by Rachel Hanna
“Why did you do that, Austin?” she asked softly.
“Because you needed me to,” he said. “I couldn’t listen to them batter you anymore.”
Her heartbeat quickened. “But they could be here for weeks. How are we going to keep up this charade?”
“Well, first of all, you’re going to have to start calling me Blake. And you’d better forewarn Addison and Clay too.”
“I will…”
“And we’ll have to pretend date.”
“And that’s why you kissed my neck and my cheek and sat me on your lap?” she asked, a coy smile on her face.
“That’s my story and I’m sticking to it,” he said as he started to walk away.
“Austin?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
He winked and walked down the sidewalk, and Molly was left wondering how they were going to pull this off.
Austin stopped around the corner, just out of sight, and took a deep breath. He watched through the trees as Molly walked back up to the porch and into the B&B.
What had he just done? The whole thing was completely insane. Pretend to be her boyfriend - by a whole different name - for the next few weeks all while trying to build a restaurant and not lose his job? Oh, and trying to find her catfish who started this whole mess in the first place?
This was a can of worms that was better left closed, but had he listened to his head? Nope. In fact, the moment he’d heard her parents talking to her that way, he’d struggled not to walk around the corner and throw both of her parents out on their butts.
But, as his grandmother used to say, he could catch more flies with honey. Was that even true? And why would anyone be catching flies in the first place?
Realizing he was getting mentally off track, he started walking again. Tonight he had a big meeting with an investor. Mac Ballard had called asking him to meet the guy because he was tied up, so this was Austin’s chance to show his stuff.
The only problem right now was he couldn’t get the smell of Molly’s hair out of his nose, and he couldn’t stop reliving her sitting on his knee either.
Women were nothing but trouble.
“Addison and Clay, these are my parents, Lydia and George James,” Molly said, a pained smile on her face as she introduced her parents. “They surprised me tonight, but I still managed to hand out all the candy.”
“So nice to meet you both,” Addison said, reaching out to shake their hands and smiling brightly. She had an innate sense of making people feel comfortable. Nothing like her family who seemed to delight in making everyone around them uncomfortable.
“Good to meet you. I hope you have a room for us?” Molly suddenly realized that her parents intended to stay there. At the B&B. With her… and Austin.
Oh, no. How was this ever going to work? They’d be watching her every move, and Austin’s too. Maybe she needed to just come clean.
“Of course. We have a lovely room at the other end of the hallway from Molly. It’s been fully renovated. How long do you plan to stay with us?” Addison asked.
“Maybe a few weeks. At least through Thanksgiving,” her mother said.
Thanksgiving? What? Oh no. This was bad bad bad.
“Mom, surely you and Dad want to have Thanksgiving at home.”
“Why? Your brother will be on a trip, and you’re out here… chasing your text message boyfriend. At least you found him and he doesn’t seem like an ax murderer.”
Addison looked at Molly with confusion.
“Yes, Mom, Blake is a wonderful guy. But let’s talk about that later. I’m sure Addison and Clay are ready to get Anna Grace settled in for the night…” Molly urged as she pushed her mother toward the stairs.
“Here, let me help you with those bags,” Clay said, handing Anna Grace off to Addison and leading her parents up the stairs.
“I’ll be up in a minute,” Molly called to them and then turned her attention to a very confused Addison.
“Okay, what’s going on?”
“Not a lot of time to explain, but the nutshell version is that my parents showed up without notice and started hounding me about whether Blake was real or not. I was just about to tell them the truth when Austin appeared from nowhere and pretended to be Blake. So now we’re pretend dating.”
Addison looked thoroughly confused and overwhelmed with the quick update. “Pretend dating?”
“Yes. For a few weeks.”
“And don’t you think it will look strange that he’s living here in the B&B?”
Molly hadn’t considered that, and neither had Austin, she assumed. If he was going to his own room at night, that would make no sense as he was supposed to live local.
“Crap. I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“Look, if you want this to work, Austin needs to stay in your room, at least when your parents are around.”
Molly felt flush. Austin staying in her room? That sounded like a very bad idea… and a very good one at the same time.
Chapter 10
Molly paced her room waiting for Austin to come back to the B&B. He’d been gone for at least two hours, and she felt a pang of jealousy when she realized he could actually be out on a date or something.
Thankfully, her parents had gone to bed, worn out by a day of traveling, so she had some time to make a plan. Either they would work this out or she’d have to come clean.
She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and peeked out her door to see Austin unlocking the door to his room.
“Psst!” she said in a loud whisper. Austin was startled to find her standing there waving her hand wildly. “Come here!”
She opened her door, grabbed his arm and jerked him inside.
“Hey, that’s no way to greet your pretend boyfriend!” he said with a chuckle.
“Not funny. We have a problem.” She closed the door quietly behind her.
“What kind of problem?”
“Addison pointed out a hole in your plan.”
“Oh now it’s my plan?”
“Well, pretty boy, you did jump into this all by yourself.”
“True. And don’t call me pretty. Call me hot, sexy, stud muffin…”
“Can you please pay attention?”
“I’m trying, but you’re kind of taking a long time to get to the point.” Again, he was a funny guy but now wasn’t the time.
“You’re going to have to stay in my room until my parents leave town.”
Austin’s eyes got wide and a smile slowly spread across his face. “Got the hots for your pretend boyfriend, do ya?”
She wasn’t sure what the answer was, but she wasn’t about to admit to anything. “My parents know that Blake lives locally, so why would he have a room at a B&B?”
Austin sat down and took in the info for a moment. “Very true, and obviously Addison is way smarter than either of us. So you basically want your parents to think you’re shacking up in this room with me?”
“Not the way I would’ve phrased it, but I guess so. Now what are we going to do?”
“Like you said, I need to stay here.”
Molly looked at him for a moment. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Austin stood and crossed the room, his face leaned into hers with only an inch between them. “Why, Molly? Worried you can’t keep your hands off of me?”
“Have you been drinking or something?” she asked, her arms crossed.
“Maybe.”
“Well, get real, buddy, because I can totally keep my hands off of you. And you’re sleeping on the sofa over there. The bed is mine.”
Austin sighed and walked to the door. “I think I’m getting the raw end of this deal. I’m paying for a room, but I get to sleep on the sofa over here. Terrible deal…” he muttered as he walked across the hall to get a few things.
A night on the sofa had proven to suck even more than Austin thought. Not only did he have to see Molly walk around her room wearing a nightshirt, but he had to keep his
hands to himself and sleep on the world’s hardest couch.
Still, he found himself wanting to be near her. It didn’t matter the place or situation, he enjoyed her company. They picked at each other, and she got his weird humor.
They’d had breakfast together with her parents, and he’d withstood their onslaught. In fact, her father seemed to be warming up, asking him lots of questions about real estate development. And to Austin’s surprise, he could answer most of them which made him feel like he was finally getting somewhere in his career.
The dinner with the investor had gone well, and he was pretty sure Ballard would be delighted with what he’d done. All in all, life was getting better in January Cove. Better than he could’ve ever imagined.
“Knock knock!” he heard a voice say as he sat in the trailer going over spreadsheets. The door opened and his best friend, Eddie, appeared.
“Dude! What are you doing here?” Austin jumped up and bear hugged his friend, so happy to see a familiar face.
“Thought I’d make a surprise visit!”
“Lots of those around here lately,” Austin muttered under his breath.
“Huh?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s so good to see you, man!”
“I hope you’ve got a place for me to stay while I’m here?”
Austin froze. “Well… let me tell you the situation…”
He spent the next several minutes detailing all of it, from meeting Molly to her parents showing up and having to move in with her.
“So let me get this straight,” Eddie said, leaning back in the chair across from Austin’s desk and putting his feet up, “you don’t care about this chick, but you rode in like a knight in shining armor and saved her from her evil parents?”
“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way.”
“Oh my gosh. I never thought I’d live to see the day.”
“What day?”
“Austin York falling in love.” Eddie beamed with pride and pretended to wipe away a tear from his eyes.
“I am not in love. I’m just helping a friend, that’s it,” Austin said as he stood up and pulled a file from the filing cabinet in the corner of the room.
“I’ve known you for a long time, Austin. You can’t play me.”
“Eddie, cut it out. Seriously,” Austin said, leaning over the chair, his hands turning white with the force of pressure he was holding on to the arm of the chair.
“Calm down. I’m happy for you, man. That’s all. You deserve this.”
“I don’t deserve her,” Austin said as he stood back up.
“And why is that?”
“Come on, man. You know me. You know my past and my personality. No woman like her is ever going to choose a man like me.”
“You mean a hard working guy who rides up on his white horse and saves the day?”
“That’s not me.”
Eddie stood up and faced his friend, putting his hands on Austin’s shoulders.
“Listen up. You’re not that fifteen year old kid anymore. You’re a man, and you’ve changed a lot over the years. When are you going to stop punishing yourself for having a rough life back then?”
“I just don’t feel…”
“Worthy of her. I get it. But you are, Austin. You’re in control of your life now. When are you going to accept that and move on?”
It was a good question. The only problem was, he didn’t have an answer.
Molly sat in her room, taking a momentary respite away from her parents. Rebecca had given her the whole day off so she could show her parents around January Cove, which she did. And that’s why she was now hiding in her room.
She showed them Jolt, which her mother criticized for not having big enough tables. She showed them the beach, which her mother criticized for not having enough seashells. And then she showed them the ferry, which her mother described as a “rickety dock with a rusted out boat”.
It had been exhausting.
Her father, as usual, didn’t say much and checked his email every five minutes, making several business calls throughout the day. And when her brother called their father to tell them about his new promotion, that’s all they could talk about for the rest of the day so Molly brought them back.
She decided that a nice, long bath was in order, even if it was just five in the afternoon. Maybe it would calm her down enough to eat dinner with them later.
She filled the tub with hot water and as many bubbles as it would fit and slid into it with her headphones blaring Maroon 5 songs.
When she opened her eyes again, Austin was staring back at her.
“What are you doing in here?” she yelped, looking down to make sure the bubbles were covering all the right places. Thank goodness they were.
“You left the door open. And then I realized you were asleep, so I didn’t want you to drown,” he said, but she couldn’t help but notice that he was smiling.
“Can you… go?” she asked, waving toward the door.
“But I need to talk to you.”
“Well, I’d rather talk with my clothes on.”
“Are you sure?”
“Get out!” she said, throwing a mound of bubbles at him.
A few minutes later, she was back in her clothes and ready to talk. Austin was sitting on her bed, leafing through a women’s magazine and chuckling to himself.
“Do you ladies really take these silly quizzes?”
“Give me that. What do you want to talk about?” she said, swiping the magazine from his hands and throwing it on the dresser.
“I’ve got news on your catfish.”
“What? How?”
“I’ve been doing a little behind the scenes work.”
“Okay…”
“I spoke with the guy who lives in the house you went to. He’s lived there for fifteen years.”
“I already knew that.”
“But did you know he’s rented the place for the summer once or twice while he traveled himself?”
“No, I didn’t know that…”
“Well, he rented it last summer, right around the time you met Fake Blake.”
“What? Why didn’t he tell me that?” she asked, irritated that the man had kept the information from her.
“I don’t know. I guess he didn’t think about it. Anyway, he actually rented it twice, for two weeks each time. Here’s the names of the people who rented it,” Austin said, handing it to Molly. “Recognize any of those names?”
Molly looked at the piece of paper. The first renter was Hillary Callahan, and the second renter was Wilton Marshall.
“I don’t recognize either name,” she said, disappointed that the answer wasn’t staring her in the face.
“Dang. I was hoping it would be as easy as that. We’ll have to keep digging. Are you still getting texts from him?”
“Everyday. I usually make a quick response or ignore, but I think he knows something is up.”
Austin smiled.
“What?”
“You don’t tear up anymore when you talk about him.”
He was right. She didn’t feel anything anymore when she got a text from him. In fact, she wished he would stop texting altogether. She would’ve already changed her number except she wanted to find the guy and crush him under the soles of her shoes.
“It doesn’t bother me anymore,” she said as she pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned against her pillow.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve moved on to bigger things.”
There was an awkward silence in the room for a moment.
“Well, at least you moved up from a fake boyfriend to a pretend one.”
“At least I can reach out and touch my pretend boyfriend,” she said, giggling as she reached out and touched his forearm. Much to her shock, he grabbed her hand and held it against his arm for a moment before letting go.
“Um, Addison told me to see if you’re ready for dinner?”
“Yeah. Sure. I just need to put
my shoes on…”
Molly stood up and slipped on her black flats as Austin opened the door. When they walked into the hallway, her parents were just coming out of their room.
“Ready for dinner?” Molly asked.
Her mother was dressed to the nines, which seemed a bit much for a family dinner.
“Yes. We have reservations for four at Bel Cibo in thirty minutes.”
“But, Mom, I think Addison is cooking dinner.”
“Good grief, Molly, do we have to eat here for every meal? I think we’ve been very congenial with your hosts here, but must we spend all of our time in this place?”
“Mom…”
“Relax, sweetie. I’ll make our regrets to Addison and meet you outside, okay?” Austin said with a forced smile.
Molly nodded and followed her parents downstairs to her rental car.
“Molly, dear, I have a question for you,” her mother said when they got outside.
“What?” Molly was exhausted and her parents had only been there a couple of days.
“I haven’t seen you kiss Blake one time.”
“That’s not a question, Mother.”
“Well, I was just expecting a little more romance between you two seeing as you were so head over heels in love,” she said with a definite sarcastic tone. “Trouble in paradise?”
“No, of course not! I just didn’t think you’d want to see me all over some guy.”
“Well, if he’s living in your room and about to become your husband, then I would expect to see some evidence of your undying love for each other,” she said, pursuing her lips. It was apparent that her mother wasn’t completely falling for her pretend boyfriend act. She had to do something.
Austin walked down the stairs toward the car and smiled. “Addison totally understood.”
Before he could say more, Molly turned around. “Thank you for telling her, honey. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my future husband,” she said, and then she did the craziest thing she’d ever done. She reached her hands around his neck, pulled his lips to hers and kissed him like her life depended on it.