Page 37 of Faking It With the Small-Town Bad Boy

best thing for me is to ignore Ryan and that fucking wedding.”

“I know that you feel that way,” I start, coming a bit closer. “I just

want to comfort you really quick. Is that okay for me to do?”

She hesitates, perplexed by my asking for permission, but it doesn’t

last long. She nods firmly. I come forward and pull her into my arms.

She’s shorter like this, her head tucked comfortably against my chest

muscle while she whimpers slightly. I hold her tighter when my arms

shift to the middle of her back, holding her close so she can release

everything built up inside of her.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper again, her blonde hair tangling around her

shoulders and chest while she’s squeezing the life out of my body. “I

didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I promise. I didn’t come here

to hurt you.”

“Then tell me what you wanted when you came here today.”

“I came for camaraderie,” I blurt. Shaking my head, I finally release

my own demons while still keeping her close by. “I just… I needed

someone who knew what I was going through. And I wanted to tell

you about the save-the-date card and the damn wedding event that is

going to happen in town. I didn’t want you to find out the way I had.”

“Since when do you care about me?” Her voice is strict and sharp.

“It’s hard to explain. I may not have always shown care, but I know

you, Leah. We’ve grown up in parallel. My suggestion isn’t that we go

out and French kiss in front of the town or anything. I’m just

suggesting we go through this together. The scorned exes of the

biggest wedding to ever happen in Rally, in Arkansas at all, are

together in solidarity. It’s a good idea, in my opinion. Might help

show that we’re over it.”

“I’m not over it, though.”

“Yeah, but that’s the thing about a small town. Sometimes it’s better

to fake it than face it. Everyone already pities us. We might as well

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