Page 51 of Forever and Other Lies

“Nothing to spill.”

“Not buying it. What is going…”

Jayna switched on the blender at high speed and drowned out the rest of Jamie’s question.

Jamie reached across the counter and hit the kill switch on the blender. “WHAT. IS. GOING. ON?”

Her finger tapped the pulse button, and the blender swirled noisily again. She shot Jamie a smug smile.

Jamie’s hand shot out and yanked the plug out of the socket, her smile even more smug.

Jayna shook her head and took her time sliding a lime wedge around the rim of the two margarita glasses before dipping them in a bowl of salt. “Seriously, Jamie, you missed your calling. You should become a P.I. With your psychic abilities and that built-in bullshit detector, you’d be amazing at the job.”

Lifting the blender off the base, she filled both glasses, sliding one over in front of Jamie.

Jamie took a sip and scrunched up her nose. “Little heavy on the tequila.”

Jayna picked up her glass and wandered into the living room, plopping on the overstuffed sofa in front of the fireplace.

“Okay, okay. We’re dating,” she finally admitted when Jamie sat across from her, staring non-stop.

“I knew it!”

Jayna took a long swallow and forced herself not to grimace. This was one strong margarita.

“So, what’s it like finally dating him?” Jamie sighed over the rim. “It must be so exciting! Does your heart race every time he touches you?”

This time, she did grimace. “More like he’s completely annoying and opinionated and full of himself. I don’t know about my heart racing, but my fist does clench when I’m around him. Stopping myself from punching him in his stupid face is challenging.”

Last night, they strolled hand in hand down the sidewalk. They found a table for two at Frank’s Ice Cream Shoppe, and shared a banana split. It had been his dumb idea. He wanted a couple of selfies to share on his social media accounts. He’d shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he held up his phone and snapped a couple of pics.

“Can you put the gun show away?” she’d snapped as he flexed for the next picture. “Yes, we all know that you work out. Yes, you’re good-looking. Yes, you have biceps and a sexy tattoo.”

“Thanks for noticing.” He flashed her that dimple-popping grin.

“Wasn’t noticing!”

“You were just checking me out!”

“Was not,” she huffed. “I was merely pointing out that you’re a show-off.”

“A show-off who you think is hot.” He waggled his brows.

“A show-off who I think is a conceited ape.”

“You think I’m good-looking,” he said in a sing-song voice.

She’d shoveled a big scoop of ice cream into her mouth to stop the smile that threatened to erupt. It was going to be a painfully long two weeks. Two weeks? Exactly how long did they have to pretend date for this to work? With a frown, she stared into the fire, realizing they needed to go on more dates.

Jamie cleared her throat and pulled her back to the present. Her best friend’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“We’re pretend dating, okay,” she blurted out. Jamie was like a bloodhound. This was a conversation she’d hoped to avoid. She wasn’t very proud to admit that she and Derek were pulling a con.

“Pretend dating? Why?”

She took another long swallow. Maybe this drink wasn’t strong enough, after all. Jamie was going to ask tough questions and demand honest answers. The rule for margarita night: no bullshit allowed. You spilled your guts over the salty rims, and no judgment would be served.

“Because of Lance Roman, the paramedic. He thinks I’m a serial dater, and he’s not interested in a casual relationship.”

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