by Sloane West
You’re jumping to conclusions again.
Was she? She didn’t want to believe the worst. That Alex was a jerk in disguise. What did he gain? In the brief time Beth had known him, he didn’t strike her as the vindictive type. He’d been funny. Charming. A gentleman. A roguish gentleman, but still. And he’d genuinely seemed to like Beth. There had to be an explanation that didn’t involve him being in league with Rylie.
Annoyed with herself, Beth groaned and touched up her makeup. Clearly, she’d been reading way too many romance novels lately. There was no villain in this story.
Feeling marginally better, Beth left. She would just ask him. Simple. Straightforward. He would have a plausible explanation, and they would enjoy the rest of their fake date like nothing had ever happened.
As she entered the gymnasium, she headed for her and Alex’s table brimming with determination. But as she wove through the remaining alumni who were making their rounds, saying their goodbyes, Beth saw Alex talking to Rylie by the refreshments table. From Beth’s angle, she couldn’t see Alex’s face, but she could see Rylie’s, and the wicked witch of the west was assaulting him with a glitzy smile. She laughed at something he said, and the sound carried above the music and conversation of the room.
Beth raised her chin and kept walking. There was no reason she couldn’t interrupt their conversation. After all, she was Alex’s date, rented or not. Before she could, however, Alex removed his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out a bill.
Beth’s heart stopped. And so did her feet.
She couldn’t make out the bill’s denomination, but it was green, and it was money, and he handed it to Rylie, who accepted it with a triumphant gleam in her eyes. She laughed again and touched Alex’s arm, saying something Beth couldn’t hear, and then walked away.
Alex gave her the money.
The thought sank into her like a poisonous stone.
Alex picked up two plastic cups and turned, noticing Beth. Grinning at her, he held up the cups of punch in a welcome back gesture. When he saw her face, though, his grin faded.
Beth had the sudden, overwhelming urge to cry, but she refused. Instead, she gave him the visual equivalent of the finger and turned on her heel, pulling out her phone as she went. As she exited the school, she wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Jogging down the steps—a precarious feat in her towering heels—she hurried down to the curb to impatiently wait for her cab.
A few minutes later, she heard Alex’s footsteps behind her.
“Beth,” he called. “What’s wrong?”
She crossed her arms over her chest as if they would protect her from his presence and looked for the cab. “What’s wrong is I can’t believe I agreed to this.”
He frowned. “Agreed to what?”
“You,” she said. “This date. Our deal.”
“Did I do something?”
She finally looked at him, and she wanted to smack the confused look off his face. “Really?”
He eyed her as if he wasn’t sure whether to run from the angry bear or approach it cautiously. “Yeah, really.”
“I talked to your girlfriend,” she said. “She had a grand time laughing at me because I had to pay you to be my date.”
His frown deepened. “You didn’t have to pay me. Hell, I would have paid you if that’s what it took to get you to go out with me.” He held up a hand. “Wait . . . my girlfriend?”
Beth stared at him. He looked so convincing that doubt trickled in. But then she remembered the exchange of money between him and Rylie, and her ire was renewed. There was no doubting what she’d seen. As her cab turned down the street, Beth wanted to take flight rather than wait for it. “Yeah,” she said. “You and Rylie had your fun. I hope you both enjoy all the laughs.”
The cab pulled to a stop, and she hurried over before Alex could respond.
“Beth,” Alex called, sounding flabbergasted. “Wait. I’m not with Rylie.”
With the door open, Beth paused and glanced back at him. “I saw you give her the money.”
When he hesitated, Beth offered him a shaky smile. “Don’t worry. I guess I got what I paid for either way, right? Goodbye, Alex.” With that, she climbed into the cab and slammed the door. Mumbling her home address to the cabbie, she sat stiffly and didn’t look back as they pulled away.
5
It took three weeks, an ungodly amount of ice cream, endless conversations with her besties, and lots of snuggles from Fidget before Beth began to think of her date with Alex as merely a bad dream. In moments of weakness, she sometimes still agonized over the details. Had she overreacted? Had she, once again, jumped to conclusions? Was it all just a giant misunderstanding? Part of her realized that believing the worst was a safety net. It was easier than facing the possibility that her penchant for overthinking might have sabotaged any relationship she could have had with Alex. But someone had told Rylie about their deal, and it hadn’t been Beth. Not to mention, the exchange of money between Alex and Rylie was entirely too coincidental. And, perhaps most importantly, Beth wasn’t interested in dating anyway. She was content with the single life. And if a fake date could inflict that much damage, she shuddered to imagine what a real date could do.
Julia’s voice rang in her mind. Keep telling yourself that, babe.
Mentally strangling her friend, Beth looked up as someone approached her desk. She smiled at an older woman who was accompanied by a young girl. “Hello,” Beth said, offering them both a smile she didn’t feel. “Can I help you find a book?”
The woman smiled, her eyes crinkling behind her glasses as she urged the girl forward. “Go on, Tessa.”
Tessa glance shyly at Beth. “Uncle Alex told me I should thank you for your donation.”
Still smiling but confused, Beth glanced between the two of them and ignored the way her heart skipped a beat at Alex’s name. “Donation?”
The little girl nodded and showed Beth her T-shirt, which was emblazoned with Summer Jams! Music Camp. “For the fundraiser,” the girl explained. “I needed a hundred more dollars for music camp. He said you donated it.”
Beth’s mouth parted, and she was suddenly lightheaded. “Music camp? You’re Alex’s niece?”
Beth hadn’t realized he had a niece. That must mean the girl was the daughter of the sister he’d lost.
The older woman held out a hand to Beth. “I’m Nancy Buchanan. Alex’s mom. This is my granddaughter Tessa.” She indicated the girl. “You would be surprised by how hard it is to raise money when every kid in the class is also trying to raise money for the same cause. Your donation was the biggest one, and it got us over the hump.”
Oh no. Alex had given the hundred dollars to his niece. Which meant he hadn’t given it to Rylie. Regret and frustration filled Beth. But if that were true, then what had he given Rylie that night? Could it have been innocent and completely unrelated? God knew Beth was prone to jumping to conclusions with Olympic skill. Though surely anyone would have thought the worst in her situation. Wouldn’t they?
Or maybe you should have given Alex the benefit of the doubt rather than trust the word of someone like Rylie Taylor-Reed.
Beth shook Nancy’s extended hand. “Oh . . . you’re welcome.”
“Here,” Tessa said, holding out a plate of cookies covered in plastic wrap. “These are for you.”
“Oh,” Beth said again. “Thank you. That’s . . . so nice.”
Nancy winked at Beth. “She wanted to make them for everyone who donated.”
Working up a smile, Beth said, “Well, they look yummy. I love chocolate chip.”
Tessa beamed and then glanced up at her grandmother. “Can I go look for dinosaur books now?”
Nancy chuckled. “Go.”
The girl dashed off toward the children’s books section.
Turning back to Beth, Nancy said, “I hope my boy wasn’t too much of a rake during your date.”
Beth’s cheeks warmed. Had he also told her how poorly their date had ended? As p
leasant as Nancy’s expression was, Beth had to assume he’d left that out, and she was grateful.
“No, he was a gentleman,” Beth assured her.
Nancy chuckled again, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “He told me about the adorable deal you two made. I told him it probably did him a heap of good for a woman not to automatically fall at his feet for once. Keeps a man humble.”
Bitter guilt stirred in Beth’s stomach, and she laughed weakly. “He mentioned that, did he?”
“Sure did,” Nancy said, laughing and shaking her head. “Made him even more interested in you than he already was. You should have seen Pearl’s face when I told her about it.” When Beth’s eyebrows jumped, Nancy explained, “She knows Alex from Roust. Got to have her daily mochaccino.”
Beth cringed. “You don’t by chance mean Pearl Taylor, do you?”
As in Rylie Taylor-Reed’s mother.
“The same,” Nancy confirmed. “We’ve been friends for forty years. We take turns driving to our book club every Saturday afternoon. You know her?”
Beth’s voice came out strained. “I know her daughter.”
Nancy made a face and waved her hand. “I swear, I think Pearl and David adopted that child. The way she acts.”
A single thought throbbed in Beth’s mind like a stubbed toe.
Alex hadn’t betrayed her.
Regret and embarrassment bloomed inside her like a toxic flower. Her predilection for making mountains out of molehills was infamous, but this took the cake. What had she done?
Picking up on her distress, Nancy became concerned. “You okay, sweetie?”
“I’m fine,” Beth said, offering her a smile. “Thank you for the cookies.”
The act was, apparently, convincing because Nancy smiled back. “Thank you for the generous donation. It was nice meeting you.”
“You as well.”
“Tell Alex to bring you by for lunch sometime,” Nancy said as she left.
Beth raised her hand in an awkward wave and blurted, “Okay.” Then immediately realized how stupid that was considering Alex wouldn’t be taking Beth anywhere for lunch anytime soon. And she couldn’t blame him.
“Sarah,” Beth said to her assistant. “It’s slow today. Do you mind if I take off early?”
Sarah looked up from the bin of new books she was sorting and smirked. “You realize you’re my boss, right?”
Beth laughed quietly and retrieved her purse from her desk drawer. “Thank you.”
Sarah seemed to pick up on Beth’s sudden rush to leave. “Everything all right?”
Beth paused, thinking of how awful she’d been to Alex. She couldn’t take it back, but she could apologize. And that had to count for something. She smiled. “It will be.”
With that, she left. There was one very handsome coffee shop owner she owed an apology to. But, first, there was something she had to do.
Epilogue
When Beth arrived at Roust, she almost turned around and left. Her grand idea suddenly felt ridiculous despite Julia’s and Anusha’s assurances that she looked hot. Beth glanced down at the tight blouse and oh-so-snug pencil skirt and swallowed. In the rearview mirror, she checked her black-rimmed glasses and perfectly messy chignon. A real sexy librarian. It was over the top and more than a little laughable, but she wanted to prove to Alex—and maybe even herself—that she didn’t always take things so seriously. And she knew he was just the type of guy who would appreciate the gesture.
Climbing out of the car proved precarious in her four-inch heels, but she managed and walked through Roust’s door is if she were used to wearing such things. Thankfully, the patrons inside were absorbed in their conversations and coffees and didn’t notice her daringly sexy getup. The teenaged boy behind the counter, however, certainly noticed. His mouth parted as he took her in, and his face reddened. “What . . . can I get you?”
Giving him a smile, she said, “I’d like to speak to the owner. Mr. Buchanan.”
“Oh,” the boy said, a worried expression crossing his face as if he thought she was there to file a complaint. “He’s, um, in the back.”
Beth smiled patiently. “Can you get him?”
The flustered barista blinked and then nodded. “Yeah. I can, yeah. Sure. What do I tell him it’s about?”
She thought about it. “Tell him it’s about an overdue book fine.”
The boy’s eyebrows rose, but he hurried off.
Less than a minute later, Alex emerged from the back, his mouth pulled into a confused frown. When he saw her, his eyes widened.
And she knew she’d chosen the right outfit.
Of course, then his shock faded and was replaced with disappointing guardedness.
She watched the barista return to his post behind the counter, then looked back at Alex. “Hey.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Hey.”
“Can we talk?”
He seemed to debate his answer, but then he nodded, gesturing with his chin toward the hall he’d just come down. “My office.”
She followed him. His office was a small but tidy space with modern furnishings and was like a cocoon of solitude compared to the clatter and conversation of the shop proper. Framed artwork that had clearly been done by a child—presumably Tessa—graced the walls, and natural light filtered through a large window.
“This is nice,” Beth said, gazing around.
He went over to his desk and leaned his hip against it, crossing his arms over his chest while he studied her. “Beth.”
It wasn’t a greeting or a question. It was a spit-it-out-I’m-busy demand.
She sighed. “I was an idiot.”
His expression remained placid. “Oh?”
So, he was going to make her bleed for it then. So be it. “I met your mother today,” she said. “And your niece.”
He stared at her with unreadable eyes, and she couldn’t tell if he was giving her the silent treatment or simply watching her squirm. Finally, he asked, “And how did you get on?”
“They were both very kind. Tessa is beautiful. I can see the family resemblance.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “She’s a good kid.”
Beth continued. “Your mother mentioned that she’s friends with Pearl Taylor.”
His eyebrow raised ever so slightly. “You mean the kind of friends who might, I don’t know, gossip amongst each other?”
Beth grimaced. “Yes.”
“Gossip that might find its way back to a certain daughter?”
“Yes,” Beth answered again.
“I see.”
“Alex,” she said by way of offering an olive branch. “I’m sorry I misjudged you. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s one of my skills.”
He studied her, and then the corner of his mouth slowly curved. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
“Rylie has gotten under my skin since high school,” Beth said. “I shouldn’t still let her get to me.”
Though his grin lingered, he said, “I’m not and have never been with Rylie Taylor-Reed.”
Beth held up a hand. “You don’t need to explain.”
He gave her a look that said let me finish. “She and her friends come in here every other week, flirting with me and any other man within spitting distance. I let them giggle and bat their eyelashes, then I give them their coffee and go back to work. Nothing more.”
She let out a breath, embarrassed by her relief. She should have known Alex wasn’t the type to cavort with Rylie. Beth had only known him a short while, but he’d been nothing but genuine and polite. Shamelessly flirtatious but polite.
“When I saw you give her that money,” she said, “I assumed the worst.”
“It was for cookie dough.”
Beth’s train of thought derailed. “What?”
“Cookie dough,” he said again. “Rylie said her kid was selling cookie dough for a school fundraiser. Wanted to know if I would buy some. Begged me, really.”
He’d been buying cookie dough. Beth had never
felt more obnoxious. “That wouldn’t be chocolate chip would it?”