Page 25 of That Kind of Guy

We hung up, and I sat there on the beach, watching the sky become brighter as the sun rose higher, thinking about what the next month had in store for me. First, I had to make Avery and my relationship known to the town. There was a festival of some kind starting tomorrow night. A thrill of excitement hit my chest, and I grinned. I wasn’t a relationship kind of guy, not like Will, but dragging Avery around town and enduring her eye rolls and irritation was going to be fun. Something about her made me laugh.

Deep in my mind, a little spike of nerves hit me. I had always had a littlethingfor Adams. She was fun to irritate. It was too easy, with her. The woman just did not like me, not one bit. She always held that wall up.

Now, we’d be spending time together and pretending to be a couple. My knee bounced at the thought of it. It felt dangerous.

Good thing it would all be fake. Avery would keep that wall up and nothing would happen. Things would stay the same as they always had. I’d carry on, become mayor, and fix this town, while she’d get her restaurant, and both of us would walk away happy.

I made my way off the beach, back into the forest, and ran home with a renewed sense of energy.

7

Avery

“We haveto make the town suspect something.” I was back at Emmett’s place, standing at the patio door in his living room, looking out into the forest behind his house. A thick canopy of emerald green towered over the small backyard. Two blue jays zipped in and out of a tree. My eyes narrowed. “We need to get the Queen’s Cove rumour mill going.”

Over on the couch, he cocked an eyebrow at me. “Nothing stays secret in this town. What are you thinking?”

“Phone Ricci’s Pizza and order a medium pizza with dairy-free cheese, pear, and arugula. Make sure you specify no mushrooms.”

He winced. “That’s your order? What’s wrong with you?”

I gave him a knowing look. “That’s exactly what Mateo says every time I order it. He tells me that I’m insulting his family’s Italian heritage with that pizza. Also, order it after midnight. I always call when I’m on my way home from the restaurant.”

He noted down my order before reaching into his wallet. He fished out a little paper ticket. “My dry cleaning should be ready tomorrow.”

I choked in disbelief. “You’re kidding.”

“What?”

“I’m not picking up your dry cleaning.”

“That’s what girlfriends do.”

Oh my god, this man. “Maybe in the fifties.”

“I thought you were supposed to be dutiful.” A smug grin pulled at his mouth.

I snorted. “You picked the wrong girl for that.” I tapped my chin with my finger, thinking. “How about I pick up your campaign signage at the post office.”

The print shop for our little town doubled as the post office.

I walked over and leaned against the back of the couch. “There’s always a lineup at lunch when everyone is on their break. I’ll go then and everyone will see me running an errand for you.”

This seemed to satisfy him. “Perfect. We’ll give it a few days, and then Friday, we’ll walk through the town fair together.”

Right. The town fair, where this bizarre ruse would begin. I was dreading it. All those eyes, watching and whispering about us made my stomach churn, but there was no other way to get my restaurant than to dive into this, head-first.

I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Friday.”

* * *

“Stop jerking your hand away,”Emmett whispered. “We’re supposed to be in love.”

I could feel the eyes watching us, lingering on our backs as we wandered through the vendor booths. This year’s fair theme was mushrooms.

Yeah, mushrooms.

The fair happened twice a year, sometimes three times if the town’s Fair Planning Board felt like it. The theme usually revolved around food (apples, pumpkins, cherries, peaches), and sometimes holidays (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day).

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