you rate the Date Maker service?”

  “Why are you making me do this?”

  Chapter One

  “Will you please just go out with him?” Morgan pleaded around a bite of sandwich. She was sitting on her bed facing her best friend, Lacey, ragged from a long day of delivering dates.

  “Are you kidding me?” Lacey lifted the folder in front of her, the one that had her perfectly-tailored date in it—the wrong perfectly-tailored date. “We just established this is not supposed to be my match, and you still want me to go on a date with him? What is this kid, like twelve?”

  Morgan shook her head, her mouth still full of food. “He’s eighteen.”

  “Eighteen.” Lacey snorted. “He’s a baby compared to me. Not even old enough to drink. We could go on dates and he could be my designated driver.”

  “Stop being so dramatic,” Morgan argued. “Eighteen is old enough to go to war. It’s old enough to die for our country.”

  Lacey rolled her eyes. She hated when anyone tried to use that logic. While there was truth in the statement, it really didn’t change anything. “But he’s not dying for our country, is he? No, he’s safe and sound at a private college in central Florida.”

  “Maybe he’s mature for his age.” Morgan tossed her empty sandwich bag across the room, narrowly missing the trashcan.

  Lacey lifted her brows. Morgan scrambled to pick up her trash. “Well, you interviewed him. You tell me, is he mature for his age? Does…” She looked down at the photograph of her not-match. She’d already forgotten his name.

  “Trevor Benson,” Morgan supplied.

  “Thanks,” Lacey forced a smile, still irked about the mixed-up match. “Does Trevor Benson have an old soul? Is he my perfect match?” She clutched the photograph to her chest and sighed dramatically.

  Morgan bit her lip as she wiped away some leftover crumbs from her bedspread. “Maybe not perfect match.”

  “I didn’t think so,” Lacey sighed. “Morgan, you are my best friend, and I support you and your little business. I really do. But you’re asking a lot of me. All the guys I date suck and I don’t really want to end up with another flop.”

  Morgan’s eyes looked off into the distance before she sat up straight, practically bouncing in her bed. “That’s it! All the guys you’re attracted to are jerks.”

  “Or taken.” Lacey thought of the guy she’d been pining over back home in Iowa.

  “Or taken.” Morgan nodded. “My point is, maybe Trevor is exactly what you need.”

  “But he was never supposed to be my date.”

  “I know that…” Morgan took a deep breath. “But I don’t know what I’m going to do. I honestly don’t even know how many dates I mixed up. The matches were good, but I must have mixed up photographs and contact info on some.” She looked at Lacey who was still firmly planted atop her bed. “What if I did that on all of them? If I accidentally skipped a picture as I was placing them into the files that would mean everyone was set up with the wrong person! And I have spent so much money trying to make this work, I’m absolutely terrified to think how bad this is.”

  Lacey looked at her friend, unsure of where she was going with all of this. “Okay, but what does that have to do with me? With Trevor?”

  “I don’t know.” Morgan hopped off her bed and started pacing in the small dorm room. “I guess if I knew I had one good match, it might mean Declan had less ammunition against me.”

  “Declan again?” Lacey shook her head. “What is it with that guy?”

  Morgan stopped and looked directly at Lacey, her eyes wide. “He’s evil and he wants to destroy my life.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Lacey clarified. Morgan’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t speak. Lacey continued. “What I mean is, you are always talking about him. It’s like you’re obsessed or something. Ever since that night at the club when we all danced together.”

  “Oh, you mean the night Declan tricked me into thinking he was a decent guy? Yeah, I’m totally obsessed with him.” She rolled her eyes.

  Lacey giggled. It was hilarious how blind her best friend was to the chemistry between her and the guy she claimed was the devil.

  Morgan was less amused. She huffed and took a few steps back and forth before looking at Lacey once more. “You know what? I can’t be here right now. You’re supposed to be my best friend. You’re supposed to have my back. You think this thing with Declan is some kind of joke. And when I ask for your help, you’re not willing to go on one date to help me fix my reputation.”

  Morgan grabbed her card-key and opened the door to their room.

  “Where are you going?” Lacey asked, looking down at the phone in her hand. “It’s almost ten.”

  “I don’t know.” Morgan’s shoulders sagged. “Maybe the campus library? It’s open for a couple more hours. I think I just need some time alone to think about what I’m going to do.”

  Lacey knew better than to argue. And really, what would she say? She was irritated at Morgan and yet felt horrible for her at the same time. They needed some space from each other.

  Morgan left without another word, and Lacey took the opportunity to look at the date folder again. The date sounded pretty fun. A picnic dinner by Lake Mirror followed by a movie at the Polk Theater. They were some of Lacey’s favorite places in all of Lakeland, and she knew Morgan did that on purpose.

  But none of it would be fun with Trevor. The guy was just too young, and looked far too fresh-faced for Lacey. He was a far cry from Pax, the guy she was supposed to be set up with. Lacey’s eyes wandered over to Morgan’s bulletin board, where all the matches were set up. She got up off the bed and walked over to where dozens of small pictures were pinned to the board.

  Lacey found her picture and a picture of Pax. There was a piece of string connecting the two of them, indicating a match. She continued to search the board until she found Trevor. The now-familiar face smiled at the camera. The picture also had string connecting it to another picture. Lacey followed it until she found the girl intended for Trevor.

  She looked as young as her match, with brown ringlets framing her face. Lacey didn’t recognize her and lifted the picture from the board. She turned the paper over in her hands hoping to find a name on the back—only to find it blank.

  Lacey huffed in frustration as she used the tack to replace the picture. How did Morgan keep everyone straight? And how badly were the dates messed up?

  Between
Declan’s article that attacked Morgan and her methods, and the messed up matches, the Date Maker would be ruined. Morgan hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said that earlier. But did the solution really include Lacey going out with Trevor? She much preferred the idea of having a date with Pax despite the mix-up.

  She hoped that was still an option. Maybe she could convince Morgan to have her choice since she hadn’t even wanted to do the Date Maker in the first place. She’d signed up to help out her friend, expecting to get the hot match of her dreams. Now faced with the prospect of babysitting a freshman for her date, she was rethinking the whole thing.

  Lacey decided to stalk the two guys online to see if it would help her decide how to approach Morgan when she returned.

  First up was Pax. His Instagram was everything she thought it would be—shirtless pictures at the beach showing off his killer body, along with some pictures of him in a baseball uniform. He had a couple of games coming up. She could show up and watch him play—for research, of course.

  Once she was done ogling Pax, Lacey moved on to Trevor. His Instagram was not at all what she expected. And that was mostly due to him not having one. At least not one she could find. He did, however, have Facebook...and LinkedIn. Lacey closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. He was a total nerd.

  She looked at his Facebook page, which was mostly reposted articles, until she couldn’t stand it anymore.

  Then, because Lacey was a complete glutton for punishment, she searched for Josh, the guy she’d been in love with since high school. Morgan affectionately referred to him as Farmer Brown.

  Lacey had always thought Josh liked her, too. They had never dated, but the chemistry between the two of them was undeniable. Or, it had been until her last visit home. When Lacey had gone to Iowa over Spring Break, she’d arrived to find Josh engaged. And not only that, to one of the sweetest girls Lacey had ever met.

  She scrolled though his Instagram, looking at the candid pictures that filled his profile. Sometimes he was working on his family’s farm, other times, he was taking a selfie in front of the mirror. In each one, his smile was gorgeous. But in the newest picture that graced his feed—the one of him and his fiancée together—his smile was so wide, it was a miracle his face didn’t split in two. It was an expression Lacey had never seen in person.

  For all of hers and Josh’s supposed chemistry, he’d never looked at Lacey the way he looked at the girl in this picture. There was true connection between him and his fiancée. There was love.

  It was something she’d always wanted, even when she pretended she didn’t care. And with each passing year, her secret fear of ending up alone for the rest of her life felt closer to reality. She was sure it had something to do with all of her friends getting engaged. Everyone except Morgan, of course.

  Lacey pressed the button on the side of her phone to turn the screen off. Looking at Josh wasn’t going to fix anything, she knew that. And pining after Pax wouldn’t do much to change her current single status. But maybe going on a date with Trevor Benson could fix at least one person’s problem.

  And maybe, just maybe, she would end up finding love in the process.

  “What was your first impression of Trevor?”

  “Seriously, can we please just stop?”

  Chapter Two

  Lacey got dressed in something she hoped was comfortable and cute for her date with Trevor. They would be enjoying a late afternoon meal outside, and even though April had just begun, the weather was already heating up. Lacey loved going to school in Florida, but she still wasn’t quite used to the lack of seasons. She’d learned over the last couple of years that Florida only had two: hot and rainy.

  There were also two weeks when the weather was perfect. Not too warm, low humidity, and a slight breeze. But that window had passed by now, as they made their way into summer.

  Lacey wore a simple cotton dress, strappy sandals, and her blond hair piled on the top of her head in a cute bun. For makeup, she kept it simple, just in case they started sweating. And the most important accessory—a smile she hoped would last the entire afternoon. This date was important to Morgan, and Lacey wanted to do her best to make it work, especially since the fallout from the mixed-up dates had already begun.

  Morgan was getting phone calls and texts all hours of the day by people requesting refunds or rematches. She was mostly quiet about what was happening—using client privacy as an excuse—but had mentioned the night before that even Pax was having a hard time with his date.

  Apparently, his date had complained that he was a jerk and had requested a refund. Morgan took great delight in letting Lacey know she should be thanking her lucky stars that she had someone as great as Trevor by accident.

  Lacey looked down at her phone as she walked up to the lake. She was fifteen minutes early, and decided to walk around until Trevor showed up. The gorgeous lake was in the heart of downtown Lakeland. It had a walking path that went around the entire circumference, but the best part was the open promenade that stretched out on the south end of the lake. It was a grassy expanse that had several staggered levels that could accommodate large crowds. It was the perfect place for a picnic.

  Trevor and Lacey would be able to admire the lake as they enjoyed their meal—a meal that Morgan had personally packed, and was now in a basket that hung from the crook of Lacey’s arm.

  She walked around, keeping an eye out for the guy she wasn’t supposed to date, and felt a small wave a relief when she spotted him. He walked toward her, a quilt under his arm—his part of the picnic—and a huge smile on his face. He wore the typical college dude uniform. Polo shirt, slim khaki shorts, and a pair of boat shoes. His brown hair flopped against his forehead with each energetic step he took in her direction.

  Lacey had to admit he was much better looking in person than his picture. Somehow, he seemed less baby-faced now that she could see the slight stubble that graced his cheeks. Even his voice was deeper than she imagined it would be as he greeted her with a simple, “Hey.”

  Lacey felt a small flutter in her chest that surprised her. This was supposed to be a perfunctory date to placate Morgan, but Lacey found herself much more willing to be the sacrificial lamb now that she saw her date in person.

  “Hey,” she eventually responded after looking her fill.

  “You must be Lacey.” Trevor smiled, tipping his chin to the basket she still held in her arms.

  After walking around for the last quarter of an hour, the weight of it was beginning to make her muscles burn. She smiled and nodded before asking, “Want to set up shop here?”

  Trevor looked back and forth across the grassy lawn before shrugging. “It seems as good of a place as anywhere else.” He shook out the quilt—one Lacey recognized from Morgan’s bed— and laid it across the grass.

  Once it was in position, Lacey practically dropped the basket atop the blanket and stretched out her arm.

  Trevor’s eyes widened as he watched her. “You okay?”

  Her cheeks heated as she admitted how wimpy she was. “I’ve been walking around for a bit and that basket is surprisingly heavy. I’m not sure what Morgan packed in it, but I just got a workout.”

  A deep chuckle rumbled in Trevor’s chest. “Maybe we should open this sucker up and make sure she didn’t pack barbells.” He paused. “And if she did, we can run down to Palace and grab something quick before the movie.”

  “Palace Pizza is my favorite.” Lacey smiled as she sat up a little straighter in her spot on the quilt.

  Trevor smiled back at her. “Maybe we should just skip the picnic and head over there instead.”

  That sounded amazing, but Lacey knew the work Morgan put into their date. It was a last ditch effort to salvage her business. Lacey had to eat the food in the basket. She sighed and shook her head. “I’m sure whatever Morgan packed will be just as good.”

  She opened the old-fashioned basket and peered inside. There was a loaf of bread, sliced cheese, and grapes. It was b
asically what every movie made you think should be in a picnic basket. She tried to mask her disappointment as she unloaded the items one by one.

  Also included in the basket, were two plastic wine glasses. It looked like Morgan had spared no expense and packed only the fanciest of all plastic ware. Lacey couldn’t wait to tease her friend. Continuing her unpacking, Lacey took out the large bottle of sparkling grape juice.

  Trevor cleared his throat. “Is there anything else in the basket?” Lacey shook her head. “Darn. I didn’t eat a big lunch because I just assumed dinner meant… well, dinner. This is like a snack or something.”

  “Right?” Lacey couldn’t contain the glee in her voice. “It’s like Morgan’s never been on a real-life picnic before!”

  “Oh, yes. Morgan, the Date Maker.” His voice was sarcastic, but Lacey didn’t know why. He’d signed up for the Date Maker just like everyone else in the database. What reason would he have to criticize the service?

  Unless…

  What if he’d also read the article Declan posted?

  Lacey’s stomach dropped, already regretting the negative words she’d uttered against Morgan and the meal that was surely painstakingly put together.

  Thankfully, Trevor laughed as he broke off a piece from the baguette and stuck it on his plate alongside some cheese and grapes. Lacey wanted to ask what he meant by his response, but was afraid to open a can of worms that didn’t need to be opened. Not to mention, she was pleasantly surprised by Trevor and didn’t want to mess it up so early on in their date.