He shook his head, fighting the traitorous twitch of his lip. “You’re a menace.” He huffed out a sigh that sounded much more annoyed than he felt. “Okay.”
“Really?” She clapped her hands together, pressing them to her chest like she was praying, her eyes sparkling.Christ, she’s beautiful.
“Really.” He looked into her eyes, a smile curling his lips despite himself. “Calandria Cole, will you be my fake girlfriend?”
She laughed. “Noah Van Aller, I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter 4
By the time they arrived at The Barclay, the boutique hotel in Aster Bay on the Rhode Island shore, Callie was ready to burst out of her skin—and not just because she’d spent the last six hours trapped in a car with the guy who starred in all of her alone-time fantasies. She couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to be Noah’s girlfriend.His fake girlfriend,she reminded herself.
She’d read enough romance novels to know what usually went wrong in these scenarios. But there was no danger of Noah falling in love with her. Not when he’d spent the last six years avoiding her at every turn. And if after all this time she hadn’t stopped caring for him, then what was another week? Besides, any added heartache would be worth it if it meant her mom finally did something for herself and moved back to Ohio.
Despite the adrenaline buzzing through her system at the thought of implementing her brilliant new plan and getting to spend the whole week close to Noah, pain seeped into her joints from the hours-long car ride. Her lower back throbbed with the familiar ache of having stayed in one position for too long, her hips so tight she knew that walking would be painful.
“Are you ready?” Noah asked once the car was in park.
“Operation: Fake Relationship is a go,” she said, stepping out of the car. She winced as her muscles stretched but hoped her upbeat tone masked some of her discomfort. Judging by the look on Noah’s face, she’d have no such luck.
“You go check in. I’ll bring the bags.” Noah didn’t bother waiting for a reply before he began layering the thick straps of both his and her luggage across his chest and shoulders.
Callie was too sore and stiff to argue. With a stilted step, she walked into the lobby of the hotel and right into the early phases of her best friend’s meltdown. After nearly three decades of friendship, Callie knew the signs of an Olivia Van Aller freakout well before even Liv herself could recognize the oncoming storm. Liv stood at the check-in counter, hands gripping the edge like she was in danger of falling if she let go, her shoulders practically under her ears.
“What do you mean there aren’t enough rooms?” Liv asked the frazzled looking older man behind the counter.
“Miss, we do apologize, and we are prepared to help your guest find alternate accommodations—”
“There are no alternate accommodations! The next closest hotel is nearly an hour away!”
“I understand, miss.” His tone was level in a way that said he had plenty of experience keeping his calm while someone demanded he fix things out of his control.
“What’s going on?” Callie asked, coming up alongside her friend.
“Cal!” The tension in Liv’s frame dissipated as she pulled Callie in for a hug. Liv’s arms wrapped around Callie and held her close without applying any additional pressure to the tender places around her rib cage. “They’re short on rooms,” Liv said, her cheek pressed against Callie’s.
“By how many?”
“Just one, miss,” the man behind the counter said.
“What’s all this?” Noah asked, coming into the lobby with way too many bags hanging from his muscular frame.Show off.
“Apparently there aren’t enough rooms,” Callie said over Liv’s shoulder.
“There’s some kind of plumbing issue in one of the rooms so it’s unusable and the hotel is completely booked,” Liv said into Callie’s hair.
“Aster Bay is a very popular tourist destination this time of year,” the desk clerk offered.
“It’s fine, Livi,” Noah said, setting the bags down at his feet. “I’ll go to another hotel.” Noah disentangled Liv from Callie, pulling his sister against his chest with one arm. Then, to the desk agent, “Where’s the next closest hotel?”
“Forty-five minutes north, sir,” the man said, typing away on his computer. “I’m told there are two rooms vacant at the Holiday Inn.”
“You can’t go to a Holiday Inn! We’re supposed to all behere.All my people together under one roof for a whole week,” Liv said against his chest. She lifted her head, a puzzled look on her face. “Why does your chest smell like coffee?”
“Livi, I know it’s not what you wanted, but it will be fine. I don’t mind driving, and I won’t miss any of your activities. You’ll hardly know I’m not here.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right,” Liv said, standing upright and shaking out her hands, rolling her head on her shoulders the way she did before a performance. Callie watched as a mask slid over Liv’s face, the one she used when she needed to be calm but felt anything but. “How was the drive?”
Noah and Callie shared a look over Liv’s head, one that clearly communicated that now wasnotthe time to drop their little announcement. “Not bad,” Noah said.
