Monroe could barely remember the last time she’d been part of “us” anything. Clearly even in her marriage, she’d been alone.
“My solution is that I ban you from this diner.” She folded her arms over her chest.
“On what grounds? I pay for my meals.”
“I don’t need grounds.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Fair?” She balked. Then she grabbed him by the arm and hauled him out of the diner, fully aware that everyone was looking at them. When they were on the street and around the corner, out of earshot, she released him. “Do you think it’s fair that this diner is failing and that people like Big Frank are going to be out of a job? Do you think it’s fair that I’m going to fail my boss because I can’t seem to fill the seats with actual paying customers? Do you think it’s fair that people think that a small business should be able to offer McDonald’s prices when we can barely scrape together wages for our staff?”
Okay, so maybe Monroe losing her shit at Ethan was a tad unfair. More than a tad, if she were being honest. But the pressure of it all was building up so hard and so fast that she wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
“Hey,” he said, holding up his hands. “Let’s take this down a notch, okay?”
She sucked in a breath and brushed some flyaway hairs from her face. “Sorry. I know this isn’t your fault, but everything is crumbling and…”
She felt a hot stinging sensation in her eyes and froze. No way, no how would she ever cry in front of a man again.
You’re better than that. Tamp that shit down, now!
“I’ve got an idea,” he said, tentatively reaching out with both hands and placing them on her arms, rubbing up and down in a way that was surprisingly soothing. “I think we can help each other.”
“How could we possibly do that?” Monroe couldn’t seem to help a damn thing at the moment, let alone assist some hot stranger.
“Hear me out.”
She had no reason to say no. Either his idea would work or it wouldn’t, so she might as well listen. She also couldn’t say no to the curiosity winding through her system, lighting up parts of her that had been dormant for far too long. Parts of her that made her feel engaged again. That made her feel interested.
“Fine,” she said with an air of skepticism.
“I won’t be here forever. I’m looking for something and when I find what I’m looking for, I’ll be out of your hair.” He raked a hand through his blond hair, emotion playing in the crease in his forehead and the narrowing of his blue eyes. “Coming here, eating my eggs every morning…this is probably going to sound stupid, but it’s the closest thing I’ve had to normal in over a year. It’s the closest thing I’ve had to a routine.”
Monroe cocked her head. “I can understand that.”
“You said something yesterday that got me thinking. That while I’m single, I’ll still be of interest.”
“Yeah, I remember that.”
“I want to go about my business without people breathing down my neck.” He sighed. “It’s important, this thing I’m looking for. Really important.”
There was a vulnerability in Ethan’s voice that made something catch in the back of Monroe’s throat. For all her gruff and tough exterior, the ugly truth of it was that she was a total softie inside. She sniffled during Superbowl commercials and was known to give in to her nieces the second they set their puppy dog eyes on her. Easy target, that’s what Loren called her. But it was being an easy target that had gotten her into the mess with her ex.
She’d been gullible. Weak. Stupid.
“You’re in the wrong place for that,” Monroe said. “Come slow season, people will throw pickles at a wall just to see which one slides the farthest.”
Ethan looked at her like he wanted to say something, but he was hesitating for some reason. The push and pull was palpable in the air around him, and tension crackled like electricity.
“Spit it out,” she said.
“I’m trying to find my father.” He dragged his eyes away from hers for a moment, almost as if he hated saying the words out loud.
She blinked. “You think he lives here?” Dammit, she wasn’t supposed to be interested.
“Lived,” he corrected. “My father is dead.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’ve been chasing dead men all over the country for the past twelve months and haven’t found a damn thing yet. But I don’t know...” He shook his head. “I’ve got a feeling this might be it.”
“Why?”
“Because I think a man who knocks up a woman and then never has anything to do with his child is a bastard, and it seems like the man I’m chasing here fits the bill.”
“I don’t understand what any of this has to do with me.”
“I need a cover, a way to walk around a little more unnoticed. Not to mention being attached to someone in this town might help me get access to more information.” He let out what appeared to be a nervous laugh and for some odd reason, it made Ethan the Mystery Man seem even more gorgeous than usual. “I need to not be single.”
Monroe opened her mouth and then closed it. Then she opened it again. “Wait, what?”
“I’m proposing a solution that might work for us both. You seemed to think if I was in a relationship then I might be able to go around unnoticed a bit more, and I’m not really looking for a relationship. You, on the other hand, look like you want to stab someone’s eye out with a rusty fork at the mention of marriage.”
“I’m not looking for any relationship, real or fake.”
But wouldn’t a fake relationship solve at least one of her problems? The threat of her ex coming back to town had been hanging over her head, the possibility of embarrassment at him seeing her pathetic life without him was like a noose around her neck. It was the fear that had grounded her into inertia with solving that problem. But if Brendan came back and saw that not only was she in a relationship with a man, but that she’d clearly gotten an upgrade…well, wouldn’t that just be a wonderful way to stick it to the man who’d shattered her heart into a million irreparable pieces?
Wouldn’t that be glorious revenge for him screwing her cousin behind her back?
“This is ridiculous.” She shook her head, heart and mind arguing over the idea like they were playing tug of war.
“But if I’m no longer single, then people shouldn’t be staking out your diner anymore right? I think they’ve given up thinking I’m actually Chris Hemsworth, but clearly they’re not going to stop following me around and watching my every move unless I do something. I’ve tried to think of another way to fix this and I’m coming up empty.” He took a step closer and Monroe felt the air still in her lungs. “I know you said I wasn’t your type, but maybe you could fake being attracted to me.”
If only he wasn’t her type. Hell, Monroe would chance it and say that Ethan might be the “type” of every living being with a pulse and a preference for men. Universal hotness, at its finest.
“Look, I…” She couldn’t find the right words. Because the right words would have been to tell the Aussie to get lost so she could go back to saving her diner.
But the lure of sticking it to Brendan was a strong one. When would she ever get the chance to do it again? This would be payback for all the tears she’d cried, all the moments of self-doubt and of not feeling worthy. It would be payback for her being stuck here, listening to the whispers behind her back and the pitying looks and the shame. Payback for the fact that he’d left all their dirty laundry flapping in the wind for the whole town to see.
And it would have the bonus of hopefully returning her diner to normal capacity so she could get back to working on a plan for how not to fail Jacob and mess up her carefully structured life.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” Monroe said, shaki
ng her head. “But yes, I’ll fake it.”
Chapter Seven
Ethan couldn’t quite believe it. He’d anticipated the chance of Monroe saying yes to his outrageous plan was minimal, at best. But she had her reasons for agreeing, and it might not just be about clearing the non-paying crowds from her diner. Whatever it was, however, was none of his business.
And he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, no matter how surprising.
“I want to lay down some ground rules, though,” Monroe said.
“Of course, I’d expect nothing less.”
Pretending to be attracted to Monroe wouldn’t exactly be a hardship, especially since there wouldn’t be all that much pretending involved. Ethan might have spent the last year neglecting actual relationships in favor of hunting out a man he’d never get to meet, but he wasn’t dead inside. He knew the way his pulse spiked whenever he saw her. He knew that his blood pounded a little harder in his veins when she set those intense brown eyes on him. He knew that given a few drinks, there was a risk he’d tell her all that to see if they’d end up in bed together.
Note to self: no drinking for as long as this takes.
“Good.” Monroe nodded, pausing to wait as someone walked past them on the quiet side street. Then they were alone again. “First things first…I don’t want you telling anybody this isn’t real. Not a single soul. If we’re doing it, then we’re all in.”
That wasn’t what he’d expected her to ask for, but at least it was a request he could adhere to. What was one more secret on an already large pile?
“Done. What else have you got?”
“If I randomly ask you to kiss me out of nowhere, then you’ll do it, no questions asked.”
Interesting. They were doubling down on things Ethan had not expected. “I’m not afraid of a kiss.”
“And third.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “You’ll need to meet my family.”
“Uh…” Ethan wasn’t above fooling some small-town strangers to get eyes off him, but fooling a person’s real-life family was a whole other level of deceit.
“If I suddenly have a ‘boyfriend’ and I don’t take you to meet them, that’s going to be suspicious. You’re hiding in plain sight, remember.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “And it’ll be good for them to see I’ve moved on.”
“Even if you haven’t?”
“I have,” she said emphatically. “Mentally and emotionally, I’ve moved on. I just haven’t been chasing down another mistake, but for some reason they think that’s the final step in my ‘healing.’ So bringing you around will give me some reprieve there, too.”
“And here I was thinking I’d need to put the hard sell on.”
“You got lucky. This will benefit me as much as it benefits you.” She stared up at him, and there was so much he wanted to know. So many questions he wanted to ask. “So, what are your conditions?”
“Only that you help cover my tracks so I can find out what I need to find out.”
Worry flickered across her face, like a candle trembling in the wind. “You’re not going to do anything you wouldn’t tell your mother about, right?”
“Bad example,” he said, his throat tightening. “She’s the reason I’m in this mess, so I imagine there would be plenty I wouldn’t tell her if she was still alive.”
Monroe nodded. “Well, maybe I’ll add another condition to my list. Don’t do anything illegal.”
“It’ll all be within the bounds of the law, I promise.”
They stood for a moment, eyes locked, tension crackling between them like a log of wood popping and burning in a fireplace.
“Well, I have to get back to work,” she said, suddenly seeming a little nervous. Or bashful, maybe.
They walked out of the side street and onto the main street, back to the front of the diner. Ethan’s attention was caught on the big window. Multiple faces were plastered to the glass, a group of women who appeared to be having coffees openly watching the scene unfold outside.
“This might be your chance to show everyone you’re all in,” he said, a smirk tugging at his lips.
Monroe looked, ginger curls whipping over her shoulder. When she turned back to him, her cheeks were rosy as if she’d stood outside in the snow too long. “You’re going to break some hearts, you know.”
“Good,” he said with a chuckle.
“You’re a very curious man, Ethan…” She laughed. “I don’t even know your last name.”
“Hammersmith,” he said with a sigh.
“No.” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “Looks like Thor and has hammer in his last name. It’s all very suspicious.”
“Don’t you start,” he grumbled. “What are you going to tell people?”
“Not a goddamn thing,” she said with an embarrassed shake of her head. Her cheeks were very red now—like twin scribbles of crayon on her freckle-covered skin. It was adorable the way she blushed to the extreme. “I prefer to let my actions do the talking.”
Without warning, she pressed up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, planting a kiss right on his lips. It was chaste in the scheme of things—all lips, no tongue—but it left Ethan feeling warm all over, and as she pulled away and scurried into the diner, he couldn’t help a goofy grin spreading across his lips.
Well, that had gone far better than planned. He had no idea what to expect, and something told him Monroe was going to keep him guessing at every turn.
…
Monroe walked back into the Sunshine Diner, feeling the entire staff and every single patron looking at her. It would be all over town within seconds. For some reason, that made her want to puff her chest out a little.
Sure, the relationship was faker than the smell of those god-awful vanilla candles her sister liked to burn. And sure, Monroe had no intention of actually capitalizing on this thing with Ethan, apart from keeping a kiss in her back pocket should Brendan decide to show up. But for once, people were looking at her with awe instead of pity. And that was a nice change.
“What the heck?” Darlene, one of Monroe’s longest standing employees, followed her into the kitchen, her eyes wide and a delighted smile on her face. She had curly black hair peppered with silver and a smile that beamed against her brown skin. “Are you two dating?”
Big Frank looked up from the grill and raised a brow, clearly interested in Monroe’s answer.
“He’s only been in town a few days.” Darlene blinked.
“I don’t know if we’re ready to put a label on it,” Monroe replied, feeling her face shoot up a billion degrees. “We were going to keep it on the down low, but…well, you know.”
“No I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking.” She planted her hands on her ample hips and speared Monroe with a look. Darlene had five kids and twice as many grandkids and she did not suffer fools. “How do you go from writing a keep-out sign to kissing a man in the street?”
“It was barely a kiss.”
That was the truth, if ever she’d told it. Her body had all but screamed “WTF, girl?” when she’d pulled away from him, desperate for more than something that might pass as a kiss for an eighth grader. Still, it didn’t take much to get the gossip birds twittering. Hmm, she should probably text her sisters before they—
The chirrup of her phone told her it was too late. A message flashed up on screen from Loren that simply said: Details. NOW.
“This town is something else,” Monroe muttered.
“I’m waiting.” Darlene tapped her foot and even Big Frank was still watching.
“Hey, this isn’t Dr. Phil hour. We’re supposed to be working.” Monroe grabbed one of the coffee pots that had finished brewing and stared both her employees down before heading back out into the dining area.
The questions kept coming, but Monroe had a knack for dodging questions when s
he wanted to. What was the first rule of deception? Don’t be too detailed and stick to the truth as much as possible.
It’s certainly what Brendan had done. The whole time he was screwing Amber, he’d been telling Monroe he was going to the yoga studio as part of his rehab for an old football injury. That’s what made it so believable—because he was going to the yoga studio and he did have an injury that was playing up. That way if anyone saw him coming or going his story would check out. They didn’t even need to text to arrange a “session” because he could book her through the studio’s app.
Even better, Amber’s town house was back-to-back with the studio. There was a small alley in between, with a gate into her backyard and another that led to the small courtyard behind the yoga studio. All they had to do was scurry across the alley, which barely ever had a car on it…until that time she happened to drive that way because a tree had come down and blocked her usual route to work.
“Monroe!” Someone called her name from the front of the diner. “Look!”
A delivery man with a huge bouquet of flowers waddled through the door, barely able to see past the green fronds and colorful flowers in yellow and orange and red. She walked over.
“Hey, Monroe. These are for you.” He thrust the flowers into her hands and Monroe sneezed as a bit of greenery was all but shoved up her nose. “Enjoy.”
She managed to wrap one arm around the large vase holding the flowers and plucked out the card wedged into the over-the-top display.
Monroe, dinner tonight at Deluca’s. 8 p.m. Ethan.
He must have stopped at the florist on his way back to the inn, since the pretty shop was only two doors down. Flowers and then dinner at Forever Fall’s only fine dining restaurant. He wanted to make a statement. He wanted everyone to know they were together.
A date? She hadn’t been on one of those in years. She and her ex weren’t the “date night” type, not after they got married anyway.
Maybe that’s why the marriage failed.
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