Page 81 of Fall Fake-Out

A bridge.

His fingers in my hair.

Brown eyes filled with sparks.

The way he listened about Andy and didn’t judge. Or if he was judging, he was smart enough not to say it out loud.

I immediately shove the memory away. The whole point of this arrangement is that it’s temporary. Strategic.

That’s all.

“And after I win,” I say, reaching for my water, “things between us will go back to normal.”

Liv uses her fork to push a tomato aside in her salad. “When are you going to see him again?”

“Uh…” I try to come off as nonchalant. “We’re going to Burlington later this afternoon to pick up some pallets for Landrie’s wedding.”

Reese pauses. “I need more details.”

“Landrie saw a picture on Pinterest about making a table out of pallets for her wedding book to sit on.”

“No, no, no.” Reese shakes her head. “I mean, how did you and Wade get roped into this? It doesn’t really seem like a good fake-dating activity since you won’t be around anyone you know.”

“Yeah, well, he has a truck to transport the pallets, and he thought it might earn him some bonus points with my mom if he did this errand for her.”

“So it’ll just be like you’re hanging out as friends?”

“Yeah, just one friend helping out another.” But even as I say the words, I don’t believe them.

Wade could be doing anything else on his weekend off. Instead, he chose to spend it helping me.

I’m not sure why that feels significant, but my heart says it does.

Ari

“You know,” I say as Wade’s truck drives down the interstate, “it’s really a shame my mom wasn’t home when you picked me up.”

Wade glances over from the driver’s seat. “Why’s that?”

“Because you’re not getting any credit for this.”

“For helping with the wedding?”

“Yes.” I gesture toward the road ahead of us. “The whole point of this trip is to gain points with my mom. The one person you’re trying to impress is currently at the florist.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true.” A smile tugs at his mouth. “I’m trying to impress you too.”

I roll my lips, trying to keep my smile in so he doesn’t know how flattered I am.

His fingers tap lazily against the steering wheel. “Besides, I don’t mind going for a drive with you.”

The sincerity catches me off guard.

No smirk.

No teasing.

No joke.