“But your house is right there.” She points at the modern house, probably a mere thirty feet away.
“Yep.”
“I told you I wasn’t going to live with you.”
“This isn’t living with me. It’s living adjacent to me.”
“It’s really close. Too close.” Her arms cross and her eyes narrow.
“I think it’s the perfect distance.”
Her jaw flexes as she bites down on her teeth. “It’s my house, and I say it’s too close. How about there?” She points at a copse of thin birches in the distance.
“Fuck no.”
“Why not?”
“It’s too far away.”
“It’s just far enough.”
“Why would two people in love live in separate houses that far apart from each other on the same property?”
It’s not safe is what’s really running through my head. In light of today? In light of last night? It would take too much time for me to reach her if something went wrong over there. I wouldn’t hear the noise. See the lights.
I might as well sleep at her front door like the guard dog I am at this point.
She stares at me, and it’s not in anger. It’s more like I can see her brain whirring a mile a minute. Then she looks away. “Fine. Facing the river.”
I grin at her before turning back to the wheel to line up the small trailer just right. It doesn’t matter, though, because I don’t think she’ll be living there for long. She’ll give in and move over to my place.
And then I won’t have to be alone.
“And stop calling me sugar tits,” she adds with a stubborn lilt to her voice.
I don’t mind at all, because it’s a hell of a lot better than hearing her cry.
“Sugar it is.”
11
Bailey
“Should we practice before we go in there?”
My hands freeze on the seat buckle, and I turn to stare at Beau.
The man who moved my trailer and helped me reorganize everything inside.
The man who stayed with me all night when I was scared, who walked through dirty water when I needed him. Who is way older, way more experienced. And who asked me if I was wet like we were just having a casual conversation.
The man who is my new fiancé and is about to introduce me to his family. His nice family who loves him and wants the best for him.
“Practice what?”
“Well, I don’t know. You’re looking at me like I terrify you.”
I scoff. “You don’t terrify me.”
“Why do you have that deer-in-the-headlights expression all the time, then? You could barely get through telling Gary. You gonna flinch when I touch you? Kiss you?”
“Why would you touch and kiss me at a family dinner?”
“Because we’re engaged?”
I shake my head rapidly. “No. Just tell them we’re not into PDA.”
Beau glares at me. “We’re going to have to convince them a little bit. This is going to blindside them.”
I’m about to reach for the door handle to get the hell out of here, away from the super soldier who is turning this into some sort of top-secret mission shit, but I stop in my tracks.
“Hang on a second.” I turn back to face his chiseled jaw and stupid face. “Have you not told them at all?”
His expression is impassive. “No. I decided it would be best to just rip the Band-Aid off. They’re less likely to give me the third degree if you’re there. Which is why we need to sell it.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? This is your plan? How many years in the special forces … and this is your plan?”
He blows out a breath and leans his head against the rest behind him. “Listen, what I want out of this deal is for them to leave me alone. You can use me to get a job, and I can use you to get them off my back. Maybe we’re both wrong and this whole thing doesn’t make a difference at all. Just act natural.”
“This makes me nervous. How am I supposed to act natural?” Because while I’ve come to feel comfortable around Beau, that feeling doesn’t extend to big family get-togethers.
The man beside me goes from agitated to lighthearted as he reaches out and pulls my hand up to his mouth. He kisses my palm so naturally that I almost forget we’re faking this relationship.
“Don’t be nervous, sugar,” he murmurs against my skin, with a coy glance out of the corner of his eye. Because we both know abbreviating that nickname doesn’t make it any better. “We’ve already slept together. This should be a breeze.” He chuckles, and it vibrates through the bones in my hand. Lips and stubble brush against my skin, and I bite down on the shiver that racks my body, tugging my hand back and rubbing at it like I’ve been burned.