Page 41 of Almost True
Surprise and unease hit at the same time. “I see.”
She chuckled and looked at her feet before reaching for my hand. “You can’t see because I haven’t shown you.”
I studied her face, working to suss out what this was. Would she say she couldn’t be friends now that she was dating someone else? Or… now that she wassayingshe was dating someone else? Would I have to watch her cozy up to another Chadwick what’s-his-name and resist eye-rolling all evening?
But before my mind could elaborate on any of those thoughts, she derailed everything.
“I told her I’m dating a nice man named Aidan Wallace. That we’ve been seeing each other on and off since my first visit here, which is why I haven’t seriously dated anyone else. And now, she’s bound and determined to meet you for herself.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Maddie
Aidan blinked back at me like I’d truly stunned him. I probably had.
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it, but she kept pushing me and—” I exhaled, beyond frustrated and supremely embarrassed to have to admit this but determined not to deal with any more of my mother’s antics. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
He just stood there, taking it in. His handsome dark brows knit together, and he searched my face like lookingharderorlongermight somehow solve this ridiculous puzzle I’d created.
I forced my feet to stay in place and my hands to remain clasped in front of me rather than twist and squirm under his gaze. “I’m sorry, Aidan. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I know you said you wanted to keep things professional, and I know this is not it. Agreeing to friendship happened after this, and honestly, it was after we’d talked and things were so weird between us. I assumed you and she would never be in the same place so it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Crap, this was so not ideal. Somehow, I’d genuinely fooled myself into thinking this wouldn’t ever affect him, and yet here we were. I was asking him for a favor, and though I’d long since given up the concept of refusing to ask for help, this was particularly humiliating. My lungs felt tight, and I couldn’t take a full breath. I huffed, pushing out air.
“Are you okay?”
Aidan reached for me right as I pulled in another long breath. “Yes. I’m just… slightly freaking out. Sorry. This is so stupid.”
I paced a small circle in the tight space, wondering why I’d dragged him in here instead of, say, a normal-sized room. Why had I created this problem for myself? And why was something likethismaking me feel so upset, so anxious, sooff?
We’d barely crossed the bridge from awkward disappointment to friendship. Now this?
“This is fine. We can do this.” His hands on my shoulders sent a jolt of energy through me and brought my focus back to him. “I don’t mind. I can pretend to be dating you, if that’s what you want.”
If that’s what you want.If I had a desk, I’d let my head drop face down on it with a solidthunk.Could he be any nicer, and yet any clearer about how much he didn’t want this?
The whining needed to come to an end, though. I’d dug this hole and now he was going to help me fill it. So… on with it. “You can?”
He nodded. “Of course. We’re friends and it’s not like…” He trailed off and I got the distinct sense he was censoring himself. “It’s fine. I don’t know who else is here that might know me, but I can give John a heads-up just in case and we’ll handle it. After I do that, you can introduce me to her, and, what? You tell me.”
“You seriously don’t mind?” Maybe that wasn’t quite the right phrasing, but he seemed so certain. And Aidan wasn’t a waffler. So far, he’d been certain about everything. Coffee, check. Sustainable plants, check. Not dating, check. Friendship, check.
Fake dating? Apparently also check.
“Maddie, no. I’m fine. It’s one night.”
And because I didn’t want to scare him away from the current plan, I didn’t mention it might not be that simple. My mom wasn’t flying home until Sunday, which meant I had at least forty-eight hours before I could officially end the ruse. That said, I thought I could avoid going out with her. I could. So it could, hopefully, just be this one night. But if he was up for pretending, I’d take him up on it.
And yet again, Aidan Wallace proves he really is that good of a guy.
He asked to know the details of what I’d told my mother—that we’d met months ago and kept in touch. That when I’d come into town, he’d been eager to see me and we started dating. That he’d been there after the stalker and had been so supportive. That we’d continued dating and it’d gotten serious quickly.
My cheeks had reddened, but I hoped in the dimmish light of the pantry maybe he couldn’t tell. Or maybe they were already burning, so he wouldn’t see how my little fairytale mimicked actual thoughts and wishes I’d had.He’s amazing, but he can’t read minds, I reminded myself.
And just like that, he slipped out, vowing to find John and let him in on it while I composed myself, then left a few minutes later. If anyone had been watching, they’d assume we’d stolen a moment for ourselves and not that I’d dragged him in there and we’d hatched a plan to deceive my mother.
But this approach was far better than admitting it was casual or that we were just friends. Otherwise, Chad would be back here in days, or another one of her socialite friends’ sons would, anyway. I didn’t need that. I didn’t want it at all.
