Page 30 of You've Got Male

“Hate is a strong word. But our dislike of each other makes it even better. It will ensure no lines are crossed!”

Dislike?That word was like a stake through his chest.

He jerked his hand away and stood. “Nope. Never going to happen.”

“Just hear me out.” She was standing now, too, and since they were still on the steps, they were within kissing distance. He could feel her breath skate across his skin when she spoke. “By the time they announce the Best Coffee Shop in Denver, I’ll have a better handle on the shop. The publicity alone will be enough to pull us out of the red.”

“It’s that bad?”

“We’re a few months from going under and my parents are acting like we’re short milk money. Please, Jonah, I just need a few weeks of the appearance of being off the market to get my family off my back.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It can be. All it would be is maybe some hand-holding, a couple of casual and public dates, and we upload a few videos. Maybe I play fairy godmother and give you a little makeover. Easy peasy.”

“I’m not seeing an upside to this.” Plus, it would take more than a little bippity-boppity-boo to turn his life into Prince Charming status. He was as far from being a prince as Evie was from letting rats destroy her grandmother’s roses.

“How about I help you get your life in order? I’m a professional organizer, or I was, and you need some organization in your life.”

Ouch. She wasn’t wrong, though.He lifted a brow. “You really aren’t helping your case.”

“Please, Jonah. Between my dad’s health, the shop, Camila, and now ClickByte, I’m desperate.”

“So your solution is to lie to our families?”

She dropped her forehead to his chest. Her voice was threadbare. “I don’t have time for a real relationship. I’ve put my goals on hold for so long, I don’t want to do it again. I just want a break from it all.”

He wanted to be that break for her. Wanted to be more than just her neighbor who occasionally shared a beer. What he wanted, he couldn’t have. She’d made that crystal clear. Plus, there was Amber and her memory. And the kids. God, Ryan would kill him if he started dating his best friend’s mom. And when these weeks were up, what would that mean for their relationship? She could finally be within kicking distance and knee him in the nuts.

Then there was the obvious.

“Do you think you and I spending time together like that is a good idea?” He cupped her hips and let his fingers slide low on the curve of her back. Then he leaned in and ran his nose along her cheek and nuzzled her ear. She shivered. “Do you think thatwe can be around each other, pretending that we’re having sex, and not cross a line?”

Evie’s breath hitched, but she pulled back to stare him down with those sultry eyes. “I can. Can you?”

Jonah grinned. “What if I said I couldn’t?”

“Then I’d call you chicken,” murmured Evie, running her hands up his arms gently.

Just then, Evie’s back porch door banged open, and she jumped back as if she’d been scalded. The distance between them might as well have been a chasm, filled with all the reasons why Jonah couldn’t let himself get that close to her.

“Sorry, sunshine. You’re gonna have to figure this one out on your own.”

Chapter Ten

Jonah

Whoever said that parenting got easier forgot the big “not” at the end of that statement. Jonah would take a sleepless night of feedings over one more day of potty training.

Waverly had awoken to a wet bed, Ryan still wasn’t talking to him, and Jonah had accidentally smeared grape jelly on the sleeve of his suit. Then there was his schedule that had flipped him the resounding bird.

He was expected at Grinder in thirty minutes to meet his old boss about a possible job opportunity, Waverly had refused to wear anything but her mermaid costume, Ryan left the interior light on in his car so the engine wouldn’t start, meaning Jonah had to beg Evie to handle carpool on her morning off, and he still couldn’t stop thinking about her proposal. A proposal that was as ridiculous as the amount of time he’d spent weighing the pros and cons.

He’d trade in his left testicle for another adult to help him navigate the morning. Maybe both if that person also doubledas a toddler whisperer because Waverly wasn’t just refusing to wear shoes—because what do mermaids need with shoes—she was also clinging to his leg like a defiant little koala. Then there was the preschool teacher who was blocking his entrance into the classroom.

“What do you mean she has to be completely potty trained?” Jonah asked. “Since when?”

“Since she took off her diaper and did a finger painting on the wall of the dress-up room,” the teacher said.

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