Nellie gave a sharp scoff. “Wasn’t real!Everyone at the party saw it, too, and it was very much real. A very real image I can’t get out of my head now!”
“We were pretending.” Jamie stared straight ahead at the closed garage door, almost eerily calm. “We were prepared for it.”
Uh, who was thewein his scenario? Because I was certainly not involved in thatwe. I had not been prepared for him to grab me by the hips and hoist me onto the dresser. I had not been prepared for him to nudge my knees apart and step between them. And I had definitely not been prepared for him to tilt my head back and kiss my neck.
Five more seconds, and I would’ve kissed him. I knew that with absolute certainty.
And that absolute certainty freaked me out.
So, yeah. I had not been involved in thatwe.
“You were… pretending.” Some of Nellie’s raging indignation died down as Jamie’s quiet voice washed over her. “Pretending to look like a couple. You decided to try out fake dating.”
I stared at the back of Jamie’s head as he nodded.
Let me help you forget him.
Thinking about Dalton caused my stomach to tumble, but now wasnotthe time.
“A heads up would’ve been nice!” Nellie smacked her brother on the shoulder. “‘Tell everyone there’s a couple kissing in the guest room’ isn’t exactly enough preparation!”
“That’s what you texted?” When Jamie had slid his phone out and texted something, I’d assumed he’d told Nellie to come upstairs—not to bringeveryone else with her. “That was what your plan was?”
“I didn’t know how else to make everyone come.” Once more, Jamie lifted his gaze to the rearview mirror. “It worked pretty well, you have to admit.”
I immediately dropped my eyes again. I couldn’t figure out what emotion to feel—what emotion Ishould’vefelt. I’d asked him to come up with a solution, so could I really be upset? Really, Iwasn’tupset. I was… something else. My heart still beat unevenly, as if when he’d kissed me, an electrical current had really fried something in my nervous system.
“Hey, it wasmy idea,” Nellie told him, narrowing her eyes. “After the two of you talked crap about it. What happened to it being the worst idea in the history of forever?”
I opened my mouth, but Jamie beat me to it. “Dalton asked Daisy to forgive him,” he said. “He asked if she’d take him back.”
The cab of the car fell quiet, and embarrassment did a slow crawl through me. I didn’t even peek to see if the twins were exchanging a secret look.
“When did you talk to him?” Nellie asked me.
“At the party. He had a nosebleed, and I showed him the bathroom.”
“You should’ve told him to just bleed out.”
Well, Itechnicallyhad, but I’d also nearly let him kiss me, so it kind of canceled out.
Nellie and Jamie exchanged another look. Normally I called them out on their twin speak, but this time, I didn’t want to hear their thoughts—I could already guess enough of it myself.Of course, he’d say that to her. He’s just trying to string Daisy along.
The worst part was that Iknew that. I just couldn’t getmyself to stop wanting it, and that was probably the most humiliating thing that’d happened tonight.
So I sucked in a breath, sitting forward between the seats. “Everyone already thought we were a couple, you know,” I said brightly, forcing myself to look more at Nellie than Jamie. I couldn’t even let my shoulder brush his. “I’m sure they totally bought it. It’s probably already all over group chats.”
Nellie scrubbed her palms across her eyes.
“Besides, if everyone already thought we were together, not much has to really change.” I curled my fingers into the leather of the console. “Hold hands here, maybe a hug there. Totally normal for us.”
“And it’s not like it’s forever,” Jamie added. “Just a few weeks until Dalton leaves Daisy alone. I’m sure he’ll get bored with it by the Fourth of July.”
Bored with it, Jamie had said. But what I really heard wasBored with her. The thought hit me hard, as if he’d shoved me.
“Besides, I thought you were all pro fake relationship,” Jamie went on, looking at his sister. “You’re not as excited as I would’ve thought.”
“I’m proS-T-R-A-T-E-G-Y,” she spelled, enunciating it clearly. “Plans. Boundaries and guidelines and preparation—notimpromptu!” Nellie scrubbed her eyes again. “And not sographic.”
