Page 10 of Sugar and Spice
CHAPTER5
DAISY
I didn’t live my life getting kissed in public. In fact, I could count on one hand the number of times I had allowed such a thing while living in Clarity. Yes, most of it had been me not putting down roots in a town I fully intended to leave. There was also the fact that I may have a tiny, teensy, huge ass problem with being a workaholic and hadn’t really invested myself in romance. Both of these things meant I didn’t date much, but aside from that there was also the fact that most of the men in Clarity were...odd.There was a saying in places like this, out here in the middle of nowhere where the men outnumbered the women, but most of the women were single.
The pickings are plentiful, but the pickings are odd.
Accurate description of Clarity’s bachelors if I ever heard one.
The only man I’d ever really needed was my dad. If that ever was going to change I never would have imagined it would be with Austin. But now here I was, getting kissed for the second time in public in one day, and fake married to Austin Finnigan. The worst part of it was that I couldn’t even make a scene about it. There were one hundred thousand reasons not to. Thankfully, the kiss was over and Austin was pulling back from me before my resolve to play nice in public snapped. I couldn’t hide the glare in my eyes when he looked down at me. I might be trying not to actively piss him off, but ‘what the fuck?’
“What the hell was what?” I hissed at him.
He lifted one broad shoulder in a shrug and moved, hooking an arm around my neck and pulling me into his side. “Listen, we can’t rely on Mrs. O’Leary’s loose lips to sell this story for us. We have to be proactive if you want your cut of the cash. Now, come on.” He moved us towards the hostess, Abigail Smith, a woman we’d both known since kindergarten who was staring at us in open shock. I gave her a thin smile, because I couldn’t blame her for staring. If I was her I’d be doing the same thing. I glanced up at Austin and had to work to keep the frown off my face, because yes, what the actual hell was I doing?
Did I really think I could pull this off? I was barely keeping it together getting PDA from the man, and we weren’t even in front of a filming crew yet.
Austin lifted a hand in greeting to her and continued forward like he wasn’t dragging me along like a sack of potatoes. “Abigail, hey, we have reservations for two.” He gave me a little squeeze that looked playful, but I didn’t mistake the slight dig of his fingers in my shoulder, spurring me to act my part. “Aren’t we, sweetheart?”
“Ah, yeah,” Bobbing my head so vigorously I nearly snapped my teeth together. “Here for a little, you know, dinner.”
“Together?” Abigail asked, her eyes so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of her head and roll across the restaurant lobby.
“Yes, together. We’re married, Abigail. That’s what husbands and wives do.”
The menu she’d been holding in her hand fell on to the floor and she pointed a finger at us. “So it’s true? When the film crew showed up to set up tonight I didn’t believe them, but-”
I held up a hand. “Wait, what do you mean ‘when the film crew showed up’?” I pinned Austin with an accusing look. “I thought you said it was just the two of us tonight?”
Austin had the good grace to look uncomfortable and he cleared his throat, nodding at Abigail who was fumbling with the menus. “Abigail, get us to the table, please?”
She gave a quick dip of her chin and stood quickly from where she’d been crouched. “Yeah, okay, it’s all set up back here.” She set off at a near run towards the back.
I wrenched my shoulder out from under Austin’s arm and smacked him in the side. “What the hell is going on, Austin? This wasn’t the agreement.”
“It wasn’t not the agreement, either,” he said, and pointed a finger in the direction Abigail had taken off in. “And yes, there is a film crew here so you can either pull it together and come enjoy dinner with your adoring husband, or you can run out with the entire town watching. If you pick option two, that means kissing our cash goodbye. So pick, Daisy, and do it fast.”
My fists clenched and I had to fight to stop myself from stomping my foot. “I hate you,” I told him.
“I know.”
I jabbed a finger at him. “Let’s get this shit on the road.” Austin reached for my hand, but I smacked it away from me and shook my head. “No, you’re in fucking trouble and I’m done with the touching.”
“Daisy…” he sighed, and glanced over his shoulder towards the back of the restaurant. “The reality show is here for a loving partnership. Not our normal dynamic.”
I bit my lip and looked away. He was right, but still… “You lied to me, Austin. I didn't even want to come tonight and you tricked me.”
“I always trick you, Daisy. It’s what I do.”
“We weren’t fake married all those other times,” I said, unable to stop the feeling that was taking root in me. Yes, I had just found out about this whole thing. Yes, it was for money, for a chance to leave Clarity, but still...there was the unmistakable feeling of betrayal that was settling in my bones. I didn’t like it. I liked it even less that Austin was responsible for it. I’d rather know where we stood, know if we were at odds or on the same team. I was used to him being on the other side of things, but now?
Now, for some reason, I had started to believe that we were both in this.
Together.
I jabbed a finger into his chest. “You don’t lie when you’re fake married.”
He paused and sighed, hands going into his pockets. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
