Page 58 of Someday You Learn

“Thank you for tonight,” I say simply, pressing a kiss to his cheek before walking away, giving him the space to unravel in private. I can’t bear to see a single ounce of regret on his face—I’m already drowning in enough of my own. Regret for lying to my dad, for pulling Parker into my chaos, for existing in this strange limbo between truth and fiction.

But kissing Parker?

Not a single part of me regrets that. Because with every touch, every unguarded moment, every piece of him he lets slip through, I know one thing for sure—I want this man more than just temporarily.

And after that kiss, I’m pretty sure he wants me too.

Chapter ten

Parker

“And this is where the tables would go.” Cashlynn motions to the large open space beside her, excitement radiating from her. “I should be able to fit twenty to thirty people in here for each class.”

Willow rubs her pregnant belly and nods. “I love it. And shelves on the wall behind there for supplies?”

“Exactly. We need to order some cabinets for below the counters, but shelves up above.” Cashlynn darts to the other side of the room. “I’m thinking a divider wall right here. That way, it feels like two different spaces. The front will be the gallery with the art that’s for sale, and then when you step through, it becomes the creative space where we hold the paint nights and classes.”

I’ve been standing off to the side, listening and watching Cashlynn practically prance all over the space she and Willow just signed the lease on—the space I showed her last week. A lot of paperwork this week delayed the process, but in a few weeks, Cashlynn will officially have her very own gallery and studio.

Thewhole room could be a crumbling mess for all I care. The way she lights up almost makes the turmoil I’ve been dealing with worth it.

“So, what do you think?” Cashlynn turns to me, bright-eyed and anticipating my response.

“I think it’s perfect.” My eyes travel around the empty room, and even though it doesn’t look like much right now, I have faith that she’ll make her vision come to life.

“It really is.” She walks up to me and places her hand on my chest. “Thank you again for suggesting it. You saved me a lot of time looking around.” She glances back at Willow. “We only looked at two other places, but the location and lighting here are unmatched.”

I stare down at my fake fiancée, focusing in on her lips as she speaks—those same lips that were on my mouth last Friday night in my kitchen, where I was five seconds away from stripping her naked and fucking her until she screamed.

“Itisperfect,” Willow says, thankfully snapping me out of my daydream that was about to become a wet dream. “And now that we know what we’re dealing with, we can start talking about branding and marketing—my favorite part.” She rubs her hands together just as there’s a knock on the front window.

“I’ve got it.” I head over to the window, peeking under the brown paper that’s still covering the glass to find Penn outside, nose buried in his phone. “We aren’t in need of any stripper services,” I say as I open the door to find him in his usual construction attire—blue jeans, a plain black shirt, and his tool belt around his waist.

“Jealous that women find my job sexier than yours?” he asks, pointing at my chest and then flicking my nose as soon as I glance down.

“Fuck off.” I swat him away as he walks past me, grinning.

“Who invited the dickhead?” I call out to Willow and Cashlynn as Penn strolls toward them.

“Um, I did. And you shouldn’t call your brother a dickhead.” Cashlynn narrows her eyes at me disapprovingly.

Willow places a hand on Cashlynn’s shoulder. “It’s best you just stay out of their brotherly love shit-talking. That’s what I’ve learned, at least.”

“And by the way, your fiancéeisin need of my services, little brother, not yours. Unless, of course, she needs a thermometer shoved up her—

“Jesus Christ, Penn.” I cut him off, shoving him as Cashlynn and Willow shake their heads.

“Okay, boys. Enough of that.” Willow waves Penn over. “Penn, come over here and listen to what we’re thinking.”

As they head back to the far end of the room, Cashlynn hangs back. “Do you really think it will come together?” she asks, her voice soft, uncertain.

I step closer, my hands settling on her shoulders before I even realize what I’m doing. I know we don’t need to put on a show for Penn and Willow, but touching her feels so natural. The memory of her lips on mine five days ago flashes through my mind. I’ve done everything to keep my distance since then—everything to remind myself that this is fake.

But right now, it doesn’t feel fake. Not the warmth of her beneath my hands, not the way she looks up at me, her eyes searching for reassurance.

“I do,” I say, my voice low but firm. “You’ve got this, Cashlynn. Don’t let those doubts creep in now.”

She huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, that happened as soon as I saw the rent on this place.”

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