Page 199 of The Fake Date Agreement

“I didn’t want to tell you because I was embarrassed,” I admit. “I told myself it was because I didn’t want you to come to Lamont and punch him in the face, but it wasn’t.”

He gets up and crosses over to settle on the bed beside me. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“You and Mom had this amazing relationship, and you weren’t even together a year before you got married. Everyone expected me and Marc to get married and stay together for the next thirty years.”

“What matters is what you want, Junebug, and what makes you happy. Not what Lawrenceburg expects.” He moves my tray to the side table and wraps his arm around my shoulder. “And your mom and I didn’t have a perfect marriage. Our relationship had its dips and peaks, Tobie. Just because you didn’t see those moments doesn’t mean they didn’t happen.”

“I know that. No relationship is perfect.” I shoot him a rapid glance. “And I met someone.”

He aims a smile down at me. “I had an inkling that if it wasn’t Marc making you happy, then someone else must be.”

I hold my breath and then say, “Except it isn’t just someone. It’s three guys.”

He blinks.

“It’s a long story,” I say, watching him closely.

“From the top, Junebug. I’m listening.”

I tell him about catching Marc cheating on our sixth anniversary. Dad is as furious as I thought he would be. He squeezes my arm to comfort me when I tell him about getting locked in the bathroom stall and laughs when I reveal the scare I gave the Magic Three. He’s surprised, then pleased when helearns about how Reid, Caleb, and Javier looked out for me, protected me, and made me laugh more than Marc ever did.

I tell him all about a fake relationship that I entered into to get revenge on Marc for hurting me, which turned into something I never expected.

I don’t tell him about all the sex. There are some things Dad needs to know and others that will give him a coronary.

“So you love these guys?”

“I don’t know.”

He raises an eyebrow.

I nod, acknowledging something I haven’t wanted to admit to myself. “What if they hurt me like Marc did, or I lose them the way you lost Mom?”

“Junebug…”

“I know I shouldn’t be afraid to love and that it’s better to have loved and lost and all those other sayings from fortune cookies. But when it’s happening to you, it’s not as easy to shrug off.”

“Have you told them how you feel?”

I sigh and shake my head. “That would be too reasonable, Dad. I just turned my phone off and ran back home like an idiot instead of confronting them about the things Marc said at the hotel.”

“Not like an idiot.” He kisses my hair. “Like someone afraid of being hurt.”

The next day, I’m out of bed, driving my dad’s car into town and sinking back into the familiarity of small-town life.

I go to the grocery store with Dad, laugh with the clerks I’ve known all my life, catch up on all the gossip, and remember why I love the town and why I wanted to leave it.

It feels too small for me, like it’s squeezing me and has for years.

In the afternoon, I turn my phone on to discover that I have so many texts and missed calls from Caleb, Reid, and Javier it’s overwhelming.

I reply to a couple of text messages from Max, who missed all the excitement. I’m not brave enough to even read the messages, never mind listening to the voicemails from Caleb, Reid, and Javier.

Instead, I boot up my laptop, click the logo for my email, spot one I wasn’t expecting, and automatically click on it.

Dear Miss Myers,

We are delighted to?—

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