Just Pretend (Just… #1)

3. Hallie

CHAPTER 3

HALLIE

Fred cocks his head to the side inquisitively as I open the cage to refill his water. As I close the cage door, he bows his head to me, ruffling his neck feathers appreciatively.

“Thanks!” he squawks before leaning down for a drink.

“Look at you, Fred,” I sigh, leaning against the kitchen counter. “You’re handsome and polite. A true gentleman. How would you like to go on a company retreat with me? Have you ever been to a dude ranch before?”

“Oh Hell!” he replies nonsensically, making me laugh.

“And you’re funny, too,” I add.

Shaking my head, I open a bottle of wine and pour myself a glass, grateful for the free samples I get to bring home from work. I know I’m biased, but Winter Brother Vineyards is my favorite wine and getting a free case for reaching a monthly goal or making a big sale is a nice perk.

With my glass in hand, I head for the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub as I turn on the water. I am completely exhausted from the roller coaster ride of emotions I’ve been on today and all I want is to sink back into the hot water and let the wine relax my body and mind. I don’t want to think about work or the promotion or the retreat; I just want to get the tension out of my muscles and mind so I can get some sleep tonight.

While I wait for the tub to fill, I take a long sip of wine and open my phone, doing a quick search for reviews of the latest dating apps. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone this route, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Who knows? Maybe the online dating scene has gotten better than it was the last time I gave it a try. It can’t get much worse from the guy who invited me to a concert without mentioning that it was his son’s piano recital. I made it all the way into the elementary school entrance before I realized something was off.

There’s one app that catches my eye and the reviews all seem positive, so I go ahead and download Perfect Pairing on my phone. The idea is that instead of doing endless swiping or matching up with dozens of potential dates, the app uses an algorithm to send only one or two solid options a day—people who are chosen specifically for you. It seems more my speed than being given an overload of options. This has got to be a much better way of filtering out the weirdos.

Before I get started, I slip into the tub and take another sip of wine, needing some liquid courage before I complete my dating profile. Instead of uploading a photo of my face, however, I choose a picture Jasmine took of me from behind at the vineyard. It’s a gorgeous golden hour shot with the sun low in the sky, casting a halo around my windswept hair. Even though my face isn’t shown, I’ve always thought it was a beautiful photo.

When my profile is complete, I go ahead and hit the submit button before I can change my mind. I’m almost done with my wine when my phone chimes with an alert and I see that the app has already matched me with three “perfect pairings.” Right away, I can see that the first two aren’t for me. They both seem like good matches on the surface, but one of them is ten years younger than me—just not what I signed up for—and the other lives in Chicago. The third man, however, makes me sit up straight as I read through his bio—lives in the bay area, close in age, self-employed—he looks great on paper. I click on his photo and my jaw drops—this guy looks great in pictures, too. How did someone like this end up on a dating app? He’s super-hot with broad shoulders and a wide chest, sculpted biceps, perfect hair. I’m about to click on the Perfect Pairing button when I suddenly squint a little closer at the photo. My stomach tightens as I recognize the man in the picture—it’s my neighbor, James!

I close out the app as quickly as I can and then toss my phone onto the bath mat next to the tub. This was a horrible idea. Any app that would match me with that player is clearly not working. With a deep breath in, I submerge myself under the warm water and try to pretend that didn’t just happen.

There is not enough coffee in my apartment, maybe not even in the state, to make up for my lack of sleep last night. Any benefit of the bath and wine was completely ruined after that stupid dating app matched me with my womanizing neighbor. The idea that James Cole is my perfect pairing is absolutely insane. It makes zero sense—we are nothing alike and we want totally different things from a relationship. I’m looking for a partner who will love and support me, someone who I can trust to always be there for me, someone who will let me be there for them, too. James is looking for one thing and one thing only—ass. That app is a total joke and a waste of time.

The benefit of being unable to sleep and getting out of bed an hour early is that at least Chase won’t beat me into the office again. He might be trying to suck up to the Winters, but even he has his limits. Once I’m showered and changed, I head out to my Vespa, ready to dive into work and stop thinking about James Cole…until I get out to the street and find him loading up his truck with wood.

A quick glance around tells me that he’s alone—there’s no sign of last night’s conquest. Either she didn’t spend the night, or they hooked up at her place—either way, I’m grateful not to have to see him making out with some rando at the front gate.

“Hey,” James says, smiling at me as he looks up from the bed of his truck.

He hops down to the sidewalk, dusting off his hands on his jeans. His sweaty shirt clings to his chest and I immediately think of his photo on the dating app—the one I thought was super-hot before I realized it was him. That’s an objective opinion though. James is hot. It’s his personality that sucks.

“What’s the matter?” I ask snidely. “Didn’t get lucky last night?”

James laughs in apparent amusement, leaning against his truck.

“Even I take a breather every once in a while,” he says. “But if you’re offering…”

“I’m not,” I snap, shaking my head at him in disgust.

Turning my back to James, I put on my helmet and climb onto the Vespa, needing to feel the wind on my face, but when I try to start the engine, it won’t turn over.

“Come on,” I murmur under my breath, trying again.

The engine chugs and sputters, but then falls silent again. This is the last thing I need right now. Between my work, my family, and my personal life, I have enough going on at the moment. Losing my only mode of transportation is one more thing I just can’t deal with—or pay for—right now.

I’m trying one more time when I see James inching towards me, his eyebrows furrowed as he looks down at the Vespa.

“Looks like you’re not going anywhere on that thing today,” he says, the usual sarcasm and cocky attitude missing from his voice. “I can give you a lift.”

“No thanks,” I reply, getting off the Vespa with a sigh of resignation. “I’ll just call an Uber.”

“An Uber could take a half an hour up here,” he points out. “I can take you right now. It’s no problem, really.”

As much as I don’t want to go anywhere with James Cole, I can’t be late for work, not when so much is on the line. I’m considering his offer until he lifts an eyebrow at me, a smug grin on his lips.

“Unless you don’t trust yourself with me,” he says.

My hands ball into fists and I dig my nails into my palms, wanting nothing more than to walk to work rather than get in that truck with him. I’m about to say so when it hits me again that if I’m late getting into the office, Chase is going to find a way to bring it to everyone’s attention.

“Fine,” I reply through clenched teeth. “But only because I don’t have another option. Don’t get any ideas.”

James laughs again with amusement.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I nearly do a double take when James opens the door of the truck for me, but instead of making a snide comment, I just step up into the passenger seat and quietly fasten my seatbelt. As I take a deep breath in, trying to calm down after the exasperating start to an already bad day, my nose fills with the scent of James's cologne. I usually find the smell to be offensive when I’m walking through a cloud of it, squeezing past him and some half-dressed party girl on my way out of the apartment, but for some reason, it hits differently today. I’m surprised by its warmth and the way it’s somehow comforting. My racing heart starts to slow down, and my shoulders relax slightly. I lean back against the headrest and take another deep breath, trying to turn my day around.

“Do you like working at a vineyard?” James asks, making small talk as he pulls onto the freeway.

“Uh huh,” I reply.

My phone has been buzzing since I got in the car and I take the opportunity of not having to drive to read through the emails that have been coming in, mostly from clients in New York.

“How long have you been working there?”

“A while,” I tell him with a soft sigh, accepting a Zoom meeting request and adding it to my calendar.

Eventually, James shrugs and starts poking his finger on his car screen, selecting a Spotify playlist to replace the silence inside the truck. The first song is by Nirvana—Kurt Cobain covering David Bowie. I put down my phone and stare out the window, enjoying the music as we drive south to Napa. When a Best Coast song comes on next, I turn to James in shock, staring at him.

“What?” he asks with a nervous laugh.

“Is this a random playlist?” I ask.

“No, I love this song,” he says. “It’s my favorite of theirs.”

As the first guitar riffs to “Everything Has Changed” reverberate through the truck, I’m in shock that James has even heard of Best Coast, let alone that we share the same favorite song.

“You still listen to them?” I ask skeptically.

“Why wouldn’t I?” James laughs. “They’re amazing.”

“Um, they’re better than amazing,” I tell him. “I just didn’t think anyone else cared about them anymore.”

“My first concert was when they released Crazy for You, ” James says excitedly, glancing over at me to gauge my reaction.

“At the Fillmore?” I gasp, feeling a flutter in my stomach.

“Yes!” he laughs in disbelief. “You were there?”

“Um, I was in the front row!”

“Wow, small world,” James shakes his head.

“God, I hope they don’t break up for good,” I sigh, turning up "Everything Has Changed” just as Bethany Cosentino’s voice crescendos through the bridge of the song. James taps his hands on the steering wheel in beat to the music and a gust of warm autumn air blows in through the open windows.

The song is over by the time we arrive at Winter Brother Vineyards and James turns down the volume as he puts on his blinker.

“You can just drop me off at the gates,” I tell him, gathering my things.

“I can bring you to the building,” he replies. “We’ve come this far; I might as well just drive you in.”

“It’s really not necessary,” I insist.

“It’s a dirt road and you’re wearing kitten heels,” he points out.

“What do you know about kitten heels?” I ask, taken aback.

James cringes slightly and then tries to cover it up by turning away from me to check his side mirror.

“Fine,” I murmur. “You can drop me off at the main building.”

James makes the left turn and we drive through the gates to the beautiful chalet that houses the tasting room and staff offices. I’m ready to jump out when I see James turn off the engine.

“Uh, you’re not walking me inside,” I say firmly. “I can take it from here.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” James says, the cocky smile returning to his lips. “But I need to let you out. The passenger door sticks.”

With a deep inhalation, I wait while James gets out of the truck and opens the passenger door for me. Not wasting any time, I hold my purse and my tote bag tight and slip down from the high seat, squeezing past James without touching him.

“Thanks,” I murmur, already wishing I wasn’t indebted to this guy I can’t stand. Maybe I can bring him a bottle of wine and call it even.

“Anytime,” James replies, his smile expanding with smug satisfaction.

A car door slams shut in the parking lot, and I look up to see Chase get out of his Lexus, walking towards the tasting room entrance. He slows down when he notices me, staring at James for a second with his eyebrows raised. My shoulders hunch forward, embarrassed by how shocking it is for anyone to see me with a guy—as if me being with a man is completely incomprehensible. When did I become so pathetic that my coworkers stop and stare in disbelief when they see me with a member of the opposite sex? I’m sure everyone feels the same way, even the Winters. If Chase is right and the brothers are looking for someone more family-oriented to promote, I’m never going to move up in this company. I just wish there was a way for me to show them that I’m the right person for the job.

I glance back at James as he shuts the passenger door of the truck. Without thinking, I grab two fistfuls of his tight t-shirt and pull him towards me, squeezing my eyes shut and pressing my mouth to his in a long, slow kiss.

James looks stunned when I finally pull away, releasing his shirt and taking a staggered step backwards.

“Well,” he says, one side of his mouth curling up into a grin, “if I knew that’s how you’d repay me, I would have insisted on driving you to work a lot sooner.”

I nod, barely listening to James as I glance over at Chase to make sure he saw us kissing. When I catch him gawking in disbelief, Chase quickly looks away and hurries into the building.

“Who’s that?” James asks, following my gaze to the building entrance.

“No one,” I mutter, lifting my purse handle to my shoulder.

“What’s going on?” James asks, leaning against the truck with an amused look on his face. “Were you trying to make an ex-boyfriend jealous or something?”

“No,” I insist, shaking my head. “Definitely not. I’m sorry. Just forget it happened.”

“I’m not sure I can,” James grins at me playfully. “That was really hot. I didn’t know you had that in you. How about I pick you up tonight and we can pick up where we left off?”

“Ew, no!” I exclaim.

“Whatever you say,” James laughs, clearly enjoying himself. “You have my card. Call me if you change your mind.”

“I won’t,” I scoff, rolling my eyes. “And I’m serious. That kiss didn’t mean anything. It never happened and it never will again.”

Hurrying towards the building, I force myself not to look back at James. I don’t know what came over me, but I need to get a hold of myself.

After dropping my bags in my office, I immediately head for the break room, desperately needing another cup of coffee. Between not sleeping the last two nights and the way my morning is going, I’m going to need a caffeine IV directly into my veins. As soon as I pass through the threshold, however, I spot Chase already at the Keurig, putting a pod in the top of the machine.

For a moment, I hesitate at the doorway, deciding if I really need coffee that badly, but when Chase looks up and smirks at me, I know I can’t let him bully me around. Instead of fleeing, I step into the kitchen and pull a mug down from the cabinet, forcing myself to face him.

“Get lucky last night?” Chase asks as he pressed the blinking button on the machine.

“What?” I spit at him, feeling my face flush with anger.

“The guy in the truck,” he replies. “You hook up with him or something?”

As the coffee maker sputters and drips, Chase leans towards me, placing a meaty hand on my shoulder. I shrug him off and take a step backwards, repulsed by his touch.

“It’s a good thing I saw you and not any of the Winter brothers,” Chase continues, pretending to be concerned for me. “I seriously doubt one-night stands fit their idea of family image.”

“I did not have a one-night stand!” I insist, unable to control my frustration.

“That kiss I witnessed seemed to say otherwise,” Chase says, baiting me.

I refuse to let this guy get the best of me once again. It’s bad enough he’s going to steal my promotion just because he has a wife and a couple of kids. I won’t let him stand here and call me a slut when I’m anything but.

“He’s not a random hookup,” I insist. “He’s my boyfriend!”

The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. I’m so intent on saving my integrity that I don’t think for a second about the ramifications of the lie.

“Boyfriend?” Chase repeats in surprise. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

I want to take it back, but it’s too late now. The damage has been done.

“Well, there is a lot you don’t know about me,” I say.

Chase laughs as he takes his coffee from the Keurig.

“Apparently,” he says. “Especially regarding this mystery man who seems to have appeared out of nowhere.”

Putting my head down, I move around him, busying myself with making my coffee so he can’t see how uncomfortable I am.

“So, I guess you’ll be bringing him on the retreat?” Chase asks.

I freeze up for a second, kicking myself for digging the hole I now find myself in. I was trying to get Chase to stop saying I had a one-night stand, but I only made matters worse. Opening the top of the Keurig, I pluck out Chase’s used pod and toss it in the garbage.

“It’s good manners to clean up after yourself,” I note, buying some time.

Chase only stares at me, still waiting for a response.

“I don’t know if he can get away from work,” I finally reply, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

“Oh, of course,” Chase nods condescendingly. “Sure, that’s a good excuse. Well, I hope your…”

He stops to put down his coffee and then makes air quotes with his fingers as he continues.

“… boyfriend can get away from work. I look forward to getting to know him better. I’m sure the Winter brothers will too.”

Chase picks up his coffee and makes his way out of the break room.

“Have a nice day,” he calls from the hallway.

My stomach drops as I press the button on the Keurig, knowing that today is going to be anything but nice.

For maybe the first time in all the years of our friendship, Jasmine is speechless. She stares at me from across my desk, my office door closed behind her, and gapes at me, not knowing what to say.

“I’m just so mad at myself for letting Chase goad me into doing something so stupid,” I continue, having told her everything that happened this morning. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve been under so much stress, and I didn’t sleep well again last night… I messed up—big time.”

I lean down onto my desk, wrapping my arms around my head and wishing I could start this terrible day over again. When I sit up straight again, Jasmine’s eyebrows are arched high on her forehead.

“Will you say something?” I exclaim, feeling like I’m going out of my mind.

“How was the kiss?” she asks.

I stare back at her incredulously for a moment before shaking my head, completely disregarding the question.

“This is such a mess. Not only did I kiss my horndog neighbor—who I still have to face every single day—but now Chase is expecting me to bring James on the retreat,” I whine. “He is either going to make me out to be an easy, desperate lay or he’s going to expose me for pretending to have a boyfriend. Either way, I lose. And my head is killing me.”

With a long exhale, I grab my purse and start digging through it for some Tylenol, pulling out packs of tissues and hand wipes, several lipsticks in different shades of “natural”, a library card that needs to be renewed, and handfuls of other assorted items that have accumulated over time.

“Why do you have so much shit in your bag?” Jasmine says, sifting through the pile on my desk. “What’s this?”

I look up to see she’s holding James’s business card.

“That is the last thing I need right now,” I reply, swiping it from her hand and tossing it into the trash.

“I’m really sorry that you’re going through this,” Jas sighs. “I know you have a lot on your plate between your family and the promotion.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I say, finally locating the Tylenol at the very bottom of my bag. “I’m going to lose this job now for sure.”

“Maybe Chase will let it go,” Jasmine says skeptically.

All I have to do is give her a look and she shakes her head.

“I know. I know,” she sighs. “He’s never going to do that.”

“Never,” I agree. “I just handed him the perfect way to make me look like a fool—which I am! It’s over.”

“Not necessarily…”

I look up to see a slow smile forming on Jasmine’s face.

“There is one way out of this,” she says.

“Change my name, move to Oregon, learn to love pinot noir and start over at a different winery?”

Jasmine laughs as she leans in a little closer.

“Bring your neighbor on the retreat and pretend he’s your boyfriend.

“Are you crazy?” I hiss. “Absolutely not!”