“I blurted it out and then tried not to die of embarrassment. I was asking Kev, but he was busy that weekend, then Josh found out and I dunno, he said he would.”
“This is huge! Oh, I can see May’s smug face now when he walks in. Greatest day ever.”
My turn to grin. “That will be nice.”
A shadow crossed over face and she clucked her tongue. “Do you think she’ll buy it?”
A thought I also had. “I hope so.”
“You had better convince her. Maybe yourself, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know what you think. A guy like Josh could never seriously like you.”
Twisting my fingers into knots. “Is it that obvious?”
Nora grabbed my hand to stop me. “You’re way too good for him and I don’t care who says differently. And I wish you believed that.”
So much of me wanted to believe her, but the truth was, I wasn’t Josh’s typical type. I was curvy, had thick hips, and an ass. My hair was red and wild. I was more into sports than being on the sidelines in a designer outfit. Don’t get me wrong, I loved a good dress-up and rocked some heels, but it was going to be a hard sell, no matter what kind of chemistry we had. The image of us was the problem.
“I’m sure we can fake it for a few weeks.” I smiled, even though it didn’t seem like I should.
“I’m not sure either of you is faking it. But maybe that’s not my place to say.”
“Stop it.” I shook my head. “It’s not like that.”
Her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to read me. Her glare was so intense, I fought hard not to blurt about the kiss. She would have more ammunition in that bag she carried about Josh and I being a thing. I must have somehow convinced her, because her shoulders relaxed.
“Fine, but let me be the first to say, I am here for this.” She snuggled into the pillows.
I’m guessing she was too tired to move after the long day she’d had and it didn’t even bother me. She was my person. I let the doubt swirling in my head drift away, hoping that I could dream of something other than what was becoming my odd reality.
Starting tomorrow.
I was going to fake date Josh.
As promised, Josh was waiting down in the lobby of our building. He was in his Twisters warm-up gear, duffel slung over him. The suit was made for bodies like his. Slightly loose, but enough to see his muscular frame beneath it. Black headphones sat on top of his backward baseball hat. Damn, he looked stellar in the backward hat. That was my weakness and I felt it all the way through my body. I was amazed no one had noticed him. Or maybe it was because he lived here, people generally kept quiet about the team. But my eyes were glued to him.
He glanced up and our eyes locked for a minute. He shot me a wide grin, then shifted the tray of coffee in his hand to push his headphones around his neck. The tray wobbled slightly and he grabbed it before he dropped them.
“Nice save.” I chuckled.
He winked. “That’s why they pay me the big bucks.” He handed me one of them. “That latte thing you ordered from the Steeped and Brewed Café.”
I froze for a moment.He remembered my drink order?My chest thumped.
“Thank you,” I mumbled, still in shock.
He leaned in close enough to smell his cologne and man, was it yummy.
“That’s what boyfriends do,” he said it softly so only I could hear, but it was enough to send my stomach into a flip. We were doing this.
“How is this going to work exactly?” I asked to try to make myself less nervous.
“Right now? We just walk to work.”
“Walk to work?” I echoed for no good reason.
