Page 28 of Real Fake Husband

“Hey. It was a white lie to a teacher. I would hardly call that rebellious. And speaking of that art class incident, I never did get back at you for ratting me out.”

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

“You know, when you knocked over my sketchbook and then laughed so hard that Mrs. R caught me.” She hastily adds, “Not that I think about it a lot or anything.”

I start to chuckle once I’m able to recall the incident. “Josie, I didn’t rat you out,” I tell her. “You left your sketchbook on the edge of the desk andthe teacherknocked it over, not me.”

Her eyes go wide, and her mouth falls open. “Are youserious? All these years I thought it was you. Then why were you laughing?”

“I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing at your friend. She couldn’t think of a question to ask the teacher to keep her distracted.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah. She didn’t say anything. That’s the point. The teacher asked her what she wanted, and she just made this weird high-pitched noise. It was hilarious.”

I’m still grinning, and eventually, Josie joins in. Funny that she spent all this time thinking I told on her for something as insignificant as stealing a note back from a teacher.

“Wait, can you imitate the high-pitched noise my friend made?”

“Yeeek!” She laughs, and I do it again, higher and louder this time. “Yeeeek!”

She laughs even harder and tries it too. “Yiek.”

“Nah, that was pathetic. Try again, woman. You have to go all in. You have to hold the vowel longer. Try again.”

We laugh and continue yeeking until some dirty dogs look our way. There are tears in our eyes, and she grabs a napkin to wipe her face.

God, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her laugh before. It’s soft and musical, instantly tugging at my heart. I want to make her laugh again. Somehow, she’s even more stunning than she was before.

“I cannot believe she made that sound,” Josie says, trying to catch her breath. “I somehow blanked all that out. She was the one who wanted me to get her note back so badly.”

“Hernote?” I ask. “Are you sure it washernote?”

Josie nods immediately, picking up her beer. “Yes, positive.Shewrote you the love note. I was supposed to pass it along before it got taken away.”

“Oh, is that so?” I arch an eyebrow, hooking my finger around the neck of my beer bottle.

“Yeah. I tried to talk her out of it. She always did have questionable taste.”

“Iama catch, thank you very much.” I wink, taking a swig of my drink.

She smiles. “Yeah, sure you are.”

“So, youdowant to be my butterfly?”

“Cal!” Josie’s eyes grow wide, her cheeks tinting an adorable shade of pink. “The note wasnotfrom me.”

I pause and chuckle. “I know, relax. I was sitting right there next to you guys, remember? I heard the whole interaction.”

“Then why did you give me shit about it all the time?”

“Because you didn’t know that I knew.”

“Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe it!Smartass.”

She smacks my arm. There’s no bite to her words, and the conversation seems light. If we keep this going, the rest of the month will be fine.

“But, I’m sorry I didn’t see more ofthatJosie in school,” I rumble. “I never saw you do anything other than follow the rules.”

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