Page 36 of Fixing to Be Mine

“I hope so too. I’ve kept a journal since I was a teenager. Not because I wanted to, but it’s how I earned my allowance. My mama told me if I wrote in my journal every day, she’d give me one hundred dollars every single month, so I kept up with it for years. Earned several thousand.”

I smile wide. “I already love her.”

Colt grabs his coffee. “I think my mama would love you too. She appreciates a fighting spirit.”

Before I can reply, his phone starts ringing from the living room—he must have left it there last night before he joined me.

“And so it begins.” He sighs as he walks away.

I sip my coffee, trying not to think too hard about what he’s shared.

“This is Colt,” he says.

There’s a beat of silence as he heads back toward the kitchen, and his voice gets louder.

“My girlfriend? Yeah. Dinner tonight? Shit, I almost forgot.”

My eyes snap up, and I whisper, “What the hell?”

He winks at me like he’s enjoying this a little too much as the food sizzles in the pan. It smells delicious.

“Yeah, it was gonna be a surprise,” he says into the phone, grinning, and I can hear a woman talking. “She’ll be there. Remitold you about her? Yeah. Mmhmm. Gorgeous. Prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”

Another pause, then a low chuckle. I realize I’m blushing.

“All right, Kins. Tell Mama I want apple pie with Bluebell. I don’t care if you do a love reading, but I don’t want to hear about it. Okay.Okay.Bye. You hang up first! Bye!”

He listens to her for another minute, then ends the call. He sets his phone on the counter like my actions didn’t change the trajectory of my time here.

“And who was that?” I ask.

“My older sister, Kinsley. She works for the newspaper and hears all the local drama. Apparently, I was the talk of the diner this morning. Someone was asking whose Camaro was parked outside my house. Kathy, the lady who works at the motel in town, told them it was a woman from New York City. Did you know we’d met on the internet and you’re moving to Valentine to be with me?” he asks, totally unbothered. “Probably where Tessa heard it from.”

“That’s what’s spreading around?” I blink at him.

“Yep,” he says, laughing. “Ridiculous. By Sunday, I’m sure they’ll move to us being engaged.”

“Oh God, and you told your sister I’m joining you for dinner?”

“You threw your arm around me this morning and called yourself my girlfriend. What’s a man supposed to do?”

I gasp. “I don’t know. Deny it?”

“Not my style,” he says, stepping closer. “I’m following your lead.”

The air shifts. Silence stretches between us.

My body says yes. My heart flinches. My head says run.

“I, um …”

“Cat got your tongue?” he asks. “It’s ten days. What’s the worst that could happen?”

My heart kicks up. “Faking out your ex is one thing. Pretending for your family? That’s a whole other level.”

“Don’t act,” he says. “Be yourself.”

“You’re too confident about this.”

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