Chapter 7
Natalie
Tip #7: If your fake partner attempts unsanctioned PDA, remind yourself it’s for the greater good.
I took a deep breath as Samuel and I stepped into the lobby of Trinity Church. The Winter Craft Fair stretched out in front of us, bathed in pale sunlight that streamed through the enormous glass ceiling. Families, couples, kids, and grandparents bustled about, their laughter and chatter filling the air.
“Ready for this?” Samuel asked, his eyes searching mine.
“Considering your surprising obsession with details, yeah, I think we’re ready.” I recalled the many, many emails we’d exchanged before Samuel was satisfied with our fake-relationship launch plan.
Samuel grinned, looking more relaxed than I’d ever seen him in a fitted black zip-up sweater. “My attention to detail is but one of my many qualities that you find charming. Remember?”
I rolled up the sleeves of my soft blue-and-green flannel shirt to my elbows. “Yes, of course. But in order to establish that, we have to show the people, so let’s get started.”
We strolled up the first row of craft tables, pausing to admire a stand of handmade cards next to a counter filled with tubs of homemade fudge. The scent of chocolate would normally have made me drool, but I was too nervous to be distracted.
“Launching our relationship at the Winter Craft Fair instead of directly facing our families first was a smart move,” Samuel said. The praise sounded a little odd since it was coming from him, but I could tell it was genuine.
“Thanks,” I said. “I knew the crowd would be the perfect audience, and who doesn’t love a good craft fair?”
The atmosphere was infectious, and my laughter mingled with the excited voices of everyone around us. I saw one or two people glance our way and do a double take, but it didn’t seem like the majority of people had noticed us yet.
An announcement came over the PA system that the bake sale would be starting soon, causing a stampede for one of the side meeting rooms.
I leaned in so Samuel could hear me. “I thought by now we’d start getting text messages and phone calls from our families.”
“We’re just walking together.” Samuel’s voice was closer to a smug purr than I would have liked. “That’s not even a warm-up. Just wait until we really get going.”
I was going to ask Samuel what he was plotting when I spotted a harried dad barreling toward us. He was struggling to push a two-seater stroller with one hand and hold onto his wriggling, red-faced toddler with the other.
Samuel wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him, saving me from certain collision.
“Sorry!” the dad called back over his shoulder as he hurried on his way.
“Whoa.” I pressed my hands to Samuel’s chest to steady myself.
I could feel his pecs through the soft fabric of his sweater. His muscles were a lot more defined than I’d expected, which made my stomach twist in a way I really, really didn’t want it to, considering this was Samuel Warner I was touching.
My instinct was to pull away, but we were supposed to be in a fake relationship, and Samuel had admittedly done well to earn us this moment. I needed to do my part.
So I looked up at him, my green eyes meeting his gray ones, and murmured, “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Samuel smiled at me as he slid his arm all the way around me so he could rest his hand on my hip. I could feel the heat of his fingers through my flannel. It made my traitorous spine tingle, and for the first time I wondered if maybe this was a very bad idea.
I knew Samuel was handsome. Heck, I’d grown up with him and had gotten to see him perfect his annoying smirk firsthand. Not that it mattered—I was immune to his good looks. But apparently I wasn’t prepared for the realization that we had some chemistry between us.
Owen. I had to think of Owen and why I was doing this crackpot stunt.
I focused on maintaining a casual expression even as my heart threatened to pound right out of my chest.
“Should we get back to enjoying the craft fair?” I took a step away from Samuel and forced a smile.
“I’ve always loved getting lost in your eyes, but I suppose we are in public,” Samuel agreed, his arm finally leaving my back to drop at his side.
We continued to walk up the rows of tables and displays. I stared at a rack of homemade doll clothes with way more focus than was warranted.
Samuel stood close enough to me that my shoulder bumped his chest. “I think we’re getting some traction.”
I tried to discreetly look around to see what he meant.
My gaze landed on Lauren. She’d already seen us together at Literum, her café/bookstore, but she must have thought it was a one-off thing, because her eyes were visibly bulging behind her black-framed glasses from two craft stands away.
Lauren grabbed the arm of the woman who was with her. Piper was another friend of mine—she was a fellow member of the Friends of the Library.
Piper turned to Lauren with confusion, and Lauren pointed at Samuel and me. I gave them a little wave. Piper’s mouth dropped open, and Lauren ripped her cell phone out of the front pocket of her oversized hoodie.
Samuel casually side hugged me again, pretending to be interested in a woman selling homemade spice mixes. He asked me in a lowered tone, “I know Lauren is your friend; I assume the gawker with her is as well?”
“Yep, that’s Piper.”
Piper tapped her phone, and her cell phone’s flash went off. “Annnd she just took a picture,” I said.
Samuel chuckled. “The perfect souvenir. I’ll have to request a copy.”
“Trust me.” I tugged on the bottom of my flannel shirt. “It’ll probably get posted on the Fox Creek town Facebook page before the end of the fair.”
“One can hope.” Samuel placed a hand on my elbow, directing me further down the row of craft stalls.
We browsed our way around a corner and up a new row before Samuel laughed lowly. “Look. They’re Warner Print employees.” He discreetly nodded at a husband and wife who kept trying to steal glances at us in between herding their elementary school–aged children.
“I imagine that means it won’t be long until my family finds out about this,” Samuel theorized.
“Mmhmm,” I agreed. “No going back.”
“Hey, Nat!” a familiar voice called out. I turned my head to see my younger cousin Keely, her wild russet curls unmistakable, standing behind a table displaying an array of homemade candles. Her freckled face lit up with excitement as she waved us over.
“Keely! I didn’t know you were planning to sell your candles here,” I said.
Samuel and I strolled up to her impressive candle collection, complete with a laminated sign and pretty streamers wrapped around the table legs.
“I wasn’t,” Keely said. “Great Aunt Bea was going to sell her crochet blankets, but her cat, Meatloaf, who she thought was a boy, unexpectedly had kittens in her project basket, so she gave me her spot last minute.”
I picked up a vibrant blue candle that was decorated with glittering swirls. It smelled like a freshly cut spruce tree, with a faint sweetness that, according to the label, was winter berries. “Your candles are amazing, Keely. You’ve got some serious talent.”
“Thanks!” Keely beamed. “But, uh, who’s this?” She nodded at Samuel with raised eyebrows.
“Right! Sorry, Keely. This is Samuel Warner. Sam, meet my cousin, Keely Mann.” I took a breath, steeling myself. “Sam is my boyfriend.”
Samuel was instantly all charm with his friendly smile. “Hi, Keely. Nice to meet you.”
“Hi—wait, what? You’re dating a Warner?” Keely’s eyes widened in shock, her jaw dropping as she processed the news. “When did this happen? How? Do Grandma and Grandpa Mann know?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but my phone buzzed in my pocket. I dug it out and opened the screen to a flurry of incoming text messages from various family members and friends. They must have seen the photo Piper took.
“Grandma and Grandpa certainly know now,” I concluded, seeing their names in the list.
Keely snorted and fiddled with her ear—she was probably adjusting her hearing aid. “And here I thought Meatloaf’s gender reveal and indiscretion were going to blow up our family chat.”
I smiled, aware my young cousin was trying to comfort me.
Samuel’s phone started to ding. He unlocked the screen and showed it to me. “Look at that. I’m getting cross-examined too.”
“The whole town will probably know by the time we leave the fair.” I put my phone in silent mode, cutting off the endless buzzing.
Samuel and I had just finished the easiest part of our plan. As daunting as it was, convincing our families that we were the real deal and they needed to make up was going to be a full-scale, multimonth quest.
“Don’t worry, Nat.” Samuel leaned in and kissed the top of my head, which was not on the list of approved physical displays of affection we had finalized. “My family is going to love you.”
I peered up at him, intending to give him the eye for the rule-breaking, but blinked in surprise when Samuel winked at me. Not in that overly charming way that always felt like death by strangulation via cloying and smarmy suaveness. It was something almost… conspiratorial.
I wasn’t in this alone. Samuel wasn’t my friend, but at least he was a fellow soldier in this war. Right now, that was good enough.
“I wish I could say the same about my family loving you,” I said. “But the truth is my grandma might try to take a cast iron skillet to your head. She’s still holding a grudge over that diner you knocked down on the edge of town when you expanded the Warner Print campus.”
“You should take a football helmet when you have to run the gauntlet,” Keely advised. “Maybe get some shoulder pads too. Uncle Mike is built like a sumo wrestler, and he might try something as well.”
Samuel studied Keely. “I don’t suppose you could be convinced to put in a good word for me with your parents?”
“Sam,” I hissed.
Samuel shrugged. “I have to start somewhere with you Manns.”
Keely folded her arms across her chest. “Buy a candle and I’ll think about it.”
“Now I see the family resemblance between you two.” Samuel pulled out his wallet. “That’s a move straight out of Nat’s playbook.”
Keely beamed. “Why thank you!”
Samuel picked up the blue candle I’d sniffed earlier. “You still have things to learn from her—she would have pushed for at least three candles.”
Keely looked from me to Samuel, her wrinkled nose emphasizing her freckles.
“I would have bargained for hard cash,” I admitted.
Samuel chuckled as he gave Keely a couple of folded bills and ignored his cell phone as it continued to buzz. “Natalie, you are going to make this fun .”