The Heartbreak Cure

by Ashby, Amanda

  The first one asked if he wanted to volunteer to build an enchanted forest. The second one apologized. Of course, he didn’t. Hell, she didn’t want to, either. The third was a promise to buy him as many cups of tea as he wanted, and she was sorry. The fourth apologized for all the apologizing. The fifth just said, Shhhh, you talk too much, Locke. He’d reluctantly smiled.

  It hadn’t lasted long.

  This was all getting out of hand. Helping her save face from Bennet Miller was one thing. But a month of working on props for a ball? It wasn’t the work itself, but rather the idea of being near her. As in, standing close to her, touching her. If yesterday’s handholding had taught him anything, it was just how out of control he was around her.

  Could be a problem.

  He finished chopping up the spinach and twisted the top onto his blender. Birdie always used to tease him for drinking something Cat’s childhood rabbit might eat. But if he had to choose between green juice and herbal tea and his parents’ disastrous lifestyle, it was a small price to pay.

  Joe appeared in the kitchen doorway. “God, how can you drink that stuff?”

  “No wonder you and my grandmother get on.” He poured the juice into a glass and leaned back on the kitchen counter. It was the color of old cheese and was flanked by an ancient fridge that took on a life of its own at three in the morning. A two-burner gas stove sat alongside them. Still, he’d lived in worse. “What can I do for you?”

  “A favor. Would you look after the place this afternoon? I need to do some things.”

  “Things?” Alex tried to recall the last time Joe had ducked out of work. He came up blank. “You do know the Super Bowl isn’t until February, right? And, as far as I know, there’s no apocalypse scheduled for today.”

  “Funny boy.” Joe’s jaw flickered. “So, you want the work or not?”

  “Sure. What’s so important?”

  “No big deal. I’m helping Maggie find a new car, since Lulu is officially dead. I just want to make sure she gets something half decent.”

  Alex’s mouth twitched.

  Bunking off to go out with Cat’s mom? Interesting.

  “Cool.” He picked up the juice and downed it. “And speaking of Lulu, I said I’d give Cat a lift. Probably shouldn’t be late.”

  “Two days in a row?” Joe raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you sign up for the Boy Scouts?”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” he retorted. Joe muttered something about punk-ass kids as he turned on his heel and disappeared again to the workshop below. Which was good because the last thing Alex wanted was a whole load of questions. Especially if his boss really did start dating Cat’s mom.

  Could she be more out of bounds?

  He grabbed his jacket and backpack and headed to the car. The traffic was light, considering the time of morning, and ten minutes later he pulled up outside 93 Tait Drive. As was his habit, he avoided Birdie’s old house next door.

  The new owners had painted it plain white to replace the garish blue Birdie had insisted on keeping it. His late grandfather had chosen the color because it was the cheapest paint he could find and he wanted the extra money to take his young bride out dancing. Birdie had carried on the tradition, insisting life was too short to be sensible.

  Unfortunately, her daughter seemed to have taken the message to heart, and even before the addiction and arrests that had marked Alex’s childhood, his parents had lived life like a Bonnie and Clyde audition.

  No.

  He slammed the door on the sounds of their yelling. Pushed away the chaotic clamor of their frantic searching for money. The drug induced highs when their eyes were glassy and unfocused and their promises freely given. The lows when the darkness slipped under the door and took hold.

  Going back solved nothing. His life was only moving forward.

  He tightened his knuckles and climbed out of the car just as Cat appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a pair of ripped black jeans and a flimsy white shirt which just hinted at her figure below. Once she reached the car, she waved a yellow bandana with skulls and crossbones in the air.

  “What’s this? You want me to walk the plank?” Alex said as her mouth twisted into a familiar smile. He breathed her in, and the tension in his chest eased.

  “In those boots?” Her gaze swept over his steel-capped Docs he always wore. “You’d sink like a rock. Plus, you have no idea how difficult it is to find a decent plank these days.”

  “Ah yes, unlike yesteryear, when there was a plank store on every corner. Good times.” He walked around and opened the car door for her.

  She pouted. “Are you laughing at my peace offering?”

  “Only a little bit.” He shut the door, trying not to notice the faint scent of her shampoo. He failed, and his body tingled as he climbed back into the driver’s side. “And why exactly do you have a peace offering?”

  “You know why. Thanks to Mackenzie, this whole thing needs to be dragged out for longer. We were meant to break up in a day or two, not in four weeks when this stupid ball is over. Plus, I don’t want to build fake trees. Do you want to build fake trees?”

  Trees I can deal with, but everything else could be a problem.

  He dragged his gaze away from her jean-clad leg. Her lack of interest suggested she didn’t have a similar problem. Which was a good thing. Obviously.

  “Consider it a means to an end.” He gave a casual shrug. “How’s the article going?”

  “Great. Totally crushing it.” She busied herself with the backpack in her lap. “I started it last night, and it just came pouring out. Like a word tsunami.”

  “Good. And, hey, if we’re working, Mackenzie won’t expect us to do too much hand-holding.”

  “And they say romance is dead,” she quipped before seeming to catch herself. Color flooded her cheeks. “Okay, ignore that.”

  “Relax,” he said. “I’m in on the secret, remember? This is all for show, and if you did want romance you’d hardly pick a guy who works two jobs. The last movie I saw was Frozen.”

  “Frozen?” She widened her eyes. “I would’ve picked you as more of an action guy.”

  “The movie Frozen has action. And singing. It’s all encompassing. Oh, and I had no choice. My sisters watched the damn thing on a loop, and since then, there hasn’t been much time for movies.”

  Crap. Shut up, dude.

  Yeah, it was true he didn’t have much downtime since the accident, but it was hardly something he liked to spread around. The only thing worse than people feeling sorry for him was people trying to tell him how sorry they felt for him.

  He willed her not to say anything.

  “Oh.” Her mouth opened, showing a hint of pearly white teeth before shutting again. The guilt was clear in her eyes. But, the apology didn’t come, just a shy smile. “I can see my mission’s clear. While we’re stuck in this charade, I might as well make myself useful and expand your movie repertoire.”

  He let out his breath, grateful for the subject change.

  “If you think I’m ready to move past a PG rating, then I’ll trust your judgment,” he said, pleased she hadn’t pushed it. Then again, that was probably why they’d always gotten along—because she was the only one who seemed content to let him keep his thoughts to himself.

  He pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car.

  “Excellent.” She leaned back in the seat, her throat exposed.

  Oh, boy. His pulse flickered in time to the rise and fall of her chest. His fingers twitched to touch the delicate skin at the base on her neck. To push back the fabric of her shirt. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

  Crap. If he could get turned on just being a fake boyfriend, no wonder he’d never tried to date her.

  I wouldn’t stand a chance.

  “You okay?” Cat frowned.

  Define “okay.” He swallowed hard and thought about cold showers. “Yeah, fine.”

  “Sure? Your neck’s red.”

  “The weat
her,” he improvised before catching sight of the same jocks who’d been taunting Cat yesterday with the YouTube clip. Reality crashed back into him. All of this was only because of Bennet Miller.

  He’d seen her pained expression yesterday when Bennet had sauntered past with Isabel on his arm. Cat might say she was over him, but her whitened knuckles had told him otherwise.

  She wants to use me to make him jealous.

  Now I just need to remember that for more than two seconds at a time.

  “Okay,” she said. “We’d better get our game faces on and go in for round two.”

  “Sure.” He plastered on a smile and walked around to open her door. The sooner this was over, the better.

  …

  “We should call her Martha,” her mom said as they stood in front of the bright blue Toyota parked in the driveway.

  “I thought Joe would only go car shopping with you, if you promised not to name her.” Cat frowned. Not that she agreed with the sentiment. Cars had rights, too.

  “He knew he was fighting a losing battle. So, Martha it is?”

  “Sure.” She patted Martha’s hood. “As long as you promise Lulu’s now living out her days on a farm, being cared for by a lovely family.”

  “Would I lie to you? Now, if we can drag our attention away from Lulu, while I was out today I heard something quite extraordinary.” Her mom folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. Oh boy. That can’t be good.

  “About the spiraling cost of energy? I mean crazy, right?”

  “No, it was a bit closer to home. About my daughter—one Cat Turner—dating Birdie’s grandson, Alex Locke. Anything you care to share?”

  Nope. Definitely not.

  She gulped. She and her mom were close. Real close, but she wasn’t sure even the most understanding parent would want to know about a fake boyfriend. Yet another thing to file under “It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time” in her brain.

  “Who told you?”

  “Vera. Her son goes to Franklin High. He’s a sophomore.”

  “I guess it’s working if Vera’s sophomore son has heard the news,” Cat said in a bright voice while wishing the earth would swallow her whole.

  “What’s working? Cat, what’s going on? What happened to Bennet and swearing off guys?”

  She peered down at her feet. No sign of the earth splitting in two.

  Which was a real pity because, as far as she could tell, a natural disaster was her only way out of the conversation.

  “Okay, here’s the thing. Mackenzie, the new editor of the paper, wanted to bench me in case I had a meltdown and tried to publish a smear article about Bennet and what he’d done. The whole school’s still talking about what happened.”

  “Well, then, we need to follow up with your school. Why should you be punished for something that a thoughtless, cruel boy did?”

  Welcome to high school.

  “Mom, it’s not like that,” she quickly said. “Look, the school’s punished him, and the clip has been removed. But with Mackenzie breathing down my neck…” She licked her lips. “Well, I just did what any self-respecting sixteen-year-old who reads a lot of romance novels would do. I asked Alex to be my fake boyfriend.”

  Her mom’s face wrinkled. “You think that’s better than seeing the school counselor? How could it possibly help?”

  You’d be surprised.

  Her breathing quickened at the memory of Alex’s touch. His arm around her shoulders. His fingers entwined in hers.

  None of which she was willing to tell her mom.

  “By being together, no one can think I’m heartbroken. Including Mackenzie. She was going to drop me from the paper, but now she’s agreed to give me a trial run.”

  Her mom ran a hand through her messy blonde hair. “I don’t like this, Cat. Do you really want your journalism career to start because of a lie?”

  “Better than having it ruined because I made one lousy choice when it came to Bennet Miller.” Heat crept up her neck. It stung she was being judged for trying to get ahead. It seemed particularly unfair considering all the greeting cards her mom had created encouraging people to go for what they really wanted. “It’s not like my writing will be a lie.”

  “What does Alex think of all of this?”

  “He understands how frustrating it is to be judged and punished for something. That’s why he agreed to help,” Cat said, and then winced. Hearing the words out loud reminded her that was why he agreed, and not because he thought his touch might do crazy things to her stomach muscles.

  “Just be careful. I like Alex a lot, but there’s no denying he’s had a troubled life.” The frown lessened on her mom’s face.

  “None of which was his fault.” The vision of him and his small sisters watching Frozen over and over again filled her mind, and she thought about him working two jobs rather than going out like a regular teenager. “You’ve always taught me not to judge people on gossip. Alex hasn’t done anything to deserve what’s come his way. And he’s trying to help.”

  “I appreciate that. I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “Again, to clarify, he’s my fake boyfriend, not a real one.” And right now, the only thing hurting her was her mom’s disapproval.

  “Let’s not fight. I was just surprised to hear the news from someone else. You could’ve told me what was happening.”

  Cat’s spine relaxed.

  It had always been just her and her mom.

  Because my dad couldn’t be bothered to hang around.

  Staying mad with each other just wasn’t an option. It was also a reminder of why it was best to focus on her future. Guys just weren’t worth the hassle.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s been a busy couple of days. Forgive me?”

  “Always. Though, for full disclosure, there are a couple of things I need to tell you.”

  “O-kay,” Cat said, noticing the way her mom was studying the large amber ring she always wore where her wedding ring had once been. She bought it for herself not long after she’d started her business, and it had always been a symbol of commitment. It said she might’ve been dumped by Cat’s dad, but it didn’t mean she was down and out. Cat gulped. “What’s going on?”

  “Joe’s asked me to go on a date with him. On Friday night,” her mom said in a rapid-fire breath, her golden eyes pensive. Probably because after a bad breakup several years ago—it had required three batches of Birdie’s brownies and the removal of all sharp objects—her mom seemed to have sworn off men.

  “Like a date, date?” Cat double-checked.

  “I can see why you’re surprised. It’s been so long since I dated, my last gentleman caller picked me up in a horse and buggy. He might have been wearing a top hat, too,” her mom said, her voice lightly teasing, but there was a testing quality to it, too, like putting a toe in the water.

  “Was that in the time before cell phones and internet?” she said and was rewarded with a nudge from her mom’s shoulder.

  “Cheeky child. The thing is, I like Joe. A lot. I guess I wanted to see if you were okay with it all.”

  “Mom, relax. I think it’s great you’re dating,” Cat said as she leaned against Martha’s hood. Then she frowned. “So, what was the other thing you wanted to talk about?”

  “Oh.” Her mom grinned. “I’ll need you to do the booth.”

  “Did you just set me up?” She groaned as her mom walked back into the house, though it was obvious by her stride she was smiling. Cat turned to Martha. “I hope you were paying attention to just how sneaky your new owner can be.”

  …

  “Hey, are you the girl who got punked by Bennet and did the ugly crying on YouTube? Oh, man. That was so freaking hilarious.”

  “Hilarious, was it?” Nikki glared at the freshman who’d come up to them in the corridor just moments after the lunch bell. It was accompanied by the sound of running feet and slamming metal as kids bustled past them. “Tell me how so? Oh, but before you do, let me give you a t
ip—chose your words very carefully.”

  “Well…” The kid started to say before noticing the growl coming from the back of Nikki’s throat. He widened his eyes, then he spun on his heel and joined the sea of bodies heading toward the cafeteria.

  “You didn’t have to do that.” Cat turned her attention back to stuffing her math book into her locker. Someone really needed to work out the probability of anyone publishing a math book that could fit into a locker without force.

  “Yeah, yeah. That’s why you’ve got your big, burly fake boyfriend. But you can’t take away all my fun. It’s always the same with freshmen. They come up from middle school thinking they own the place. I’m doing them a favor by reminding them of the pecking order. That kid was way too lippy.”

  “It’s hardly the worst thing I’ve heard in the last couple of days.” She shoulder-charged the locker shut before turning back to her friend.

  “Not for much longer.” Nikki held out her cell phone. “It looks like you and Alex are officially an item.”

  “I thought we had this conversation. Unless we’re in Groundhog Day.”

  “I wouldn’t mind being in Groundhog Day if it meant I could keep staring at Parker Samuels all day. God, he’s gorgeous.” Nikki let out a soft sigh as Parker walked past. He was a shy math genius with unruly brown curls and green eyes. Her friend had been crushing on him forever, and despite trying every approach in the book, she’d had no success. “And relax, I know you guys aren’t for real, but seems the rest of the school is buying it. You’ve been hashtagged three times this morning. Your new ship is AlleyCat. Isn’t it cute?”

  “Not remotely.” Cat grabbed Nikki’s cell and scrolled through the feed on her social media account, something she’d been avoiding since the YouTube clip that had sent her life into free fall.

  Weird new couple alert, according to Cheryl Chambers.

  Alex Locke is far too hot to waste his time on Cat Turner, according to another post.

  Suck on that, Bennet Miller, read the third post.

  She frowned. “You really think this is good?”

  “Sure. You wanted to change the conversation. Well, it’s changing, which means you and Alex are working.”