Her forehead creased. “Seriously?”
He looked back at the screen. “Is it Road House?”
“It’s Dirty Dancing.” The way she said it made it sound like he’d cursed the holy church.
“Oh. I’ve never seen it.”
Her mouth fell open as she swatted his arm. “You’ve never seen Dirty Dancing?!”
“No.”
The horror on her face was the same as if he’d said he kicked puppies. He knew that this was already starting off on a bad foot. Trying to soften the blow that he’d never seen Dirty Dancing he said, “I did see Ghost.”
“So?” She shrugged as if one thing had nothing to do with the other.
This train was quickly going off the rails, and he needed to right it. “I’m sorry to bug you so late, but I needed to talk to you.”
She stared at him, and he could feel that she was waiting for him to say something, anything that she could pick apart and dismantle. But, unless he was imagining things, the walls that were typically erected around her weren’t quite as high today as they normally were. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the night at Lanterns or that she was tired from a day out in the sun, but she seemed softer towards him.
“I’m not sure if you know this, but my grandma and her friends have decided that it’s time for me to settle down.”
The knowing smirk that pulled at her perfect lips made Ethan want to kiss her until she forgot why she always gave him such a hard time.
“I’m aware.”
“They’re not going to stop until I start dating someone.”
“And this is my problem, how?”
If he weren’t mistaken, he heard a small catch in her breath. He saw her eyes widen and her cheeks flush.
This was a now or never moment. “I want you to be my girlfriend.”
She leaned back against her couch cushions and crossed her arms. He tried not to notice the hardened nubs of her nipples pressed against the thin cotton material of her shirt and had to swallow a groan. She wasn’t wearing a bra.
That shouldn’t be shocking.
It was after eleven. She was alone in her home. Still, it drove him toward the cliff of insanity, and he knew that he needed to pump the brakes or he was going to go right over.
That was the perfect analogy of what Jess did to him, she drove him to the cliffs of insanity, and he was ready to jump off.
* * *
Jess couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Just this afternoon she’d finally decided that she wanted to find out if there was anything between them and he shows up at her door asking her to be his girlfriend?
She’d read The Secret back when she’d been waiting for a transplant and had desperately tried to speak into existence what it was she wanted. Getting a new heart had taken three years to manifest. She glanced at the clock. Getting Ethan to ask her out had taken less than six hours.
Since she wasn’t entirely convinced she wasn’t hallucinating from all the sun exposure today, she asked, “You want me to be your girlfriend?”
“Yes. At least, I want everyone to think you’re my girlfriend. It’s the only way to save my summer from being one setup after another.”
“Why me?” She heard the hitch in her voice as she asked the question, but hoped he hadn’t picked up on it. The last thing she wanted was for him to know what hearing him say that he wanted her to be his girlfriend had done to her.
“You don’t like me.”
Okay, well that was not what she’d expected to hear. She picked up Elvis from the floor and started to pet him as she responded, “That’s not exactly what most people look for in a girlfriend.”
“Who else am I going to ask? Kennedy? Laura?”
She considered this for a moment. No, please don’t, she thought.
“I don’t want to lead anyone on. I also don’t want to spend the entire summer not knowing who is going to randomly show up at my door with cookies, or whose car is going to be broken down on the side of the road, and I don’t want to be tagged in hundreds of Facebook photos so that young Patty Duke can see them.”
“Who?”
“Nana met a doctor on her cruise who she thinks is perfect for me,” Ethan explained.
“Dr. Susie.”
“She told you about her?”
“Yep. She thinks you and Dr. Susie would make beautiful babies.”
“See?” Ethan ran his hands through his hair, and Jess watched as the muscles of his forearms flexed. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Damn. Her mouth watered as if she’d just bitten into a sour treat.
“I don’t even want kids,” Ethan finished his thought.
“You don’t?” That news took Jess by surprise. She wasn’t sure why she’d always assumed that he would want kids. She guessed she just assumed everyone did. Everyone except her. Hearing him say that made Jess realize that could’ve been another reason she’d kept him at arm’s length. Self-preservation. What if she’d gotten close to him only for things not to work out because they wanted different things out of life?
“No.” Ethan shook his head, his voice deadly serious. “I don’t.”
She bit the inside of her lip. He was asking her to be his fake girlfriend. Could she handle that?
“Just a month I wouldn’t want to cramp your style.”
The way he said that had Jess snapping back, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I saw you out on the boat with those guys today.”
“Are you jealous?” she repeated the same accusation he’d made to her at Lanterns.
The look he gave her told her that he was not in the least bit threatened by Kingston or Miko. And why would he be? He was just as ripped and chiseled as those men.
“Well, no need to worry, those two guys are happily married.”
He gave her another look, one that said she was naive if she thought a ring made a difference.
“To each other,” she explained.
And then she saw it. A brief flash of relief. He had been jealous. Maybe not of their physiques, but of the attention they showed her. That thought had her heart pitter-pattering like a gang of kids running down the stairs on Christmas morning.
He quickly covered his initial reaction. “Look, it’s just four weeks.”
“Four weeks?”
“Long enough that people take it seriously, not long enough to shock people when it doesn’t work.”
Jess had to admit, she didn’t hate the idea. But she wasn’t about to tip her hand. She might not have a poker face for shit, but she could negotiate with the best of them. “What exactly am I going to get out of this?”
“What do you want?”
His voice rippled over her like a breeze, if that breeze was made up of hot-man breath. The deep rumble had her core clenching with need as goose bumps broke out on every inch of her bare skin. She lifted her hand and ran it down the side of her neck, suddenly feeling much more exposed than she actually was.
Before she had a chance to pull her thoughts together, the movie started playing again. Her DVR automatically did that after it had been paused for a certain amount of time.
Patrick Swayze said his famous line and took Jennifer Grey onto the stage to do their final dance.
Ethan tilted his head. “This is your favorite part?”
He didn’t sound judgmental or condescending, but it was Ethan so, of course, Jess got defensive. “Yes. It is.”
As they sat on the couch and watched the dance, a brilliant idea struck her, but being the shrewd negotiator that she was, she kept it to herself until she got more information.
“So let’s say I agree to this, what happens when we break up?”
He looked over at her, and the light of the television danced off his golden gaze. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, how are we going to do it? You know that everyone and their brother are going to want the details. How do we break up? Who is the breaker and who is the breakee?”
&nb
sp; Ethan’s stare was blank as he shook his head. “I haven’t thought about it. I guess you can break up with me.”
“No way. I’m not going to be the bitch that broke up with Whisper Lake’s golden boy.”
“Fine. I’ll break up with you.”
“Right? Like anyone is going to believe that.”
“Why not?” He chuckled. “You have such a winning personality.”
“My personality is not what I was commenting on.” Her bravado was false, but she held onto it for dear life. It was all she had.
“Fine. It can be mutual.”
“Okay, why?”
“Because of my job. My schedule.”
“No. I’m not that needy.”
“Okay, then because it’s dangerous.”
Forget his job, the real danger was being Ethan’s girlfriend, even if it was fake and temporary. Just the thought had her heart pounding so fast that she wasn’t sure if her new ticker could take it. But, she did want to live life to the fullest.
“That might work.”
“So, do we have a deal?” He held out his hand.
“Don’t you want to know what my terms are?” she hesitated.
“I’ll give you anything you want.”
The words he spoke hit Jess like an arrow shot directly from Cupid himself straight through her heart. The one that wasn’t hers. And it wasn’t just her heart that was affected. Her entire body swelled with pent-up arousal. She knew if she didn’t get him out of here, she’d throw herself at him and start this fake relationship off on a very real one-night stand.
Jess stood, trying her best to regain some control. He looked up at her, his hand still outstretched. She placed her hand in his and tugged him, trying not to think about how good it felt for his large fingers and warm palm to be wrapped around her hand.
“Deal. We can talk about specifics later. I want to watch my movie and go to bed.”
The corner of his lip twitched. “You’re already kicking me out?”
“Get used to it.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles, his eyes locked with hers. “I look forward to it.”
She watched as he retreated out of the room and tried to catch her breath as he paused at the door. “Lock this behind me.”
When she didn’t answer he said, “Jess, I’m serious.”
Her first instinct was to be defensive at his request. But then she thought about what her reaction would be if it were Kingston saying it.
With a resigned sigh, she stood and crossed the front room so that she could do exactly what he’d asked. When she got there he was still standing in the doorway. “Just because you’re my fake boyfriend doesn’t mean you can start bossing me around.”
“What about if I was your real boyfriend?”
Damn. Ethan was really racking up the swoon-worthy quotes this visit.
She tried to hide the way his words had her entire body tingling with anticipation.
In an attempt to throw him even slightly off balance, she grinned as she said, “Too bad we’ll never find out. I only date guys that bite. I like it rough.”
Her plan worked and she watched as his jaw tensed and his nostrils flared with intensity. She’d definitely struck a nerve and before he could regain the upper hand she shut the door. In his face. She clicked the deadbolt and waited.
After several seconds she heard his footsteps as he left and she turned and leaned her back against the solid wood door for support. She placed her hand over her chest to feel her heart beating rapidly. To feel how alive Ethan had just made her.
She wasn’t sure how this “fake” relationship was going to play out, but she planned on enjoying every second of it.
CHAPTER 9
“If there’s any relationship that actually makes me think about giving love a second chance, it’s your parents.” Brynn stood beside Jess in her parents’ kitchen, helping her put the cards in order for the Not-So-Newlywed Game.
Jess looked up and saw her mom and dad mingling with their friends out on the deck. Her dad had his arm around her mom’s waist and he kept whispering things in her ear. Probably telling her how cute she is, if I know him, Jess thought. It was his go-to compliment. At least the go-to compliment that was PG enough to say in public.
Their anniversary celebration was going off without a hitch. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it seemed like the entire town had turned out for her parents’ festivities. The party began at noon and had no end time. She’d expected people to stop by for an hour or two and then leave, but it seemed like everyone was staying much longer than that.
There were probably close to a hundred people milling about her parents’ backyard. Thankfully, her childhood home sat on two acres of land. The house had been her grandfather’s, and he’d had a small working farm when her dad was growing up. But when Jess was growing up, the only animals she’d had were two Collie dogs named Sonny and Cher. Both pups were no longer with them. However, they had a litter of six puppies, the six-pack, her dad called them. The original plan had been to give them away but her mom hadn’t been able to part with any of the adorable bundles of fur. When the decision was made that they’d be keeping the bunch, Jess got to name them. So Ross, Rachel, Pheobe, Joey, Monica, and Chandler were running around the backyard and seemed happy to have so many visitors.
“Do they ever fight?” Brynn asked, in awe of the couple of the hour.
Not the first time Jess had been asked that question and she knew it probably wouldn’t be the last.
“Of course they fight. Not like screaming matches or anything, but yeah, they disagree.”
“I don’t think your dad was too happy about the game.” Brynn set the cards with the answers that she’d collected from Jess’s parents down on the table.
“He’ll get over it.” Jess wasn’t worried about her dad. He would do anything for her mom. “Let’s head back out.”
Jess grabbed a couple of bags of chips and Brynn grabbed a fresh veggie tray, and the duo stepped back outside. They were refilling the refreshment table that Jess had set up next to the deep end of the pool when Ali bopped up.
“Okay, what is going on between you and the good sheriff of Naughtyham?” Ali looked proud of herself for her play on words.
Jess grinned. “Not to rain on your punrade, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Come on,” Brynn said as she leaned in close and lowered her voice. “The man can’t take his eyes off of you.”
“What are you…” Jess turned and saw that sure enough, Ethan was standing at the other end of the pool, beer in hand, not paying any attention to the group of people around him. His deep brown stare was pointed directly at her just like it had been every time she’d looked his way today.
She’d been trying to ignore him, but he just looked so damn hot. He was wearing the same basic outfit that most of the guys at the party were. Plain T-shirt, shorts that fell below his knee, flip-flops, and a baseball cap. But for some reason, her body was responding like she was Marilyn Purroe and he was catnip. He was just so damn sexy.
That was nothing new, of course, but since their talk, her hormones were in overdrive. Since they’d agreed to a fake relationship, the real things that she’d been fantasizing about him doing to her, and her doing to him, were making her blush.
Feeling her cheeks heat again, she turned away from the source of her flush.
“He’s been watching you like a hawk. And not just in his normal, worried about you way. He’s been watching you.” Ali wagged her brows as she did her best Mae West impression, “If you know what I mean.”
“I do, actually.” Jess deadpanned. “You’re not being subtle.”
She was happy to see Ali being her goofy self again. After Patrick died, Jess had been worried that Ali would always be a shell of herself. But Kade didn’t just bring himself back when he returned to town. He brought Ali as well.
“So, what’s the deal, banana peel?” Ali posed her question playfull
y.
Jess wasn’t prepared to answer questions about Ethan yet. They’d agreed not to start their “relationship’ until after her parents’ anniversary party. Jess hadn’t wanted to take any of the attention off of her mom and dad’s day. At least that’s what she’d told Ethan. Honestly though, she’d just been nervous and needed some time to prepare.
Was it ridiculous that she’d broken out in hives over a relationship that wasn’t even real? Yep. But there wasn’t a whole lot she could do about that.
They’d also decided not to let anyone in on the fact that it wasn’t real. That discussion started when she said that she’d have to tell her parents and Ali. Ethan then pointed out that if Ali knew then she’d have to tell Kade, and if the twins overheard it they might let Ryder in on it, who would most likely say something to Brynn.
Her solution was simple. She’d tell her parents, Ali, Kade, and Brynn. His response had been a stare that told her what she already knew. If all those people knew, the chances of them all being able to keep the secret were slim to none. And if everyone knew that it was a fake relationship, what was the point in doing it?
So, it wasn’t just that she was stressed about what being in a relationship, fake or not, would be like. She was also stressed about lying to her friends and family.
“It’s complicated.” That was true, so technically she wasn’t lying. Yet.
When she turned her attention back to her friends, she saw that they were both staring at her with their mouths hanging wide open.
“What?” she looked back over her shoulder, convinced they were reacting to something behind her.
“You just said it’s complicated,” Ali emphasized.
“So?” Jess felt her eyebrows scrunch together.
Brynn and Ali both gave each other a look.
Ali turned back to Jess. “You’re finally admitting that something is going on between you two?”
Wow. If this was the reaction that her friends had when all she did was say that something was complicated, she couldn’t imagine what they were going to do when she and Ethan started their fake romance.
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