Page 6 of The Widower's Girlfriend
I huff out a laugh. “No, definitely not. No time to find one, I guess. Sure would make my life easier though if I did. Heck, even a prospect would get them off my back.” I shrug my shoulders. “Oh well, not the end of the world. Especially if I’m considering distancing myself from them in the future.”
We lapse into easy silence, each of us looking out the passenger windows, assessing how far away we are from the hotel and if we might actually get there with all this traffic. Funny how my friends have already rubbed off on me, their judgement making me change how I naturally feel. I don’t mind being single. I enjoy my career immensely and I refuse to settle for just any guy, but admitting my single status to Walker gave me a twinge of embarrassment. Like I should apologize for not following society’s expectations and landing a husband already at the ripe old age of twenty-eight.
“Wanna get a little crazy this weekend?” I swing my startled gaze over to Walker, taking in his pressed trousers and button-down dress shirt. If I’m not mistaken, a Rolex peeks out from under his starched cuff. Dark brown oxfords complete his businessman look, one that’s stylish, but not on par with a guy looking to “get wild” while out of town. “We could help each other out.”
5
Walker
Her eyes are guarded, and I haven’t even proposed the crazy idea on my mind yet. The minute I heard her friends heckling her about not having a husband, I wanted to step in and help. Why, I don’t know. All I know is I seem to have a bit of a ‘knight in shining armor’ complex like my buddy Jake always tries to tell me. I never believed him until just this minute.
The slump of her shoulders after her friends talked to her physically pained me and I think I can make it better. As a fellow human being, I should offer my assistance, right?
“Now, don’t say no immediately, okay?” I lean toward her and if possible, her eyes get even more guarded.
“That makes me want to say no right away, Walker.” She lifts an eyebrow and I swear, her hint of sass does more to my gut than her laugh does.
“Just hear me out.” I put my hands up to ward off her refusal. “You’re thinking this might be your last girls’ weekend, and your friends give you grief over being single. I really hate to see people be disrespected—you might even say it’s my biggest pet peeve—so I’d like to propose an idea. Why don’t we pretend to be a couple and you walk out of your last weekend with these women with your head held high?”
Jemma’s frozen and now so am I. I can’t believe I just threw that out there, offering my time with a woman I know I shouldn’t be around. It’s like my body is doing the opposite of what my brain wants. My body’s running the show and there’s no telling where this thing might end. Like a runaway freight train without breaks.
She shakes her head, eyes closed, nose scrunched. “I’m sorry, what?”
I want her to say yes, more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time. There’s no explaining it to my brain; he’s not having it. “I’m here for just this weekend too. I’ll come with you to a few things with your girlfriends, we’ll pretend to be a couple to get them to quit harassing you, and then we’ll part ways when the weekend’s over. No harm, no foul.”
Her eyes narrow. “Why would you do that?”
I shrug. “I told you. I hate to see someone mistreated. Plus, it might be nice to have a friend while I’m here in Colorado. Gets lonely traveling by yourself all the time.”
She chews on her bottom lip again and I clench my fists to keep from pulling it out from under her sharp teeth. “You don’t want anything in exchange?”
I shake my head.
“You’re not afraid to be around the most uncoordinated woman you’ve probably ever met?”
Another shake.
“You’ll really do it?” Her tone turns hopeful and my body rejoices.
“Yes, I’ll really do it.”
She squeals and claps, bouncing in her seat. The driver eyes me in the rearview mirror and I know what his expression says. I may be crazy, but I’m a happy crazy now that she’s said yes.
I can’t help but smile at her excitement. Most women in Newport Beach don’t—or can’t due to Botox injections—express that much emotion. Casual boredom is the look that’s in right now and it’s not only refreshing to leave that behind, it’s also a nice reminder that the whole world isn’t like that. There’s hope for a guy like me who just wants a genuine woman to have a deep and meaningful conversation with.
Not that I’m thinking Jemma is that woman, but for the weekend, it might be nice to have a buddy.
“We should probably lay some ground rules.” I frown, remembering why I’m here in Denver to start with. I have a presentation on death and grieving to give.
“Oh sure, that’s a good idea. That way if you want to bail on this idea, you don’t feel pressured into continuing.” She nods and pulls her legs underneath her on the bench seat, oblivious to her wet boots getting her jeans dirty.
“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m not going to bail on you, but I do have some business obligations while I’m here.”
She wrinkles her nose again. “Yeah, why are you here?”
“I’m do—”
“Wait!” She throws her hands up in the air and cuts me off. “Don’t tell me if you have to then kill me.”
