Page 45 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

Another quiet nod, because my brain cells had decided that retirement was so much more fun than dealing with this blasted nonsense, so coherent words had escaped me.

He stared at me for a few beats, then linked his hand through mine again. “Time to convince them we’re madly in love.”

Of course it was only to convince Jacqui. What else would it be?

I had the sinking feeling that it had also convinced my poor, unsuspecting heart.

CHAPTER 13I Had Dinner with Him and Everyone Survived

We were only a few days into our fake courtship, and we’d already gotten a routine going, just like any normal fake couple: I’d start the day with my morning run, and by the time I returned, Alec would have breakfast ready in the kitchen. He’d drop me off at the shop on his way to work, sometimes picking me up in the afternoon, and for the last few days, it felt like our pretend relationship was blossoming into a tolerable friendship.

But yesterday’s Strictly Professional Kiss seemed to have changed everything.

Alec was his charming self during brunch with Jacqui and Phil, but as soon as we left the restaurant, it was as if the past few days and our newfound camaraderie had never even existed. He’d relapsed to his grumpy, clammed-up self, quiet on the car ride home, only speaking whenever necessary, then spent the rest of the day avoiding me. I’d racked my brain trying to figure out what could possibly have caused it, but came up empty.

This morning, gone was the thoughtful breakfast, and on theway to work, his boring podcast was blaring at full volume. Today’s topic was legal tips for astute property developers, and I thanked the Good Lord that the drive only lasted ten minutes, because any longer, I’d probably have flung myself out of the moving vehicle. The air inside the car was sub-zero, and he hadn’t said a single word since we’d left.

After five minutes of uncomfortable silence, I attempted to break the ice.

“Busy day planned at the office today?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Lots of meetings? Site visits?”

“Yep.”

I tried again. “Did you see the weather forecast? It’s going to be a cold day.”

“No.”

Perhaps I should have left it at that, but persistence was my middle name. I gave it one last shot. “How’s your family? Your mom and sisters well?”

“Great.”

We made a new friend: the infamous curt, one-word answer. Effective, but annoying.

“By the way, Rob asked me out to dinner tonight. Don’t wait up for me because I’ll be staying at his house having hot, wild sex all night.”

Didn’t know why I said that, but it got his attention. He screeched to a halt at the next red light and turned to frown at me—the first time he really looked at me today.

“What?”

“I thought that would encourage you to use your words.”

“That’s not funny.” He bestowed an icy glance on me, then turned his eyes back to the road. “Rob has a girlfriend. For a minute I thought he was cheating on her.”

“I didn’t know he has a girlfriend. That’s too bad, because he’dbe perfect.” For Kim, because I’d been meaning to introduce them, but I stopped myself from saying that.

No answer.

I jabbed at the infotainment screen to turn off his painfully uninspiring podcast. “Okay, I’m clueless here, Alec. Things were fine yesterday. What’s going on?”

He switched the podcast back on from a button on the steering wheel. “Nothing. Busy day ahead. Got a lot on my mind.”

I turned it off again. “Liar. I’m practically freezing here from your frostiness.”

The podcast came back on. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

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