Page 26 of Maybe We Can Fake It

“I suppose there are,” Grant says.

Brenden’s hand lands on top of mine under the table and squeezes. I’m pretty sure that meansthank you. He leaves his hand there after that, keeping mine trapped on his thigh. And I can’t say I mind it.

“Although, she’s barely a teenager,” Elise argues.

“Grandma, I don’t even have school tomorrow,” May says, giving the woman an angelic smile. “Don’t worry.”

“I know, sweetie,” Elise tells her. “I was only stating my opinion.”

May waits until Elise takes her eyes off her before she has another sip of her coffee. Then she glances worriedly between Elise and Brenden. I’m pretty sure she loves her grandparents, but it’s clear to me whose side she’d take if it came down to it. I’ve never seen a closer relationship between a child and parent.

Brenden leans toward me to ask, “Do you want a beer?”

“I’m fine,” I tell him. While a beer might usually ease my nerves in a situation like this, seeing him so nervous has oddly been enough to keep me calm. I want to be a steadying presence for him.

“Anyway,” Grant says, “we were asking Brenden about the two of you, but he so eloquently told us tohold off on the interrogationuntil you got here.”

“I didn’t say it like that,” Brenden mumbles.

May snorts. “You totally did.”

He shrugs sheepishly. “I think I was joking.”

“So how did you two get together?” Elise asks, zeroing her attention in on me. “Brenden said you own the diner in town, so you must have known each other for a while before you started dating.”

“Right, well...” I look to Brenden for help.

“Yeah, um...” he says not so helpfully.

As we both flounder for an answer, I realize with horror that Brenden didn’t leave us any time to actually prepare for this. We should’ve come up with a story. We can’t just say, “Hey, we’re boyfriends,” and expect that to be enough.

“Dad and I eat at the diner all the time, so they’ve known each other for years and were friends first,” May smoothly jumps in. “They’d bicker over silly stuff, though it was obviously their way of flirting. I could tell they liked each other, but both ofthem were too chicken to do anything about it.” She shoots a challenging look our way, as if daring us to contradict her.

Even though we definitely don’t flirt, I’m keeping my mouth shut. Hopefully, she knows where she’s going with this. If she can come up with a cover story for us, then she can say whatever she wants.

Brenden must be thinking the same thing, because he says nothing too. Though it looks like he’s fighting hard to keep his face neutral.

May turns back to her grandparents. “So one day, I told Travis my dad was lonely and that I wanted to set him up with someone, and I asked if he had any suggestions. He got all grumpy and told me to leave him out of it. But I kept pushing until he admitted his feelings, and then I told him if he didn’t hurry up and ask Dad on a date, I’d find someone else who would.”

Well, shit, kid. Thanks for making me sound kind of pathetic.

Considering how easily that came to her, I’m worried she might actually believe some of what she said. She’s a smart girl. I’m good at hiding my feelings, but is it possible she sees right through me?

No.She’s just covering for us and likely messing with us at the same time. She doesn’t know.

Brenden’s still silent. I have no idea what he’s thinking, but one of us needs to say something.

I clear my throat.All right, I’m up.It feels like I’m back in school and forgot to study for a test. “Guess I just needed that push,” I say. “And it helped to know May approved of me dating her dad.”

“Obviously, I do,” May says, giving me a smile that looks very genuine before turning to her grandparents again. “Travis has been around the whole time I was growing up. He’s come to mybirthday parties. He’s always been there for me and Dad, even before they started dating. I know he’ll never hurt either of us.”

Her eyes meet mine again, and her faith in me gets me a little choked up. Even though the whole thing about me and Brenden being together is fake, it sounds like she means this part. And she’s right. I’d never hurt them.

That’s why I’ve never let my feelings for Brenden slip. Because he deserves more than a grumpy closeted guy with hermit tendencies.

“Isn’t that sweet,” Elise says, reaching out across the table to pat my forearm. “I do appreciate knowing there’s someone here taking care of these two.”

Brenden’s back goes ramrod straight.

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