Page 75 of Fall Fake-Out

“You absolutely did.” Her smile is triumphant. “Remember? You said that you’ve been waiting around for me to move back home to Autumn Ridge, pining for me for years.”

I slowly turn my head toward her. “I did say that.” Then my hand rests on her knee beneath the table. She tenses, and I can’t help but smile smugly as I steal a bite of steak directly off her plate.

“But then”—she sighs as if it’s sad—“you got so nervous when you tried to talk to me, you were physically shaking. There may have been a stutter as well.”

“Aww,” my sister says immediately, and I’m in shock that any part of our behavior is being aww-ed at. “Still, I can’t believe you two are dating. I just picture you as friends only.”

“Every good relationship is built on a foundation of friendship.” I squeeze Ari’s thigh under the table, and immediately, there’s a high heel that comes down hard over my big toe. My free hand fists over my mouth to cover up the pain.

“So, this is an actual relationship?” Jaxon asks from the other end of the table. “You’re not just playing around?”

Am I playing around? Because sometimes my feelings for Ari feel less like a game and more like…something different.

Either way, I think my best friend is on to us. How could he not be? We’re currently seeing who can out-fake-date the other, and it’s absolute chaos.

Ari escalates things by resting her chin lightly on my shoulder. “When there’s a man as great as Wade in front of you, you don’t play around.”

Her words make me pause.

When there’s a man as great as Wade in front of you, you don’t play around.

There’s not a woman in the world who’s ever uttered that phrase and truly meant it. Could Ari’s feelings for me be starting to feel less like a game too?

She grabs the lapel of my jacket tightly and pulls me closer. “You snatch him up and hold on tight.”

No, she’s still in fake-dating game mode. I was stupid to think otherwise.

Her index finger moves to my face, brushing down my mustache. That’s when I pull out a tiny, little comb from my pocket and begin combing through my ‘stache too. Ari grabs it from my hand and takes over the combing. I move my lips downward, giving her better access.

Archer Kade literally chokes on his drink.

I mean, I’m barely holding it together as Ari bats her eyes up at me, making the whole mustache-combing spectacle even more ridiculous.

Jaxon bites back his smile. “Wow, this is an intense relationship, then?”

I pull it together, looking back at my friend with a straight face. “You have no idea. The other day, Ari made me soup because I said I had a sore throat. She simmered the broth for hours.”

“I simmered the broth for hours,” she repeats solemnly—almost robotically—as she nods beside me.

That gets a suppressed laugh from Sadie.

“See?” I dramatically point at Ari, then whip my head to look at her. “If that isn’t love, then I don’t know what is.”

Archer leans forward, looking into both of our eyes. “I mean, I don’t know y’all well, but are you two drunk or something?”

You know it’s bad when the cowboy has had enough.

A small laugh gets through before I clamp my lips shut. There’s a slight shoulder shake from Ari beside me. She’s about to lose it too.

I clear my throat, gaining composure. “No.” But the next sentence comes out more like a giggle than speaking. “Why…would…you think that?”

Ari immediately covers her mouth with her hand.

“Either you’re drunk, or you two are crazy,” Archer says.

That does it for me.

Laughter spits out of me in the most uncontrolled manner. Ari’s not far behind. And pretty soon, we’re both laughing so hard we can’t look at each other or anyone else at the table.