Page 34 of Mistletoe, Mayhem & Mr. Grump
"You researched couple behavior?" I ask.
"I researched convincing relationship indicators. There were charts," he admits. “Delia would be impressed.”
"You found charts about relationships?" I'm genuinely impressed.
"I made charts about relationships," he corrects.
"You made—that's the most you think I've ever heard," I laugh.
"Is that good or bad?" he asks.
"It's perfect. You're perfect," I say without thinking again, then immediately want to crawl under the couch. "I mean, perfectly weird. Normally weird. The right amount of weird for fake dating."
"You're nervous talking again," he observes.
"It's a gift," I mutter.
His phone buzzes, and he frowns at the screen. "Sterling."
"Are you going to answer?"
"No," he says, declining the call. And then the second call right after. Then the third.
"He seems persistent," I observe.
"He's professionally persistent. It's his entire personality," Holden says in disgust.
"How do you know him?" I ask.
"We used to work together," he says carefully.
"Doing what?"
"Things I'm not proud of," he admits.
"Illegal things?" I ask.
"Legal but morally questionable things," he corrects.
"Like?" I press.
"Like destroying people's dreams for profit," he says quietly.
The weight of that statement settles over us like a heavy blanket.
"But you stopped," I say.
"Did I? I'm here lying to an entire town," he points out.
"To help me. That's different," I insist.
"Is it? I'm still deceiving people," he says.
"For a good cause," I argue.
"The ends justify the means?" he asks.
"Sometimes," I say firmly. "When the means are holding hands and eating Giuseppe's questionable food, yes."
