9. Torey
Chapter 9
Torey
“ H ey, where’s your other half?” Jane Moon stood in front of me, her smile bright but her eyes gleaming with barely concealed hunger for gossip.
“On his way,” I lied smoothly. “He had a few errands to run before the first event.” I wasn’t sure if that was true or not. I wasn’t even sure Ryan would show up for the First Annual Holiday Grove Couples’ Trivia Challenge, as the mayor had started calling it. I hadn’t spoken to him since I fled the farmhouse, the memory of what we’d done still clinging to me like a second skin.
A mistake. The regret hit me before the afterglow had even faded, leaving me feeling used—like nothing more than a convenient outlet for his desire. No man had ever made me feel so good—not ever—and then so worthless in the span of a heartbeat. It was a skill, that much was certain.
“Just know that if he doesn’t show up, I have just the replacement partner for you.”
My smile was polite, though Jane’s blatant but well-meaning disrespect grated. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” The trivia started in fifteen minutes, and I hadn’t called to remind Ryan, hadn’t checked to make sure we knew enough about each other to pull it off. I couldn’t.
Stupid.
Rejected.
The words looped in my mind, each one cutting deeper than the last.
So I stood beside the chairs set up on a small stage in the park, pretending nothing was wrong. The single-digit temperatures bit at my cheeks, but I didn’t flinch. Nothing is wrong, I told myself. Ryan was right—it was a mistake. But not for the reasons he thought.
I liked him. Damn it, I liked him. And he was leaving. This was exactly why I avoided relationships. Too much uncertainty. Too much drama.
Too much pain.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. Parking’s a nightmare.” Ryan stepped onto the stage, his stiff smile still potent enough to charm the socks off anyone with a pulse.
“No problem. We still have time before it starts.” My voice was cool, distant.
“I tried to call you so we could get together. You didn’t call me back.”
I’d ignored his calls and deleted his messages without listening to them. “We’ll be fine, I’m sure.”
“Torey,” he began, his tone dipping into that universally recognized prelude to bad news. Or worse—the dreaded it’s not you, it’s me talk.
No thanks on both counts. “It’s all good. When we lose, people won’t be surprised when we break up. I’ll be right back.” I left the stage and rushed across the park to the public restrooms before I started crying in front of half the town. It’s okay, I told myself. This only hurts because rejection sucks. Nothing else.
I splashed my face with cold water, glued on my fake happy smile, and made my way back to the stage just as Mayor Stevens took her place to start the show.
“You okay?” Ryan looked at me like he actually cared, and I had to look away before I believed the lie.
“Fine. Let’s do this!” My words were a little too bright, but he didn’t know me well enough to catch the fake cheer. I was determined to keep my distance—other than for show. As long as the town believed we were a couple, we were good.
“This is an easy one.” Mayor Stevens beamed. “When is your partner’s birthday?”
Ryan and I both held up our dry erase boards, but I didn’t bother looking at his answer. There was no reason he should know my birthday.
“Two points for each team!”
I blinked, shocked, and turned to Ryan’s smiling face. “Surprised?”
Hell yeah, I was, but he didn’t need to know that.
“What’s his favorite sandwich?” the mayor asked in her best game show voice.
That was an easy one, and I answered quickly.
“Another point for Ryan and Torey!” Mayor Stevens’ excitement was palpable. “Billy and Jeanie are just three points ahead. You two better catch up!”
It was unlikely, but I shook my fist as if it bothered me that they were winning.
“What’s her favorite song?”
Ryan scribbled quickly, surprising me. There was no way he could know the answer.
I fixed my gaze on the crowd, bracing myself for disappointment.
“Well, Torey, is that right?”
With no choice, I turned to see what he’d written: “Kiss Me.” My favorite song. The one everyone teased me about. “Yep, it’s right.” My voice was stiff, and I ignored the warmth that slid through me at the realization that Ryan knew the answer.
How did he know?
I tried to shake off the shock, but it was impossible with every question he answered correctly. Slowly, the tension floated off my shoulders, and my chilled skin heated. Damn it, I could feel myself softening toward the sexy, infuriating jerk. This was a mistake. I repeated the words to myself every time my body leaned closer to his, every time that dashing smile disarmed me. This was a mistake. I told myself that again when he knew what my dream job was as a kid.
“Firefighting ballerina.”
My heart thudded as I gave a reluctant nod, confirming his answer was right. Again.
It wasn’t hard to answer questions about him, either. We’d grown up together, and his sister was my best friend, so I’d picked up plenty of secondhand information over the years. “Handyman,” I answered when asked who his best friend was, shocking the hell out of him.
“That’s an interesting name,” Mayor Stevens said, squinting as if it were made up.
Ryan opened his mouth, but I smiled and laid a hand on his thigh. “It’s because there’s nothing he can’t fix—from a tank engine to a microwave to a smartphone. He’s a handy guy.” I flashed a satisfied smile at Ryan, letting him know he wasn’t the only one who could play this game.
“She’s absolutely correct. The guy’s a godsend out in the field,” Ryan added with a laugh.
In the end, it wasn’t enough.
“Well, folks, that was an exciting start to our Valentine’s celebration, don’t you think?” The mayor grinned as she announced the first-place finishers—not us. “Perhaps Ryan needs to spend a little more time here in Holiday Grove before he and Torey forget everything about each other.”
The crowd chuckled, and I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. Still, I was grateful to Mayor Stevens. Her words were the reminder I needed—not that Ryan’s this was a mistake speech wasn’t enough—to remember this wasn’t real. It was fake.
Even the sex, the really amazing sex, was fake.
Faker than a night in with me and my vibrator.
The mayor finished her remarks, and I maintained my bland smile as I congratulated the winners, who received a gift certificate to Mistletoe Pizza.
I loved that place. Dammit, it would have been nice if we had won that gift card.
With the prize handed out, there was nothing else to do but get the hell out of dodge before I broke down—or worse, snapped. My legs moved quickly, but I felt him behind me, his presence big and hovering, his long strides easily keeping pace.
“Torey.”
I shook my head and walked faster, though I knew I couldn’t outrun him. His legs were longer, stronger. Still, I tried.
“Torey,” he called again, this time punctuating the request by placing a firm hand on my shoulder.
I shook off his touch and turned to face him, my expression carefully blank. “Yes?”
His shoulders sagged. “Can we go somewhere?”
I opened my mouth to tell him absolutely not, but we were interrupted by my best friend and her new love. “Hey, guys!” Nix practically bounced on her toes. “Are you going out for drinks with the other couples?” Hope swam in her eyes, but this time, it had no sway over me.
“No,” I answered easily.
“Yep,” Ryan said at the same time.
Nix frowned. Lee smirked.
“You guys go ahead, I have some work to do.” It wasn’t exactly a lie—there was always something that needed doing.
Ryan wrapped an arm around me, and my body betrayed me by leaning into his warmth. “Come on, babe. One drink, and I’ll make sure you’re tucked into bed afterward.”
“Whatever.” I shook off his touch again and stalked toward Ol’ St. Nick’s Pub.
Ryan caught up quickly. “Can we talk afterwards?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said, my voice falsely bright. “Let’s get this over with.”