The Girl Next Door

by Emma Hart

  Ivy blinked at me. “What?”

  “Are we going on a date?” I asked, holding out my hands. “I have feelings for you, ones that existed before this pregnancy.”

  Her mouth formed a small ‘o.’

  “So you should know that I’m not going to stop asking you out until you say yes just one time.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “So it’s kind of like how you got me to sleep with you.”

  “I remember you being a fully willing participant in that.”

  “After you wore me down.”

  “So I’ll wear you down again.”

  She pursed her lips, but her smile was in her eyes. “Then I suppose I’ll just save us both some time and say yes. Better we find out what a disaster it’ll be sooner rather than later.”

  “Really?”

  “Why do you sound so surprised?”

  “I was prepared to have to wear you down, to be honest. This one is a shocker.”

  She leaned against the side of the island, a shy smile toying with her lips. “It’s not like I can get rid of you. And you did go out to the store just to buy all this stuff for breakfast to apologize, so I guess one date isn’t going to kill me. Although childbirth might.”

  “Works for me. It means I have seven months of you before you die. I’ll be sure to make the most of it.”

  Ivy shook her head, pushing off the island. “I can see this going terribly already.”

  “How about mini golf?” I called after her.

  She stuck her middle finger up over her shoulder.

  I was taking that as a yes.

  CHAPTER TWELVE – IVY

  I stared at the clothes in my closet.

  Eighty percent of them weren’t going to fit me in six months, maybe ever again, and that was a bit of a travesty.

  So was Kai suggesting mini freaking golf for a date.

  Mini golf. I couldn’t play golf. The last time I’d tried, I almost hit myself in the head with the club.

  I know.

  I didn’t know how I’d done it, either.

  It wasn’t looking promising for this date.

  Mostly because I really, really didn’t know how I felt about it all. While I would lie to my sister and my best friends about how I was feeling, I couldn’t lie to myself, and so I wasn’t going to.

  I was feeling things for Kai, things I wasn’t sure I was supposed to feel right now.

  Although he teased me about being the person who’d started this whole fake relationship thing, the one thing I didn’t want to feel in a real relationship was obligation. I didn’t want anyone else to feel it, and no matter what he said, I couldn’t stop the thoughts that he was only interested in dating me because of the baby.

  Which is why I was a little pissed Anna had spilled the beans entirely about last night and about how upset I’d been that I couldn’t get hold of him. He had no obligation to drop everything every single time I felt unwell, especially not time with his friends.

  He had his own life, and not every second of it had to revolve around me.

  Not now, not ever.

  Another check in the ‘dating obligation’ checkbox.

  But still, nobody else was knocking down my door, and I really did like Kai. Too much, I thought sometimes. And he really was the best cuddler I’d ever met in my life. Curling up against him at night wasn’t exactly a hardship, especially last night.

  When he’d thought I was asleep.

  When he’d whispered how sorry he was.

  When he’d whispered how much he cared.

  When he’d whispered how crazy he was about me.

  I dropped down to my bed. Sometimes, it felt like it was all too much. Like my life had been twisted and turned upside down in the space of a week.

  How long had he been hiding those feelings?

  As long as I’d been hiding my own attraction to him?

  Was that possible? Had we really lived opposite each other for this long without either of us ever coming clean?

  Was Vincent’s party, the night we slept together, the night he wanted things to change?

  Who was I kidding? Of course it was. That was obvious. He’d even had a conversation with the old man about asking me out, and I’d brushed it off like it was nothing.

  Why wouldn’t I? I’d seen Kai flirt with tons of women—after all, our friends were in similar circles—and I had no reason to believe his interest in me was anything more than superficial.

  Until now.

  Until last night when he’d whispered into my hair right before he’d kissed the top of my head.

  Three times.

  You didn’t kiss someone’s head three times unless you really cared about them.

  But for now, I had to figure out what to wear to a mini golf date.

  Oh, fuck me. This was so stupid. It didn’t matter what I wore. We’d cooked breakfast together while I was wearing an old hockey t-shirt of his, for goodness sake, and that had only happened a few hours ago.

  That t-shirt was now mine.

  At least it was in my laundry basket, so that meant it was mine.

  I wasn’t going to give it back willingly. It was soft and large enough that it would cover my stomach at the grocery store. A fact that was surprisingly important—I didn’t want all the pensioners in town cooing over me.

  If they couldn’t see my growing stomach, they couldn’t coo.

  Not that it was growing right now. I liked to kid myself it was, but it was really just bloating.

  That was what I got for eating seven slices of bacon at breakfast.

  I didn’t see anything wrong with that, for what it was worth.

  Sighing, I moved to my dresser and pulled out some skinny jeans. I probably wasn’t going to fit into these for much longer so I was going to make the most of it while I still could.

  I combined them with a loose, flowy shirt and some white ballet flats, then brushed my hair so it resembled something a little less than a rat’s nest.

  But only a little, so I pulled it up into a ponytail before twisting it into a loose bun.

  There.

  That was better.

  I hesitated over makeup before applying a little mascara. It had the desired effect, and I nodded at my reflection.

  At least my complexion no longer resembled that of a ghost.

  Three knocks sounded at my door before it opened, and I walked out to see Kai letting himself in.

  “Come on in,” I teased, brushing a few wayward baby hairs from my eyes.

  He looked up with a grin. “Thanks. I thought I would. Are you ready?”

  “Do I look ready?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not a fashion expert.” He hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his own jeans. “So are you?”

  “Ready to get stopped by every single person in town to be asked endless questions like, “When’s the baby due?” or, “I didn’t know you were dating!” or, “Where’s your wedding ring, Ivy?”” I wrinkled my nose. “Sure. Can’t wait.”

  “Well, I can’t help you with the first two, but I have a solution for the last one.”

  “If you propose to me, I’m going to whack you with a cucumber.”

  “A cucumber?”

  I pulled one out of the fridge. “Yes, a cucumber.”

  He blinked at me for a moment before he shook his head. “You’re so weird.”

  “Thank you.” Grinning, I put it back in the fridge and closed the door. “Well? What’s your solution, Sherlock?”

  “Sherlock investigates things.”

  “Well, my lack of a fake wedding ring warrants investigation, so I’ll ask you again: What’s your solution, Sherlock?”

  “So, so fucking weird,” Kai muttered. “This is my solution.” He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small box that looked scarily like a ring box.”

  I took a step back. “If you bought that—”

  “I didn’t,” he said quickly. “I promise.”

  I held my hand
to my chest and blew out a breath. “This is pretty heavy for a first date, Connors.”

  His laugh filled the room—and sent goosebumps dancing over my skin. “Well, we already skipped a few steps.” He looked pointedly at my lower stomach. “One more won’t hurt.”

  I cupped my hands over my nose and mouth. “All right, hit me. Show me what you did.”

  “Anna helped.” He walked over to me and dropped to one knee. “Will you be my fake wife, Ivy?”

  I glanced down at the box. “Is that a gummy ring?”

  Kai laughed and reached into his back pocket. “It is, but this isn’t.” He produced another ring that was gorgeous—white gold with one simple stone set in the middle.

  It was small, classy, and completely beautiful.

  “Where did you get that?”

  “Family ring. It probably won’t fit perfectly, but you know.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You can borrow it for this…experiment.”

  “Experiment.”

  “Experiment,” he confirmed.

  I laughed. “Okay, yes, I’ll be your fake wife.”

  “Phew.” He stood up and handed me the ring. “Here you go.”

  “Here you go?” I took the ring from him. “Wow. My first proposal is fake, and you don’t even put the ring on me.”

  With a huff, he wrestled the ring from my fingers and took my left hand. I laughed when he selected my ring finger and slipped the ring onto it.

  We both froze.

  It fit perfectly.

  Swallowing, I jerked my hand back. “Well, at least it solves that question.”

  I wasn’t going to think about the fact that ring sat on my finger like it was made for it.

  Co. In. Ci. Dence.

  That was my story. And I was going to stick to it like glue.

  “Shall we go?” Kai asked, motioning toward the door.

  I nodded and grabbed my purse. “You should know that I am awful at mini golf.”

  “You can’t be that bad.”

  “I almost hit myself in the head with the club once.”

  “All right, you can be that bad.”

  I swatted him and followed him out. I stopped to lock the door before we turned to the stairs. “I don’t have great aim. I’m a bit like the giants in Harry Potter where they swing their clubs around aimlessly hoping to hit someone with it.”

  “Ah, a bit like teenage boys and their penises.”

  “I sure hope teenage boys aren’t waving their penises around in the hopes it’ll hit someone.”

  “You’d be surprised.”

  I highly doubted it. And even if I could, I’d had enough surprises for one week, thank you very much.

  I said that, too.

  Kai chuckled and held open the apartment building door for me. “I’ll give you that one. Don’t worry. I promise not to swing my penis around in the hopes it’ll hit you.”

  “It’s a bit late for that,” I muttered, pressing my hand against my lower stomach.

  He laughed and dropped his arm over my shoulders. “All right, Jesus, you win that one, too.”

  I rolled my eyes and waited for him to pull his keys from his pocket. He unlocked his truck, but before I could open the door, he grabbed the handle and did it for me.

  “Look at you being a gentleman,” I teased, climbing in.

  “I am capable of it. Sometimes.” He winked and pushed the door closed.

  I watched as he rounded the front of the truck and got in the other side. I tried to train my gaze to stay away from him, but it just wouldn’t comply with my brain.

  Not as he started the engine, not as he put the car in reverse, and not as he pulled out of his parking spot.

  Definitely not as he put it back into gear and pulled away from the parking lot entirely.

  He really was handsome. Dark hair, blue eyes, lips that could seduce a slab of granite—honestly, it was so unfair. God must have been working overtime the day he created Kai Connors.

  “Why are you staring at me?”

  “Why a phoenix tattoo?” I asked, poking his upper arm where the tail was on show beneath the arm of his t-shirt.

  “Random,” he said, turning on the blinker. “I don’t know. I liked it, I guess. I wish I could tell you there was some great explanation or meaning behind it, but nope.”

  “Fair enough.” I finally dragged my gaze away from him and peered out of the window. “Do you have any others?”

  “You should know. You’ve seen me naked.”

  “Yes, but every time I’ve seen you without your clothes, I’ve either been tired, pissed, or too busy to search your body for other works of art.”

  “How many times have you seen me without my clothes?”

  “Too many,” I shot back.

  “I’d argue not nearly enough times. Shall we fix that?”

  “Kai, just drive.”

  He laughed, making another turn. “Oh, come on. It’s not like sleeping together on the first date even matters here.”

  “Well, I guess there’s no risk of me getting pregnant if we did.”

  He peered over at me, eyes sparking with amusement. “That is a bonus. And we both know the sex would be good.”

  “Is this how this is going to work? You’re going to make the most of this fake marriage by getting sex out of me?”

  “I can’t sleep with anyone else. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m unfaithful.”

  “Really. Is that so?”

  “No. I’d just really rather have sex with you again.” He flashed me a grin. “Is that really that bad?”

  “I don’t know. You told me I’d feel your cock inside me for a week, and you lied.”

  “Technically, I did leave something inside you, so it wasn’t a total lie.”

  Smartass. “Do you always start your first dates with sex?”

  “No. I usually cover the basics of what you do, where you work, what kind of movies you like, your favorite music,” he said, pulling into the mini golf place. “But if I ask you that in public, we might get some funny looks, considering we’re supposed to be married. I wouldn’t look like a very good husband if I did that.”

  “So it’s all about how you look. Are you shopping for a real future wife?”

  “Depends. Are you for sale?”

  I stared at him for a moment, then got out of the truck without answering. I knew he was joking—hell, his laugh was so loud aliens could probably hear it without straining too hard.

  He locked the truck and once again looped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. “Too heavy for a first date?” he whispered in my ear.

  “I think we’re past that, really,” I said, once again touching my stomach. “Just stay away from my golf club before I accidentally hit you.”

  “Warning taken.” He got the door for me and we walked into the building that housed the spacious entry hall.

  It had three other exits, one that lead to the staff quarters, one that lead to the on-site restaurant that was really a glorified high school cafeteria, and the mini golf course. The golf course itself lead to a large indoor arcade that was full of slot machines and games and grabbers.

  You know, the ones where you spent twenty bucks for a soft toy that would cost you five from the internet?

  I’m pretty sure those machines were why my parents charged me and Holley rent as soon as we got jobs. And since the bar was our first job, it came out of our wages. Like taxes.

  Hmm. I had to check my paycheck just in case they were still doing that…

  We joined the short queue for tickets to the mini golf. It took us only a few minutes to get the front, and Kai paid while I took the tokens we could use to exchange for the clubs and balls at the kiosk outside.

  It was a sprawling area, complete with a playground for kids, and since it was Sunday, it was packed.

  “Oh no,” I said quietly. “Screaming kids.”

  Kai chuckled to himself. “Get used to it.”

  I thumped him in the a
rm.

  Just because the arrival of my own screaming child was imminent didn’t mean I wanted to hear other people’s.

  He switched our tokens for clubs and balls at the kiosk, and we waited until the couple in front of us was on the third hole before we started.

  “Should I go first? In case of a wayward club?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “You can try, but I bet I’d hit you either way. By accident, of course.”

  Grinning, he stepped aside and let me go first.

  I lined up my ball and got into position.

  “Your ass looks great in those jeans.”

  “Looks better out of them,” I retorted, then hit the ball.

  I missed it.

  “See, if you weren’t making a snarky comment, you’d have hit it.”

  “It wasn’t snark; it was truth.” I swung the club and this time, hit the ball. “And careful, or I’ll hit you.”

  “You keep promising to hit me but I don’t see it happened. I’m a little disappointed.”

  “Welcome to marriage,” I said, tapping the ball into the hole. “It’s full of disappointments.”

  “Hmm. I want a divorce.”

  “Me, too.”

  Our eyes met, and we both smiled.

  Maybe this wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world, to try and make this fake relationship real. He made me laugh, and I liked spending time with him—mostly—and yeah, he was too attractive for his own good.

  Which was why I knew there was something more than just a little crush I was feeling for him.

  Because all the women around us were staring at him unabashedly, and I wanted to gauge out their eyeballs.

  Women were weird.

  “How many hits did it take you?” I asked, looking at the sheet. “A hole in one? You did it in one?”

  “I did,” he replied smugly. “And you’d know it if you were paying attention instead of staring daggers at all the other women around here.”

  I shoved the sheet and mini pencil back at him. “Oh, shut up.”

  “It’s fine. You’re my wife. You’re allowed to glare at other women if they eye me up. I don’t mind.” His eyes sparkled. “In fact, I’m rather enjoying it.”

  “Enjoying what? The endless ogling from strangers?”

  “No. Your obvious jealousy.”

  “I am not jealous.” I put the ball down way too hard and swung my club even harder. “I have nothing to be jealous about. I just happen to think it’s incredibly rude to stare at someone when he’s obviously here with another woman.”