Page 19 of Wild Promises

"Are you having second thoughts?" I asked her.

Her gaze swung to mine. "I can't live with my parents. My room is exactly the same: pink comforter and boy-band posters."

"Wow." It didn't surprise me though. Her parents doted on her, and she was an only child.

"I need my own place with space."

"You'll have more with me, but we'll need to look into getting a house sooner rather than later. It's small for two people."

"As long as you don't have a curfew for me. Speaking of which, I told my parents I'd be home by ten."

I winced. "Yikes. You weren't kidding."

She gave me a look. "Now you know why I need my own place."

"We're rescuing you from your parents on Sunday. Do you have anything that needs to be moved from their house?"

"I just have a suitcase. Everything else is coming on the moving truck."

"Is there anything else you need help with?" I asked her.

"I need to buy a car. I've never had to because I never needed one before."

"I've got you covered. What are you thinking about?"

"Something that goes in the snow. Probably an SUV."

"You’re in luck. I have a second vehicle, an SUV that I don’t use. We'll move in together, you can use my spare vehicle, and then we’ll get a new house."

"Don't you feel like we're moving fast?"

"We are, but I feel good about it."

"I do too." Then Tori hugged me, and it brought back all the memories of us cuddling together as teens. Back then, it never failed to send a rush of warmth through my body. Did she feel anything when she touched me?

When she pulled back, she looked more relaxed than when she arrived.

I was pleased that I was able to come up with a viable solution for both of our problems. "This has to work."

Her brow furrowed. "Otherwise, we'll both be looking for new jobs."

I couldn't imagine working anywhere else. "Don't worry, Tori. We've got this."

"You always had my back growing up. I missed it. I've missed us."

"Me too." My throat was dry as we took off our gear, and I walked her to her rental in the lot.

When we stopped at the driver's side door, she said, "I'm excited for this plan of ours."

She wasn't worried that it could go wrong? That it could all blow up in our faces? The voice in the back of my head reminded me that she didn't like me the way I liked her. She viewed me as a childhood friend. Nothing more.

She was coming off a breakup, and this fake relationship of ours would stop the gossip going around town about her ex. It was a way for her to move on and prove herself to her father. She wasn't secretly hoping her best friend would see her as something more.

There was no way this was going to work out in my favor, but I was powerless to stop it.

6

TORI

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