“Okay, I guess. I’m over on Rosewood, and so far my neighbors have been pretty welcoming. I got an honest-to-goodness fresh apple pie from the lady who runs Mom’s Country Orchard.”
“Ah. Miss Alison. She’s great.”
“I didn’t realize there was such a thriving apple industry out here.”
“If California is gonna do anything it’s grow some produce,” Jesse said. He decided to spare Fetu a whole explanation about how the desert part of Charming confused some people and how where they were in relationship to the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada range, the ground water was plentiful and made for perfect conditions for farming on the east side of town. “So I have to ask. This thing with you and Lilah? Everything’s cool there?”
Fetu laughed and took another long swig from his beer. “Absolutely not.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Well, she told me all about her dad. And I get it. My family can be intense too. So when she came up with this plan I thought sure. What’s the best thing to have when you move to a new town? A fake girlfriend.”
Jesse did laugh a little at that. “But?”
“Well, now I have a crush on her, and I know as soon as I tell her she’s gonna break it off. Which she should, because she doesn’t feel the same way about me.”
Jesse winced. He wished he could give Fetu some good news, the inside track to how Lilah has secretly confessed to developing feelings for him since they hatched this plan, but that wasn’t the case. The only time she mentioned Fetu was to say how well their plan was going. “Do you want me to talk to her?”
“Nah. It’s okay. I’m going to eventually. Besides, nothing builds character like a little heartache. I just need to mentally prepare to be fake-dumped and for real friend-zoned, all in one conversation. Not that I don’t want to be friends with her. She’s funny. She’s smart. She’s sweet as hell. She knows more about football—fuck, all sports—than I do. She was dropping stats from the cricket league on me yesterday. But sometimes it’s hard to remember all that fake kissing and cuddling we did for show wasn’t real.”
Jesse couldn’t help but think of Lily-Grace, and the real possibility of her leaving town felt like a punch to the chest. Fetu was on to something though. He needed to prepare for it, just in case. Good thing he already had a therapist.
Chapter 19
Lily-Grace hadn’t been up so early in a long time. When Jesse suggested she go for a trail ride with his family, she figured they’d set out sometime around noon. Have a glamping lunch out in the foothills and make their way back.
Nope. Zach Pleasant liked to be on his way out of the barn when the first wisp of a promise of daylight crested over the mountains. Which meant Lily-Grace had to be up and caffeinated before the sun came up. Even her father, who was an early riser, was still asleep when she left the house and headed toward Big Rock Ranch. Jesse wasn’t going to ride with them. His horse-phobia was still a thing, but he wanted to escort her to the barn himself and see them off. After, they were all going to have brunch at Miss Leona’s. And that was only phase one.
She had asked Jesse for another swim lesson, which she hoped would turn into a boning lesson, and then they were going to go down to the senior center that night to play bingo. Afterward, they were gonna meet Jenny and Ned at the Marriott for drinks. Lily-Grace was going to have to fit in a nap in there somewhere. Hopefully a naked nap with Jesse.
She pulled up to the gates of Big Rock, an even bigger smile touching her lips when Jesse and another man came into view out on the wide dirt road. Jesse was holding some sort of box in his hand, probably another gift. A rare edition of a title by her favorite author, and another dozen roses, had shown up at her house the morning before. She turned into the entrance and rolled down her window.
“Howdy, stranger. You looking for a lift?”
“I believe I am. Lily-Grace, this is Ted Melvin. He’s a member of ranch security.”
Ted smiled and tipped his cowboy hat in her direction. “I’ve heard a lot about you from the guest services staff. First person to slip into a conference room.”
“Oh my God.” She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or proud. She nodded in Jesse’s direction. “Look, that was all his fault.”
“He took the blame, but my crew still had a meeting about it. You revealed a weakness in the system.”
“Great.” She laughed. Jesse shook Ted’s hand and climbed in the SUV When he was buckled in they waved goodbye to Ted and she had Jesse direct her through the property toward the stables. There was another man dressed nearly exactly like Ted pacing near the stables, navy blue canvas coat and tan cowboy hat. He nodded at Jesse and kept up his pacing. Probably the night security guard just about to finish his shift. Jesse showed her where to park, then turned toward her as soon as the car was still.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice rough and deep. Lily-Grace knew it would take some convincing, but Jesse would be amazing at phone sex. Yes, it was barely six a.m., and that’s where her mind decided to go. From the way Jesse was looking at her lips he may have been right there with her.
“Good morning. Do you want to kiss me?”
“I do.”
“Alright then.”
Jesse shifted the box in his lap and leaned over the center console, planting a sound kiss right on her mouth. Lily-Grace responded in kind, letting her tongue slip past the soft part in his lips. She didn’t know if she could give this up, give him up. When she pulled back she could feel the goofy smile on her face. This was the perfect way to start an early day.
“What you got in that box there?” she teased.
“I’ll show you in a minute,” he replied before he hummed a few notes to the all-time classic “Dick in a Box.”
