Page 46 of One Small Secret

He rubs a hand down his face and puts it back on the steering wheel. “Grandpa is barely okay with this.”

“What did he say?”

“A lot of it doesn’t bear repeating. But, basically, he thinks I’m no good for you.”

I scoff. “He’s been trying to get us together for ages.”

“Exactly.”

“Ah. So it's the fake part he doesn’t like.”

Ruben nods and then puts one hand up. “Don’t worry. I told him not to get his hopes up, at which point he made a very strong case about not treating you like I did all those other girls.”

“Did you treat them so badly?”

“I didn’t think so. But you know how it looks on social media. I didn’t realize he thought I was so irresponsible. Someday I’ll tell him all about it, but he’s going to flip out and make me stop, and I’m not ready to deal with that yet. Not until I know for sure that I’m done.”

“Hey.” I place a hand on his forearm. “Don’t worry about Ben. We're going to be fine. It’s just a little bit of fake dating. What could it hurt?”

He nods and gives me a smile, but it's short. “That’s the thing. Grandpa’s worried it could hurt us. A lot. And even our families’ relationships. I just want you to know, all the things important to my grandpa are important to me, too. I’m going to be careful.”

Ruben has been orchestrating his whole life very carefully since he was 15 years old. I have no doubt that he’ll manage the two of us just fine. “Okay. I’ll be careful too. Can we go in now? I just want to get this first part done.”

He grabs the keys, throws them in his briefcase, and we walk to the elevator. The parking elevator is at the opposite end of the lobby from the main elevator, so once the door opens to the lobby and we enter together, everyone at work will believe the news articles.

The doors slide open and we're met with the five-story lobby bustling with employees arriving for the day.

My confidence from a few minutes ago evaporates and I freeze.

Ruben takes one look at my face and starts to reach for the “door close” button.

“No, I’m fine. Let's go,” I say, but my feet won’t move. When did I become such a chicken?

Ruben’s chest expands, then he laces his fingers between mine like it's a habit, pulling me forward. His hand is warm, his touch gentle, and somehow my feet work again.

If we thought whispers of our names would echo through the lobby when the two of us walked in together after having a photo of us plastered all over the internet, well…we were right.

A few people take notice of us right away, and slowly, others around them turn to see what they’re looking at. This is it. We’re really doing this.

“Good morning, Howard.” Ruben greets an older gentleman in middle management as we pass him. A few other people nod at us as we walk by, and when we step into the next elevator, a few brave souls join us.

Most of them are gone by the time we reach the 11th floor. Ruben drops my hand. “I’ll see you after work,” he says, then gives me a wink.

I step forward, my suddenly lonely hand hanging by my waist, and I give him a wave before stepping away.

Rebecca runs toward me the moment she sees me. “Oh my gosh, Cadence, is it true? Are you really dating Ruben Palmer?”

I smile, even though I hate that I still can’t be honest with people. “He drove me to work this morning.”

Rebecca squeals and grabs both of my hands. “No way.”

“Yes, way.” Oh my gosh, I’ve turned into a 1980’s grunge movie character. “He rode the elevator with me, too.” I turn back like I want to prove it to her and she laughs.

“I mean, no way that you're dating him, not that he drove you to work, you goose.”

“No way, like you don’t believe it? Or no way, like it's amazing?”

“I saw the picture. I wouldn’t believe it if you said you weren’t. But I’m shocked you never said anything.”

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