Page 31 of Blue Jean Summer

“Posing for pictures is one of my few talents,” she said.

“I doubt that.”

“What? That I’m good at posing?”

“No. That you’re a woman of few talents.”

“Hayes, pull her closer. Y’all look like middle schoolers at your first dance,” Hallie said.

“Smile from your cheeks,” Catherine said without breaking her attention away from Hallie. “Part your teeth just a little bit. It’ll help relax your jaw.”

“I don’t smile for pictures,” I said.

Catherine looked up. “You should try it sometime.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her.

“How do you two feel about kissing?” Hallie asked.

“Uh…” I stammered but couldn’t make sense of my thoughts.

Catherine glanced up at me, then looked back at Hallie. “Let’s just stick with a formal pose. I don’t think a Wilder would be making out in the town paper,” she said calmly.

“Alright then. I think I’ve got a usable one. Dinner’s at seven,” Hallie said before turning and sashaying back into the house.

I let out a sharp breath when it was just the two of us.

Catherine laughed softly. “That was torture for you, wasn’t it?”

It felt like I was suffocating. I tugged at my collar, trying to catch my breath, but it never came, nor would it. Not with the way Catherine was looking at me. Not with the way she looked in that yellow dress. Not with the way the dress cupped her breasts the way I wanted to.

Shit.

There it was.

So, I was attracted to my future fake wife. I just wouldn’t do anything about it.

“It’s not my comfort zone,” I admitted.

“You can say no, you know,” she said, nudging me with her elbow. “It’s not the end of the world to not have your picture taken.”

“Hallie’s right. Putting it in the paper is the easiest way to make it public.”

“Hallie’s always right,” Catherine said. “You like structure, don’t you?”

“What gave it away?”

She shrugged. “Just observing. It’s not a bad thing. I like structure too. I like knowing where I stand with someone.”

“We should talk about what this…agreement looks like.”

Catherine lifted an eyebrow. “Ground rules?”

“Yeah,” I said as some of the tension began to leave my shoulders. I looked down at the high heels she was in. “Do you want me to grab your sneakers?”

Catherine toed off her heels and held them in one hand, then slipped her other hand into mine. “I don’t mind being barefoot.”

The two of us made our way out of the rose garden and away from the house. When we were certain we were out of earshot of any busybodies, Catherine spoke up. “So, we’ve already covered the bed situation.” She looked up. “Thank you again for letting me live here.”