Page 15 of Faking It With the Single Dad

***

I spot Ryan through the diner’s glass wall on my way back to the shop. I was already wondering how to reach him, so this feels like a sign. He’s sitting in a booth with a cup of coffee and a plate of fries. He looks up when I approach, and his brow furrows in confusion.

I blink.

He was almost cute for a second there.

“Bella?” he says, setting down his mug. “You look like I should be scared of you right now. What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” My voice is sharp enough to cut, and he winces. “I’ll tell you what’s going on. People in this town say you’re back to marry me and adopt Luke. Care to explain that?”

He blinks at me, clearly caught off guard. “Wait, what? Where did you hear that?”

“Everywhere!” I cross my arms, glaring down at him. “Marlene just told me half the town thinks we’re planning a happy little family reunion. Did you start this rumor?”

Ryan looks genuinely baffled, but I’m too angry to care. “Of course I didn’t start it,” he says. “Why would I want people to think something like that?”

“I don’t know,” I snap. “Maybe you thought it’d be funny. Or maybe you believe it.”

“Believe it?” He leans back, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Bella, I haven’t even been here a week. When would I have had time to start a rumor like that?”

“I don’t know, Ryan! But it’s out there and people are talking, which is making my life miserable.”

He sighs and rubs a hand over his face. “Okay, calm down, okay? I don’t know who started this, but it wasn’t me. And for the record, I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.”

I freeze. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” He shrugs, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. God, I want to slap it off his face. “I mean, think about it. It’d shut people up, and it’d probably make things easier for both of us.”

I stare at him as my jaw practically hits the floor. “Are you seriously suggesting we get married just to appease the rumor mill?”

“Well, that’s too far. A fake relationship would work, though,” he says, like it’s the most reasonable thing in the world. “It’s not like we’d be tying the knot.”

“Oh, great,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “So now you want to fake a relationship? That’s your brilliant solution?”

“It’s better than screaming at each other in public,” he says, raising an eyebrow. “Which, by the way, we’re doing right now.”

I glance around and realize he’s right. The few other diners are watching us. Their eyes dart between us, and my face burns with embarrassment.

“Unbelievable,” I mutter, turning back to him. “You are unbelievable.”

“Thank you,” he says with a grin that makes me want to throw his coffee in his face.

“This isn’t funny, Ryan,” I snap. “I’m not playing along with your ridiculous plan.”

“Fine,” he says, leaning forward, his expression suddenly serious. “Then what’s your plan, Bella? Because if you keep yelling at me like this, people will assume the rumors are true.”

I open my mouth to respond, but no words come out. Because, as much as I hate to admit it, he has a point. And that only makes me angrier.

“I hate you,” I mutter, grabbing my purse.

“No, you don’t,” he calls after me as I storm out of the diner.

Ihatethe Blackwoods.

***

Life doesn’t magically fall back into place after I met with Ryan at the diner. Instead, the gossip around town seems to grow louder. Marlene, who’d once been a semi-regular at my café and someone I occasionally traded polite small talk with, stops coming altogether. Even when we cross paths on the street, she pretends not to see me. She keeps her nose turned up as if I’ve done something personally offensive. It hurts, but I have no energy to let her actions get under my skin.

---