Page 40 of You Found Me
“How about we do the typical Friday night date night?” I ask. “We can do this first one in the city that way Chance knows. Iknow you’d said you blocked him on everything, but I have a feeling he’s got his own way to keep tabs on you. Plus, if we do our first date away from town, it’s less pressure on us.”
She nervously laughs. “All of that works for me.”
“Perfect. Goodnight, Emmaline. See you in the morning.”
She gives a quiet, “night” before hanging up.
I walk back inside and I'm not even back in my seat before Theo asks, “Is everything okay? You ran out like you were on fire.”
“Everything’s good. I have a date with Emmaline on Friday.”
“Dude, she just got out of a long relationship and the only reason it ended was because she caught him cheating.”
“You remember the talk we had after Mia’s party, right?” When he nods I continue, “She was just double checking I was still okay with it. That’s all this is. She made sure to say it multiple times. While we’re doing this, I’m with her 100%. Also, you can’t ever let her find out that you know this is fake. Emmaline said if you found out about Chance, you’d do something dramatic, and I’m inclined to believe that given your reaction to Faith’s text.”
“I won’t say anything to her, but I’m trusting you to make sure she stays safe. If something happens to her, we will have the girls to deal with, and they take their love for one another very seriously.”
“I promise I won’t let anything happen to her, nor will I be the one to hurt her,” I assure Theo. “When she decides we’re done pretending, we’ll go back to being friends.”
“Alright. Any ideas on where to take her?”
“Not really. I figure I can ask Mia for help.”
He laughs. “You do that and you’re opening yourself up to unsolicited advice for the rest of your relationship. Mia and Colette know Em the best so if Mia gives some off the wall suggestion, go to Colette.”
I shrug. “I’ll take my chances.”
***
The next morning, I knock on Emmaline’s door at 6:20 a.m. holding her favorite coffee and a cinnamon roll from Blossom Brews.
She opens the door and her eyes widen slightly at what I’m holding. “Spencer, you didn’t need to get me anything. You’re already here so early, there was no reason to get up even earlier to run to the coffee shop.”
“I wanted to do this for you,” I say, then hand her the coffee and pastry. “Are you all ready to go?”
She nods, locks the door, and we head downstairs to my truck. The drive is a little awkward for a couple of minutes which is why I ask, “How about we play twenty questions? We don’t have to do twenty every day, but I think we should try to ask a few during our short drives. It would help to get to know one another more, which could also help with making our relationship more believable.”
She reluctantly agrees. “Okay, but you have to start.”
“That’s only fair. Okay, let’s start with something easy. What’s your favorite color?”
“Cobalt blue. Honestly, any deep, vibrant blue is perfect. What’s yours?”
“Red. But like a burgundy or maroon. Not bright red.” I waggle my eyebrows. “See, this isn’t so bad. Okay, what about your favorite food?”
“I could eat pizza and pasta multiple times a week, specifically from Anatoli’s in town and La Bella Vita in the city. And you’ve obviously discovered my love of cinnamon rolls.” She laughs and adds, “I guess I’m just big into carbs. That’s why I try to exercise multiple times during the week. It’s the only thing that kept me sane while staying with my parents. They were doing it all over the place and I couldn’t deal with all the noise.”
“Well, that’s an awful picture to put into my head—thanks a lot. As for the carbs, you’re a girl after my own heart. I will never say no to pasta or pizza. So, it looks like planning out dinner dates will be easy enough.”
Chuckling, she says, “That’s me, easy.”
Before I get a word out, she shoves her head into her hands and groans, “Ohmygod, forget I said that. It’s early and I haven’t finished my coffee yet.”
“Already forgotten,” I say as we pull into the hospital parking lot.
She finally raises her head once I park. “Thank you for this. It’s silly but I already feel safer.”
“It’s not silly at all. I would feel the same if I were in your shoes.”
