Page 26 of Crumbling Truth
Theo stayed quiet as I pulled the first tray from the oven, but he cocked his head at me when I turned to face him.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, I just…I don’t know what to wear to a place like that.”
His eyebrows shot up and he rose to his feet, moving toward me. He paused a few feet away, leaning against the counter, and said, “I’m probably not the best judge of that, but I can ask Ollie if you don’t want to involve Sofia. I’ve seen you dolled up and casual, and believe me when I say no matter what you wear, you’re going to be gorgeous.”
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat and moved a handful of cookies from the cooling rack to a plate before handing it to him. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Water is fine,” he replied.
The gentleness of his tone threatened to unravel me, but I managed to keep my hands steady as I filled two glasses from the filter and nodded for him to sit back down at the table. I took the seat across from him, careful to keep my knees from brushing against his.
“They’re best when they’re still warm,” I told him, grabbing a cookie off the plate.
That was all the invitation he needed—he lifted one to his mouth, closed his eyes as he took a gooey bite, and released a guttural sound of satisfaction that had me clenching my thighs under the table. Right before he opened his eyes again, I dropped my gaze to the plate and shoved the cookie into my mouth.
“You’re right,” he said. “These are even better than the first ones I tried, and I thought those were the best thing I’d ever tasted.”
“You have a pretty strong sweet tooth.”
He shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”
“So. What else should I know about you besides that, if we’re going to convince our closest friends we’re dating?”
“Or banging,” he muttered.
A startled laugh burst from my lips. “Or banging.”
“I don’t think anyone is going to quiz us, Esther,” he said gently. “Especially because they know us both and it’s going to be obvious this is temporary.”
The reminder should have doused me with ice water, but instead it made me square my shoulders and nod.
Temporary. Right. I could do this. Iwantedto do this. Maybe a fake relationship would help prepare me for another real one.
Someday. Down the road. When I was ready.
“Yeah. Still. I’m afraid Sofia is going to question me and I’ll just freeze up,” I said.
He ate another cookie, rubbed a hand over his beard to check for crumbs, and leaned back in his chair. “Crash course, then. I’m thirty-eight, I have a degree in business management, and I co-own a landscaping company with a guy named Billy. I used to help my dad out when I was in high school and fell in love with the prospect of both being my own boss and creating beautiful gardens for customers.”
I nodded. “And I assume you don’t have a girlfriend down in North Carolina?”
“Definite no. I wouldn’t have agreed to come up here for two months if someone was waiting for me back home.”
The desire to ask about his aversion to relationships welled in my chest so strongly that I had to clench my hands together in my lap. “Right, okay. Any hobbies?”
“I played on a sort of bar league adult soccer team for a while, but when the business took off, I couldn’t commit to enough practices,” he replied. “You?”
I shook my head, then shrugged. “I like to read. I do some yoga, but I decided against classes because I got tired of everyone staring at me when I showed up.”
“This fucking town.”
My eyes widened at the vehemence of the words. “It’s not that bad.”
With a humorless laugh, he leaned his elbows against the table and said, “Esther, even when youwantto get out of this house, you’re sent scurrying back because every busybody in Spruce Hill feels the need to be up in your business.”
“I don’t scurry,” I protested, scowling.
