“That sounds fascinating.” I sat back in my chair. “I’m assuming you’ve done well.”
“We’ve been lucky.” His gaze caught mine and his expression softened.
“I’ve learned that luck generally takes hard work to really happen,” I told him.
“Probably true.” He nodded, glancing out the window.
“I bet that’s a fun job.”
“It can be. It’s also pretty stressful at times.” He nodded. “But probably not as stressful as wrangling a bunch of teenagers.”
I grinned, enjoying the fact that he didn’t belittle my job. My ex managed to do that nonstop because even though he was also a teacher, he aspired to be in administration, which he’d loved to remind me of daily.
“They can be a handful.” I smiled. “But I love teaching and watching how the kids handle situations, friendships, and first crushes.”
Maddox grinned wider. “First crushes.” He sighed. “To think that my brother was at the heart of so many.”
I laughed. “Well, if you weren’t busy hiding in your bedroom, you could have been the subject of even more.”
“I wasn’t hiding. I was studying.” He chuckled. “And I had a great vantage point from my bedroom.”
“Vantage point?”
“The sidewalk. It was like a constant parade of girls walking by to get a glimpse of Morgan.” He laughed some more.
“But you only had eyes for me?” I teased.
“Of course.” The familiar glint in his gaze reappeared, and I felt like I was back in high school right along with my students. “So, behind the plaid and argyle…”
“Oh, no,” I groaned, holding my head in my hands. “Do we have to?”
“Seriously. What do you think pulls you to that type of man?” He actually looked interested.
“Well, my aunt got stung by a bad boy type right when boys became interesting to me, and your brother looked like one, so I made sure to date the exact opposite.”
“I’m guessing that’s a bit oversimplified.” He leaned back. “But I’ll take what I can get.”
“What about you? What’s your type?”
“I don’t really have one,” he confessed and leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees.
“You’re more into all and many?” I giggled, and he shook his head. “Like your brother?”
“No. I’ve never been into the quantity thing. I seem to be a serial monogamist.” He fell silent for a few seconds. “But it hasn’t been a priority recently.”
“I hear you.” I nodded, realizing he was the perfect candidate for a one-night stand.
Neither of us was looking for anything more than a little adventure.
“A full life just gets in the way of trying to find love and all that,” I added.
He laughed. “Doesn’t it?” Maddox leaned back, and his eyes stayed on mine. “But sometimes, things that are meant to be… just come together.”
Heat rolled through me as his gaze locked on mine.
“So, tell me about this idea you have,” he continued.
I drew a steady breath but became lightheaded. “This is going to sound really out there, and I completely understand if I never hear from you again. We can get documents drawn up so that the legalities are all covered and—”
“Boy, you just go all in, don’t you?” Surprise flicked through his gaze, and I chuckled. “What’s the plan?”
“A fake engagement.” The moment the words left my lips, I wished I could stuff them back in.
Maddox scrubbed a palm down his jaw, and he looked concerned.
I didn’t know if he was concerned about my sanity or worried about committing.
“And I kind of need to know soon.” I hated to say it. “This all hinges on my thirtieth birthday. I want to prove to them what a bad idea it is to go out with Mr. Wrong…”
“Or Mr. Mistake,” he added.
“With nothing more than the intention of marriage.” I shook my head. “And not only marriage, but to be married by thirty. They can’t just force love and try to get us all married off just for the sake of marriage. It’s creepy.”
Maddox laughed and nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
“Anyway, I think I’ll totally throw them for a loop if they think I’m engaged and getting married in a month. Common sense will prevail with them, and they’ll realize how foolish they were.”
“And if they don’t?” he asked.
“They will. I know my friends.” I smiled. “If I play it right, they will never try to force a relationship on anyone ever again.”
“Curious.” He nodded, his head tilted slightly.
“Which part?”
“So, you don’t think that this...” he pointed between us. “could work out?”
“Not in the parameters they’re talking about.” I took a sip of water, suddenly feeling warm. “And probably not in the real world because of logistics.”
“Don’t you find yesterday unusual?” he asked. “What are the odds?”
“You think our meeting was meant to be?” I asked, a catch in the back of my throat.
“Possibly.” He tapped the table. “How many people show up to a party when they know they weren’t invited?”
I laughed. “And how many party planners invite people they don’t know?” My cheeks blushed. “Thanks to my friends, my parents even called this morning to find out if I’d found the one.”
“Meaning me?” Maddox laughed. “So brutal.”
“It is.” I nodded. “And tonight, I just wanted to have a little fun. I mean, we both know this can’t really go anywhere.”
He looked surprised.
“You know, with your life in Seattle and mine here.” I smiled. “I’m sure your business is stressful, and you’re firmly rooted in Seattle.”
“It can be,” he agreed and drew in a deep breath. “You must love kids to teach high school. What subjects do you teach?”
I wondered why he didn’t ever want to stay on him for very long.
“English this year, but I’ve taught math and history. I’m a jack-of-all-trades.” I smiled, feeling a knot in my stomach. “And yeah…I do love kids.”
“Me too.” He took a deep breath. “Maybe not surrounded by thirty of them all day, but I do like them.”
I giggled and shook my head. “I hope to have a lot of children someday, but age isn’t working in my favor.”
His brows shot up. “A lot, as in many? You’re not thirty until next week. How many were you thinking? I mean, getting there is a fun process, and I certainly wouldn’t turn it down.”
“You’re volunteering, then?” I chuckled, seeing the heat resurface behind his gaze. “Not enough kids to run a farm or anything, but it’s not like I’ve been doing great in the dating department, so if I give myself a few years of finding the one then that makes me close to mid-thirties, and well, what if I don’t get pregnant right away and…” I blushed. “This isn’t the conversation I should be having on a first date.”
Maddox shook his head. “Honestly, we don’t have time to play those games. Might as well get everything out that’s important to you on the first date, and with the latest request, I’m not sure it’s a first date anyhow.”
I shook my head. “I think having a baby is exciting. Scary but exciting.”
“Scary?”
I cleared my throat and glanced at the server taking care of a family in the far corner.
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to mess up a child because I was a rotten mom. I often think about what kind of mom I’d be, more so now that I’m not sure how I’ll get there.” I giggled, realizing I’d probably done everything you’re not supposed to do on a first date. Talked about failed relationships, wanting kids, and insulting a sibling. What else could I stick in the no-fly zone?
“And?” he asked, bemused.
“I hope to be as good as my own was to me. She’s an incredible woman, loving and kind. Never got rattled by anything my brothers or I pulled o
ff. But she always used everything—mistakes and successes—as a learning experience.” I smiled. “She still does.”
“She sounds wonderful.” He smiled. “And I have no doubt you’ll make an amazing mother.”
I shrugged. “We’ll see.”
“Yes, we will.”
I polished off my last bite of pasta and sat back in the chair, unsure of where tonight would lead. I had so many questions about Maddox’s past. Had he been married before? Is he divorced?
But this was only the first date, and I had no idea if there would be a second.
“Well, so far, we’ve established that we both like our lives the way they are, and we both like kids. Sounds like a win-win situation.” He shook his head. “Now I just have to figure out if I can go all in on your prank. What if I scare you off?”
I chuckled. “I’m at the point in my life where the only thing that would scare me off was what showed up at the park tonight.” My brows shot up. “No offense.”
“Ouch.” Maddox laughed. “But now I can rest easy that you’re not just after me to get to my brother.”
“No chance. Times change. People change.”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t think people change and grow?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I think people tend to be who they are going to be pretty young. Characteristics might get stronger and traits might change marginally, but I think the growth comes from personal advancement that still taps into who we are as people.”
I laughed. “Spent a lot of time thinking about it?”
“Kind of.” He nodded. “I was always enamored at the response my brother received from the opposite sex. Being in a band is cute and cool at seventeen.” Maddox shook his head. “And less appealing to the opposite sex at thirty when there is no band and he’s got no place to stay except people’s couches where he hopes he can lift the cushions and find some spare change.”
I laughed and nodded. “Good point. Couch surfing at thirty isn’t exactly a selling feature for most women.”
“And in high school, girls always paid for everything for him. They took him to the movies and dinner and bought him gifts.” Maddox’s brows arched. “Nothing has changed except the girls have turned into women, and now they know better.”
“Except for a few, it sounds like.” I smiled.
“Well, there are always a few women who think they can save him or help him get to his dreams.” He smiled. “My point is that my brother was always a user, and now he’s merely grown better at it.”
“And you?” My brows arched.
“I don’t have time to use people.” He laughed. “I’m a real grownup with actual responsibilities.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” I smiled, loving the honesty we could share without criticism. “I love my friends, but they are so focused on finding me a man, and I just don’t get it.”
“But if they weren’t so helpful, we wouldn’t be sitting here.”
I pretended to glare at Maddox, and he chuckled.
“I mean, you’re completely right. Terrible, terrible friends.” His smile remained.
“Is dating a big thing in your world?” I asked.
“Not seriously, no. I’m just always so busy.”
I nodded. “But you made it out tonight?”
“It seemed important, and I’ve got a limited time. A week isn’t a long time to make you fall hard.”
“Oh, is that the game plan?” I giggled. “Are we talking about the fake engagement or real life?”
“Is there a difference?” he asked, and my chest tightened.
“A big difference.”
His gaze caught mine, and it felt like the first time I saw him. My pulse soared and my body warmed.
“Anyway, you haven’t given me an answer yet.”
“I’m still thinking.”
“Well, then…while you still think it over, is there anything else I should know about your life?” I teased.
“I have a dog who’s a rescue, and she’s the sweetest, neediest mutt I’ve ever seen.” He laughed. “So, there’s that too.”
“Aww. How cute.”
“You have no idea. I’ve had her for six years, and once the vet bills hit thirty grand, I stopped keeping track.”
“Thirty grand?” I gulped. That would be most of my annual salary.
“Between surgeries on her snout from a birth defect to two blown ACLs and a couple of stints in the ER and hospital from pneumonia—oh, and a bout of pancreatitis—yeah…” He smiled. “I stopped counting, but I love that little furball.”
“What is its name?” I secretly got excited. I loved dogs.
“Her name is Thistle Muffin,” he said, completely deadpanned.
“What?” I cocked my head.
“You heard me.” He smiled. “Thistle Muffin.”
“That is very unique.”
“She’s in a unique home.”
“Is her health better?” I asked.
“It can be a crapshoot. Give her a bite of steak, and she can wind up in the hospital from the grease with pancreatitis, so I just always hope everyone abides by the rules.” He chuckled. “And stress. Stress is another factor that she doesn’t do well with.”
I giggled, realizing Maddox had his hands full. “Well, I hope her life is calm.”
“You and me both.”
The server brought our check, and Maddox dropped his card in the tray before I had a chance to say a word.
“Thank you.” I smiled.
“After the talk about my brother, you don’t think I’d let you pay, right?” He laughed.
“Yeah. True. You sealed your fate.” I chuckled.
“So, how do you think Lucy and Morgan are getting along?” I teased. “That was her name, I think?”
“Probably better than I’ll ever understand.”
“I think you’re probably right.” I grinned. “I have a friend like that. She has a chronic habit of dating men who can’t even pay their own bus fare, and it’s like a merry-go-round because the same ones always resurface.”
“What about you? Any old flings resurface?”
I let out a low groan. “No. I have a habit of cutting people off.” I scowled. “Not that there are a lot of people to actually cut off. I’m serious when I say I haven’t had many relationships. My engagement was never meant to be, but it got me here.”
“That counts for a lot,” he said as the server took away the card. “I’ve never been engaged. Never really found someone I felt comfortable with until…”
The server brought back the card, and my chest tightened, waiting for his reply, but it never came.
“But getting stuck on Fireweed sounds like it was worth it.” He smiled.
I nodded.
“Can you see yourself living anywhere else?” he asked.
“Doubtful.” I laughed. “There’d have to be a pretty darn good reason.”
He nodded. “I know how that goes. I’m pretty anchored in Seattle. My business is really in its prime. I spend most of my days there and many of my nights.” He laughed. “Another selling feature about dating me.”
I laughed.
“Yeah. Same. I couldn’t imagine leaving my school. They’re like family.” I laughed. “Except they aren’t as nosy when it comes to my love life.”
He laughed, but my chest tightened. I knew that was why I couldn’t let myself fall. Maybe have a little fun here and there, but I definitely couldn’t fall for him.
Maddox quickly signed before we walked outside.
The balmy air had traded for briskness, and a shiver ran up my spine.
Maddox wrapped his arm around my shoulders and brought me closer to him as we walked toward one of the piers.
“I’ve heard the sunsets are amazing at the park.” He grinned, but I felt something change between us.
I wasn’t sure what had happened in the last five minutes other than the realization that we both liked our lives the way they were. Or was that more
me than him?
I nodded and looked up at him. “They are.”
His eyes stayed on mine, and a thrill of anticipation ran through me as we walked along the dock. I’d imagined what a kiss from him would be like since last night, and the thought nearly undid me now. Maybe just a fling with him was exactly what I needed.
We slowed as amethyst stained the evening sky with the sun dipping below the horizon. My breath caught as he slowly turned, his gaze staying on me while I brought in a slow, deep breath…It was just like the movies. Maybe this was how love was supposed to start.
And then my phone rang.
My fumbling hands quickly dug it out of my purse to quiet the beast when it slipped from my grasp and fell into the water with a plunk.
A squeak was all that rushed from my lips, and before I knew it, Maddox handed me his own phone and wallet and dove into the water with barely a splash or ripple of water.
Within seconds, my phone in hand, he shot up from the frigid water and pulled himself onto the dock, putting my phone next to him in a puddle.
I quickly grabbed it and was shocked to see that it still worked, even showing the missed call from Winter.
I glanced at Maddox, and his shirt and jeans clung to his body, not allowing much for my imagination to work on, and all I could think about was getting him to my house and getting him out of his wet clothes to warm up.
“The water is fifty degrees.” I tucked our phones and his wallet into my purse as he began quickly unbuttoning his shirt. “You could catch pneumonia.”
“I know what a pain losing a phone can be,” he said gruffly. “Especially all the photos and stuff.”
I smiled, unable to peel my eyes away from his sculpted chest as he made his way to the fourth button. “Well, thank you. It looks like it still works.” I was afraid to dig it out of my purse again and have it dip into the water a second time.
“Good.” His dripping shirt hung from his shoulders, completely unbuttoned, and my heart nearly fell to my toes as I sucked in a deep breath.
I could be an adult about this.
“My house is only a few minutes’ drive. You can get warmed up and—"
Mr. Mistake: A Fake Marriage Romance (Mr. Mistake Series Book 1) Page 7