Sage Advice

by Katie Graykowski

“No, I’m sure he’s fine.” He had no idea what was wrong with his friend. He went back to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Everything okay? It’s just me.”

  Noah opened the door a crack.

  His face was sheet white. “I’m better now. I’m sorry. I was sick, but I’m better.”

  “You don’t look better.” Pierce pointed to the elevators. “Want me to take you home? I’m sure Chloe wouldn’t mind. She’s worried about you.”

  “You know what, I think that might be best.” Noah opened the door all the way and then went to the sink and splashed some water onto his face.

  “What happened?” Pierce shook his head. His friend looked bad.

  “I don’t know. I was fine, and then I saw Lucy, and I felt like I was going to vomit.” He dried his hands.

  Pierce had never known of any cases of someone throwing up at the sight of someone, but maybe it was a thing. He continued to hold the bathroom door open. “Maybe you ate something bad.”

  “Maybe.” Noah walked out of the bathroom.

  “I think I should take you to the ER or to one of those urgent-care places.” Pierce pointed to a bench right outside of the bathroom. “Have a seat and I’ll go tell Chloe we’re leaving.”

  Pierce made his way over to Chloe. She and Evan were playing the drums with so much gusto they just might dislocate something.

  “How’s your friend?” Lucy looked concerned.

  “He’ll be fine. I’m going to take him home or maybe to urgent care.” He touched Chloe’s shoulder. “If you don’t mind, I think we need to go.”

  “Oh, sure. I hope Noah isn’t coming down with the stomach flu.” She turned to Evan. “Sorry, big man, but I’ve got to go.”

  He nodded. “I hope Mr. Noah’s going to be okay.”

  She pulled him in for a hug. “I’m sure he’ll be okay. Are we still on for Thursday night?”

  His whole body smiled. “Yep, my mom has to work late, so we’re playing video games at your house.”

  “Can’t wait.” She finally released him and looked up at Pierce. “Let’s go.”

  “Can I get in on that video game action?” Pierce took the apron from Chloe and hung it up.

  “Since you’ll probably still be living with me, I guess I don’t have a choice.” She didn’t say it in a mean way, but it still hurt. She didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about spending time with him.

  “I’ll take that.” He wheeled her over to Lucy. “I’m sorry, but Noah still isn’t feeling well. We’re going to take him to see a doctor.”

  “I’m so sorry he’s sick. Y’all should come back to the Thinkery another time.” She waved Evan over. “Say goodbye.”

  He hugged Chloe again and said, “Bye.”

  The little boy held his arms out to Pierce for a hug.

  Pierce leaned down and hugged the boy. “Goodbye, Evan. It was nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too. Bye.” He dropped his skinny arms.

  At the Thinkery, Pierce had seen a side of Chloe that he hadn’t known existed. This new version of her was just another thing to love about her.

  Chapter 16

  The next couple of days flew by in a haze of fake relationship photos.

  Chloe was ready for all of this to be over. The little white lie she’d told to a pushy, stalker-y colleague had grown into a huge deal. She didn’t like lying, and it was a terrible life lesson to teach everyone, especially her patients, but she was in too deep. Lying to strangers was bad enough, but lying to her friends and patients … that was way worse.

  She and Noah were meeting Blanche and her editors, Margo and Tom, at 24 Diner across the street from BookPeople. She was dressed in the green-dress Debra cast-off with the plunging neckline that everyone had raved about the other day. Just thinking about the restaurant meeting and the book launch afterward gave her a headache of epic proportions. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

  “You okay?” Pierce looked up from her kitchen table, which he’d claimed as a desk. “You look pale. I hope you’re not getting sick. Maybe Noah really did have a stomach bug. Should I cancel the meeting and the book launch?”

  Holy God, yes, but that would only delay the inevitable.

  “No, I’m fine. It’s just that I’m nervous. Everyone will be staring at me, and I’m a terrible liar.” Unfortunately, she was becoming better at it.

  “You only have to make it a few more hours. After that, all you have to do is make a couple of public appearances with Noah and then it’s done. The two of you will quietly break up, and that will be that.” He sounded so confident.

  “You make it sound so easy.” She continued to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I wish it were that easy.” She had only a little confidence that this was going to work. But hey, what was the worst that could happen? Oh yeah, everyone would find out that she was a big liar, and her career would be ruined … and worse, it might be the last time she ever saw Pierce. She glanced at the duffel by the front door. He’d already packed up. These next few hours might be the last ones she’d ever spend with him.

  In spite of herself, she had feelings for him. He made it very hard not to care about him. She didn’t think she’d ever met a man so caring, gentle, funny, and smart. And he was easy on the eyes.

  He put down the piece of paper he was holding and stood. He stepped behind her and started massaging her shoulders as she sat on the sofa. “You’re super tense.”

  His hands felt fantastic. Just enough pressure. She could stand for him to do this for the rest of her life.

  She was in love with him.

  Oh God.

  She practically jumped—or, well, rolled—off the sofa. She shoved her crutches under her arms. “I need to use the bathroom.”

  Faster than she’d moved in the last week, she hightailed it to the master bath. Inside she closed and locked the door. She sat on the edge of the tub.

  This was bad, like nuclear holocaust bad … okay, so maybe this news wasn’t going to kill millions and turn the planet into a wasteland, but it was her own personal nuclear holocaust.

  She wrapped her arms around her middle. She’d thought love was supposed to be hearts and flowers and chocolates and sticky-sweet text messages; instead she was nauseated and her head felt like it was about to explode.

  She was in love with Pierce Rogan. How could she not be? He’d taken care of her, cooked her meals, and brought several new friends into her life. Attila the Hun would have fallen in love with him.

  What the heck was she supposed to do now? Did she tell him and risk laughter—or worse, condescension—or did she pretend like everything was okay? Love was uncharted territory for her. She wanted to slap her own forehead. She had managed to do exactly the opposite of everything in her relationship book. Well, she had valued him as a friend, so that part was good, but when had she let herself fall in love with him? That hadn’t been part of the plan, but then again, she hadn’t really had a plan.

  She wanted to have a long cry and then pull the covers over her head for the next decade, but she was about to go to one of the most important meetings of her life. And her head was anywhere but in the game.

  Light knocking started on the door. “Are you okay? If you’re feeling sick, I’ll cancel everything.”

  “No, I’m fine.” She fixed a smile on her face and looked in the mirror. The person staring back at her looked like her, but her eyes were sad. She added a little fake wattage to her smile. All she had to do was smile for a few hours, and then this would be over. Pierce would go back to dating all of the women in Rave Nation, and she’d go back to her quiet, boring, lonely life. They still hadn’t finished Game of Thrones, so there was at least something for her to do for the next few days. And then there were her patients. She loved her job, but it was no longer going to fill the emptiness in her heart. She couldn’t get back to them fast enough. She made her way to the door and opened it. “I’m fine. We probably should go.”

  At least Pierce was joining them for
drinks and a light dinner at 24 Diner.

  “Yes, but first, I got you something.” He reached into the right trouser pocket of his tailored black suit and pulled out a little, black, velvet box. He opened the lid.

  A huge, heart-shaped solitaire sitting on a band of gold caught the light. It was perfect and exactly what she would have chosen for herself if she’d had the chance. “It’s lovely.”

  She wanted to reach for it, but she wouldn’t let herself do that, because she wanted it to come with a real proposal. Thanks to her situation, she already knew what he’d look like down on one knee.

  He slid the ring out of the slotted pillow holding it and held it out to her. “I called the jeweler several days ago and told him what I wanted. I picked it up this morning.”

  “It’s real?” She slid it on her left ring finger, and it fit perfectly. “I hope you can return it.”

  His eyes lost some of the mischievous sparkle. “It’s only on loan. I thought about a fake ring, but I wanted to get you something real.”

  “Yes, not a lot of real going on around here.” She caught his gaze and just about lost herself in his blue eyes. He was close enough to kiss. All she’d have to do was lean up and she could kiss him. But he was just a friend, and she couldn’t risk the humiliation, especially right before her book launch. She dropped her eyes to the ring. Right now, it seemed like the only real thing in her life.

  “Oh, fuck it.” His mouth came down on hers and he shouldered her weight. His tongue darted into her mouth, and she forgot how to breathe. He explored her mouth with the gentle urgency of a man who’d spent a lot of time planning on doing this very thing.

  “Yoo-hoo.” Noah knocked on the bedroom doorframe. “It’s just your friendly, neighborhood, fake fiancé. Maybe the two of you could wait until after the book launch to jump each other? Not that I particularly care, but I only win the pot if you two get together tonight after the book party.”

  Pierce sucked on her bottom lip and then released it and stepped back. “Give me a minute. I’m going to kill him. I’ll be right back. Hold that thought.”

  Chloe couldn’t help but laugh. “We can pick up where we left off later.” She checked her face in the mirror. Her coral-red lipstick was smudged. The tube was in her purse. She could fix it in the car on the way to dinner.

  As for Pierce, she couldn’t wait until the book party was over. He might not love her, but he sure as hell wanted her. It was a start.

  She replayed Noah’s words in her mind. “What pot?”

  “Sweet Louise, Grace, Debra, Karen, and I have a bet going. You two have been mooning over each other since the day I met you. Sweet Louise said that y’all couldn’t make it twenty-four hours without sleeping together, and Debra had forty-eight. Grace had three days, Karen gave it ten minutes, and then I said that y’all would wait until after the book party.” He checked his wristwatch. “Not only do you have to wait so I can win two hundred bucks, but if we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late.”

  Last week Chloe would have been mortified at being the focus of a bet, but today it didn’t bother her. “Waiting until after the book launch is the least I can do for the man who volunteered to be my fake fiancé.” She leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed Noah on the cheek. “Thanks for all that you’ve done for me.”

  “What about me?” Pierce pointed to his cheek. “I’ve done a lot for you too.”

  She leaned up again and went to kiss him on the cheek, only he turned his head and their lips locked again. All it took was for her lips to touch his, and she was wrapping herself around him like a blanket.

  “Come on, you guys. It’s starting to turn me on, and I’m not into the group thing. I haven’t had sex in almost a week, so my turned-on threshold is really low. Stop now.” Noah covered his eyes. “I don’t want to be turned on by two people who are my friends.” His face screwed up and he was starting to look a little pale.

  It was Chloe’s turn to suck on Pierce’s bottom lip, and then she leaned back down. “We’re making him nauseated, and we both know he’s a puker.”

  “That’s just cold.” Noah kept his hands over his eyes.

  “Okay, we’re done for now.” Pierce put his arm around her in what was a very possessive move. “I guess we have to go.” He nuzzled Chloe’s ear. “But when we get back I’m unwrapping you like a present on Christmas morning.”

  Noah gagged. “Please stop, I’m about to eat dinner.”

  Chloe pushed gently on Pierce’s chest. “We’re going to be late.”

  “Fine, but this isn’t over,” Pierce said.

  Noah uncovered his eyes. “Will you kindly wipe my fake fiancé’s lipstick off your mouth?”

  Forty-five minutes later they all sat in a huge corner booth in 24 Diner, with Chloe in the center of the booth bookended by Noah on her left and Pierce on her right. Blanche was next to Noah. Margo sat on Pierce’s other side, and Tom was next to her. They’d just polished off a double order of chili cheese fries and a double order of bruschetta.

  “Noah, what did you think of Chloe’s book?” Blanche propped her chin on her fist.

  “It was fantastic. She really cut to the heart of the matter.” Noah laughed at his own joke. “Pun intended.”

  Everyone laughed.

  Chloe hadn’t given him an advance copy, so she was certain he hadn’t read it.

  “How did the two of you meet?” Tom was glaring at Noah like he might be jealous. Chloe had had no idea that Tom was even into her. Honestly, she had thought he might be gay. Now that she thought about it, maybe he was gay, and he wanted Noah for himself.

  “Through a mutual friend named Sweet Louise. One day she texted me that she wanted me to meet a good friend of hers. I did, and the rest is history.”

  At least that was true.

  Noah beamed down at Chloe. He picked up her left hand and kissed the diamond ring. “I put this on her finger as fast as I could. I didn’t want anyone else locking her down.”

  Margo playfully elbowed Pierce. “That’s so sweet, don’t you think? You must be so happy for your sister.”

  It occurred to Chloe that Margo was attempting to flirt and was really terrible at it. Between her and Tom, it was amateur hour over here. Not that Chloe was great at flirting, but she was better than Margo and Tom.

  Pierce rolled his eyes. “She’s not my sister.”

  “Well, whatever.” Margo flipped her hair and tried to look cute. Clearly, she’d missed his eye roll.

  It was probably very rude to point out that Pierce just wasn’t into her.

  A very bright light shined on Chloe and almost blinded her.

  “There’s the happy couple.” It was a female voice that didn’t sound familiar.

  Chloe held her hand up, trying to shield her eyes. Why was there a huge video camera with its blinding light shining down on them?

  Nerves jangled through her system. She hadn’t agreed to do any interviews.

  “I’m Sallie from TMZ. Care to comment on the fact that you faked your engagement to Noah Hansen to sell books?”

  Chloe felt her face turn tomato red. “Um …” This was her worst nightmare happening in real time. She’d been found out. Now people were staring at her, and she wasn’t sure what to do.

  “Why would you say something like that?” Noah put his arm around her. “We’re very much in love.”

  “Then why did you sleep with Merry McClain a week ago and Larissa Stannard a few days before that? According to pretty much everyone who knows you, you aren’t engaged.” Sallie sounded smug, but Chloe couldn’t be sure, because the light was way too bright.

  Noah’s mouth clamped shut. He looked like he had no idea what to say.

  “You just met, didn’t you?” Sallie pointed to Chloe and then to Noah. “You’re posing as an engaged couple to sell her new book.”

  Chloe wanted to crawl under the table and fade into the floor. Why had she ever thought that writing a book was a good idea? Or more importantly, lying about
her love life?

  “I don’t know who your source is, but you need to back off.” Noah’s tone suggested that he’d happily kill the woman if she didn’t slink away.

  “I’ll take that as a yes, you just met.”

  Chloe and Noah were too far into the booth for Sallie to get a microphone to them.

  Chloe had no idea what to do. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Noah’s face. He was madder than hell.

  “And then there’s Sage Advice.” Sallie sounded like she was having a great deal of fun.

  Chloe’s stomach dropped to the floor and rolled around. What did Sage Advice have to do with anything? It didn’t really matter that she was Sage Advice, because she was about to be publicly outed anyway.

  Pierce’s entire body tensed. “What about Sage Advice?”

  Did he read Sage Advice? He’d never mentioned it.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t know …” Sallie paused for dramatic effect. “Chloe Caldwell is Sage Advice.”

  Chapter 17

  Everything inside of Pierce wanted to kill Sallie, but he settled for a cold smile. He turned to Chloe. “Is this true? Are you really Sage Advice?”

  “Yes.” Chloe looked like a deer in the headlights. “I am. What does that have to do with you?”

  “You honestly don’t know?” Sallie sighed. “How could you not know that Sage Advice was the person who broke up his engagement to Brittany Michaels? She wrote in to Sage Advice using the name ‘Backseat to Football.’ You told her not to marry her fiancé if he didn’t put her above his job.” She shook her head. “Wow, you really didn’t know.”

  Chloe turned to Pierce. The look on her face was total dismay. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

  Pierce could actually taste his anger. Chloe had been the one who’d told Brittany not to go through with marrying him.

  Noah whispered something to Blanche, and the older woman scooted out of the booth. He grabbed Chloe’s hand and started to pull her out of the booth. “I’m getting you out of here.”

  “But I can’t leave now. I need to talk to Pierce.” She twisted her arm, trying to break free. “Pierce, I didn’t know.”