Page 69 of Bluffed By the Offense

Big names. Powerful people.

Notes on some of the donations mention either the Thunder or Marcus.

Not one of these people is to blame for their impression of what’s going on between Marcus and me. We did that. Me and my insatiable need to put that man in his place. Well, at least that’s leading to some good. The community of Waterford will benefit.

One note catches my eye.

We saw your photos from the Night of Thunder Gala. We reached out to their PR team and they told us about your charity. We love this cause. And we’re big Marcus Delaney fans. Always glad to support the team and a town they call home.

Price Brothers Financial Advisors

A realization dawns on me like I’m sinking into quicksand inch by inch. I can’t take this money and remain fake broken up with Marcus, or real broken up, or anything in between.

People are supporting Porch Light because of him. And as much as that irks me with such a deeply irksome irk, I love the fact that we’re getting so much tangible support.

I could never drum up this kind of revenue and backing for a new charity with no track record. It would take years of hard work and visible proof of our impact to gain supporters like these. Even then … I might not ever see this kind of presence and power.

As much as it pains me to admit it, Marcus Delaney is the key to all of this influx. His name can open doors I’d spend a lifetime seeking the opportunity to merely knock on. I’ll never ever tell him that. But I know it’s true.

It would be selfish of me to make any decision that would cut off the pipeline feeding our capacity to serve Waterford.

In time, our work in the community will speak for itself. I only need Marcus’s name connected to the charity for the first month, maybe two tops.

My next thought nearly levels me. I lean back on the counter to stabilize myself.

I have to approach Marcus.

I was so clear that this farce is over. I felt triumphant being the one to call it off after the gala. Now I have to basically crawl back and talk him into being the face of Porch Light.

“Cass!” Winona calls from the living room. “Everyone’s getting ready to leave.”

“Sorry!” I shout as I walk out toward the living room.

“Everything okay?” Emberleigh asks.

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine. It was a call for Porch Light. And then I looked at our account. We have over a million dollars worth of donations.”

My friends all burst into chatter, talking over one another excitedly.

“That’s amazing!”

“We knew you’d do it!”

“All your hard work paid off!”

All I can think is that my hard work pales in the shadow of Marcus Delaney’s mere presence. Irk. Irk. Irk. The man invented the irk, or at the very least, he perfected it.

I thank all my friends for their enthusiasm and then, one by one, they leave until it’s just Winona and me left in the living room.

“I love that we get to include porch geese,” she says, stacking dessert plates and carrying them toward the kitchen. “Declan’s going to laugh when I tell him.”

I pick up a few cups and follow her.

Winona starts rinsing the dishes and placing them in the dishwasher. “Emberleigh found a gal on Etsy that sells all sorts of bridal wear for porch geese.”

“That’s the woman’s job?” I ask.

“Yeah. She’s a top seller. Mostly the bridal outfits, but she has other things too.”