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Before I get too deep in my head, I paste on a smile and say, “What about you? What makes you happy?”
“This town,” she tells me.
I cut the pineapple into cubes instead of slices. That’s the way Davis prefers it. “How long have you and Jimmy lived here? Do you like Starlight Falls?” What I really want to ask is,which came first: the hippie lifestyle or the hippie town?But honestly, I’ll do anything to get her talking about herself and not my fake-but-not-always-fake marriage.
“Gosh. My family has been here for generations, but Jimmy moved to town as a teenager. We met at Starlight Falls High School—in a beginners sewing class. At first, I tried to fight our connection. I even tried to leave this town. I did a lot of roaming after graduation. I tried telling myself that some other part of the world held the key to my happiness. Imagine my surprise when life led me right back to my hometown, right back to the boy who used to thread my needle in the back of sewing class. And I don’t just mean that as a euphemism.” She laughs.
“That’s sweet.” I smile ruefully. My stomach clenches at the idea of a fellow high school sweethearts story.
“You really should have Ziggy bring you back to town when the weather gets nicer. It’s really a beautiful place. We have the most wonderful farmer’s market near town square. There’s even this gorgeous little waterfall just on the outskirts of our property. No one believes me but I’m sure that waterfall has heart chakra awakening qualities. It can reignite even the most broken relationship. I wish you could see it. Too bad about all this rain. I’m sure that path is a slippery mess now, but I’ve got pictures. After breakfast, I’ll grab my photo album.”
“Good morning, ladies!” I hear Jimmy holler as the side door swings open on the other side of the small house.The lumberjack strolls into the kitchen with my ex-husband on his heels.
My heart rate beats double time and my palms grow sweaty. I watch Davis until he catches me staring, locking me into a case of uncomfortable eye contact across the room.
After boots get kicked off on the mat, Jimmy moseys on over to his wife, plants a wet, dirty kiss on her mouth, and finishes with a sharp smack to her ass.
The happy couple turns to Davis and me, their faces alight with expectation as they watch to see how we’ll greet each other.
Shit.
My ex-husband’s eyes meet mine. The awkwardness grows.I catch Rainbow’s curious gaze bouncing between Davis and me. Dammit. I keep forgetting that we’re supposed to be pretending to be a happily married couple.
I can read his thoughts loud and clear. And they make my stomach do somersaults.We need to look like a happy couple, too. We should do…something.
Oh boy. Suddenly, I’m wishing we’d actually come up with a strategy and discussed the limits of this ruse of ours instead of giving each other the cold shoulder all night.
So now, here I am, watching as Davis stiltedly walks toward me, and I’m panicking, swallowing hard. From the guarded look in his eyes as he approaches me, I’m not sure what exactlyhe has in mind.
But I can’t just stand around, waiting. I grind into action. Pasting on a forced smile, I push my trembling nerves aside and stroll up to Davis. I lurch forward for a quick peck on his stubbled cheek, while he leans in close for a hug.
The result? Me, bashing my nose into his jaw and him, accidentally stepping on my toe as his arms wrap around me.
Smooth. So smooth.
But despite our bumbling movements, the warmth of being in Davis’s strong arms ignites a reaction within me.Power surges through my body—my stupid, traitorous body—and his spicy, woodsy scent invades my lungs.
My cheeks are blazing as we pull apart. I’m more than a little embarrassed and I see nothing but discomfort in Davis’s eyes as he apologizes for stepping on my foot and puts some distance between us.
I can confirm with certainty that dry-humping each other on the dirty floor this morning did not, in fact, make things less awkward between me and Davis. Somehow, it just muddied everything up even more.
Jimmy gives us a strange look and Rainbow only giggles watching the weird interaction between my fake hubby and me.
Thankfully, no one is interested in harping on the situation. Jimmy struts over to the stove and snatches a piece of bacon, humming contentedly when he pops it into his mouth. “Let’s eat, shall we?”
Rainbow whisks over to the stove and starts getting everything plated up as I set the table in the dining room. Meanwhile, the men take turns washing their hands in the kitchen sink.
Then, we’re all seated in our same spots from last night. Jimmy immediately dives into his food. The man seemingly blocks out everything around him as he stuffs his face.
Chatty as always, Rainbow single-handedly keeps the conversation going. Davis and I interject every now and then, just to be polite.
Our hostess is in the middle of telling us stories about a younger Ziggy when there’s a knock at the front door.
Jimmy’s eyes immediately dart over to his rifles that are displayed on the dining room wall.
Rainbow sends him a warning look. “Do. Not.”
“Always ruining my fun…” Grumbling, Jimmy gets up from his seat and trudges down the hall. When he swings the front door open, animated chatter immediately fills the house.
