by Weiss, Sonya
The custom-built furniture, a gift from her mother, was lovely to look at but a pain in the butt. Since removing the drawers practically involved blowing them out with dynamite, she’d advised Lincoln to work around them. After checking how they were built, he’d agreed.
Josie darted around her bedroom trying to pick up underwear the cat had dragged out while she’d gone to get Lincoln. She hadn’t wanted to ask him for help. She’d called Casey and Kent and even Lincoln’s grandmother Jean for advice, but none of them had answered their phones. In the end, worried that the cat was going to hurt himself, she’d gone to find Lincoln.
“Let me try and move some of these…things.” He held out handfuls of lacy underwear with sexy words written across the rear.
“I don’t wear those.” When he swallowed, Josie rushed to clarify. “I mean, I do wear underwear, just not these.”
“I’m here to get the cat. If you do…or don’t…wear whatever…that’s fine with me.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean I care about your underwear.”
“That’s totally good. I don’t care about yours, either. You can wear them or go commando—that’s your business.” Oh my God. Shut up, Josie.
After an embarrassing few seconds, Lincoln turned back to the task and pulled out a collection of bras next and handed them over. “The cat’s wedged too tightly. I don’t have a choice but to take them out to get to him.” He worked a drawer from side to side, trying in vain to reach for the locking mechanism at the back that kept it secured in place. When he smacked his hand hard against the side to jar it loose, the cat, a pair of Josie’s bright red panties draped around his neck, darted from his hiding place. He made a mad dash for the hallway.
Lincoln ran after it with Josie right on his heels. The cat did an abrupt about-face, and Lincoln stopped to warn, “He’s heading back our way.”
Josie dove forward, thinking she could catch the animal by latching on to the underwear flapping wildly around him. Lincoln dove for the scrap of material at the same time and they collided. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled them both hard against the wall, managing to keep them upright. His dark eyes bore into hers, and with the close proximity, Josie found it a little hard to breathe.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes, but, um…” She took a step back.
“Sorry.” He lowered his hands.
Josie could swear she’d felt his heart pounding through his shirt.
“You’re still holding my underwear,” she said as he lifted his hand.
A noise behind her made Josie look over her shoulder.
“I can’t wait to hear the explanation for this,” Rafferty said as he and his grandmother, Jean, appeared in the doorway of Josie’s living room. Because of course they would show up right then.
Lincoln handed the underwear to Josie. “We were in the bedroom—”
Rafferty’s laughter cut him off. “I don’t need details.”
Lincoln straightened and avoided meeting Josie’s gaze. “What are you two doing here?”
“The door was unlocked, so we came in. Grandma was worried. She got a message from Josie saying she needed help. When she tried to call and didn’t get an answer, I volunteered to drive us over.” He grinned and winked at Josie.
“Oh, I must have left my phone in the car, sorry, but thank you, everything’s fine now. Lincoln was great,” Josie said, her face probably as bright as a ripe tomato. When Rafferty’s grin widened, she clarified, “He took care of the cat.” She patted Lincoln’s chest. “My hero.”
Jean gave a strangely satisfied grin that made alarms ring. Josie loved Jean and thought of her as a substitute grandmother, but if anyone could make mountains out of molehills, it was Jean. With an air of innocence, Lincoln’s grandmother asked, “You will be at my birthday party, right?”
“Yes, as soon as I finish some wedding errands for Casey.”
“You’re not bringing a date, are you, honey?”
The funny look that Lincoln gave her at his grandmother’s question made Josie wonder what was going on inside his mind, but she shrugged it off and shook her head. “No, I’m coming alone.”
Rafferty made a sound like a wrong answer buzzer on a game show. “You should have lied. Now you’ll never get off the hook.”
Jean smiled. “How interesting. Lincoln is coming alone as well. You two should ride over together. Saving gas is good for the environment.”
Josie sneaked a glance at Lincoln, whose face was scrunched up in an oh no expression like it had been when they’d gone camping as kids and he realized he’d rolled around in poison ivy. She turned her attention back to Jean. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“But—” Jean started to protest.
Rafferty guided his grandmother to the door. “C’mon, Granny, let’s go.”
She smacked his arm. “Don’t call me granny. That’s for old women.” Looking back over her shoulder, she said, “I’ll see you at the party then, dear.”
“She has something up her sleeve,” Lincoln said after they were gone.
“I know. She usually does.” But Josie had enough to worry about with her own family and getting out of the lie she’d told. She didn’t have time to figure out what Jean was up to.
Josie looked around the room. “I wonder where the cat went. He spends so much time over here, I should just ask my neighbor if I can adopt him.” When Lincoln made no move to make a hasty exit like he normally did when he was in her company, she asked, “What?”
“I need your help. It was the mayor’s idea actually.” Lincoln explained the situation with the fire station’s budget and the need for the new equipment, then said, “I could use your videographer skills to help me win the Heart of Morganville contest. We can split the prize money if we win. I’ll be putting my half toward the things the station needs.”
“You want me to make a video with you in exchange for half the prize money, and that’s if we even win.”
Lincoln winced. “I guess I didn’t think about the cost to you or the time involved, especially if we don’t win.”
“It’s not the cost.” It’s the awkwardness between us. I feel like the Lincoln I used to know disappeared and the new one can’t even stand to be around me. But she’d never admit that. “I’m just not sure…”
“I understand,” he said.
Josie could tell that he didn’t. When it came to fund-raisers or events for the fire station, she’d always been the first one to sign up. She gave him the only explanation she could think of. “Things are just kind of hectic for me right now.”
“Anything I can help with?”
She wanted to tell him about the lie she’d told, but she chickened out. He’d never be interested in a dorky girl like her, and asking him to pretend or play along that he would was terrifying. “No, there’s nothing. Just leave it.”
…
Leave it? Lincoln’s common sense demanded that he do exactly that and walk away, but old habits died a slow, painful death. Something was bothering her and he wanted to help.
“I know that things have been kind of weird between us, but—”
“Kind of?” She almost bit the words out.
Uh-oh. Every time she got upset, she did this funny little quirk with her lips.
She moved away from him to kick her shoes off and sit on the brown leather sofa. “Weird is an understatement. I’ve known you for years. I used to go camping with your family and to the lake on summer vacation. Since Casey’s engagement, you and I have spent hours together laughing and talking and having fun. Like friends.”
The way her voice grew steadily higher, more emotional as she spoke, hit Lincoln square in the center of his heart. He couldn’t tell her that he’d learned how bad it could be when friends became more than that. Every long-term girlfriend he’d had, he’d been friends with first. Then came the breakups. The losses did more than hurt his pride. They’d taught him that romance and friendship had no business togethe
r. He walked toward her in what felt like slow motion and sat on an ottoman by her feet.
“I don’t know what to say.” There was no way she’d ever understand that him staying away was what was best for both of them. She was the kind of woman who lived life with the pedal to the metal. He’d learned the nasty lesson that loss taught. Slow down. Be cautious. There was no such thing as forever. She was so vibrant, and he wasn’t. Not by a long shot. If they dated, and things ended badly, which they inevitably would because he wasn’t good at relationships, it wouldn’t just make things difficult between them. Josie was like part of his family.
“It’s fine. I’ll figure things out on my own.”
The way her baby blue eyes were slightly damp with what he hoped to God weren’t tears made him feel like he hadn’t been paying attention. He’d never been good at subtext. “I feel like you’re trying to tell me something important and I’m missing the mark.”
“No,” she said. “I’m fine.”
“C’mon, I know better than that.”
“Sure you do.”
“Just tell me what’s wrong and I’ll fix it.”
She leaned forward. “You’ll fix it, huh?”
He nodded.
“Then stop avoiding me. Take us back to you and me. The way things used to be.”
Of course she hit him with the one thing he couldn’t give her. He should have listened to his common sense and left this alone. He’d already let her get closer to him than he’d intended. Crossing his arms, he tried to think of the best way to tell her why things could never be the same between them without letting her see too deeply. He valued her friendship, but he didn’t trust himself around her. He had a plan and he was sticking to it. No love, no heartbreak.
While he was still trying to think of what to say, Josie settled herself back against the cushion and crossed her arms, too. “Going over to your family’s house for dinner and hanging with everyone used to be one of the highlights of my week. Now it’s just awkward because of this”—she motioned between them—“whatever this is.”
This was the fact that he wasn’t going to let a genie out of the bottle that he couldn’t control. “It’s getting late and I have to work tomorrow, so we need to table this conversation.”
“You mean you have to leave so you don’t have to talk about it.”
Trust Josie to cut to the heart of the matter. “Well, yeah, basically.”
Her mouth dropped open. “So you admit that you’re running away from the issue.”
“I’m not running. I’m strategically retreating.”
“Whatever, Linc.” She gave him an irritated look. “Then strategically lock the door on your way out.”
He rose, not happy that she was upset with him but glad the conversation was over. He needed time to regroup before they talked about this. At the door, he paused and glanced back at her. “Grandma’s birthday party will probably get started around noon on Sunday.”
“I’ll be there.”
“See you then.” Lincoln closed the door behind him and stood on the porch for a second. He was doing the right thing keeping Josie at an emotional distance. So why then did his perfect plan suddenly make him feel so empty?
Chapter Four
Last night had probably been the perfect opportunity to tell Lincoln about the lie she’d told her mother. She’d planned to, but instead she’d brought up the chill between them. The hurt she felt had nearly made her cry.
She certainly didn’t want to tell him about her lie while bawling her eyes out. That would only make him feel sorry for her, and the last thing she wanted was his pity. She’d have to come up with a different solution to her problem, one that didn’t include Lincoln.
Josie put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt featuring a vintage camera. This morning, Casey was picking her up and they were heading to the coffee shop to go over a few wedding details, then they were going to hang out together while she filmed a short video for the guy who ran the only insurance company in town.
After she dug her favorite pair of sneakers from the closet and put them on, she grabbed her gear and then opened the front door a crack to see if the neighbor’s cat was nearby. He was, but instead of waiting to pounce, he was lying on the porch, lazily flicking his tail and eyeing her with disdain.
“So I guess we’re still not friends?” Josie stepped out and locked the door behind her.
The cat continued to stare.
“Guess not. Which is really sad because I am the best catnip dealer in the whole neighborhood. I could hook you up. No? Suit yourself.”
Casey pulled up and popped the trunk of her car, then got out to help Josie load her equipment. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and grinned. “Grandma said you were with Lincoln last night.”
Of course she had. Josie got into the passenger seat. “I’m sure she made it sound completely innocent.”
“She said that Lincoln had a pair of your underwear in his hand.”
“Thanks to the cat.” Josie explained what had gone on.
“Grandma has a sneaky, trouble-causing streak in her.”
Josie didn’t need any warnings about that. Everyone knew how Jean operated. The desire to matchmake ran through her veins, rather than blood.
As they drove down a familiar side street, she glanced at the house her parents owned and gasped. There were several lights on in the house, and she knew she hadn’t left it like that the last time she’d gone to check on the property. Her heartbeat double-timed. “I think my family might already be in town.”
Casey sucked in her breath. “Ooh…sorry.”
“Tell me about it.” Josie bit her lip, worrying about the inevitable run-in with them. She was supposed to have more time!
When Casey pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop, Josie volunteered to run in and grab their drinks. While waiting in line, she scolded herself for being an idiot. She would just tell her mother that she lied. And then she’d have to move to Alaska and live like a hermit because every single holiday after that, her mother would throw it in her face that Josie had to make up a boyfriend because she was too picky, too curvy, too dorky, too loud, too take-your-pick to really have one.
“Josie! I was just talking about you,” a familiar grating voice practically cooed.
Moving to Alaska would mean no Trixie Majors. Another plus. Josie forced a smile at the gossip junkie. She didn’t trust the other woman. Trixie had a habit of stealing things. Like boyfriends.
“I ran into your mother at the diner this morning and she told me that you and Lincoln had dated and broken up but were trying to work things out.” Trixie put a hand on her chest and gave a soft, obviously fake laugh. “I told her that if anyone was dating Lincoln, I’d know about it.”
“We did, and we are,” Josie said. And that, boys and girls, is how one lie feeds into another.
Trixie’s mouth formed a surprised O. The satisfaction Josie felt at it was probably wrong, since she wasn’t actually dating Lincoln. “I suppose that’s…great.”
“Yep. Great,” Josie said as she stepped up to the counter and placed her order, trying to appear nonchalant.
“Well…good luck. Hope it works out.”
If noses could grow from lying, Trixie’s would be able to spear people from three feet away. Josie got the coffee and rushed back outside to Casey’s car.
Her friend sent her a quizzical glance once she was inside. “You look flushed.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you this.” She took a breath. “A lie I told is coming back to bite me in the butt.” Josie set the paper coffee cup in the holder, her hands too shaky to safely hold it. “I have to get to the fire station to talk to Lincoln before he hears about it from someone else. Please turn the car around.”
“What’s going on?” Casey shot her a worried look but immediately changed direction.
Josie cringed as she said, “You know how my mother is…”
Casey nodded. “I don’t know how she can be so
unkind to her own daughter.”
Josie waved that away. She’d stopped trying to figure out why she never seemed to measure up in her mother’s eyes. What was important was not getting caught in the lie. If Trixie busted her in this, not only would she gleefully click her little pointed shoes together and dance with her flying monkeys, but she’d spread it all over town that Josie couldn’t be trusted. Her fledgling video business would disappear faster than a breath mint on a first date.
“What lie did you tell?”
“I told my mother that my ex-boyfriend and I broke up but that basically he wanted us to get back together.”
“What does this have to do with my brother?”
“He’s the boyfriend.”
Casey laughed out loud. “You told your mom that Lincoln is your ex?”
“Yes.” She shot her friend a worried look. “I shouldn’t have done that, and I know I screwed up, but I had a weak moment.” Josie put her hand over her fluttering stomach.
“Everything will be okay,” Casey said softly.
Josie couldn’t help the snort she gave. “Because we both know how well your brother and I get along lately. When he hears what I have to say, it’s only going to get worse.”
“Maybe not. Sometimes things work out better than we hope for.”
Josie was still thinking about that statement several minutes later when Casey pulled into the fire station’s parking lot. “I’ll wait here for you. Good luck.”
Nervousness propelling her, Josie bolted from the car, heading for the fire station as fast she could. Lincoln was in the middle of a conversation, but as soon as he saw her, he said something to the other guy, then walked toward her. “Hey,” he said in that deep voice of his that never failed to send warm thrills through her.
“Hey.” She puffed out her cheeks, stalling, wishing she didn’t have to tell him what she’d done. But there was no rescue for the remorseful. “You’re not going to be happy with me once you hear what I have to say.”
He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Why? What’d you do?”