Page 14 of Fore-Ever Yours

I feel a little relieved. Maybe this whole pretending thing won’t be as hard as I thought. It’s clear he’s starting to win them over. If we can convince two people who know me well, we can convince the world, right?

His thumb traces circles on the back of my hand, warm and steady. My heart starts beating rapidly. I grabbed his hand as a silent reassurance about my dad but neither of us have even tried to let go. Suddenly, this feels too real.

What have I gotten myself into?Playing pretend girlfriend? Lying to Mom and Dad? Lying to the town—to the world? Traveling with a complete stranger for months?

My palms begin to sweat.

I feel his hand squeeze mine, and I look up at him. His smile fades as his brows pull together.

“Another, Matthew?” Mama asks.

He straightens his features and turns to my parents.

“I do apologize, but it’s getting late,” he says. “I have an early tee time tomorrow.”

“Oh, yes. We don’t want to keep you,” Mom says as she stands. “Will we see you at the Fire and Ice Festival tomorrow?”

I try to form words, but nothing comes out. Matthew answers for me. “Yes, we’ll be there.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Matthew.” Dad shakes his hand.

The door closes behind me as he leads me down the path, his hand still wrapped around mine.

We turn the corner onto the driveway, out of sight from the front window, when he looks at me.

“Beth, are you okay?”

I shake my head, feeling a bit dazed. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, but it doesn’t sound convincing, not even to me.

“Because you looked like you were about to pass out in there,” he says with concern.

“I’m just...overwhelmed, I guess,” I admit. One minute I was fine, confident we could do this, and the next, it was paralyzing. My stomach clenches at the thought of tomorrow. “I mean, the whole town is going to be watching us and—”

“Hey,” he interrupts, his hand comes up to rest on my shoulder. “If you want to back out of this...I get it.”

“No.” The word comes out faster than I expect it to. My mind and mouth aren’t communicating properly because mentally, I said yes. Yes to backing out of this. “I mean...this is a lot to take in, y’know? Pretending for everyone else, that’s one thing. But...my family, my town…”

He nods, understanding. “It’s different when it’s people you care about.”

“Lying in general but yeah, it’s different,” I say, suddenly feeling small and vulnerable under the weight of my own doubts.

“We’re in this together. You and I. Teamwork makes the dream work, right?”

His words pull a chuckle out of me despite the whirlwind of emotions inside me. “What makes you an expert on teamwork? You play a solo sport.”

Matthew shrugs, a smile pulling at his lips. “Guess I’m a natural.”

“Guess so,” I say, returning his smile without really meaning to. “Just…let’s set the ground rules now.”

“Why don’t you take the night to think about it, and we’ll sign the contract later. I have a couple of days before I leave, so we have time.”

I could back out. I could call this whole thing off before we even start. But the opportunity for my career and the financial aspects? Those could change my whole life. I would have time to figure out my next step without worrying about money. I really could start my own business. There are so many options with the money he’ll pay me.

“No, I’m in this.” I pull my phone out and open the contract.

“Shouldn’t you read it? Have your lawyer look over it?”

I lift my eyes up to him. “Unlike you, I don’t have a lawyer at my disposal. So I’m trusting you with this one.”

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