Page 54 of Play Pretend

She shook her hands out as she nervously laughed. “Who knew you’d be like this?”

“Like what?” I asked as she reached for her glass of lemonade.

“So…” She took a sip as she gestured toward me. “Intense.”

“Do you like it?” I asked, suddenly unsure if I was being too much for her. “I can back off.”

“No,” she practically shouted, then cleared her throat as she settled herself. “No. You’re…fine.”

“You’ll tell me if I do something to make you uncomfortable,” I said gently but firmly. This was all fake, and I needed to remember I wasn’t actually dating her. Even when we were in public and it mightfeelreal, it wasn’t. We were playing pretend—and even if I needed this to feel real, I had to keep that fact at the forefront of my mind.

“I will.” She swallowed thickly, her eyes dropping to the pale-yellow table. “You will, too? I mean, if I make you uncomfortable.”

“Of course,” I murmured. “But I doubt?—”

“Hey, Sheriff,” Lola said as she sidled up to the table. “How are you today?” Her eyes widened when she looked at Willow, then back at me.

“We’re doing great.” I smiled, but she still looked shocked.

Lola was cute—dark brown braids tied away from her face, dark eyes, deep umber skin. She was around Trinity’s age, and I’d always seen her as more of an annoying baby cousin than anything else. But she’d grown out of that phase of her life, thankfully, and she seemed to be working hard at the diner. Losing her mom made her grow up quickly.

“Willow will have the fish and chips, and I’ll have my usual.” I smiled as I handed her our menus. She blinked a few times before she shook the shock from her face.

“Right. Yeah. Right. I’ll be back.” She disappeared into the crowd of people as she headed toward the kitchen.

A light chuckle left me. “I hope you were sure about dating me,” I said, and Willow tilted her head to the side in silent question. “Lola is about to tell everyone about us.”

Willow glanced over her shoulder like she was expecting to see Lola holding court and spreading the rumor right that second. When she looked back at me, her eyes were massive. “Really?”

“She’s a gossip.” I shrugged. “You only tell her what you want everyone in town to know.”

That was part of the reason I chose the diner for our first fake date. I wanted everyone to know and to not be surprised when Willow’s family came to town. The sooner they were aware of us, the sooner we’d become old news.

“But she won’t know aboutthis, will she?” She rested her hand on the notebook, her face paling. Reaching out, I put my hand over hers and smiled at the way her breath hitched.

“No. She won’t know about that. To her, and to everyone else, it’ll be real.”

Willow rolled her lips between her teeth. With a deep breath, she slipped her hand out from under mine. I left mine on the leather notebook for just a moment longer before pulling away.

“Alright.” I sighed. “Show me what’s in the book.”

Her eyes met mine, and something broken in them made my heart lurch into my throat. Maybe this was just a silly thing to me—a slight inconvenience—but to her, it was serious.

“Don’t judge me for anything you read,” she whispered. “I was…” She paused, her lips twisting to the side. “It’s been a difficult year, and I told a lot of lies. I’m not proud of it, but please don’t judge me.”

“I will never judge you, Willow.” I meant every word, but she didn’t look like she believed me. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she slid the notebook across the table. I stared at it for a moment. “You’re sure?”

“I think so,” she breathed. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Just—this is really hard for me.”

“I don’t have to read this. You can just tell me.” She shook her head as I spoke.

“It’s easier if you read it. I need you to know that I never meant to drag you into my mess. I saw you, and my dad was berating me about my life here, and I just blurted it out to stop him. I was just so tired of him having this image of me in his head?—”

“Did the lie help?” I asked, and she laughed bitterly.

“Not at all.”

I tapped my fingers against the table. “I’m sorry,” I murmured, but she waved dismissively. From the little bit I knew about her father, he sounded like an asshole, and I didn’t understand why Willow felt like she needed to prove herself tohim. But I didn’t want to pry more than I already was by reading her journal.

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