by Lori Wilde
“This girlfriend thing is for convenience only,” she said. “It’s not a real relationship. We aren’t in a relationship.”
“We’re kinda in a relationship—”
“We’re just neighbors.”
“But isn’t that a relationship?”
“Okay fine, we have a neighborly relationship, but that’s it!”
“That’s it. We hardly know each other. Wait, did you think I was pulling this stunt to get you into bed?”
“No,” she said, but her cheeks flamed pink.
“Rebecca—”
“Becky.”
“Becky,” he said. “You are one sexy woman, and I like you a lot, but I wouldn’t try to manipulate you into being with me.”
She blinked. Twice. “You like me a lot?”
“Yes, but don’t worry, you’re not my type.”
“You’re right. I’m definitely not…whatever your type is.”
Was it his imagination or did she look disappointed?
“We keep our hands off each other.”
The woman knew how to play hardball, but that was just fine with Nate. The last thing he needed was a romance with his neighbor. He had enough trouble with his sister and his mother.
“Agreed. But maybe while you’re pretending to be my girlfriend, you don’t date other guys?” Had he said that? He had no right to ask her not to date while she was helping him out. “Never mind, scratch that. Dumb idea.”
“I get it,” she said. “Falling Star is a small town. No sense adding kindling to the fire and, I can skip dating for a week or two.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“But what about you?” she asked.
He frowned. “What about me?”
“If I can’t date, you can’t date.”
“Of course. We’re both off the market for the duration of this…” He didn’t know what to call it. “Arrangement.”
“If we are only dating each other, doesn’t that mean we’re boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Boyfriend and girlfriend? Good gravy, Becky, we’re not sixteen.”
“You’re the one who said I was your girlfriend.”
“No, that was my mom who said it. I merely confirmed it.”
“Fine,” she said. “Neither one of us is dating anyone else. I’m fine with that. It’s not like Josh will ever ask me out again. Anyway, I’m tired of dating. I need a break.”
“Yes, thank you. My sentiments exactly.” He rubbed a whorl on the hardwood floor with the toe of his cowboy boot. “What about your ex? Any chance he’ll come around wanting to kiss and make up?”
Becky crinkled her nose. “If I never see Kevin Stalnaker again, it would suit me just fine.”
He couldn’t argue with that, but the little flick of relief in his belly worried Nate. “Now,” he said. “About our breakup…”
“That’s your problem, but I get to break up with you. I’m not getting dumped twice in one month, even if one of my boyfriends is pretend.”
“I’ll take the flak,” he said. “Don’t worry about that.”
“It seems dishonest. The entire thing.”
“You’re right. I can’t hold you to this charade. I let my mother intimidate me and I just confirmed what she thought she knew. I’ll text her now and set things right.” He pulled out his phone.
“Wait.” Becky put a hand on his forearm.
He paused, suddenly inappropriately hopeful. For what, he wasn’t sure.
“It’s really late. You wouldn’t want to trouble her at this time of night. I’m sure she’s exhausted from traveling.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’ll text her tomorrow.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Even though it feels dishonest, I’ll do this for Lucy. It seems to be in her best interest to stay with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you again for not ratting me out to Mom and for agreeing to go to dinner on Saturday.”
“Hey.” She shrugged. “Home-cooked meal. Why would I turn that down?”
“You’re the best,” he said and meant it. “Freddie might even come home before then and you’ll be off the hook.”
“One can hope,” she teased, but there was a tone in her voice that said maybe she wasn’t teasing.
Nate didn’t know how to feel about that. “I’ll text Freddie too. I’m worrying about her now.”
“It’s after one a.m. Put a pin in that one as well.”
“Yes, you’re right.” He bobbed his head.
“Okay.” She stifled a yawn. “We both better get some sleep. It’ll be dawn before you know it. I’m just going to go home now.”
“Watch out for that long commute.” He smiled big. “Here, take this.” He gave her a spare key to his apartment.
She laughed and waved her hand over her head and was gone.
Leaving behind her soft vanilla scent and a persistent question pounding through his head. What in Hades had he gotten himself into?
He couldn’t believe he’d dragged her into his family problems. If he could think of a way to backtrack without selling out his sister, he’d feel a lot better. But if Freddie didn’t get in touch with him soon, he was officially getting worried.
Morning, he told himself. Worry about it in the morning.
Stumbling off to bed, that’s exactly what Nate did.
Why had she agreed to be Nate’s pretend girlfriend? Was she out of her ever-loving mind?
“It’s official,” Becky said to her cat Ozzie the next day. “I’ve gone completely off my rocker.”
Ozzie twitched his tail, but otherwise was pretty noncommittal.
“It will be okay. No big deal. I’ll say hello, and he’ll leave for work, and Lucy and I will have a splendid time.”
It was more appealing than the training manual she was studying for her new job. Why didn’t they have these things available in e-book form? Whoever had written it should get the snoozer award for the book most likely to put the reader to sleep.
But first she had to get dressed for baby duty. In the drawer reserved for cleaning rags, she found a pair of military green shorts, cast off from one of her brothers. The clothes fit her like a potato sack, but the outfit could take plenty of drools, baby food, and whatever else Lucy might dish up. She completed the ensemble by wearing charcoal anklets with her sneakers and a baggy red T-shirt with a Texas Tech University logo where her oldest brother Steve had gone to school.
The worst thing about reporting for work at two thirty in the afternoon was stewing over it all morning. She compiled all the pros and cons of her “girlfriend assignment” on a mental seesaw. Excellent care for Lucy: positive. Seeing Lucy’s uncle every day: negative. Extra money until her new job started: positive. Fake girlfriend to Nate: negative — no, double negative. Helping the woman she’d met for all of five minutes, Freddie: undecided.
What really tips the scales against getting involved with the Daltons was her firm belief that Nate was another wrong swipe on her dating app. She’d had it with macho handsome hunks; she didn’t want a man who would take over her life and try to mold it to his satisfaction.
Heaven forbid!
Luckily, she wouldn’t be around Nate much. He’d been at work whenever she was with the baby. Bolstering her resolve, she went downstairs.
Nate answered the door with shaving cream smeared on his face. But that wasn’t what grabbed her attention. Nate wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was bare-chested and barefoot, and he looked like seven original kinds of delicious sin.
“Sorry, I’m still shaving,” he mumbled, a disposable razor in his hand. “Lucy just went down for her nap.”
“Shaving.” She nodded. “Yep, that would’ve been my guess.”
She struggled not to notice his rock-hard six-pack and bulging biceps. But a wild thought popped into her head. Yum, wouldn’t it be fun to spray her initials on his chest with shaving cream? Better yet whipping cream. That way she c
ould lick it off.
Good grief, she was losing it. She didn’t want to play bedroom games with her pretend boyfriend. She wanted a warm, funny, sexy, down-to-earth guy. Someone just like Nate but without the cocky attitude.
She was glad when he finally left for work.
Conversation with Lucy was limited to a few one syllable sounds, but the baby sure was a great listener.
“What am I going to do about your uncle?” Becky asked Lucy over strained green beans and pears at dinner time. “I can’t get him out of my mind.”
Lucy giggled as a dollop of green mush trickled down her chin.
“You, girlfriend, are no help at all, but I adore you, anyway.”
10
As the week passed, Becky developed a new daily routine.
Mornings weren’t difficult. Nate was always in a hurry to get to work. She showed up. He briefed her on Lucy’s night and then left.
It was the midnight-or-later homecomings that sapped her resolve not to get emotionally involved with him. He reminded her of the warrior home from battle, a gladiator victorious but drained. She had wild impulses—to cradle his head on her lap, to kiss his droopy eyelids, to cuddle up on the couch, or to whisper sweet nothings in his ear.
This was insane. He deserved a swift kick in the pants for getting her into this pretend girlfriend thing, not tender loving caresses. She had to build a wall between fantasy and reality, and the real Nate was everything she didn’t want—macho, headstrong, cocky, and too darn handsome for her own good.
Friday night was the worst.
Nate came home, hollow-eyed and visibly drooping. She’d already learned that cops didn’t talk much about their work except with their fellow officers. But he looked as if a bulldozer had flattened him.
“Rough night?” she asked.
“It’s a living.”
“But you’re big and tough. You can handle it.”
“Pretty much so.” He turned the full blast of his blue on her on her.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“It might help.”
“Women.” He laughed and rolled his eyes. “Let one of them through the door, and she’ll expect you to bare your soul.”
“I was just making conversation,” she mumbled, feeling a little hurt by his cavalier attitude. “I didn’t realize you thought so little of me. Lumping me into a pile with the other women you’ve dated. We are all individuals.”
She headed for the door, but he was too quick, and he got in front of her to block the exit. She was moving pretty fast herself, and she almost plowed into him.
“Hey, hey. Look, I apologize. That was snarky and you were right. It is unfair of me to pile you in with the women I’ve dated. I had a bad night, and I took it out on you.”
“Apology accepted,” she said.
He inhaled. “There was a terrible accident tonight on the interstate and a baby, close to Lucy’s age, was badly hurt and I was the one who had to unbuckle her from her car seat.” His voice came out raspy, and she could see the pain in his eyes.
Now she felt like a jerk. She’d only been thinking of herself. Truth was his comment had triggered her and instead of supporting a good guy who had a hard job, she had chosen to get huffy.
“I took offense too easily,” she said. “I should have cut you some slack.”
“And I should do the same for you.” His eyes were contrite.
Becky didn’t want him to apologize. She wanted to be mad at him. Anger was good. Anger pushed any sappy ideas she was brewing about him to the back of her head, but after that confession, how could she stay mad at him?
“At least you’re not really my boyfriend,” she said.
“We’re still on for my family dinner on Saturday, right?” He looked a little worried as if she might say no.
She couldn’t blame him. She’d thought about not going several times. “Of course. I always try to keep my word, but I will admit I’ve been dreading it like a root canal.”
“Despite how my mother appeared the other night, my parents are pretty civilized and reasonable. It’ll be okay.” He gave her a tired smile. “I promise.”
“Honestly, I’d rather they be terrible people. Then I wouldn’t have to feel bad about lying to them.”
“You wished I had terrible parents?” He raised one teasing eyebrow and smirked just a little.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” She was just making things worse. “Any word from Freddie yet?”
“Oh, I intended on telling you, but I kept forgetting as we are just two ships passing in the night, but Freddie texted me a couple days ago, and begged me for patience and asked me to hold on to Lucy for a few more days.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“She didn’t tell you what’s going on with her?”
“I asked. She didn’t answer.”
“And you didn’t push the issue?”
He gave her a measured look. “I know my sister.”
Mind your own business.
Message received.
“If you want out of this dinner, I completely understand.”
She should just say, okay, see you, and go on her way. “One thing you need to know about me, Dalton. I keep my promises. Always.”
He gave her a lopsided grin that should have been outlawed because it was a mind-altering substance. “I expected nothing less from you.”
“Gotta go.”
“I really do owe you, Becky. You have no idea how much I appreciate you for this.”
“I’m just the hired help,” she said, laughing it off. His eyes looked too serious.
“You’re more than that.” He dipped his head.
She raised her chin and went up on her toes.
“Becky,” he whispered her name.
“Nate.”
He dipped his head lower.
She pursed her lips.
And then his mouth came to rest on hers, warm and firm and smooth. She could feel his pulse beating where they were touched—or maybe it was hers. If this was a thank-you kiss, she wanted to wallow in his gratitude.
He put his hand on her shoulders and added pressure on her mouth, kissing her so soundly that she gasped. Just when she was really getting into it, Nate broke the kiss and stepped from the doorway.
“I—”
“You—”
And then in unison, “We.”
After that, silence.
They stared at each other, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Seriously, every thought on the planet except—man, can that guy kiss—left her head.
“I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
“I shouldn’t have let you.”
“I got a vibe. I misread it. I’m sorry if I crossed the line.”
“You didn’t misread it.” She hauled in a deep breath, then exhaled. “There was a vibe.”
“So, would this be a good thing, or a bad thing?”
“Good?”
“My thoughts exactly.” He wrapped his arms around her, making her feel all mushy and protected, and he kissed her so thoroughly that her feet left the floor.
Oh, it was most definitely a good thing. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had kissed her like this. It was thrilling and she wanted more.
But that was bad.
Why is that exactly? asked an annoying voice at the back of her mind.
Finally, Becky wrenched her mouth from his, and panting, took a step back. “Wow.”
“Wow,” he echoed.
“What about our hands-off agreement?” she asked.
“Maybe we could renegotiate?”
“I think it’s better if we kept our distance. Outside of caring for Lucy, that is.”
“And Saturday dinner?”
“Yes, and Saturday dinner, but other than that, you go your way, and I’ll go mine. And absolutely no more kissing.”
“I don’t suppose that this would be the time to admit that I
’ve been wanting to kiss you like that since I caught you breaking and entering.”
“Just entering!” She grabbed the door handle, her heart beating so fast she thought she might faint. “Really, I do have to go.”
“Thanks again,” he said. “For taking such good care of Lucy.”
Lucy. Now they were back on common ground. She filled him in on Lucy’s day and then took off.
Why couldn’t a man and a woman be friends with hormones kicking and confusing everything? Luckily, with Nate, that’s all this was. Sexual chemistry. Nothing more. She didn’t have to act on it. She would not act on it. Moot point.
No sex with Nate.
No sex at all.
Becky was ready when Nate came to pick her up on Saturday evening.
He had to give her props for promptness. But he was nervous about the visit, especially after they’d kissed.
She also scored prime points on her parent-friendly outfit—a beige cotton skirt and a short-sleeved navy top with little white buttons up the front and a rounded collar. She wore bronzer on her legs, as if they needed any improvement.
“It’s boiling out tonight,” he said as he settled into the driver’s seat after loading Lucy into her car seat in the back.
“Stifling.”
“Storm weather.”
“Feels like it.”
“I guess that’s enough weather talk,” he said. “We can find another safe topic.”
“Of course. Lots of things we can talk about.”
“It’s about an hour to my parents’ house in Millville, unless we get tied up in traffic.”
“It shouldn’t be that heavy at this time of day on a Saturday.”
“Once it took me over two hours to get there, but that was during an ice storm.”
“Oh, stop it,” she said.
“Right, no more weather talk.”
“How are things going at work?” she asked.
“The usual.”
“That’s a conversation stopper if I’ve ever heard one,” she said.
“Sorry.”
“I seriously doubt it.”
“I’ve already apologized for kissing you, haven’t I?”
“Did you? I’ve forgotten.”
“Liar.”
