by Jenny Rabe
Dean sighed in exasperation. Would the guy ever get a clue? He watched Emilie for a reaction, but her face stayed wicked calm. She looked collected, but he knew her too well. He went back to supporting her from behind, holding her to let her know this would pass soon. Surely, Finn wouldn’t invite her? Six years since they dated, six years since they’d seen each other.
She reached back and tightened her ponytail. Dean breathed in her lemon-scented shampoo. His favorite smell in the whole world, other than the salty air.
“Congratulations.” Her voice was as steady as water on a busy boat day. Not steady at all.
Finn grinned wider. “Thanks. I was hoping you would come. It won’t be the same without you there.”
Dean stared at his shoes. As if she would go to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. What an idiot.
Emilie dug her sandal into the ground and rotated it in the dirt. “I don’t know about—”
“Oh, come on.” Finn’s cheerful face never wavered. “I know we had a rough time in high school, but that’s behind us. Don’t you want to move on and get back to the way things used to be? We had so much fun together.” His eyebrows waggled playfully. “Plus the bride would love some help.”
Dean leaned over to check her reaction. Emilie smiled, a trickle of one, but he could tell it took effort. She shouldn’t be cordial. Not to Finn. Never to Finn. The jerk didn’t deserve it.
Dean gave her a don’t fall for him again look. No way she was really considering going, right? Why had she never seen what an idiot he was? As if she wanted to plan his wedding!
Finally Emilie spoke. “I’m sure your future wife has family and friends, and I’m a bit busy this summer.”
“I promise it won’t be too much. She likes to do most of the preparations herself. It’s moral support she needs the most.” Finn clapped his hands together. “I’ll put you on the guest list. I’m guessing you don’t have a plus one.”
Anger flared in Dean’s chest. Time to bring his idea into motion. No way he’d let Finn hurt her again. Instead of thinking things through, words spewed from his mouth. “I’m her plus one. We got engaged three weeks ago.”
Emilie swiveled around and stared at Dean. “Why? What—”
“Oh, sweetie, I know you wanted to get settled before telling people, but I couldn’t resist.” Dean pulled her into a tight hug and whispered in her ear. “Go with it. He’s looking at you like a chopped-up fish dinner.”
Emilie straightened, but stayed in Dean’s arms. It would explain why she came back to Danvers and also why she would be leaving. If she needed an easy out, a quick breakup with him could explain her exit from town. Not that he wanted to give her a reason. He’d brought up the plan, and if he got crushed later, she wouldn’t be responsible.
“I guess it is time we told someone, honey.” Her voice came out less shaky than before as she turned around to face Finn.
After her lie, Dean let her relax against his chest, more than happy she was willing to play along.
Finn’s cheerful demeanor flipped a 180. “You two? Really? I mean, it makes sense. You two were always together, maybe even more than we were, huh Emilie?”
Emilie pasted on a smile. “Yep, Dean and I were meant to be.”
Blessed discomfort slipped into Finn’s usual confidence. He shoved his hands in his expensive slack pockets. “My fiancé would love your help. She’s planned some wedding events to lead up to the final day, and it’s really surprising that no one’s volunteered to help her.”
Worry slipping into him like oil, spreading and contaminating Dean’s mind. If it was who he thought it was, this wedding was going to hurt Emilie even more. “Who is your fiancé, by the way? You didn’t mention her name.”
Finn stood up tall and flexed his arms. “Oh, you two know her well. It’s Ava. That girl’s had me hooked around her pinky since high school.”
It didn’t take a dummy to see how Finn’s words affected Emilie. If he didn’t get Finn out of there right then, he’d ruin everything. If there was the slightest chance she wasn’t staying in Danvers for good, this would be just the thing to make her leave. He slipped his hand in Emilie’s and entwined his fingers through hers.
“You know we’re not friends, right? Did you miss out on that in high school?”
Finn looked as shocked as Dean. Bravo! Dean wanted to kiss her for being so brave. Instead he rubbed his thumb over her palm.
“I know she was uptight in high school,” Finn said, oblivious to Emilie’s watery eyes, “but she’s changed.” Finn waved their unspoken concerns away. “I promise. There’s a lot you two need to talk about, and she’s hoping you’ll be a part of the wedding.”
Emilie lifted her head and sniffed. “She does? I’ve needed to talk to her too. I’m not sure I have time to help with the wedding, but I would like to meet with her.”
Dean squeezed her hand.
Finn looked away from their joined hands and cleared his throat. “Is it all right if I pass along your number to Ava? Later you two can meet up and talk.”
Emilie chewed on her lip for half a second. Finn didn’t have the right to have her number again. “Sure. I have the same number as before. Text over the details.”
Mrs. Fran appeared behind the food counter and Dean was happy for an excuse to leave. “Our food’s ready. Good to see you, Finn.”
Finn barely met his gaze. “Same. And Emilie, I’m really glad you’re home.”
5
Emilie
Emilie held Dean’s arm with an iron grip as he whirled her away from Finn and up to the counter to collect their food. The pull of Finn’s attention tugged from behind her, but she resisted. Instead, she leaned on Dean’s shoulder, helping their charade along.
“You two are together?” The takeout bags slipped from Mrs. Fran’s hands.
Dean swiftly caught them in one hand. “It’s kind of a secret, but yes, we’re getting married.” Mrs. Fran looked down at Emilie’s left hand, but Dean solved that problem, too. “It’s being sized.”
Since she couldn’t show her irritation to busybody onlookers, Emilie curled her toes tightly in her sandals. When had lying become so easy for him?
Mrs. Fran beamed. “It does my heart good to see you two together. This is something I’ve hoped for. I can’t think of a cuter couple.” The woman’s words surprised her. No one else had rooted for them in the past, not that Emilie remembered.
“Everything is still new,” Emilie finally said. “We’d like to keep things qui— ”
“Hey, you guys,” Mrs. Fran called to anyone within shouting range. Her voice no longer had a tinkling quality. More like a clang. “Guess who got engaged?”
Emilie turned to see if Finn was still around, but thankfully, he was gone. He hadn’t come to eat after all. Her new fake engagement was more permanent than she wanted to imagine. She held her smile and pretended she was having a rough day on the stage and needed to push through with grace. As soon as she could pull Dean away, she hooked an arm through his and headed toward the private beach behind the little shack.
“What were you thinking?” she hissed in his ear when they were out of earshot.
“What?” He chuckled under his breath. “You were happy to go along with it when Finn was here. Why is telling Mrs. Fran any worse?”
“Because she practically just told the whole town. In hours, everyone will know.” She took a deep breath, trying to swallow the panic. “They’re going to tell their friends, and their friends are going to laugh and then tell even more people.” She moved away from him and sat down on the rocky beach. “I already have enough to live down, and now I’m engaged. A phony engagement! Where did that even come from?”
He sighed and plopped down on the sand a few feet away. “I hope no one sees us sitting so far apart. They might think we’re having our first lover’s quarrel.” The tiny crinkles in the corner of his eyes danced as he laughed again.
Emilie narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you realize how this is going t
o turn out? More gossip for me to deny.” Dean’s face fell, and Emilie knew she’d said the right thing to get him to realize why she was so upset.
After a minute of reflection, he shrugged and dug into the food bags. “I’d do it all over again. There is no way I’m going to let Finn hurt you again. I heard he was getting married, and I thought he’d pull a stunt like this.”
“What! Why weren’t those the first words out of your mouth?” She yanked her food out of the bag with so much force, the wrapped-up fish fell apart and dropped in the sand.
Dean jumped to his feet. “I’ll go get another one.”
The way the corners of his mouth fell tugged at her heart while guilt threatened to churn in her stomach. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t created the situation to hurt her. She sighed and pulled him back to the sand next to her. “It’s fine. I’m not that hungry now. I shouldn’t have gotten so mad. It’s not like faking a relationship changes anything.”
Dean frowned. “I heard a rumor you’re not staying in Danvers. It’s not true, right?”
She reached for an onion ring and munched it as she chose her words. “Nothing’s settled yet, but it’s true I want to sell the house eventually. Too many bad memories. I couldn’t even walk into my mom’s room. It’s also true I want to dance on the team again, but lately my technique has been lacking. But who knows? I hoped starting up the old dance studio would be a good investment, but I might love running it so much I won’t want to leave.”
His eyes sparkled as the corners of his mouth turned up. “I’m going to make it so you’ll love it here again. We had fun together back in the day, and I’m going to remind you of all the things you’ve missed, including me.”
She touched his shoulder lightly. “Thanks for speaking up when Finn was around. It was nice not standing there like a broken toy. At least someone wants me. For fake or for worse.”
He laughed, sending a spray of chewed-up fish toward her. Laughter bubbled out of her while relief soothed the raw edges of her emotions. For fake or for worse. Gosh, he’d saved her.
“Here, there’s enough fish for both of us.” He shared half of his food with her and rested his hands in his lap. “I can’t believe Finn had the gall to stalk you and invite you to his wedding. And not only that. He wants you to be a part of planning it with your ex-best friend. I may have started a rumor, but I think nothing matches the other rumors that have been said about you for years. Most of which aren’t true.”
Emilie cringed. When he said it like that, it made her life seem pitiful. She groaned inwardly. Dean had come to her rescue without any hesitation. Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. Didn’t she want to prove to Finn she hadn’t been pining for him all these years? Not true, of course, since most of her relationships since him had ended in disaster, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
Dean scooted closer, more hesitant than before. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you more, but if being engaged puts some rumors to rest, then I’m willing to be fake engaged to you. And don’t worry about me being hurt. I’ve waited to be fake engaged to you my whole life.”
Her heart swelled at his gesture, his sincerity touching. Only a small part of her doubted how successful they’d be. Could she pretend without getting attached and making a mess of their friendship? “Fake engaged, huh?”
“For as long as you want.”
“And the real reason why I came back to town to live?”
His confidence was catching. “Absolutely. You missed me so much you didn’t want to spend another day without seeing my sexy face.”
She laughed at the situation. She and Dean engaged? Who would believe it? “And how long have we had a long-distance relationship? Since I left?” Then again, Mrs. Fran thought it was plausible. Would they be able to fool everyone else?
He looked down at the rocky sand, digging his fingers in instead of meeting her gaze. Finally, he said, “We’ve been friends forever, which is true, but only in the last” —he paused and seemed to be counting in his head— “seven months have we known our relationship was something more.”
“Seven months?” Emile said. “That’s hardly enough time to date before getting engaged.”
“Finn and Ava have been off and on for years, minus the one other time she dated someone.”
An uncomfortable sensation crawled up her back. He seemed to know a lot about Ava’s dating life. “Do you and Ava keep in touch?”
He shrugged but didn’t meet her eye. “Rumor mill and all that. They’ve been hot and cold since graduation.”
Another worry bugged her. Would their friendship suffer if they had a plan? Would it end in chaos and hurt feelings? Before they agreed, she had to set some terms.
“I don’t want to lose you as a friend.” Dean raised an eyebrow. “I mean it. I won’t do this if our friendship ends in shambles.”
He drew lines in the sand around their feet. “You think we’ll be over because of this? Girl, you’re gonna have to trap me in a net to get away now.”
She smoothed the sand around her and drew circles with the palm of her hand. “So we’ll still be friends after this is said and done?”
His smile faltered. There was no way she’d do this without his assurance. Before she could back out, he met her eyes with a hard stare. “If you promise to give staying a chance, I’ll make sure our friendship stays safe.”
An uneasy restlessness slipped into her mind, shaking her confidence. She grabbed her cherry limeade and took a deep swig. It wasn’t like she didn’t trust Dean. But giving this place an honest chance would require effort. At least if she tried, she could leave with a good conscience. She slipped her hand into his for a handshake. “Deal, I’ll protect our friendship as well, but if after a year it doesn’t work out, you can’t be mad if I leave.”
“Don’t worry. You’re going to love life in Danvers and never want to leave me.” His warm, calloused hand sent unwanted tingles up her arm.
She dropped her hand and pulled her food into her lap. “Let’s eat before this gets cold.”
The ocean lapped against the shore while they ate. Gulls passed overhead, filling the silence while questions rolled around in Emilie’s mind. What would people ask her, and what would she tell them when they asked about wedding details?
After crunching into a particularly thick onion ring, she stole a glance at Dean. His hazy blue eyes focused on the sea, probably looking for boats. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world to be engaged to him. He’d earned her trust long ago by keeping her family secrets. Finn, on the other hand, couldn’t handle the truth about her family and fled. Some great guy he turned out to be!
She visually traced the angles and planes of Dean’s face, surprised he hadn’t dated more with how good-looking he was. She had asked him plenty over the last year on long conversations that continued into the morning, but now after seeing how hot… qualified he was, it really made no sense. Nope, she could do much worse than him. She regarded him as he continued to stare. Just because she was in a state of desperation over coming back to town didn’t mean she had to throw herself at Dean. That had been a bad idea the night she left Danvers six years ago. An even worse idea now that they were fake engaged.
She’d always been attracted to Dean but was never brave enough to do anything about it. Finn had been her first real boyfriend, and after their breakup, it was too painful to even consider Dean. The night after her mom’s funeral, she’d packed up everything and left for her dad’s, only stopping at Dean’s house to say goodbye. He’d looked as broken as she felt. He had begged her to stay, but she couldn’t. And then he kissed her. A simple, beautiful kiss she’d never forgotten all these years.
“So when are we getting married?”
Emilie inhaled sharply when Dean’s words came out so smoothly. Disbelief and something else she couldn’t name flooded her mind. Was it the hilarity of the thought of them dating?
He scooted closer until their knees brushed. “Or we could say we want to get you settled
first. Then there might be fewer questions.”
Emilie nodded. Props to Dean for staying logical. Setting a wedding date felt too final. “Let’s do that. But what happened seven months ago to change things?”
Dean threw his wrapper in the bag and stretched out on the sand, his hands sliding behind his head. “Seven months ago, you came down to visit your mom’s grave, we met up, and things just clicked.”
She’d avoided her hometown since the day she’d left, including her mother’s grave. Guilt slashed across her like a ballet dévelope kick to the stomach. “I’ve wanted to visit Mom.” Her voice took on a panicked tone. “Well, I did and I didn’t. The dance company was always touring somewhere. Made a perfect excuse in the beginning, and then later, I didn’t want to come. I haven’t visited once since the funeral.”
He sat up and patted her free hand. To anyone else, the touch might’ve seemed patronizing, but from Dean, it was kindness. “Her gravestone’s nice. Whenever they’re in season, I bring her a big bouquet of yellow snapdragons.”
Emilie grinned, remembering how her mom always planted them in the spring, but by fall, the cold wrapped terrible fingers around them and killed them. “Thank you, Dean.” Emotion crawled up her throat. For six years, he’d continued caring for her family. His love went above and beyond what she could’ve imagined.
“You know I’d do anything for you, right?” He slipped an arm around her waist.
Part of her melted when he put his arm around her. She blinked up at him, startled by the sincerity in his warm eyes. Yes, he was a friend who’d do anything for her. His words once again touched her weary heart.
He rubbed his sandy hands on his shorts then lifted his hand to her face. “You’ve got tartar sauce on your...” He stopped talking as his thumb passed over her lips.
An overwhelming confusion rushed through Emilie. There was a fine line between friendship and more. Was he crossing it? Did she want him to?
When he backed off as if nothing happened, she shook her thoughts away. “I still can’t believe Mom’s gone. Sometimes I call her phone to tell her something and remember Dad had it disconnected. Or I’ll have an amazing performance and want to tell her, only to remember no one waits in the crowd for me anymore.” Not wanting him to see her face, she turned away and gathered the remaining trash.