Page 64 of Lessons in Faking
“No.” He sounded way too satisfied whenever those words came out of his mouth. Today was no different.
A groan slipped past my lips, and unfortunately, the sound wasn’t as low as our whispers had been. Every head in the room turned my way.
Synchronized.
“Dylan,” his mother whispered harshly before I could even begin to apologize. Her tone adopted that naturally ironic note that always lingered in McCarthy’s too. “For the love of God, stop annoying yourgirlfriend. Please.”
My head snapped in his direction at the word, trying not to make the confused, prompting,please explainlook on my face too obvious to the rest of them.
“Mom,” Dakota playfully whined from the other side of the couch. She shot her mother a scolding look. “She’s not his girlfriend. I’ve told you that a million times already.”
“Well, he’s treating her like one. What am I supposed to think?” She threw her hands up in confusion. I was just glad the focus was on their bickering and not on me anymore. The fact that they were arguing about my potential relationship status with their son/brother didn’t matter. Did it?
“I told you it’s—”
“Yes, yes.” Natalie waved her off. “It’s complicated, confusing. I don’t know what’s complicated about the way he looks at—”
“All right,” McCarthy snapped, clearing his throat to steer my attention away. He hurried me up and away from the couch. Diana and Dakota immediately scooted over to sprawl across the previously occupied space. McCarthy pushed me out of the room before I could pick up any more of the discussion.
“You need to learn to use your inside voice, Pressley,” he muttered, coming to a halt in the hallway. “Now, what doyou need my phone for?” When I turned around, he was already holding the unlocked device out to me.
The nearest grocery store open on Thanksgiving was a good twenty-minute drive away. That was how I ended up back in McCarthy’s Jeep, forced to accept his ride.
“You didn’t have to come with me, you know?” I huffed, grabbing a cart as we entered the store. He immediately took it from me. “You should be spending time with your family.”
“Oh, so you know how to drive a manual?”
He knew I didn’t. I could see it in the smirk growing on his lips and the glint in his eyes. I refocused on the task at hand instead of replying,No, I do not.“Is there anything else your mom still needs? For dinner?”
“Hop in,” he said, completely ignoring my question.
At this point, I was convinced the only reason he’d come along was to make this more difficult for me. He nodded toward the cart. “Go on.Don’t be a wuss, Pressley.”
My brow furrowed. “I can’t just—” I gestured into the cart.
“Why not? The store is empty. And even if it wasn’t, you don’t know anybody here. They don’t know you.” The challenging undertone in his voice got me. “Now get in the cart.”
My annoyed sigh wasn’t at all genuine. For some reason, Iwantedto get in that cart. As soon as he began wheeling me around like his ninety-year-old wife who couldn’t walk anymore, I enjoyed it too.
“All right,” I said from my perch. “What can I get your parents, then?”
He hummed while considering. “Mom’s always been fond of those little chocolate things.”
“Very specific,thank you.”
He rolled his eyes before they searched the aisles for the “Chocolate” sign. “You won’t know them,” he said, a teasing smile on his lips when he looked back at me. “They’re kind of”—he leaned closer like he was about to share the nuclear codes with me—“cheap.”
“Oh no! My credit card is not designed for purchases under ten dollars. Whatever will we do now?”
“You’re annoying.” The way he said it was... kind. His voice soft and amused, as if he’d never thought a bad thing about me in his life. Closing my eyes to keep my smile from tearing my face in half, I turned back around as he rolled me toward the little chocolate things his mother loved.
“So?” came his voice from behind, watching me reach for the box of cranberry chocolates he had pointed out. “Do you know them?”
“No,” I spat half-heartedly. “But Icouldhave known them.”
“They don’t sell these at Whole Foods,” he snickered. “The chances are slim.”
“I barely shop at Whole Foods!”
