Page 41 of Ardently Yours

I clear my throat and say, “Well, you mentioned before that we need boundaries and rules, so is there anything specific you’d like to set as a boundary or a rule? I know I mentioned that we could do this for the rest of summer and break it off in the fall. That way we could still work together and have some kind of partnership. I could sell my half of the business back to you, and by then I’ll hopefully be back in my parents’ good graces and have enough money to open my bakery truck.”

I’m amazed I was able to come up with this plan because, honestly, most of it had just been thoughts swimming around in my head instead of anything concrete.

But now that I’ve said it out loud again, I feel like this can actually work. I can see myself running my own bakery truck while still partnering with Lizzie to make sure she has baked goods for the cafe. It actually makes sense.

This way we can build up her business first and then naturally build up mine. I think it’s a win-win situation. I wish I’d thought of it sooner.

“Right,” Lizzie says, looking down at the paper. “Boundaries.” She’s quiet for a moment, thinking it over. Then she looks up at me. “Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

“I really haven’t been in a relationship since Billie. And that was years ago. I stopped dating because of how things ended between us. After that, I was a bit traumatized. I decided to shift my focus to building my business, and ever since then I’ve just been... well, working and not dating at all. I’m just letting you know that my experience level is... well... limited.”

I don’t laugh at her or ask any questions. I know it must have taken a lot for her to share that because even though we will be pretending, this is going to be personal. It’s not just a business deal anymore.

It’s something much bigger. I understand why the stakes are so high, and now that I know a little more about her dating history, I want to make sure I take that into account and be careful with her.

Not that I wasn’t going to be before. But thinking about this as one big plan to save both of us made it all seem so grand. Now I see it for what it really is. Two people working together. We have to make sure we set boundaries that keep us both on track and make sure nobody gets hurt.

I let her continue. “I don’t want to do a lot of the typical relationship things because I haven’t really done them in a long time, and when I do them, I want them to be special. Which I know probably sounds ridiculous, but I don’t want us to kiss very often because I feel like if we overdo it, it’ll just be overkill. I think kisses on the forehead and cheek are preferred. And maybe a peck on the lips, if we both agree it’s okay, but we should use it sparingly.”

Nodding in agreement, I say, “That’s fine. We can work with that. I promise I won’t try to make out with you.”

That earns me a laugh as she writes the rule down since we both agreed on it. Then she looks back up at me.

“Also, I think holding hands is really cute because it feels romantic without being overly obvious. And hugs are fine. And compliments. We should definitely compliment each other. I know that’s not something we do a lot, but we can work on it. And I promise I’ll try to be a little less sarcastic with you, but I think we should probably keep a little sarcasm to keep things interesting.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. I nod in agreement again, and she writes that rule down too.

“Okay, Darcy. We should get our story straight about how we started dating. Because it’s coming out of nowhere. We were literally just with our friends the other day, and I made it clear that the fake dating thing was a joke. So we have to pull this off without anybody suspecting anything.”

“Agreed.”

Lizzie taps the pen on the counter, before asking, “What if we tell everyone we’ve been friends for a while, and since we work together, we’ve been spending a lot of time together? Then one night, after bonding over our love of cinnamon rolls, lattes, and the Jonas Brothers, we realized we’re kind of perfect for each other.”

I push back a little, asking, “Do you think people are going to buy that story? Don’t you think we need something dramatic and intricate with a lot of details? Something we can rehearse where I have a line, then you have a line, and it all sounds romantic, like we’re in some crazy rom-com?”

She shakes her head, not agreeing with me on that one. “I think being realistic is the way to go, but maybe we should have a story that we both can remember.”

“Okay,” I say, willing to follow her lead. “We can use the story you came up with. You’re right. Simple is better.”

She writes the story down, and I watch her mouth the words as she writes, almost like she’s trying to memorize them.

“And for the compliments thing, I think it’s a good idea, but what are we going to say about each other?” I ask, not because I can’t think of any compliments about her, but because I really want to hear what she has to say about me.

“Don’t make me say it now,” she protests.

“Please.”

“You are so full of yourself,” she says, but she doesn’t even sound mad.

She looks around the kitchen and then back at me, like she’s carefully choosing what she wants to say next.

“I think I’ll probably compliment your baking. I think you’re seriously one of the best bakers I’ve ever met. That could just be because you’re a better baker than I am, and I’m not very good. But it could also be because you have real talent. You’re also really kind. You’re always making sure I have something sweet or savory to eat while I’m at work because I’m so busy that sometimes I forget to eat. It’s little things like that that show me you care.”

Wow. I sit there stunned for a moment, saying nothing. I hadn’t expected her to say something so sweet about me. I thought I’d probably get a joke or a little more teasing. But I can tell she’s being sincere. Now it’s my turn.

“I’d probably say something like...”