Page 25 of Strictly Pretend

“You wouldn’t,” she says, her voice low.

“Try me.” Okay, I need to pull this back a little. “Seriously, this is a win-win. You get to stick it to Will and I get to show you the units that I know deep in my heart would be perfect for your business. They’re modern. The air is controlled which I know is perfect for old books. The storage facilities are second to none.”

“And if I see them and I still say no?” she says. “What happens then?”

“Nothing. I’ll still keep up my end of the bargain. I guess you get to stick it to me, too.”

For the first time she looks like she’s wavering. I grab onto it like a life saver. “Seriously, that’s it,” I tell her. “We go to thewedding together. I act as the perfect gentleman. You look at the unit and then the bargain is over.”

“In that specific order?”

“As in I have to do the sacrifice first?” I ask her.

“Hey, buddy. It’s no sacrifice to be with me. It’s a privilege.” She narrows her eyes.

“Okay,” I agree. “I have to do the privilege first.”

She lets out a mouthful of air. I may not be the best at reading people, but I’ve negotiated enough to know that I’ve gotten as far as I can today. “You don’t have to decide now,” I tell her. “Think about it. You get revenge on Will, and then you get rid of me.”

“You’ll seriously walk away if I say no once I’ve seen the unit?” she asks again. She doesn’t trust me and I completely get that. I don’t trust myself.

“Scout’s honor.” I touch the tips of my fingers to my temples.

“Were you ever a scout?” she asks.

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.” She sits back in her chair and stares out of the window. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”

CHAPTER

SEVEN

EMMA

Rita is dressing a mannequin in a fifties-style dress when I walk into her shop. It’s white with red flowers, a red sash cinching the waist, before the full skirt flows out in an almost triangular shape.

She looks up at me, pins in her mouth even though I’ve told her I’m scared one day she’s going to swallow them.

“Hey,” I say as I close the door behind me. Brooks left an hour ago. He insisted on walking me back to the shop and shaking Granddad’s hand before he left.

“If we were dating, that’s what I’d do.”

“But we’re not dating,” I told him. “I don’t date guys who blackmail me.”

“But we might be pretending that we’re dating.”

“Or we might not be,” I growled.

And yeah, I’m at the point of growling at Brooks Salinger. Because I know I should shoot the whole thing down. But he’s blackmailing me. And though I hate to admit it, Willwouldfeel like he’s won if I don’t go. There’s a part of me that’s stupidly competitive. I blame my dad for that.

And just like that, my chest twinges, as I think about my parents and the way I lost them one rainy day when I was thirteen years old. The way Granddad and Grandma never once complained at suddenly having to raise a grieving teenager.

The way they showed me so much love when I felt lost at sea.

If I look at this other building, this could all go away. Things can go back to the way they have always been. And Granddad never has to know about anything. He can just get on with his old age the way he should.

“You look like you just found a cent and lost a hundred dollars,” Rita says. “Is everything okay?”

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