by Rachel Hanna
“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. Whe
n 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.
At first, it was for show, but then something happened. Something she didn’t expect. The whole world vanished, went black and all that existed were her and Austin. The warmth of his lips, the eagerness of his tongue slipping into her mouth, his hands around her waist pulling her closer. She felt herself melting into him and then…
“Molly! Please! That’s enough!” her mother shouted. Molly mentally checked herself to be sure all of her clothes were still on, and she could feel her face flush with redness. Was it embarrassment or heat? She had no idea.
When she finally turned around, her mother was visibly angry, but she said nothing more and got into the car. Molly turned back to Austin who looked more stunned than anything.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “They weren’t buying it. I had to take it up a notch.”
Austin walked around to open the passenger side door for her and whispered back, “Did you hear me complain?”
As Austin drove, he was quiet, allowing Molly’s parents to give the latest update on her brother, Liam. All he could think about was that kiss. That amazing kiss. He’d kissed a good number of women in his time, but nothing like that.
He ha
dn’t expected it, and he hadn’t wanted it to stop. He’d forgotten all time and space until Molly’s mother had yelled at them. He’d never been so close to strangling a woman, but he’d considered it for a split second when he felt the void of her lips on his.
In the end, he knew she was only playing a part. He was basically an actor, and actors kissed actresses all the time without falling in love. He could certainly do the same.
Only he wasn’t an actor. And this was getting out of hand.
They arrived at the restaurant and were seated at a table overlooking the beach. It was a beautiful evening, the sunset painting pink streaks across the ever darkening sky. Molly could smell the salt water in the air, and the ocean waves roared in like clockwork.
After they ordered, the waiter invited them to enjoy the dance floor. A jazz band was playing on the patio, so Molly’s parents excused themselves for a dance which gave Austin and Molly a chance to talk.
“I’m so sorry, again, for springing that kiss on you,” she said softly. He reached under the table and took her hand. “You know they can’t see your hand, right?” she asked with a smile.
“I know.” And yet he continued holding her hand. Finally, after a few moments, he asked her to dance. They walked out to the dance floor, hand in hand.
Austin slipped both of his hands around her waist as she reached around his neck. They were close now, almost as close as when they kissed, and she could feel someone’s heart pounding. Whether it was hers or his, she had no idea, but the energy between them was almost electric.
He pulled her closer, giving her no other option but the rest her cheek against his chest. Yep, it was his heartbeat, although hers was keeping time with his. He smelled so good. She wanted to bury her nose in his shirt, but that might get them kicked out.
He was holding her so tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head. She felt safer than she ever had in her life in that moment, even though she knew the whole thing was an act. Honestly, she wondered if Austin had taken acting classes at some point because their kiss had been magical.
Her parents, mostly her mom, were watching them closely, looking for any reason to trip them up. She had no idea why her mother was so suspicious, but it was obvious that she was.