Page 56 of Not Exactly a Small-Town Romance

Ninety percent, I figure.

I have no doubt I fall into that category most of the time. But not with Kelsey.

I am at my best with her.

The bathroom door pops open. “Oh!” she says, her eyes wide. “I suppose we should be careful about this, since I end up right in your room.”

I picture her tangled up with some Dillville buffoon, and me innocently walking in. I flash with an instant of rage.

“We better pretend the other door doesn’t exist,” I tell her, mostly as a warning to myself.

“Right.” She comes into my room to sit on a chair and watch me fold clothes. “So how do we want to play this?”

“The festival?”

“It can’t look like we’re together or else I can’t meet-cute with someone else.”

“I could be your brother.”

Her face scrunches in the cute Kelsey way. “I guess it’s all about body language. But if I see a prospect, we should part ways.”

“Acceptable. I’ll make myself scarce.”

“And don’t be too obviously, well, you know,you.” She snatches a ball cap out of my open suitcase. “Wear your celebrity disguise. Livia recognized you straight off. If we get a crowd of fawning women, I’ll have to ditch you.”

“Right.” It’s rare I get recognized these days, but once it happens, there’s no way to return to anonymity. Even people who don’t know who you are get caught up in the rush of meeting someone who might have been famous at one point. I tug the Lakers hat low on my brow.

She frowns. “Do you have any other hats? You’re telegraphing we’re from California.”

“I do.” I shuck the Lakers hat and pull out a nondescript black one. “Better?”

“Definitely. Sunglasses?”

She wants me to go full celebrity incognito. It’s fine. My main pair are in the car, but I have a spare. I dig around the side wall of the bag until I find the case.

I slip them on. “Now am I good?”

She nods. “With the change of clothes, maybe Livia won’t out you instantly.”

“If we see her, you can scoot away so she doesn’t immediately make the connection.”

Kelsey elbows me. “And I’m conveniently out of the picture so you can makeyourconnection.”

I want to point out that this would defeat the purpose of her moving aside, but I let it go. Kelsey logic is not to be corrected. In the end, she’s always right.

But she’s wrong about me wanting to make a connection with Livia. Dallying with anyone in this small town is wrong on about sixty-five levels. The most important of which is, I can’t be distracted if Kelsey needs me.

It’s why I’m here.

I hold out my elbow, and Kelsey takes it. She’s wearing the yellow dress and tennis shoes and looks like purest sunshine. The bow in her hair is an innocent touch.

Dillville is going to eat her up.

It’s my job to make sure nobody eats her alive.

We head down the stairs together. The front door automatically locks behind us, so we cross the street and enter the festival grounds. As we approach, she lets go of me to start our brotherly charade.

Booths are set up, mostly temporary pavilions you can pick up at a sporting goods store. A few have added rustic details, like a rough-hewn wood table or wrapping the metal poles with fabric.

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