Page 17 of Once Smitten, Twice Shy

I frown. “I guess…that’s accurate?”

She sighs, a smile wide on her face. “You really are right out of a historical romance.”

My frown deepens as she loops her arm through mine. “Because I run a farm and distillery?”

She pats my arm. “Don’t worry, once you read one, it’ll make sense. I mean, onlyifyou want to read one.”

“You think I should?”

“I think if you’re trying to learn about romance, reading about it would be helpful. If learning romance is a workout, romance novels are your protein bar, the kind that taste so darn good, you want to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” She stops at the bottom of the steps, turning to look up at me. “Would you be okay with that? Reading romance novels?”

“If you think it’ll help, I’ll take all the help I can get. My mom’s got lots of historical romances. I can pick one up while I’m home.”

“Great.” She beams up at me. “I could pull some contemporaries from my library and have them ready for you when you’re free to meet up?”

“Works for me.”

“Perfect,” she says brightly. “Well, let me give you my number, then you can text me when you have a sense of your schedule and we can get some plans nailed down.”

I freeze as it hits me like a truck, what this plan we’ve hatched is going to involve. I’m going to have her phone number. I’ll be texting with Juliet, spending time with her.Romantictime with her. Even if it is just for practice.

Juliet tips her head. “Will? What’s wrong?”

“How do we explain this to Petruchio?”

She frowns. “What’s to explain?”

“Friend code,” I remind her.

A sigh leaves her. “That applies? When it’s just for practice?”

“If he sees me with you, acting, uh…” I blush, my cheeks hot. I hate how damn easily I blush. “Romantic, I’m going to have some explaining to do.”

“Hmm.” Juliet taps her chin. “I could come to you upstate, and we could keep it between ourselves?”

I shake my head. “All my family is too close by, and I live in a tiny town of busybody gossips. We’d be the only thing anyone was talking about, no matter how much we tried to fly under the radar. I’ll have to come here. And I don’t…I don’t want to lie to Petruchio. I know what we’re doing is our business, but he’s my friend, and if I’m in town, spending time with you, I don’t want to be sneaking around behind his back.”

“That’s fair,” she says thoughtfully. “I don’t want to lie to him, either. I guess…I also don’t feel like we need to shareeverythingabout what we’re doing. Like you said, it’s our business. I propose a compromise: we tell Christopher we struck up a friendship this morning, because”—she winks up at me—“we did. It’s pinkie-promise official. When you come into town, if we happen to bump into or even intentionally spend time with him, my sisters, our friends, we don’t practice, just save that for when it’s only the two of us.”

Dragging a hand along my jaw, I think it over. “That seems reasonable.”

“I think so, too,” she says. “Besides, it’s not like we’llactuallybe romantic and hide it. It will all just be for practice.”

I nod. “I’m not actually going to flirt with you. I’ll just be…practicing…flirting with you.”

“Right,” she says. “Like two actors doing a hot make-out scene on a movie set. I mean, yes, they’re making out, but they’re notmaking out, you know?”

I barely hold back an audible gulp. I don’t think making outwith Juliet, whether for practice or not, would feel anything except very much like making out. And I think I’d thoroughly enjoy it.

Willthat be part of practicing?Arewe going to make out?

Juliet grimaces. “Okay, that was an intense example, but dammit, if Emily Blunt and John Krasinski can make it work, so can we! And if Christopher finds out what we’re up to, well, he’s just going to have to deal with that.”

I frown. “Who is Petruchio in this?”

“Well…” She taps her chin. “I don’t know, the metaphor sort of broke down on me, but what I mean is, they’re two hot people who’ve been together for a long time and kiss other hot people very convincingly for pretend, and their marriage is still going strong.”

“Right.” I nod. “Got it.”

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