Page 75 of Ten Rules for Faking It
The parking lot of Save N’ Shop was quiet when Everly pulled in. Adulting at night was far less crowded. Maybe this could be her new thing. She smirked. Stacey would so veto that as trying a new thing. A little thorn lodged in her ribs. She didn’t like when things weren’t okay with Stacey. Or not knowing whether there was more she should apologize for. She grabbed a basket.Things will be fine. You’ll text her later, Stacey will blow off your apologies, the slate will be clean.
Maybe my something new should be to cook something. If those little kids on TV can do it, I can. Maybe.She was a decent cook—as in, she didn’t starve even without takeout.How about a dessert?She passed the baking aisle, stopped, and decided to check it out.Something chocolate? Chocolate is always good. Chocolate caramel pie, in particular, is very good.That same shiver she’d felt with Chris’s text grazed her skin, making her heart feel like a live wire. She started to talk herself out of making a dessert that would cause her to thinkmoreabout the man she shouldn’t be fixating on.Do you have to pick apart every little thing you do? Make it into something more? It’s a dessert. Get over yourself, Everly. You’re not proposing marriage.Pulling her phone out, she looked up the ingredients.
“This isn’t so hard. I can do this,” she muttered, scrolling down the list.
“I have no doubt you can,” a deep, male voice said.
Everly’s head snapped up, her skin prickling with the embarrassment that came along with talking to oneself. She locked eyes with Owen Baston. Bachelor number one. The smile that took over her face was shockingly genuine. It stretched her cheeks.
Her heart flipped out like a hamster on speed, stuck on one of those wheels. “Ha. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Owen’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “My pleasure. What is it you can most definitely do?”
Warmth flooded her chest. He was cute, sweet. Funny. “Make a salted chocolate caramel cake.”
Owen hummed low, the sound nearly as sexy as the scent of his cologne when he leaned in.Hmm.Definitely sexy.Not shiver-inducing sexy but nice.Nice was good. Nice was safe. Safe wasawesome.
“Sounds delicious. Even if it goes wrong, you have to try.”
Why did that feel like good life advice in this minute?
Owen smiled. “How are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
“Not bad. Work is good, life is good. I can’t complain. How’s the dating game?”
She laughed and knew she’d curse herself later for how loud it sounded in the empty aisle. “Exciting as always. Just two more to go.”
“Before you choose the lucky guy?” He said it in such a genuine way, her flutters softened.
“Before I narrow it down, anyway.”
His phone buzzed, and he got extra points for not bothering to pull it out and check it. “It’s probably against the rules, but do you want to go grab a coffee?”
“Oh, I shouldn’t have coffee this late at night. No caffeine,really. I’ll never sleep. When you get older, caffeine can actually affect you more easily.”You take dork to a whole new level, Everly Dean. Way to go.
To her surprise and relief, Owen laughed. The sound was deep and rough and sent what she was willing to call a mini-shiver over her skin. “I forgot your age, clearly. How about some warm milk?”
Everly bit her lip, trying not to giggle awkwardly or smile like a loon. It was getting late, she hadn’t bought the few groceries she needed, and it hadn’t been the best of evenings all the way around.Be bold. Even if it’s scary.
Owen watched her through dark blue eyes with caution and consideration. She got the sense he wouldn’t push if she said no. It wasn’t actually against the rules.Technically.
“Sure. That sounds good,” she said, going with her gut but needing to add, “I can’t be out for long.” It was reflex to add the escape hatch. Just in case.
He smiled warmly. Sweetly. “Do you turn into a garden vegetable?”
She fell into step beside him, dessert forgotten. “Pumpkins are actually a fruit.”That’s it. Reel him in, dork-a-saurus.She stopped, looked up at him. “Let’s pretend I didn’t say that.”
He bit back his chuckle, but it was there. She could see it in the creases around his eyes. “I’ll wave my magic wand and it’ll be like it never happened.”
Everly liked how easy it was to laugh with him. This was what she needed: a sweet, funny, good-looking man who made her feelsomethingbut not too much. One who wasn’t off-limits. One she could open up to but not lose herself in. Owen was absolutely right. Even if it didn’t work out, she had to try.
[25]
For only the second time in her life, Everly stood outside someone’s front door, way too early in the morning, unsure if she should let herself in. She had a key. It was a you’re-welcome-any-time-don’t-even-knock key. She’d never used it before because there’d been no reason. Now felt like a valid reason.
Stacey hadn’t returned her text the night before, so maybe she needed some space. Stacey never needed space. Without being overbearing, she was as “in your face” as a friend could get. They’d been spending more time out of work together thanatwork for the better part of three years. If they were fighting, they’d smooth things over and things would be fine. Shifting from one foot to the other without letting either foot actually leave the ground, she chewed the inside of her lip.
