Page 27 of Real Fake Husband

“Some of these guys are working on the dealership,” I explain. “The rest are regulars and have been for years. I’ve been coming here ever since I was seventeen. Whenever I visited the city to see Gran, I would make sure to stop by. Also, I’ve ridden cross-country with some of these guys, and they always take their bikes to my shops when they’re on the West Coast.”

Theo approaches our table, and when he sees Josie, his eyes go wide.

“Hey, Josie,” Theo says with a grin. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Hey, Theo. Looking good.”

“You are too! Cal wasn’t lying.” He drags a seat over so he can sit on the end of the table and plops himself down just as a waitress comes to deliver our beers.

“Two ice-cold beers,” the older woman says with a friendly smile. She’s a spitting image of Thelma, and could be her twin sister, except she’s beanpole-thin and much shorter. She places the bottles in front of Josie and me before addressing Theo. “Do you need a refill, sugar?”

He winks at her. “Sure do, thanks, Beth.” She hustles off to get his drink, and Theo shifts his attention back to Josie. “What have you been up to?”

“Waitressing mostly. What about you?”

“Hanging out with this guy,” he says, nodding in my direction. “Went to the West Coast for a while and now settling back here. When he told me about the whole arrangement between you two, I was surprised.”

She gives me a “I thought we’d keep this to ourselves” look and says, “Join the club. I don’t know how you’ve been able to be friends with him for so long without wanting to murder him.”

“Hey, I’m right here,” I say, inserting myself back into the conversation.

She glances at me with a playful smirk. “I’m aware.”

Theo laughs. “You know, he’s not so bad once you get on his good side. You should try it sometime.”

“All right, all right, ha-ha, hilarious,” I say. “Enough dunking on me. I’m the one who’s settling the tab, remember?” Theo lifts his hands up in surrender, and Josie smiles innocently before taking a sip of beer. I face Theo. “Did everything go okay when I left the construction site?”

Theo nods, waving his hand nonchalantly. “Oh, yeah, piece of cake. We’re back on track. No problems. I think your threat lit a fire under Hunt’s ass.”

“Good.”

“You shouldn’t have to in order to get shit done, but that’s how the game works.”

“Everything go okay today?” Josie asks, concern lacing her tone.

For a sec, I find it odd that she’s asking about my work. When I catch her eyes staring into mine, however, I realize she’s not talking about the building. She’s asking about my trip to the cemetery.

“Yes,” I assure her, giving her a curt nod. I appreciate that, despite our differences, she still has concern for me.

She studies me for a moment. I get the sense she thinks I’m hiding my true feelings or holding back some shit, yet her nosy nature is kept in check, and she lets it go. Theo, sensing the dip in conversation, picks things back up on a more positive note.

“What about you, Josie?” he asks. “You said you’re waitressing, but did you ever do anything with your art?”

“How do you know she’s an artist?” I ask, before taking a long swig of beer.

Josie jumps in before Theo can answer. “We used to have study hall together junior year, and since I finished my homework quickly, I would use the time to sketch,” she explains.

One of the construction guys calls to Theo and he waves to him. “Well, I’ll leave you two to your drinks. Great seeing you, Josie.”

He moves off to join another conversation while I remember an incident in art class when she was caught stealing a note from the teacher’s desk.

“What’s so funny?” she asks.

“I didn’t think you had it in you.”

She gives me a look with a slight tilt of her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’ve never seen you break a rule before. Well, except for that time in art class when you got caught getting into Mrs. R’s desk. Rebellion looks good on you.”

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