Page 41 of The Weight Of Falling
“She wanted to know if it’s true,” he cuts in. “If I’m really engaged to you. And if not, whether she still has a chance.”
Heat rushes to my face. “Oh.”
“She doesn’t give up easy.”
I can hear the tightness at the edges of his voice. “What are you going to tell her?”
He takes a long time before answering. “I don’t know. If I deny it, the gossip only grows. You’ll look like a fool, and I’ll look like a liar.”
His phone rings again. “It’s Kate.”
“Go ahead, take it,” I say quickly.
He answers, his tone clipped. On the other end of the line, Kate is clearly talking non-stop. Joel’s responses are short—uh-huh,yeah,understood—but the tension in his shoulders tells me the conversation is anything but casual.
When he finally hangs up, he exhales heavily. “Kate says her phone’s been ringing off the hook all morning. We’re fully booked for the next two weeks.” He drags a hand down his face. “She says it’s all because of our news.”
My eyes widen. “Does she know it’s fake?”
He nods. “She knows. Tess filled her in. But you should’ve heard her. She sounded so excited. Looks like your fake engagement is actually boosting the business. Someone posted about ourengagementon the Brown Oaks Foodie Facebook group, and now every café, bakery, and restaurant in a twenty-mile radius wants to book us.” His mouth twists, as if he hates even saying the words. For a moment, he just stands there, caught in some internal battle.
When the silence stretches, I say, “Look, I’ll tell everyone I made up the engagement. I created this mess, so I should be the one to make it right.”
“If you go back now and tell everyone it was a lie, I don’t know...it feels like the town’s wrath will double. And I can’t let Kate take that hit.” He rolls his shoulders, like his shirt has turned into a straitjacket. “Like I said, I don’t give a damn what this town thinks of me. But Kate’s worked too hard to crawlout of what she’s been through. I won’t let my name drag hers down.”
My throat tightens. His protectiveness for Kate is fierce enough to fill me with both jealousy and admiration. “What are you saying?”
He studies me, unreadable, then lets out a reluctant breath. “I’m saying we leave things be. For now.”
It takes me a second to process what I’m hearing. “You want to go ahead with the fake engagement?”
“Yes. We play along until things calm down. Until the gossip dies down and Kate’s calendar fills back up.” His shoulders bow. The weight in his eyes is heavier than I’ve ever seen it. “We’ll keep this...stupid fake engagement going. For Kate. For the business. And maybe for my sanity, if it keeps Farah away for a while.”
A wave of relief crashes over me, quickly followed by guilt. “Okay,” I whisper. At this point, I’ll say yes to pretty much whatever he needs if it keeps matters from getting worse. Since I’m the one who lit the match, it feels only fair I help contain the fire.
“But we keep it lowkey,” he says, fixing me with a stern look. “No grand gestures. No drawing attention to ourselves. We don’t hang out more than is strictly necessary. I want this whole thing flying so far under the radar it practically disappears.”
I’m nodding along eagerly, like one of those bobbleheads Lisset likes to collect. “Absolutely. I can do that. Low-key. No drama. Total stealth mode.”
“Then we part amicably,” he continues.
“We tell everyone we get along better as friends.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “No more crying in public.”
“No more sad movies then,” I counter.
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
But when he turns to leave, it doesn’t feel fine at all.
16
[MESSAGES]
JOEL:Why am I invited to trivia night with your friends?
