by Codi Gary
He was just about to put his car into reverse when his phone beeped.
I’m aware of how much time I have left.
No jerk. No ass. What was wrong with her?
Are you okay?
Several seconds passed, and then…
No, I’m not all right.
Eric didn’t bother to write back. Against the advice of every voice in his head warning him not to go over there, he couldn’t go to bed until he found out what was wrong with her.
He drove out of Buck’s parking lot and stopped off at Hall’s for a bottle of something fruity and alcoholic. It was all Gracie ever ordered from the bar. Next, he swiped some brownies from the bakery and headed for the checkout.
Eric felt like an idiot, practicing what he was going to say to her on the drive over to her house. So far, he’d come up with standing on her porch looking cool and holding up the brownies. Then, with a wink, he’d say, “See? I’ll make an awesome fake boyfriend.”
Ten minutes later, he knocked loudly and waited. Nothing. He knocked again, and the door whipped open to reveal Gracie, looking like a toddler in footed pajamas, her eyes puffy and her hair wild. His smile and clever line evaporated.
“What are you doing here?” she sniffled.
“You said you weren’t all right, so I came by to bring you some happy juice and comfort food.” He looked her up and down, and despite his best efforts to be sensitive, his mouth kicked up into a little smile. “You look adorable.”
Sarcasm practically lashed him like a whip. “Thanks, but I’m really tired and not up to sparring with you tonight.”
This wasn’t going the way he had hoped, and before she could shut the door on him, he turned sideways and stepped inside. “I’m sorry about the crack about your pajamas. I really did just want to make sure you were okay.”
Her green eyes filled with tears. “Well, I’m not, and while I appreciate the concern, I think I’d rather be alone.”
He wasn’t used to seeing this side of Gracie, the soft underbelly she only let those closest to her witness.
“I’m here for you, if you want to talk,” he said gently.
Gracie shut the door behind him with a slam. “Stop it! You’re not supposed to be like this. You aren’t nice, or kind, or considerate. You’re…you’re…”
“Shh, keep it down. Aren’y you going to wake up the kid?”
Gracie slumped back against the door and broke down, shocking Eric to his very core. He set the bottle and the container of brownies down on the side table. She was sucking in air between sobs, and without really thinking about it, he reached out to pull her close. He tucked her against him and slid his arms around her, rocking her.
“Is she gone? Is that what’s going on with you?”
She nodded against the front of his shirt, and Eric grimaced. He had no idea what to say to comfort her, so he remained silent and just let her cry. He figured it was the safest move, especially since she was so close to his genitals. One wrong word and she’d probably kick him so hard, he’d be singing soprano for the rest of his life.
“I know I’ve only had her two weeks, but it felt like so much longer. Maybe because I got to spend time with her. Today, though, when Viola took her from me and she cried and reached for me…I wanted to snatch her back.”
“I’m sure you did. Did they find her mom or something?”
Gracie pulled away, wiping at her eyes. Eric kept his arms around her, trying not to notice how good she felt against him. “They found her great-grandma.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Of course, it’s good,” Gracie said, hoarsely. “And I’m sure that she’s going to love her to pieces.”
“But you don’t want her to forget you?” Eric said, surprised by his own intuition.
Gracie sniffed. “No. No, I don’t. I do want what’s best for her. It just hurts.”
Eric ran his hand over her back. “I know it does, Gracie Lou. It will get better, though. And that little girl is going to be the better for knowing you.”
Gracie made a choking sound. “Oh my God, did you just say something incredibly thoughtful and nice?”
He chuckled good-naturedly. “Hey, I can’t be all bad. You’ve met my mother. She tried to teach me a few things.”
“Tried being the operative term.”
Minutes ticked by as he held her, smoothing her hair, rubbing her shoulders, and kissing the top of her head. He found himself murmuring words of comfort to her, and a thought struck him as her crying slowed.
He hated seeing Gracie sad. He liked her spitting fire or cracking jokes, but when she was in pain, no matter how pissed or frustrated he might be with her, it bothered him. Bothered might be too mild a word, but it was all he had at the moment.
“I tell you what. Why don’t I get you settled into your bed and tuck you in for the night? You can enjoy the brownies and liquor tomorrow.”
Gracie took in a heavy breath. “Sure.”
Eric picked her up, and when she didn’t protest, he carried her down the hall to her bedroom. He walked in and looked around. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in her room, and all the bright colors and fuzzy rugs were still ugly.
“This place needs a man around here.”
She didn’t respond, but he thought he felt a snort of derision against his chest.
He laid her down on the rumpled bed, and when she was snuggled in, he pulled the blanket over her.
Her hand over his stalled his movements.
“Yes.”
He raised one eyebrow, and it took him a minute to realize what she was saying. “Yes, you’ll go to New York with me?”
“If you’ll help keep my mother at bay.”
He turned his hand over and cupped hers, warmth spreading up his arm the way it always did when he touched Gracie. “It’s a deal.”
Eric started to stand, but she didn’t release his hand. He looked down into her wide, swollen eyes and pale face as she cleared her throat.
“I know we said we’d be completely professional when no one else is around, but I…I really don’t want to be here alone. Can you just… Can you stay until I fall asleep?”
Eric knew she was asking him for comfort, but that didn’t stop his cock from having other ideas.
“Sure, I’ll stay.”
Gracie relaxed back against the pink of her sheets, and Eric bent over to untie his boots. He slipped them under her bed and put his jacket on top of her dresser. Then he went to the other side and sank down on top of the comforter.
He stared up at the white, lacy canopy and felt her turn and inch closer to him. Without asking permission, he reached out an arm and pulled her against his side, running his hand over her back. She clicked off the light on her bedside table and snuggled close to him. He could still feel silent tears wetting his T-shirt, but other than her quiet sniffles, it was silent.
“Can you talk to me?” Her voice sounded sad and garbled.
“What do you want me to talk about?”
She took a deep breath, her breasts pushing against his side, and he gritted his teeth as his erection grew.
“Anything. Everything. I don’t care, as long as I’m distracted.”
What he needed to think about was boring sports stats or something disgusting to draw attention away from how soft her body was against him. But the need to cheer her up outweighed his own discomfort.
“All right. Remember when you and Gemma snuck into Buck’s to see Travis’s gig?”
He felt her lift her head up, but didn’t dare look at her. Even in the dark, he knew every curve to her face, and he did not need the aggravation.
“Yeah, when we were eighteen, and you kicked us out about ten minutes after they finished? That the gig you’re talking about?”
He smiled in the dark at her snarky tone. “That’s the one. When you ordered that beer with your fake ID, it was actually a nonalcoholic beer.”
Several seconds ticked by before she choked out a laugh. �
��God, that’s awesome. I guess I can’t blame making out with Joey Turner later that night as bad judgment brought on by alcohol.”
Well, if that didn’t dim his excitement just a hair… “Joey Turner is a pussy.”
“Yeah, I know. I had to make the first move and—”
“I don’t want to hear about any of the guys you’ve hooked up with, okay?”
“Why? It’s not like you really cared. You thought I was an annoying kid.”
He scoffed. “That’s bullshit. You knew what you did to me, coming by and flirting with me. You were too damn sexy for your own good. I had a hard time keeping my hands off your barely legal body.”
Gracie had started tracing hearts on his chest. “Really? You thought I was sexy?”
“Still do. Infantile pajamas and all.”
She hit him in the stomach and countered, “They are warm and comfortable.”
He grunted and grabbed her hand, holding it to his chest. “They are pink with monkeys on them.”
“I like monkeys.”
“So do two-year-olds.”
She stiffened, and he wished he could call it back. He was sure any second she was going to kick him out and then…
“Tell me about being Miss Know-It-All.”
Chapter Twelve
“Why is it people always ask questions they know they won’t like the answer to? It’s as though they forget the old adage, “Be careful what you wish for.” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
Gracie didn’t know why she’d brought that up, especially when she’d asked him to stay to make her feel better. Asking about his life as her nemesis…well, her other nemesis if she was counting Eric himself, seemed counterproductive to what she wanted.
“If it’s just going to piss you off…”
Gracie laid her head on his chest as if to prove how chill she was with his alter ego. “No, it won’t. I really want to understand why you decided to take on the guise of a woman in order to report about the goings-on of our idyllic little town.”
Eric sighed, the movement lifting her face up with the motion of his hard chest. She didn’t want to think about the few times she’d seen him shirtless and sexy as hell. That wasn’t what this arrangement was supposed to be about. She was already crossing the line tonight asking him to stay. Thinking about him in a smutty context was a big, fat no-no.
“At first, I think, it was just for fun. I would go home and write a biting paragraph or two about something I’d seen or heard. Then I bumped into Jim one day, and he said that the newspaper was having some trouble. I asked him if he’d ever considered taking on some racier columns, and he asked what I had in mind. That night, I sent him a column I wrote about Walt and Wayne falling ass over tea kettle and knocking themselves out. He said he’d laughed so hard, he almost choked. He agreed we’d try it out once and see how the town reacted.”
“And everyone went nuts for it,” Gracie said.
“Yeah, they did. It kept getting bigger and bigger. I helped Jim get the paper online, but they couldn’t get to the column without the secret password found in the print paper.”
“That was actually pretty genius, you know.”
She sensed his movement and heard the smile in his voice. “Did you just pay me a compliment?”
“Actually, it may have been a mini stroke. I think I threw up a bit.”
“Ah, that makes more sense.”
“Please, continue.”
“After that, I set up an email account and tip line and was shocked by how many pictures and tidbits came in. I started picking and choosing…”
“And you chose incidents between us a lot.”
Eric didn’t respond right away, and she wondered if he felt guilty for trashing her. “I actually got requests for gossip about us.”
Gracie’s head shot up. “Say what?”
“Yeah. People were actually rooting for us. They thought we were star-crossed lovers or some shit like that. We always sold more papers if word got around we were in it.”
“The folks in this town need to get a life. Star-crossed lovers. Blegh.”
She saw his grin flash in the dark. “For a woman bent on matchmaking everyone else, you really seem to lack a romantic side.”
It was true that she’d had a hand in more than a few of her friend’s love lives, but she didn’t get insanely invested. “I just think it’s ridiculous that someone would get so caught up in other people’s relationships. Are they really so bored that they have to be all up in everyone else’s business?”
Eric laughed. “Oh, come on. You can’t tell me that when the column wasn’t about us, you didn’t gobble it up like pie on Thanksgiving?”
“Pshaw, please. I mind my own—”
“Gemma and Travis. Ryan and Gregg. Callie and Everett—”
“Okay, okay, point taken.” She grunted as she laid her head back down and admitted grudgingly, “I may have enjoyed your column every once in a while.”
“Ah-ha! I knew it!”
She poked him in his ribs. “Doesn’t mean I forgive you for insinuating I sleep around.”
“I did not! I only said that you date a lot of guys.”
“Which people think means sleep with.”
“I can’t control what people think. And name one guy in this town, ages twenty-eight to thirty-five, that you haven’t been out with at least once.”
“That’s easy. I can name lots. Travis, Chase, Gabe—”
“Fine, but it’s no secret that you usually have a date every weekend and no guy sticks around too long.”
The conversation was slowly bringing her temper to the surface. “Women are allowed to date, and even have sex before marriage.”
“I’m just saying, instead of dating these pretty boy idiots, maybe you should just stay single until you find someone you really like.”
Gracie yanked on his beard. “Guess it’s a good thing we’re doing this fake relationship deal, huh? Gives me time to technically be single and find the right guy.”
Suddenly, Gracie found herself flat on her back with Eric’s shadow hovering over her.
“While we’re in this arrangement, there will be no dating other people.”
Her hands came up to land on his chest, pressing against the immovable wall of muscle.
“Yeah, I know. Otherwise people will know we’re faking it.”
“I just want to be sure.” She felt his fingers trail down the length of her cheek. “Besides, if Miss Know-It-All reported that the town’s favorite barista was stepping out on her bartender boyfriend, I’d have to kick the crap out of the guy.”
Gracie’s heart skipped at the growly, possessive tone. “What if I was dating John Cena?”
Eric moved, and she realized he’d flopped onto his back again. “I could take Cena with one arm behind my back.”
Gracie choked out a laugh. “Oh, right! He’d crush you in his bicep.”
“Jesus, woman, shut up and go to sleep. You’re getting on my last nerve.”
Gracie smiled in the dark. It was amazing that one man could bring her comfort, irritation, and laughter all in the span of minutes. He really wasn’t that bad.
Gracie rolled onto her side, and the smell of lavender baby shampoo hit her nostrils. The scent reminded her of Pip’s hair, and tears started falling again.
She had no idea how he’d heard her, but he rolled over and put his arm around her waist, kissing the back of her head.
“I could tell you about the time I hooked up with—”
“God, just shut up and hold me.”
His arm tightened around her. “Anything for you, Gracie Lou.”
* * *
The sound of the front door opening and closing woke Eric, who stared around at the canopy bed and pink frills in confusion.
Where in the hell…
He realized he must have fallen asleep with Gracie right about the time he heard footsteps coming down the hallway.
Mike’s voice carried through Gracie’s
closed door, and Eric climbed off the bed to snag his boots. “Gracie? I’ve got your favorite donuts and am ready to drive you over to Gemma’s for some best friend bonding—”
The door opened, and Eric stood up with his boots in one hand. Mike’s gaze shifted from Eric to Gracie, who had finally woken up and was sitting up in bed.
“—time?” Mike finished.
“Mike! You know Eric, right?” Gracie said lamely.
Mike’s eyebrows shot halfway up his forehead. “Yeah, I know Eric. My question is…what’s going on?”
Gracie glance at Eric, and he waited for her to set their plan into motion. “What does it look like?”
“Like you and Eric hooked up.”
“Well, I mean…”
“We did,” Eric said, simply. “We’re hanging out.”
Mike didn’t look convinced. “Really? Then should I say congratulations?”
“Or you could step out and give us a minute to say good-bye properly.”
As if to press his point home, Eric sat down next to her, and cupped Gracie’s chin. He turned her face toward his and covered her mouth with his lips. Heat spread through his body, and his already stiff cock ached. He tried to tell his body this wasn’t real; this was about solidifying their ruse.
But when Gracie’s tongue pushed into his mouth and brushed his, he forgot about Mike and why he was kissing her in the first place. His hand moved around to the back of her neck, and he increased the pressure.
Vaguely, he heard Mike clear his throat and mumble something about waiting in the living room, but Eric didn’t give a shit where he went, as long as he left them alone.
When the door clicked shut, though, Gracie was the one to pull away, breathing hard.
“I think we more than convinced Mike,” she said.
She couldn’t have turned him off faster.
His hand dropped from the back of her head, and he looked away to concentrate on getting his boots on. Of course, she had just been participating for Mike’s benefit. It was what they were supposed to be doing.
So, why was he pissed?
“Yep. With ten days before your parents get here, we should have the whole town buzzing.”
“With a little help from Miss Know-It-All?” she asked.