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“Oh, really?” She pinned him with the glare she used on her children when they lied to her.
Amazingly, it worked. He twitched a bulky shoulder in an odd shamefaced jerk. “Maybe a little. It was hearing you say street cred. But I’m really happy you agreed.”
She searched his face and saw no mockery. Her annoyance ebbed. “You are?”
“I am.” One hand reached as if to touch her. When he lowered his arm without making contact, disappointment shimmered across her shoulder blades.
Traffic whooshing by on the nearby road suddenly sounded unnaturally loud. The drone of a plane overhead made her nerves itch. She opened her mouth. Then closed it. Now she’d announced her decision, she had no idea what came next.
Cash seemed to have the same problem. He stood quietly, fingers combing through his beard. The longest day of the year was only two and a half weeks away and the sky was bright with sunlight at nine-thirty in the evening. Bronze and cinnamon sparks flared off his hair, completely uncovered for the first time since she’d met him. She’d wondered if he wore ball caps and kerchiefs to hide incipient baldness, but that wasn’t the case. His skull was covered in thick strands of rich red shot through with glints of silver, cut short at the sides and a little longer on top. Combined with his abundant whiskers, he flared like a match, bright and dangerous.
She drew a shaky breath and managed two syllables. “Now what?”
He huffed a small chuckle. “I was so certain you were going to say no I didn’t make any plans.”
Her hackles rose again. “You didn’t think I’d have the guts, did you?”
He balanced on his toes in a lithe, vaguely aggressive stance. “This isn’t going to work if you get angry every time I open my mouth.”
She’d almost forgotten how big and solid he was. That was how comfortable she’d gotten with him. She deflated. “You’re right. I’m a little defensive, I guess.”
“Porcupines are less prickly than you. Stop trying to read between the lines. I’m a blunt guy, Penta. I say what I mean.”
“Got it.” She shifted her weight, feeling unsettled and adrift. “I guess we should decide what to tell everyone. A cover story.”
“What’s wrong with the truth? We met because of Cyril. You can decide how much we share about that.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the restaurant across the street. “Helen invited me for a drink. If anyone asks, we say we decided to date after that. It’s close enough to what really happened.”
He made it sound so easy. “Okay.”
“Want to help me load these?” He pointed at the bikes waiting to go in the trailer. “Then we can walk over together. It’ll look good, help establish our story to your friends.” His beard couldn’t hide the gleam of his teeth, bared in an infectious grin.
“If you like.” This levity was something she’d never seen in him before. She could only assume it was because she’d agreed to help him. Pleasure at being needed by someone eased more of her nervousness.
She took a firm grip on the handlebars of the smallest bike. It was still heavy and awkward to maneuver. She prayed she wouldn’t drop it. “We have our past and tonight figured out. But what about tomorrow?”
“There’s no need to rush into things.” He pushed his bike up the ramp’s incline and she followed, puffing with effort. “I’ve kept away from Elle for sixteen years. Another few days won’t matter.”
Kept away was an odd choice of words. She’d have to ask him to explain, but that could wait for now.
They worked in tandem to secure the bikes. Penta hesitated to broach how she would benefit from the deal. Cash yearned to connect with his only child but believed she was doing it as a lark, a safe way to pretend she was someone other than a plump, boring, middle-aged mother. From his point of view, her reasons must look frivolous and selfish.
An even more depressing thought followed. She had been that person for so long she wasn’t sure she could be anyone else. But the older her children grew, the less they needed her. What would she do when they were adults and left her? Who would she be then?
Maybe this escapade with Cash could help her figure that out.
CASH LOCKED THE TRAILER and they walked side-by-side across the parking lot without speaking. At the intersection, they waited decorously for the light to change, crossed the street, and made their way to the pub, a long low-roofed building. Throughout the short journey, Penta fought a ridiculous wish to take his hand. Not as a ploy to convince her friends they were a couple, but for moral support. Faking a relationship was the most outrageous thing she’d ever done in her life. She needed all the encouragement she could get.
The sun had fallen below the hills to the west and a slight chill nipped the air. Outdoor heaters glowing with warmth were interspersed between high tables in a fenced-in patio that ran the length of the building. The Silverberries were seated at one long enough for the whole group. Penta was glad to see Lynn had managed to join them. Her friend had given birth in frantic fashion only two months ago. While she appeared healthy and happy, she had the wan, stretched-thin look of a forty-two-year-old woman with a preschooler and a newborn in desperate need of adult conversation.
They had to enter the bar in order to access the patio. The front door was around the corner and as soon as they were out of sight of the Silverberries, Penta came to an abrupt halt. “We need a safe word.”
Cash’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “What do you know about safe words?”
Her cheeks heated. This man had made her blush more often in the last few hours than she had in years. “They’re not only for sex. My kids and I chose safe words, in case I had to send someone they didn’t know to get them from school.”
The doors pushed open and a noisy quartet exited. He waited for them to move out of hearing before he continued. “Why do you think we need one?”
“Until we set firmer boundaries about what this entails, we need to be able to alert the other if we’re feeling uncomfortable.”
