Page 96 of A Very Merry Mistake

This is a nightmare. I want to wake up.

Let me wake up. Please.

CHAPTER 25

CLAIRE

After Jake leaves, I make sure all the house’s exterior doors are locked. Then I sit on the couch and glance at the book that might break me. A few times, my nose burned and my eyes watered, but I haven’t cried.

It’s a story about two people who are meant to be together, but too many outside forces pull them apart. The hero and heroine have been through hell and back, and it’s not over yet. Right now, I’m still in it to win it and haven’t squirted a single tear.

As I lie back and begin reading, Tinsel jumps on my stomach and makes herself comfortable.

“You’re a chunky monkey,” I say, laughing, causing her head to bob. It only makes me laugh harder until my entire body and hers are shaking. Though a cat’s expression doesn’t change, I swear she’s scowling. I pet the softness of her head and scratch under her chin until she purrs. “I’m starting to like you.”

She claws through my clothes.

“Ouch. Put those murder paws away.”

She stretches and nearly knocks the book out of my hand. Finishing this chapter with a cat parked on me is an unattainable goal, so I close it. I reach out as far as my arms will go and set it on the edge of the coffee table. Then I give her the attention she’s begging for and run my fingers through her coat. She lays her head down, content with me being her bed.

A few moments later, my phone rings, and I have to lift my hips without disturbing the princess to pull it out of my pocket. She’s immediately annoyed and jumps off me, the moment ruined. I answer the phone.

“Just my daily check-in,” my sister says.

I explain what happened with Dale and how Jake reacted.

“It was dreamy. It was hot to see a man be all, like, ‘you touch her and die’ over me.”

“Jake sounds like he fell right out of a Southern drama. Ever watched Yellowstone?” Emma sneezes.

“Bless you. No, I haven’t, but I might start. Also, Dale was so scared that he pissed himself. It was hilarious. I’ve never seen him so frightened in my life.”

“Have a big man pull a shotgun on you and see how unfazed you are by the ordeal.”

“True.” I hear the engine of his truck outside. “Jake’s back. I gotta go. Talk soon, okay?”

“Please keep me updated.”

“I will,” I tell her, ending the call. He wasn’t gone very long, maybe twenty minutes? That’s a record.

When Jake walks in, I pop up from the couch and shoot him a smile, but his hard expression doesn’t change.

“You good?” I ask, repeating the exact words he’s said to me several times since I arrived. I notice he has no grocery bags, nothing. “Jake?”

He crosses his arms over his chest, his face hard as stone. “Claire Manchester? That’s your real name, right?”

Adrenaline courses through me, followed by a bone-deep chill. “I can explain.”

“You looked me in my eyes and fed me some bullshit lie about who you were and why you knew so much about the town. Why are you here, Claire?”

This is a question I was hoping I would never have to answer, one that’s haunted me since I slid my mouth against his perfect lips.

He’s hurt, that much is clear, and it’s because of me. I’m responsible for this.

“So it’s true? You came here to buy the farm out from under my family?” He laughs sarcastically. “Now, the dates you were staying make perfect sense. You knew the farm would be auctioned off at the beginning of the year. You knew who I was the moment I told you my name.”

“Jake, please.”

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