Chapter 12 #2
Even if the jumper she’s wearing—my jumper at that—covers it, I don’t need the image of her bending over in front of me running rampant in my head right now. Not while I’m still trying to figure out how to broach the subject of… us.
She sets the dish on the island with a pride-filled smile and looks up at me. “Ta-da!”
I laugh under my breath and hand her a serving spoon. “Looks and smells delicious.”
“And I didn’t burn anything!”
“Small miracles.”
She waves me off and dishes out a hefty serving of the pasta bake on my plate as well as half the veggies she prepared.
“Good Lord, I’m only one man, that’s enough to feed at least three of me.”
“Dish duty says you finish this entire plate and still have room for the surprise treat I stashed in the icebox for you later.”
I squint at her and take my plate. “What kind of treat?”
She shrugs as she plates her own food. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Though I wasn’t going to let her do the dishes in the first place, I’m very well going to eat every last bite of my food. Even if my stomach refuses to hold anything more.
We settle at the small dining table in the kitchen nook. I go to take a bite but get caught up in the sight of her blowing on her forkful. Her lips part and she slips it in her mouth, humming around the utensil. I shift in my seat at the moan that slips from her lips.
“Ohmygod. That’s marriage quality cooking right there. You better hurry and put a ring on it before someone else snatches me up.”
I choke on nothing and grab my glass of water to ease the sting. Jesus Christ, this girl.
She eyes me with worry. “You okay?”
I nod, muffling my coughs. Lifting my fork, I take a bite and groan. “God, Syd, this is really good. Thank you.”
She shimmies in her seat. “Of course. I’m just glad it turned out good. I think I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.”
Chuckling, I take another bite and watch her devour half of her serving in record time. We eat in a comfortable silence and when our plates are clear, Sydney falls back in her chair and rubs her stomach. Okay, she’s full and happy. Now’s your chance mate.
Taking another sip of my water, I clear my throat and lean onto my elbows on the table. Here goes nothing.
“So, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Uh-oh, who died?”
“What? No one died. Why would your mind go straight to that?”
“Well, you suddenly look very uneasy and the only time I’ve seen you look like you’re about to throw up is when we went to my Great Uncle George’s funeral.”
Sighing, I rub my tired eyes. “No one died. I just need to talk to you about something that came up in my meeting today.”
Her head tilts in confusion. “I thought it was just a regular team meeting while you gear up for preseason?”
“It was, at first. But Mitch asked if I’d stay back to talk about everything.”
“Everything?”
“The image improvement stuff.”
Her mouth pops open in an ‘O’ in understanding. “And?”
“They have a proposition. For me… and for you.”
Her eyebrows dip and I jump into explaining everything we discussed, fearing if I don’t, I’ll chicken out. She listens as I ramble, nodding at certain parts and ducking her head at others. When I finally finish, she’s no longer looking at me and my heart drops.
She’s quiet for a moment and I fidget in my seat. “You don’t have to do it. I know it might be uncomfortable for you and I’m not going to force you to do something—”
“I’ll do it,” she cuts me off and I freeze.
“What?”
“I said, I’ll do it.” Finally she looks up at me, nerves written all over her face. “I’ll be your fake girlfriend or whatever it is. I told you I would help you through all of this, so of course I’ll do it.”
“Sydney, you’re already helping me enough, this is… it’s too much.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not. I’ll do it. I want to do it.”
I study her for a heartbeat—the conviction in her eyes and the set of her shoulders. There’s nothing I can say that will make her change her mind. She’s always been the girl who wants what she wants and takes it.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
She nods. “How do we do this then?”
“I was hoping you might have some insight into that?”
She taps her chin. “I have read a lot of books with the fake dating trope.”
“What do you—never mind. What do you think?”
“First, we should come up with a game plan on how we are going to announce we are dating. Like when did it happen, how did it happen, and why did it happen. Also we need rules. They always have a list of rules in books.”
“Okay. What kind of rules?”
She chews on her lip. “Like an end date. How about until you secure the contract?”
“That could take months.”
“Then we will do this for months.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with that? What if you meet someone and—”
She shakes her head. “I’m yours for however long it takes.”
I’m yours.
My mind reels at the two simple words and I can’t help but imagine what it would be like if she truly was mine.
“Okay,” I whisper. “What else?”
She twists her lips. “I can’t think of any right now. Well, I can, but it’s a lot.”
“How about you write them down and we go over them together?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good.”
We stare at one another, my heart racing in my chest. A small smile tilts her lips. “Buckle up, Moore. I’m going to be the best fake girlfriend you’ve ever had.”
Lord, help me.