Page 13 of Just Can't Fall for the Enemy

He gave me a look I couldn’t read. The restaurant had gone completely quiet listening to our conversation. He watched me, his gaze calculating, and I felt myself stiffen. This was where he realized I’d sabotaged him. He would stalk out like I’d done to my date the other night and never speak to me again. Some part of me, however little, disliked the thought.

But instead, he set down his fork, leaned back in his chair, and belted a laugh.

At that, the entire restaurant broke into laughter. I couldn’t help but smile.

“We’re two for two on restaurant scenes,” he said. “Maybe we should avoid restaurants in the future.”

“Probably a good plan. Are you all right?”

“The past twenty-four hours have been more fun than I can remember in a long time.” He grinned and lifted his glass. “To making this week like none other.”

I lifted my glass of Dr Pepper to meet his. The glasses clinked against one another in a way that felt official. “Absolutely unforgettable,” I agreed.

Carmen lay on the couch with a blanket tucked around her legs, gaping at me like I’d just announced an engagement. “You didwhat?”

“Don’t you give me that look. It wasn’t a date, just the first part of my evil plan to drive him from town.” I dropped my purse by the door and slid my heels off.

She folded her arms, eyebrows raised. “I’m waiting.”

With a sigh, I plopped myself down across from her. “Can’t you just trust that I know what I’m doing?”

“No.”

I swiped the remote from the cushion next to her hip, turned off the TV, and tossed it into her lap. “Fine, but I’m not explaining over your latest soap opera. I can’t believe they still play this junk.”

“It’sromanticjunk. You wouldn’t know romance if it slapped you upside the head. Which I’m tempted to do, by the way. You met him for dinner and let him pay for you—again—and all you care about is getting him to leave? What’s the matter with you?”

Once more, the old-fashioned Goodman stubbornness arose in my chest. “Someone has to defend this town. It won’t be you or Mack or anyone else who’s ogling him everywhere he sets foot. Just because he paid for dinner and has millions of followers doesn’t mean he’s a good person. He’s ruining cities across America and doesn’t even care.”

“Ruining cities,” she repeated slowly, as if trying to comprehend. “As in bringing them more tourism and boosting their economies?”

“We don’t need more people. We need to protect what we already have.”

She groaned and covered her face with her hands. “You’re the most dramatic person I’ve ever met.”

I wasn’t in the mood to sit here and justify my actions. She didn’t understand and never would, not when catching guys was her number-one objective at any given moment. I rose from the couch and strode to the kitchen.

She followed me and leaned against the doorway. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s been ten years since your parents passed—”

“Not quite ten.” It would be ten years on Tuesday, just a few days away—an anniversary that loomed constantly in my thoughts.

“Whatever. I’ve talked to people. I know you were the prankster of the town before the accident, full of dreams and jokes. You’d do anything to make someone smile. But you’ve changed even since I’ve known you. With each passing year, you spiral deeper into this place of solitude and sadness. I’m glad you find peace in the outdoors and the town you adore, but no forest can ever replace someone to love.”

“I love plenty of people. I love Grammy, and you, and three-quarters of my neighbors, and most of my coworkers.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Her voice softened. “We love you right back, but Sophie, Grammy is right. You need companionship. It’s been years since you dated somebody.”

“There’s nobody here I want to date.”

“There’s nobody here you’ll let yourself date. But there are good men here, Sophie. And none of them are Alan.”

“A good thing, because then I’d have to hide a body.”

“And you know I’d help you. He was a jerk.” She scowled.

No words could describe Alan.Jerkwas an incredible understatement. “But I’m past him. I’m past everything. I’m happy, and my life is fine.”

“Is it fine to invent imaginary battles with handsome strangers so you don’t have to open your heart?”

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