Page 21 of Homebody
“Do you?” He lifted a dark brow.
“Yes. Totally.” She understood that somehow, against all odds, the committee’s plan was working. Juniper was here and Tessa’s presence, amazingly, was keeping her away from Dean, just as Susan had hoped.
He tipped his head. “I believe that. You probably have quite a few exes of your own to deal with.”
No. Nerdy girl Tessa did not. But bad girl Tessa totally would. She flicked one hand in response. “Oh, yeah. Tons. They’re such a pain. So clingy. They never give up. Just can’t accept when it’s over.”
“Exactly.” He smiled. “Thanks for understanding.”
She returned his smile as an idea struck. An idea that would solve her problem as well as his. “I’m happy to be your fake date any time you need… to keep the exes at bay. For both of us.”
Tessa didn’t have any ex-boyfriends in town, but she did have three busy-bodies intent on her dating Dean. One of whom was her real boss. Another the woman who’d written her a sizable check to be at her disposal when it came to Dean.
If Dean were in on their fake dating though unwittingly, never knowing it was all part of his mother’s plan, it would make Tessa’s life so much easier.
“Do you mean that?” Dean’s gaze cut to meet hers, the pool cue still gripped in one hand as he leaned his jean-clad ass against the edge of the table.
She swallowed as he took the bait. “One hundred percent.”
He nodded. “I think I might take you up on that offer. Because besides the ex over there currently glaring at meand you, I’m pretty sure my mother’s sole goal in life is to get me fixed up and settled down with a woman. Any woman. I might need to fake date you just to keep her off my back while I’m home.”
Thank goodness Ruby had caked on the makeup or Dean would have for sure noticed Tessa had gone from deathly pale to full on red-faced when he guessed their plan almost on the nose.
“Mothers, right?” she said, forcing out some sort of devil may care response worthy of her bad girl persona. “But sure. I’m here when you need me. Fake girlfriend for hire.”
He grinned. “Hey, you could probably make some money doing that.”
Coughing on her surprise, she pressed a hand to her chest and nodded, finally choking out, “Right? Could you imagine actually doing that?”
Wow. She’d somehow impossibly dug her hole of deception even deeper. She was getting paid by his mom to deceive him. Partnering with him to deceive his mother at the same time. And collaborating with both Dean and Susan, separately, to keep away his unsuspecting ex-girlfriend Juniper.
It was a lot. Tessa was like a double agent, workingforandagainstboth sides at once.
But looking at Dean leaning casually against the table smiling at her, his lips looking oh so kissable, she was starting to not feel all that sorry about any of it.
Chapter Nine
Susan
The eagle has left the nest!
So now they were using a secret code when they referred to Dean? These women needed a new hobby. One that didn’t involve her.
Tessa shook her head at the text on her cell phone and went back to staring at her laptop screen.
The little local library branch on Main Street in Mudville was only open limited hours and not even every day of the week.
It was a stroke of good luck that Tessa had the day off from working at Ruby’s salon on a day the library was open. She would need to use every moment of the time available to her to work on her thesis.
It was critical she take advantage of the library’s WiFi to do research online while she could. She only had so much data on her cheap cell phone plan. And working on a cell phone was so much harder than on her laptop. Although, in moments of desperation she wasn’t too proud to sit on the steps outside the library to use the WiFi when the building was locked.
Maybe she should sacrifice some of her ill-gotten earnings from Susan and spring for internet in her apartment. But it was so expensive. Ridiculously so.
Sure, she had money in the bank now, but that hadn’t been the case a week ago. And this bad girl gig was a one-shot deal. She had to make that money last, which was why she had to concentrate on her graduate work now. Not on the texts that were lighting up her cell like a strobe light.
Her life list was short and precise. Finish her thesis. Get her graduate degree. Land her dream job. That was her sole focus… as soon as she figured out why the committee was blowing up her phone.
The text alerts kept pouring in. With a sigh, she picked up the cell from the library table and read the newest alerts.
