Page 36 of Resorting to Romance

I smile at the sight of her name.

That’s not new. I always smile when she calls or texts. She’s my friend. It’s normal to smile.

Mila: I left you a message because my text was getting waaaay too long.

Kai: Thanks, checking it now.

Mila: Is this weird? I don’t want it to be weird.

Kai: Our arrangement is unconventional. But we have our reasons. Don’t second guess it. We had a good talk at lunch. Our plan is solid. I told you I’m here for you, and I meant it.

Mila: Thank you. You’re the best. Snickerdoodles for life.

Kai: I’ll hold you to that.

Mila: K. Go listen. Let me know if everything seems good.

Kai: Going now. I’ll text you after I listen.

Mila: Thanks, Kai.

As soon as we stop texting, I push the button to hear the message Mila left me.

Her voice fills my office, so I turn the volume down and put the phone to my ear.

“Hey, Kai. It’s me, Mila. Of course, you know that. First of all, thank you—for caring, for being there for me these past two days, and for being willing to pretend to be my boyfriend. Am I crazy? Are we crazy? If you had told me I’d be doing this even a week ago, I’d have sent you to bed with some soup and taken your temp—not in that order, and probably not soup in bed. But you know what I mean. I would have never believed this. But here we are. So, like I said, we need ground rules. It will help us stay on track and keep our story straight.

“The basic rules mostly concern physical contact. You can put your arm around me like you’ve been doing if Brad is here, or if someone needs convincing that we’re dating. We may even have to kiss in front of someone at some point if the occasion calls for it. A simple peck should do it.”

There’s a long pause, a deep breath, and then she continues.

“So, the rule is only touching when we’re in front of other people, and only when needed to convince others. Okay? I’m sure that’s okay. It’s not like you’re going around thinking about touching me.” Another pause. “Sorry. This is a bit awkward.”

My brain unhelpfully starts thinking about touching Mila. I squeeze my eyes shut as if that would fend off the thoughts that seem to have been loosed like a bull out of a pen at a rodeo. I’m lassoing those inclinations and giving a strong tug to the rope to bring them to their knees.

Mila goes on. “And, I’m sure I don’t have to say this, but just in case, there’s the rule that we won’t catch feelings. We’re in this as friends. We’ll walk out of this as friends. I couldn’t bear to lose your friendship. So, let’s agree to keep our friendship strong and to protect it through this little farce of ours.”

She’ll never lose my friendship. I’ll make sure of that. Mila’s been an amazing friend to me. She’s one of the best people I know. I’m going through with this whole rusebecause ofour friendship. No worries there.

“Then there’s the matter of Noah. We have to keep this from him at all costs. I don’t ever want to be in a position to lie to my son. I’ve never lied to him before, and I won’t start now. We just need to protect him from our charade. That should be obvious, but I needed to say it. I’m sure you agree.

“And we need a deadline—an end date. But I have no idea how to decide on that. There’s one book where the woman needed a fake date for a wedding. Another where the man was trying to make his ex jealous. Oh! I read a few where they fake dated for an inheritance. But that’s not us, of course. I guess we’llhave to figure a deadline later since our situation isn’t one I’ve seen before in any of the books.”

I smile. Mila’s adorable—especially when she’s all flustered.

“Oh! One last thing. We can’t tell anyone we’re faking. Not unless we both agree that person can be completely trusted to keep a secret for us. And we both have to agree on any person we tell. I think that’s it. If either of us need any other rules, we can put them in place. Let me know what you think.” Mila blows out a long breath. “Bye, Kai. And thanks again.”

I almost set my phone down, thinking she’s finished. Then her voice comes through after at least a five or six second pause. “Wait! Kai? If you want to back out or quit, it’s fine. You don’t have to do this for me. It’s a lot to ask. I know that. There’s no hard feelings if you decide this is too much. Okay. Thanks.”

The line truly goes dead after that.

I set my phone on my desk.

Ben knocks.

“Come in.”

“Was that Mila? I thought I heard her voice.”

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