His gaze dropped to my waistline, as if he was sizing up my ass. He licked his lips and I shifted in my seat, locking my knees together, because the way he was looking at me had set off a low hum where it shouldn’t be.
“It’d be just fine.” He winked before turning back to the windshield and pulling out of the spot. “So, no Cooper and no SUV. Hmm.”
He genuinely looked perplexed. I giggled to myself, knowing there was no way he was able to guess, because Ididn’t own a car. But this seemed like a fun way to pass the time, besides it wasn’t often I stumped him. We drove through the city street rather quickly since it was the weekend and still early in the morning.
After about fifteen different guesses he groaned at me. “April, seriously. Unless you have some exotic, imported car, I must have said it already.”
“I told you; it was none of them.” I grinned wide.
“Why won’t you just tell me? Is it some sort of secret?”
I laughed. “No. There’s just nothing to tell.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t own a car.” His head whipped around; his eyes were wide as if it couldn’t be true. I nodded at him.
He coughed, or snorted? Not sure what kind of sound he made. “How is that possible? How do you get around?”
I tapped my feet together. “These puppies. Or transit.”
His mouth dropped open and then shut again. He stayed silent for a good, long minute.
“That’s all it takes to keep you quiet? My lack of a vehicle?” I chuckled awkwardly.
“I just, I mean—the no car thing.” He acted as if it was unheard of. “But what about visiting family. Like for your Papi’s party. How would you have gotten there?”
“Wes.” I froze the minute it slipped out of my mouth. Josh nodded his head, keeping his eyes on the road, but I noticed his grip on the steering wheel tightened. “Or I’d have rented a car.”
I was not exactly sure why he was so annoyed at the mention of Wes, but by the way his brow creased and his lips tightened, he was not a fan. They had only met once, when we first started dating. It went okay, though Josh seemed cold, but he played it off as not being in the mood after losing the game. I hadn’t thought much of it then, but now I wonder if there was something more. He grunted something unintelligible.
“So, thank you, for offering to drive.”
“No worries,” he said, but kept his eyes on the road.
There were a few minutes of silence as we got onto the highway. I played with my phone and answered a few of my mom’s nagging texts. I assured her I was on the way; I wouldn’t be late and yes, in fact, Joshwaswith me. That ended the swarm of messages and it was relaxing.
“Tell me again, who do I need to know? I don’t wanna fuck up.”
“You won’t be expected to know everyone. But he has two friends, Milton and Harvey. They have known each other since childhood and were thick as thieves from the stories they tell. They have been through it all. College, Army, marriage, kids,” my voice fell when I said, “widowing and yet, they are the last three standing of their circle. Harvey’s on his second marriage, to the lovely Lily. They met at the senior’s dance and that story will be told no less than three times.”
Josh concentrated, as if he was taking mental notes while I gave the lowdown on each person. My expectations weren’t that he’d remember every detail, but maybe a name or two would jog his memory.
The longer we drove, the more my nerves kicked in. Josh and I were great at filling the conversation, so that wasn’t it, but somewhere in the back of my mind, doubt was creeping in. Could we pull this off? Maybe? I’d known there was chemistry between us, no doubt about it, but was it enough? Did I care how much we could make-believe this fake relationship? Yeah, a little. And aside from just wanting to stick it to May, it felt like maybe there was more to it than that.
CHAPTER 20
JOSH
Beachers Bay.I turned off the highway, following the sign to the quaint, little beachside town that Jake and Millie had a place in. With it being the All-Star break, they’d be here too, with her family and the kids more than likely.
What were the odds April’s family also had a cottage here? Unfortunately for me, too good. When April had given me the address to the place, I’d recognized it right away. I’d been here a few times visiting Jake and Millie. I wasn’t one for small-town life, but this one wasn’t so bad. People kept to themselves and the locals were good about privacy when team members were in town. But that was because Millie was a townie and her family was a huge part of it.
Frankly, I was a little worried about running into Jake. I hadn’t quite filled him in on this little side trip. He knew I had been spending time with April and I could tell he had some suspicions, but hadn’t come right out and said anything. To them, I was seeing Summer, but I never lied about the small details, and her name was hers. Just, altered slightly. None of them had even connected the dots. It was comical.
April and I were laying pretty low in case the coach foundout. Although, with us spending more time together, the rumblings through the clubhouse were starting to be heard, except most people brushed them off. For now. Which gave us a bit more time to make this thing believable. Our plan was working.
Following her directions, I noted her family’s cottage was on the opposite side of town as Jake and Millie’s. Thank God.The knot in my stomach eased. Main street looked the same, the storefronts vibrant with color. People meandered through the shops, spilling onto the street, which wasn’t uncommon at this time of year.
