Page 75 of Sergeant O'
“Pretending like we’re a couple?”
Finally, he looked me in the eye. “I’m not pretending. We agreed it would be us while we’re here.” He shrugged and went back to studying the menu. “This is whatuslooks like to me.”
I blinked at him across the table, menu forgotten.
Well, crap.
I thought I’d signed up for ten days of hot sex, not whatever this was shaping up to be.
But I had no desire to take my hand back. In fact, I gave his a little squeeze before teasing, “I thought you said you weren’t boyfriend material. You’re doing a pretty good job of selling it.”
He brought his coffee to his lips and paused with a grin. “I’m not selling anything, Sunshine. It’s the real deal.”
“While we’re here,” I reminded him.
He studied me while he took a sip, then put the mug back on the table. His grin was gone when he reiterated, “Yeah, while we’re here.”
I told myself I should be relieved he was in agreement. Drawing the line made it safer. But the pinch of disappointment caught me off guard. I forced a smile and dropped my eyes to the menu, pretending to be absorbed in the omelet section.
****
Brian
Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes before she looked back at the menu. I’d caught a flicker of something—disappointment?—before she looked away, but I let it go.
Ten days—that was all I could give her. It was all I was capable of. And the only reason I could even do that was because we weren’t in Haven Springs.
So, I sipped my coffee and acted like being with her only temporarily was easy, even though it was anything but.
We were playing pretend in Cape Cod.
And I was going to pretend-love her like it was my job.
~~~~
Before we left the diner, Jade pulled up her phone and found Mona’s—a clothing boutique nearby. I opened the passenger’s door for her out of habit, then rememberedIwas the one riding shotgun, like I was a felon with a suspended license who had to have his woman drive him everywhere.
Suck it up, buttercup. If I could drive, she wouldn’t be here.
That was all the reminder I needed to quit feeling like a baby about being in the passenger seat.
The clothing store was small, tucked between a bakery and a real estate office. When we stepped inside, cool air hit us with a faint hint of lavender. An older woman with bleached-blonde hair pulled back in a bun, wearing a purple and lime green kaftan and gold, chunky jewelry called out, “Welcome! I’m Mona, let me know if you need anything!”
Racks of sundresses and t-shirts filled the space, and Jade went straight for them, flipping through hangers with quick, decisive movements. I hung back, hands in my pockets, letting her do her thing.
She drifted toward a rack near the back, and within two minutes Mona was bringing her dresses from other parts of the store because “they’d look good on her”. Jade laughed and took it all in stride. Before long, she was chatting with other customers. I think she even got invited to someone’s wedding, and another woman’s grandson’s sixth birthday party.
And I just stood there, taking it in, not caring if I looked useless for not doing more than leaning against the wall and watching her in awe.
When she disappeared into the fitting room, I waited. Then the curtain slid open, and the only coherent thing I could utter was, “Wow.” She turned in front of the mirror, tugging at the hem of a mint-green sleeveless sundress, completely oblivious to the effect she had on me.
“You’re getting it,” I said before she could even ask what I thought.
She wrinkled her nose. “It’s a little pricier than what I wanted to spend.”
“Well, since you’re not paying, it doesn’t matter.”
Her arms crossed. “Brian, you haven’t let me pay for anything—gas, snacks, the hotel, breakfast... now my clothes too?”
