Page 35 of Fool Me

I wince. “Did I just find your version of being called cute?”

“Depends. Is good synonymous with boring?”

I think about that as the hand on my waist wraps around me tighter, like he’s afraid I might say yes and bolt.

“There’s nothing boring about you. Good is steady and kind.” What I don’t say is that after dating Canyon, good is the sexiest thing a guy can be. Steady. Trustworthy. Reliable. Atlas seems to be all those things.

His eyes drop to my lips, and I’m silently begging my fake boyfriend to kiss me. Not because we’re surrounded by people and it would help our cause, but because I want to taste those pillowy lips again. He dips his head right as someone calls out my name.

His chin drops to the top of my head and I feel the sigh leak out of him. I need a second to get it together before I turn and find Aspen looking like a coyote in a henhouse.

With her standing in front of me, it strikes me that I might be the worst friend ever because not only have I failed to tell her the truth about Atlas and me, I haven’t told her anything.

Her hand waves up the length of us. “What’s going on here?” she asks, but the look on her face tells me she knows exactly what this is. The power of the Timberline Peak gossip mill is working.

“I was dancing with Atlas.”

She nods along, because, duh, she can see that.

“Atlas, this is my friend Aspen. She’s annoyed that I haven’t told her about us yet.”

“It’s nice to officially meet you. You’re the flight nurse, right?”

“And you’re the new vet.” She eyes me even though she’s talking to him.

“Well, I grew up here, but yeah, I just moved back.”

“I know. You went to school with my brothers.” She winks at him.

Recognition spreads across his handsome face and he turns toward her, still keeping me close to his side with an arm draped over my shoulders. “Shit, I didn’t recognize you the other day.Sorry.” He pushes a hand through his hair, mussing it. “Do your brothers live in Timberline Peak?”

“You had other priorities. Besides, I was still in middle school when you moved to college. But no, Drake lives everywhere except here. And Trace is in L.A. They’re local disappointments, just like you.” My friend rolls her eyes over how ridiculous that notion is. But the Timberline locals are proud, and there is an entire generation who can’t fathom why you’d want to live anywhere else.

“Disappointment seems easier to forgive when you’re chasing Olympic snowboarding medals,” Atlas jokes, but I can hear the pain in his voice.

“Sure, when SportsNet isn’t running stories about how Drake is blowing up his career and wasting his talent.” My friend’s gaze bounces from Atlas to me when she says, “And we need to catch up because clearly I’m missing something.”

“We do,” I agree. “Who are you here with?” If the other girls were here, they would’ve ambushed us as a group.

“Some nurses from the hospital.”

I step out from under Atlas’s arm, wrapping her in a hug. “Let’s grab coffee or something this week. I’ll get you caught up.”

“Uh-huh.” Her arms enfold me, returning the embrace. “Enjoy your night,” she practically sings.

Whatever moment was building between Atlas and me is out of reach now.

“Do you want a drink?” he asks.

“Actually, I think I’m ready to go.” Faking it in front Aspen sits uncomfortably on my chest, making all the lightness from minutes ago turn to dust. Before, at dinner and while dancing, this didn’t feel like pretending, but now, with the reminder fresh, I feel like a fraud and a terrible friend.

If Atlas is bothered by my shift in mood, he doesn’t show it. Two big hands trap mine and his lips brush my knuckles, mumbling a soft, “Anything you need.”

My fingers are still linked with his when he leads me through the bar and out into the night air. I stop us, my shoes skidding on the wood patio until his arm is stretched taut, unable to end the night without giving him the explanation he deserves.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” Atlas asks.

I lean against the wood post on the porch of the bar. “Canyon outed us to my dad this morning.”

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