“So . . .” Charlotte said.
“So . . . what?”
“You going to do it? Be the hot guy’s girlfriend?”
“I knew I was going to be sorry I told you about that. I’m going to shower and then run errands.” Jane turned to go.
“Don’t forget to buy a bed for Cat to sleep on in your room,” Charlotte yelled after her.
“Sure, soon as you stop taking care of everyone but yourself,” Jane yelled back.
Back in her room after she’d showered and dressed, Jane pulled out her phone and sent the photo of the list to Mateo with a text: JANE: She’s made herself a list and she’s checking it twice. I’m attaching a copy. Calling dibs on the ski jacket.
MATEO: Look at you showing your sweet.
JANE: Take that back.
MATEO: You’re a good friend, Jane.
Not sure that was actually true, she shoved her phone into her pocket and headed out for the jacket. Charlotte didn’t put a lot of stock into material things, unless it involved skiing. The woman loved to ski.
Jane wasn’t as big on clamping two skinny boards to her feet and flinging herself down a steep mountainside. But she could appreciate the need for good equipment, so she was going to Cutler Sporting Goods.
Had she picked the jacket to give herself an excuse to go there? No. Definitely not. Or at least probably not . . .
Okay, yes.
Yes, she had.
The store was downtown, which consisted of a four-block-long area called the Lake Walk, lining the lake the length of Sunrise Cove. It was filled with bars, cafés, touristy stores, galleries, anything and everything that might lure more tourists in. The buildings were mostly from the early 1900s, and though they’d all been renovated many times over, they still held a certain Old West style that was hugely appealing. At night, every storefront and tree on the sidewalk would be bright with thousands of twinkle lights that reflected off the lake and made the place look like a postcard.
But even by daylight, the charm was still there. Cutler’s was done up like an old warehouse with turn-of-the-century sporting equipment decorating the walls and hanging from the open rafters. Old-time skis and sleds, wood surfboards, and the like.
Jane walked in telling herself her mission was to get in, find the jacket, and get out—all without catching a glimpse of Levi. She had no idea if he was even here, but she strode directly toward the ski section, not looking left or right, just straight ahead, stopping at women’s jackets.
Girlfriend.
Levi had wanted her to pretend to be his girlfriend.
If he’d known her better, he’d have laughed at the idea of her doing any such thing. After all, she’d never been successful at making a real relationship work, much less a pretend one.
But there had to be someone out there for her, right?
Damn. She needed to stop secretly watching the Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies. She found a jacket that seemed to match Charlotte’s description and pulled it out. When she caught site of the price tag she almost passed out.
Damn.
You can’t put a price on friendship, she told herself. At least not when it came to Charlotte’s friendship and all she’d done for Jane. Calculating how to cut her food bill down for . . . oh, the next year, she headed to the checkout counter and stood in line. The woman ahead of her was saying, “Don’t forget the fifty percent off employee discount, which is of course why I’m getting too much. I couldn’t resist. Thank God Robby loves working in your bike department, right?”
Employee discount . . .
Did pretend girlfriends qualify?