Page 23 of Keeping You
I don't like being cast as the town sweetheart, but I can't argue with the results. “Fine. We'll try it your way.”
“Good.” He releases my hand, drains his coffee, and stands. “I should get back to work. Meet you at the library later?”
“Sure.” The word comes out more breathless than I intended as I move my bereft hand under the table and rub it on my thigh.
He leans down, his mouth next to my ear. “By the way, bedhead suits you. It’s cute.”
Before I can respond, he's walking away, leaving me flustered and fighting a grin. The remaining customers are openly staring now, but for once, I don't mind the attention.
I finish my breakfast with renewed energy, leave Ruby a generous tip, and head back out into the morning sunshine. My hangover has receded to a dull throb, and I find myself looking forward to the day ahead. The library is quiet when I arrive,giving me enough time to clean myself up before I start any work.
Rachel looks up when I enter, her eyebrows rising at my slightly disheveled appearance. “Late night?”
“Not like that.” I set my bag down at the desk. “It was just dinner.”
“Uh-huh.” She waddles over, one hand supporting her growing baby bump. “That's not what I heard.”
I sigh. “What did you hear?”
“That you and Luke Caldwell were getting cozy at Pete's last night. And that Harper and Kirk were there too.” She leans against the desk, eager for details, but sporting a sympathetic smile. “Was it as awkward as it sounds?”
“Worse,” I admit, sinking into my chair. “I made a complete fool of myself.”
“How?”
“Tequila shots. Bad dancing. An even worse kiss.” I cover my face with my hands. “God, it was humiliating.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “So, no spark then?”
I think about the kiss in the car, how it lit me up from the inside out, made my nerves dance under my skin, and blood rush to my cheeks and lower. “I didn't say that.”
Her grin widens. “I knew it. You're into him.”
“It's complicated,” I say, giving her the same answer I gave Nikki while avoiding her gaze by straightening some papers and the stack of children’s books for this week’s readings on my desk.
“Honey, it's only complicated if you make it complicated.” She places a gentle hand on my arm. “He's single. You're single. You're both adults. What's stopping you?”
History. Fear. Harper. The fact that this whole relationship is built on a lie. But I can't tell her any of that.
“I just got out of a relationship. I'm not sure I'm ready to jump into another one.”
“It's been eight months,” she points out gently. “And from what I hear, you and Kirk were on the rocks long before you left him and he and Harper started dating.”
“You mean openly dating.”
“I mean, it doesn’t matter what happened between him and Harper. You were already done with him. You just hadn’t left the party yet.”
She's not wrong. Things with Kirk had been strained for months before I caught him having lunch with Harper. We'd grown apart, wanted different things. I had suspicions about his cheating, but no proof. Not until I saw them at Pete’s together. But finding out he'd been cheating with my best friend had been a devastating blow to my self-esteem.
“Maybe,” I concede. “But this thing with Luke is new.”And not real.“I'm not sure what it is yet.” I can’t confess, even to Rachel, that it’s all an act.
The kiss wasn’t, though, and neither was the touch. Was it?
I’m so confused.
“Well, whatever it is, the whole town is talking about it.” She straightens and heads back to the children's section. “Just be careful, okay?” she calls over her shoulder.
I spend the morning shelving books and helping patrons, but my mind keeps drifting back to Luke. To his suggestion that we take a more organic approach to our pretend relationship. And then I think about the way his fingers felt against mine. The heated gleam in his eyes. The kiss. Those sure didn’t feel pretend.
