Page 70 of Broken Dreams
“What?” I ask, genuinely confused. “How the hell would I be in on having an allergy attack and needing medical help?”
“You didn’t die. That’s how. And you, my very charming fake boyfriend, stopped the competition and made the three women very upset. Now, you’ll be a hero to some and to others, you’re the outsider who destroyed their master plan.”
And here I thought moving here would give Jett and me a tranquil life. “They have a master plan?” I ask, regretting it immediately.
“It’s all very complex, just keep up and hide from them whenever you see them.”
I laugh at that and pull her close, releasing her hand and wrapping my arm around her shoulder. She fits there so perfectly, against my side.
We get to the food area and I’m honestly shocked. For as small as this town is, they really do these festivals right. The food area is filled with different food trucks as well as a boozy ice cream, which sounds like a brilliant idea if I’ve ever heard of one. Part of Jacob’s apology was lunch from any of the trucks.
“What are you in the mood for?” I ask.
Addison purses her lips, studying all the options. “Seafood isn’t really my thing, growing up on the Oregon coast, I’ve had so much I’m too picky. The dumplings look good, but...” She tilts her head and then looks at me from over her shoulder. “You know what? You were the one who got stabbed with a needle today, you get to pick whatever you want.”
“Very magnanimous of you, but I insist that you get to pick.”
“Why?”
“Why what?” I ask.
She turns to face me. “Why do I have to pick?”
“Because I want to make you happy.”
The answer comes so easily, so honestly, that it rocks me back a little. “That was sweet.”
“I’m a sweet guy,” I say, covering my emotions with humor. “Plus, I’m delirious from the drugs.”
The smile she gives me makes that admission worth it. “Please, you don’t have any good drugs and if I remember correctly, you told me you weren’t a sweet guy when we saw each other at the play.”
“I was wooing you then.”
Her brows shoot up and she laughs. “You were? For our inevitable...agreement we’re currently doing?”
“Obviously. Did you think this was all coincidence? No.”
Addison pulls her lips between her teeth in an obvious attempt to keep herself from bursting out laughing. A few seconds pass and then she nods once. “I see. You were the mastermind behind all of this?”
I lean in. “It worked too.”
She shakes her head and then loops her arm in mine. “All right, since you’ve clearly manipulated all of this, what do I pick for us to eat then?”
I’ve seen her eye the Greek truck three times. I’m not the biggest fan of gyros, and she knows this since we had lunch at the diner where she orders that each time. I know it’s her favorite thing, and I also know she’s not picking it because she is aware of my thoughts on it.
But I want to see her smile.
I want the town to see her happy and I meant what I said about giving her a measuring stick of some sort to compare anyone she dates in the future. So, I lead her over there. “I’m in the mood for a gyro.”
Addison looks at me, her eyes wide. “You...”
I don’t let her finish. “We’ll eat here. This is what I want.”
The thing is, when I’m staring in her eyes, I’m not just talking about the food.
fifteen
ADDISON
