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Although this stunt was the easiest explanation for having Travis around, all the pretending tripped her up inside. Her heart kept fluttering when he’d look at her with that banked heat in his gaze. Her skin tingled whenever they touched and the effect shimmered through her, setting off sparks in places that had no business sparkling. Shouldn’t the facts put a stop to those reactions? Shouldn’t she be immune?
Apparently not.
Crushing on the man posing as her boyfriend was the worst. Because she wanted everything she felt, every small affection or hot glance, to be real.
It wasn’t.
It was not.
And frankly, she was annoyed. This wasn’t how her grand return was supposed to go. She shouldn’t be sitting here in one of her favorite restaurants longing for the yacht. She’d been counting on a few days at the Inn peppered with long, easy conversations with Gram, some time catching up with friends,and then back to the work she loved. Her passion was pastry and she’d been so eager to demonstrate her new ideas for Gram, to test them out and talk about eventual updates to the bakery menu.
Instead she was longing for the refuge of her tiny cabin on a luxury yacht where no one else could see her. She felt vulnerable, on the verge of exposure, surrounded by people who knew her well and were so pleased to see her bring home a significant other.
Surely someone would figure out Travis wasn’t really interested in her.
“Have more of the smoked fish.” Gram pushed the appetizer plate closer. “You’ve barely touched anything tonight.”
She smiled at her grandmother. “That’s not true. I’ve already eaten my weight in hushpuppies.”
“Mm.” Gram was clearly unconvinced.
And then Lila picked up on the speculation in that wise gaze and immediately scooped fish dip onto a cracker. “So good.” The last thing she needed was Gram thinking she might be pregnant.
Not that it would be a tragedy, but still. Gram would assume it was possible, especially with Travis sharing the suite. The fewer rumors and unspoken hopes, the better for Lila.
Spotting one of the owners approaching their table, Lila smiled at Travis.
“More intros?” he murmured.
She nodded as Gram hopped up to give a hug to the woman, Jackie Parker. “Jackie and her brother Eddie recently took over for their parents,” Lila filled him in quickly.
“How is everything?” Jackie asked. Her dark hair was styled back from her face and her dark eyes sparkled behind bright pink horn-rimmed glasses. “I’ve got Eddie working on something special to welcome you home, Lila.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” she protested. She made the introductions and answered what had become expected questions about life on a yacht and cooking for a celebrity.
“If I never have to plan another menu, I’ll be happy,” she admitted.
Jackie agreed with a vigorous nod. “I’m so glad to leave that to Eddie. And I’m confident he prefers to leave the marketing to me,” she added with a big laugh. “Thankfully our skills complement each other. We’d fight like kids again otherwise.”
“Your parents are so proud of you two,” Gram assured her. She turned to Travis, “Jackie and Eddie took over a couple years ago and didn’t miss a beat.” She settled back into her seat. “Got a postcard from your mom just last week,” she said to Jackie.
Jackie’s eyebrows lifted over her eyeglasses. “And when will you take her up on the offer to visit?”
“Soon, I hope,” Lila answered before Gram could make up any excuses. “She hasn’t let me into the bakery yet, but some travel time is definitely in her future.”
“Good for you, Ms. Connie!”
“We’ll see. I like it here.”
“Here is home,” Jackie agreed. She chatted with them until the server delivered the surprise. “Enjoy, my friends!”
And they did. The three of them savored the perfectly roasted stuffed flounder on a bed of risotto with charred peppers and tomato. “Eddie’s outdone himself,” Gram gushed.
Lila agreed, grateful that sharing the plate made it less obvious that nerves were affecting her appetite.
She wasn’t sure if he sensed her distress, or just decided it was time to step up, but Travis steered the conversation toward life on the yacht. As she pushed food around her plate, he regaled Gram with tales of their rather mundane adventures in a way that caused Connie to laugh time and again.
He really was good with people, a skill she’d noticed when they were on the yacht. And something she appreciated even more right now.
