Page 44 of Don't Go Faking My Heart

WHY AM I CRYING?

"Yes."

"Good. Then you'll have to trust me on this until I've convinced you of it so thoroughly, you wear the truth of it in your eyes. You. Are. Gorgeous."

I sniff a laugh. "When we go back to being friends, do you think you could keep up with all this sweet mushiness? It's like a glow-up for my soul every time you talk to me."

Rusty's hazel eyes darken. "I won't stop until you tell me to stop."

"I won't tell you to stop."

With his thumb, he wipes the tear rolling down my cheek. I put my hand over his. "Wow. This is pretty couple-y."

"See? We're naturals," he says. He keeps his eyes on mine until I can't help smiling.

"So … be natural," I say. "Be us plus kissing. Is it really that easy?"

"Will that be easiest for you?" he asks.

His eyes jump between mine, and it's something I've only ever seen in movies, and certainly not from my steady, reliable best friend. It's a little intimate, but I like it. Also, his brow is wrinkling so earnestly, and his mouth is set in a patient line; he couldn't be more handsome.

I squeeze his cheeks and make his lips pucker out.

I could almost kiss them.

"Smart and pretty," I say, staring at his lips. "Dangerous combo."

Rusty tries to smile, but I'm holding his cheeks too tight, and when he starts to laugh with his lips still puckered, I laugh, too. He shakes me off and pulls me back into the hug.

"See? We got this," he says.

It feels perfectly, completely natural.

And then he kisses my head through my hair, and I sigh.

Wait, why am I sighing? Is this a real sigh?

For something that feels so natural, this is getting awfully complicated.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

RUSTY

With the fake dating details out of the way, Ash is able to focus completely on marketing the town's businesses, and of all the strokes of genius I've seen her get, this one might take top billing.

"I was thinking of this problem wrong the whole time. We don't need to treat every company like they're an individual one out for themselves. We're not going to bring in nearly as many tourists with a one-off attraction. How many people come to Sugar Maple for the farm but don't stop by the town?"

"A lot," Jane says.

"Exactly," Ash says. "We need to show people that these businesses are best when experienced together."

There's a collective intake of breath, like a universal ah-ha, and it makes me smile when Ash feels it. She's so intuitive that she can read a room, and her energy matches it.

"I know how Dumfries Holding works. They want to pick out the weakest in the herd and isolate each company from the other so they can buy them up and force the others out. We can't let them do that. We need to make Sugar Maple commerce stronger than ever, and we need to make the town tighter than ever. We need to create one account that shows why Sugar Maple is unique, and we need everyone to be in on it. You know what I mean?"

We all nod.

Within only a few minutes, the Janes have put their heads together to work out how to turn Ash's vision into reality.

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