Page 81 of Just Act Natural

I try to hide my smile. She’s so certain in her defense of me. “Josh was stupid to ever think to cheat on you.”

And stupid to toss out that lie about her leaving him at the altar. Whatever he does with apps and software, his greatest skillset seems to be manipulation.

“We were both with absolute buffoons,” she says. “We need to make better choices in the future.”

“No question.”

“Can I hug you?”

“Please.”

She ducks under my arm and cuddles into me. I hold her tight, banishing every last regret about Kelsey. If things had gone down any other way, I wouldn’t be here holding Lila in my arms. And nothing’s worth losing that.

Our breathing slows until our lungs move in time, matching each other’s pace. I run a hand along her bare shoulder, marveling at her soft skin. Really, it’s her big, soft heart I’m in awe of. I don’t know if I’ll be able to let her go when my time here ends.

I do love a challenge, but giving Lila up might be the hardest one I’ve faced yet.

Eventually, she pulls back, keeping her arms lightly around me. “I need to say something.”

I brace myself. “Okay.”

“You deserve to be top priority in someone’s life.”

I swallow hard, but I can’t look away from her brown eyes blazing into mine.

“I’m mad at your parents for not putting you and your brothers first in their lives when you needed them most. And I’m furious with that woman who walked away without a word and left you to pick up the pieces.”

My sweet, soft-hearted paladin, ready to take out my enemies for me. One of her hands takes hold of mine again.

“You, Grant Irwin, should be someone’s whole world.”

More clearly than ever, I want that someone to be her.

TWENTY-FIVE

LILA

“This is going to be fine.”I nod as though I’m in total agreement with myself, which I absolutely am not. “And if you decide it’s all too much, just say the secret code word, and we’ll leave.”

Grant and I stand in front of the wooden fence that leads into my parents’ backyard, his hand clutched in mine. Classic rock music drifts around us, and cars line the block. I know what I’ll find when we open the gate because I helped Hope set it all up yesterday, but I’m still buzzing like a nervous bee.

Grant has zero reason to do this for me. There’s no quid pro quo the way my rom-coms tell me fake dating is supposed to go. He could back out right this second, and I wouldn’t blame him.

There are alotof people out there.

And even though Mom asked me approximately ten thousand questions about him yesterday, I know for a fact she hasn’t had her fill of Grant yet. Tonight, she’ll be able to go straight to the source.

“What’s the code word?” he asks.

My heart lurches that he even wants to know. “Um…how about ‘marmot?’ You say that, and I’ll know you’re done, and we can go.”

“What if I want to tell the story about the marmot?”

“Ugh, they’ll probably want to hear that. Maybe ‘bite-valve?’ Will that work?”

“Your code words are fascinating.”

“I want it to be easy for you to remember. Escape pods should be simple to operate.”

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