“Yeah. I should go and sit by my parents for a bit. I hear we’re neighbors, though.” He gave me a pointed look. “Maybe I’ll swing by later tonight and throw some rocks at your window like old times. We have a lot to catch up on.”
He shot me a satisfied look before nodding toward Miles and moving past us into the main room. My body felt ten pounds lighter at his exit.
“He seems sweet,” Miles said.
I carefully stepped away from his arm. My gaze went to the floor, for some reason unable to meet his eye. This whole thing was nothing I had bargained or prepared for. Out of some psychotic burst of Tourette’s, I had said his name to my sister last night. He was never supposed to know. And yet, here he was. Almost as if I had ordered myself a boyfriend for the week. It was disconcerting, and I needed to end this now.
“Well, thanks for…that. I’m really sorry for this whole weird mess. I’ll figure out something to tell my family tonight.”
“What are you going to say?”
I shrugged, still finding the floor fascinating. “I’ll just tell everyone we broke up.”
He snorted. “No way.”
My eyes flitted up to his. “Why not?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re gonna let them think I broke up with my girlfriend a week before Christmas? No. I’m not gonna be that guy.”
“Fine. I broke up with you.”
He shot me an impatient look. “They’d never believe that.”
I scoffed, feeling annoyed at the sparkle in his eye. “You know, they really might.”
“Nope. I say we’re in it for the whole week.”
My eyebrows raised in shock. That was the last thing I’d expected him to say.
“No. We’re breaking up tonight,” I hissed. One thing was for sure–with the way my traitorous body reacted to him, I could only date Miles Taylor when Miles Taylor had no idea we were dating.
“Olive, who is this?” Mom came walking into the foyer with an expectant smile on her face, with Chloe trailing behind her.
Miles and I were suddenly two deer very much in the headlights. I stood frozen, unsure of what to do given the last bit of our conversation.
Miles shoved his hands in his pockets and eyed me with amused curiosity, awaiting my move. He was going to let me lead, but consequentially, effort-wise, he was going to make me come one hundred percent to his zero.
“You didn’t wait for me, Miles.” Chloe stood with her hands on her hips, peering back and forth between us. She was looking slightly pale and like a strong wind might topple her, but that didn’t stop her from staring at me with an emotion I couldn’t quite place. Suspicion? My brow furrowed slightly. Miles was here. By default, she had to believe me now, right? She raised her eyebrows at me. Waiting.
Apparently her obsession with true-crime podcasts was paying off. She was like Sherlock freaking Holmes, sniffing for clues. Something inside of me couldn’t let her know she was right—not yet, at least. And not in front of everyone. Somebody had to prove to her that I wasn’t the liar I actually was.
I stepped closer to Miles and linked my arm through his. He gave me an over-the-top alluring grin. I mentally cringed at what this would cost me later.
“So, you’re the handsome boy we’ve been hearing about?” Mom asked, looking up at Miles.
Okay, gag me. I didn’t appreciate her insinuation that I talked about him all the time. And I would never call him handsome—especially to his face. That word was for the romance books hidden secretly on my Kindle. Not for Miles Taylor.
Before I could answer, Miles leaned forward, reaching out to shake my mom’s hand. “I’m Miles. I work with your sister.”
Mom raised her eyebrows. “You mean my daughter.”
I fidgeted uncomfortably as Miles made a big, clichéd show of proclaimed astonishment at my mother’s age while my mom blushed and swatted his shoulder playfully. It struck me just then what was so different about my mom tonight. She was wearing makeup. She never used to wear much, if any at all, and now a flattering streak of pink colored her cheeks, and her eyes were highlighted by a dark coat of mascara.
“I think this one’s a keeper, Olive,” she said, bringing me back to the conversation.
He draped his arm once again across my shoulders, squeezing me in extra tight. “I keep trying to convince your daughter of that.”
Mom laughed while Chloe added, “His family owns this place. He kept it a secret so he could surprise Olive when he found out we were coming.”
Her voice was definitely riddled with wariness. Which had me wondering if my sub-par acting abilities were to blame. It was time to put on my big girl pants and play this dumb game I’d started. I smiled brightly and turned to my fake boyfriend, piercing him with a private stare so full of pleading he could do nothing while I leaned closer and placed a kiss on his cheek. It was warmer than expected, given the cold. He had a hint of stubble on his face, and the overall feel wasn’t as horrible as I had imagined. I refused to meet his eyes, though.
Turning to face Mom and Chloe, I said, “It was the best surprise. What are the odds?”
“You two are so cute.” Mom beamed.
“Just a peck on the cheek?” Chloe smiled daggers at me. “After such a romantic gesture?”
My nose flared slightly, but I managed to keep my smile bright as I regarded my horrible sister. “I’ve already thanked him plenty. Besides, I’m not into PDA.”
“I am, though,” Miles said, turning to face me, pure devilish mischief on his face. “I don’t mind you thanking me again.”
My entire body froze. Mom and Chloe watched me expectantly. I had to play this off. There was no way I would be kissing Miles, even though I now knew exactly how he intended to get even with me for all of this.
I squeezed his arm tighter while attempting to laugh off my mom and Chloe. “Don’t you two have husbands to get back to?”
“They’ll be fine,” Chloe said, snapping her wrist in front of her like it was no big deal. “I want some proof that you’re actually dating. Since nobody heard about you two before last night.”
That little hormonal perv.
I looked at my mom to save me. Surely this was weird for her, too. But this woman was a far cry from the prim and proper mother I had grown up with. She smiled and folded her arms. “She does have a point. A quick kiss might help us all wrap our heads around this.”
What was happening?
Miles turned to face me, trying to hide his smile. “Better give the people what they want, Celery Stick.”
Fine.
FINE. They were right. It wouldn’t hurt anything. The effect of a kiss was all in our heads, blown up by the romantic comedies of the world. An actual kiss was just one mouth pressed against another mouth. Kind of gross, actually. But really no big deal. I could put my mouth on Miles Taylor’s mouth and just be done with it. You know what was difficult to wrap my brain around? That I was being forced into this position. That Miles was actually HERE right now. I was going to kill Millie.
I turned to face Miles. “Alright, let’s do this.”
His lips broke into a smile. “So romantic,” he murmured.