Page 64 of The Fake Out

It was like a physical blow. That sentence. Wow. So we weren’t at all on the same page. Turning my attention to the windows that overlooked the Boston Harbor, I blinked back my disappointment and hurt. Fuck, I had to get it together, even if a painful fissure had formed in the middle of my chest. For the first time ever, I wanted to dive into something real, but the woman I wanted to do that with didn’t see me that way.

“Unless you just meant one more night,” she rushed out.

I sighed and reached across the table for her hand again. “I’d take all the time you’d give me.” It was the truth. I squeezed her hand. “But?—”

My words were cut off by the annoyingly high-pitched ping of her phone.

“That’s Avery’s ringtone.” She pulled away and darted for the counter. She glanced down at the screen and winced. “The pufflings are hatching.”

“That’s great.” Really. All week, my best friend had been stressing that we’d be on the road when the moment came. Chris had planned this perfect proposal for his girl, and I sure as shit wanted it to go off without a hitch. Not to mention most of the city of Boston was on puffling watch at this point.

“My dad’s not going to want to miss it.”

“Me either,” I agreed.

“So we should get him?” she asked, a line forming between her brows.

This was important. But so was the conversation we were having. “Yeah, we can pick him up, but Gi.” I stepped up next to her. “If we need to skip this because you feel like we have to talk first, I’m okay with that.”

Her eyes popped wide. “No,” she said quickly. “Chris is getting engaged, and Puff’s having babies. We can’t miss that.”

I didn’t disagree, but one thing needed to be clear. “You matter too. I want you to know that. And if you feel like this conversation can’t wait. Then we miss what we miss.”

She shook her head and glanced at her phone once more. Then she peered up at me through thick lashes. “We’re on the same page, though, right? We keep this going while I’m here, but I’m not putting any pressure on a future. This can just be fun?”

No, we weren’t on the same page. We weren’t even reading from the same book. But the hope in her eyes yanked hard at my heart. She needed this. And it turned out that what mattered most to me was that she was happy. So I nodded.

“I want you to have so much joy and fun in life.”

The smile she gave me squeezed my chest. Although my heart hurt at the idea that for her, I was just a for now, her smile made it worth it. So we picked up Pop and made our way over to watch my best friend get his girl. And that had an entirely new meaning to me now.

“We didn’t miss it, did we?” I asked as I practically danced into the puffin exhibit.

“No.”

“For as excited as you are, you’d think one of them was your kid,” Gianna muttered next to me.

Okay, maybe I was being extra. But I was trying to be happy.

“I’d rather be home with you,” I whispered, leaning in close. “Either talking or naked. At this point, I’d be perfectly happy with either.”

She flushed and stepped away, and since we were with her family, I turned away too, giving her space.

By the way the eggs were rocking, this wasn’t a false alarm. Excitement coursed through me, because my best friend had been desperate for this moment for over a week. I couldn’t fault him either. Not when he was about to ask the one to marry him. Chris was ready, and he and Avery would go the distance. I had no doubts.

As we waited, I couldn’t help but watch Gi where she stood next to her dad. If only I were anywhere close to being that confident about what was happening between the two of us. Because I had no doubt that she had the potential to be the one for me. But I wasn’t sure how to convince her to feel the same way about me.

“So, how’s it feel?” I asked as Chris and I settled into our seats on the team plane.

“Really good.” Chris shook his head. “Nothing has actually changed, I guess. She’s always been all I wanted. But having my ring on her finger.” His lips pulled up, the expression almost a smile. “Yeah, man. It’s good.”

“I’m happy for you both. Long time coming.” I chuckled, though the action quickly became a yawn. It was only six a.m., and we were all loaded up and ready to leave Boston.

Nodding, he shifted in his seat and grimaced a little. “So, uh…” He cleared his throat, clearly stalling. “We need to talk.”

My entire body stiffened. Because he’d gotten engaged twelve hours ago, and all of a sudden, he didn’t sound happy. Gianna and I had kept our distance at the zoo with Puff and the pufflings last night, so it was hard to believe he suspected anything, but even so, I broke out in a cold sweat.

Last night, the second we were home, I changed my sheets and got her into my bed. The amount of sleep we got was minimal, but it was worth it. I only had a limited amount of time with Gi, and I was going to make the most of it. Slipping out of bed this morning may have been one of the hardest things I’d ever done, because the way it felt to have her body pressed to mine was better than anything I’d ever experienced.

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