Chapter Ten
“Secrets are hard to keep…unless you’re me!” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
Eric paced the length of his living room the next morning, waiting for Gracie to arrive. He’d told her they couldn’t talk with so many people around, but the truth was, he didn’t want her to lose her temper and blab his secret to the whole town. And there was a good chance that once he came clean about what he needed from her, she might physically hurt him.
And he wasn’t sure he could really blame her. He hadn’t always been kind in his column when it came to her. Mostly because she frustrated the hell out of him, but I doubt she’d want ot hear his excuses.
It was just after noon. She’d said she’d come straight over from church, and he’d been okay putting off their conversation a few more hours so he could prepare.
Eric looked out the window when he heard the unmistakable sound of tires on gravel. Gracie parked her CRV in his drive, and he opened the front door. She was already out of the car, and behind the back driver’s side door.
“Can I help you carry something?” he asked.
She pulled her head out of the backseat to address him. Her hair was twisted away from her forehead and fell in big curls over her jacket collar. When she lifted little Pip out, Eric noticed that Gracie had done her hair in braids twisted against the child’s head.
“There’s a diaper bag and a box of toys on the front seat, if you want to grab it.”
Eric walked past them to get to her car, and the toddler watched him suspiciously with those big blue eyes, her little mouth sucking away on her thumb.
“Hey, squirt, did you have fun at church?” he asked.
Pip laid her head down on Gracie’s shoulder, ignoring him and his attempt to be friendly. Gracie carried her up the steps and disappeared into his place.
Eric didn’t let the kid’s rejection phase him. He hadn’t had a lot of experience with kids and he gathered this one had been through the ringer. He grabbed the stuff off the seat and carried it into the house after them.
Gracie was standing in Eric’s living room, gazing around in surprise. He set her bag and box on the kitchen table, unable to squash the pride in his home.
“Wow. I can’t believe I’ve never been to your place before. This is nice.”
“Thanks. Took me twelve years to get it the way I wanted, but I’m happy with it.”
“You did all this?” He nodded. “Wow, I might need you to come over and help me with a few things at my new place.”
“New place? Where did you move?” he asked.
“Well, I’m in the process of buying a house on Cherry Tree Lane. The house belongs to Kirsten Winter’s grandparents who moved to Arizona and are willing to carry the loan. It’s a nice place. I just hope I can have it ready before my parents get here on the twelfth.”
“Two weeks?” Eric snorted with laughter. “Good luck with that.”
“If I can’t, it’ll be fine. I’m paid up through the first. If worse comes to worst, my parents can stay in my current place and I’ll set up a blow-up mattress and Pip’s Pack ‘n Play at the new one.”
Eric stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You know, if we’re going to play girlfriend and boyfriend, it wouldn’t be too big of a stretch for you to stay here.”
Gracie’s jaw about hit the floor. “Do what now?”
“What? It seems a bit unchivalrous of me to let my girlfriend and her charge sleep in an empty house that isn’t ready yet when I have several comfortable bedrooms here.”
Gracie put Pip down and handed her some of the toys from the box, including some Fisher Price Little People and a school bus to put them in. “I haven’t decided whether or not we’re going to be a fake couple, and most guys don’t let their girlfriends move in when they’ve only been dating a little while.”
“But we’ve known each other for years, so it’s not really the same thing.”
Gracie crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing him suspiciously. “Fair enough, but I still don’t know why you’re doing this. What exactly do you get out of it?”
This was it. Now he was wondering if he should have worn a cup. “Before I tell you, there are a few conditions.”
She arched one brow at him. “Like?”
“First of all, what I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room.”
“If you’re about to tell me you’re Batman, I’m going to smack you.”
Eric grinned. “I’m not Batman, but I do have a secret identity.”
“What the hell does that even mean?” she said.
“Uh-uh, I’m not telling you jack until you swear.”
“Are you really a mutant cooked up in a government lab? Because that would make a lot of sense.” When he gave her a dark look, she threw up her hands. “Okay, okay, I swear.”
Eric went over to his desk and pulled a copy of his manuscript out of the top drawer. “For the last year and a half, I’ve been working on a book.”
“Working on a book like…like you wrote a book?” She took the manuscript from him, and joked, “I didn’t know you could read, let alone write full sentences.”
“Ha-ha, such a funny girl.”
Eric waited for her to read the title, and when she flipped the page, her smile dropped from her face. Her forehead puckered, and she turned another. “What is this?”
“It’s my book.”
“ Small Town Scandals ? And why do you have Miss Know-It-All’s columns at the beginning…” She trailed off, her big green eyes swinging up to meet his. “You? You? ”
“Me.”
* * *
Gracie’s heart beat like a war drum in her chest, and her skin pricked with adrenaline. Eric was Miss Know-It-All. He’d been writing about her, them, the whole town, for over a year, and…
He’d called her a man-eater, boy crazy, and insinuated that there was something wrong with her and that was why she couldn’t keep a man.
If Pip hadn’t been there, she’d have kneed him square in the balls.
Angrily, she went to the kitchen table to get her diaper bag.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Home, before I throttle you and traumatize Pip.”
“Hang on a second, I know you’re mad—”
“Mad?” She whirled on him, practically breathing fire as she hissed, “Why would I be mad? Because you poked fun and ridiculed me? Because you insinuated that I was a man-eating W-H-O-R-E ?”
“I did not!”
“Maybe you didn’t come right out with it, but everyone could read between the lines, including me!” Her eyes welled up with tears against her will, and she dashed at her wet cheeks as they spilled over. “Was I really that awful? Do you really hate me so much that you wanted to humiliate me?”
Eric sighed and ran both hands over his shaved head. “If I’m being honest, there’ve been times when I’ve been thoroughly pissed at you, Gracie, but I only put you and me in the column because I had to include everyone. I had to make it so anyone could be a suspect, so that no one would realize that the town bartender everyone liked to spill their guts to was their very own gossip girl.”
“God, when I think of all the times I wanted to get five minutes alone with Miss Know-It-All just so I could give her a piece of my mind.” Gracie slapped the manuscript down on the table, and the sound made Pip jump. When the little girl stood up and toddled over to her, Gracie lifted her into her arms. “You know that once you publish this, even if you use a pen name, if anyone in town reads this, the truth is going to come out.”
“Actually, I plan on changing everything, including the title. No one ever has to know. Which is why I said we could help each other. You need a beard to get your parents off your back, and I need a cover for why I’m going to New York on New Year’s.”
Gracie kissed the top of Pip’s head, never taking her eyes off Eric. How in the hell could she never have guessed? The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind that Miss-Know-It-All could be a guy, let alone Eric.
“Why are you going to New York on New Year’s?” she asked.
“Because my publisher has invited me to their New Year’s party to meet the people I’ll be working with for the next year or more.”
She scoffed. “You don’t need me! No one’s going to question you going out of town for New Year’s.”
“A small-town guy like me, who’s never gone anywhere, suddenly gets the urge to take off to the big city?” Eric crossed his arms over his chest. “You tell me if my mom’s going to believe I’ve suddenly gotten the urge to wander.”
Gracie had started to calm down as he talked. “You might be right about that.”
“But, if my new girlfriend wants to take a spontaneous trip to New York, it isn’t so strange that I’d want to go with you.”
Gracie nodded, not really agreeing with his logic, but then she couldn’t argue with it. It was the perfect cover.
If she was willing to play along.
“Even if I agree to this, which I’m too angry to do at this point in time, my parents wouldn’t buy us suddenly getting together. They know we’ve done nothing but fight and bicker for years.”
Eric had the audacity to grin. “They’ll believe it. It’s like I told you, all that back-and-forth was just foreplay.”
Gracie glared at him. “And if I agree to this, just remember that it’s all an act. We might kiss and hold hands in public, but that’s as far as it goes.”
“As much as I love to tease you, Gracie Lou, you don’t have to worry about me carrying a torch for you. It’s all business for me…unless, of course, you want the pleasure, and then I guess I could be down.”
She lifted one hand, shaking her head vehemently. “No, uh-uh, if we’re doing this, there are boundaries. Despite what you wrote about me in that asinine blog, I am not easy and I do not sleep with every man who comes around.”
“Again, I never said that—”
She broke through his attempt to reason and defend himself; she didn’t want to hear it. “Boundary number one; unless it’s for the benefit of the people around us, there will be no flirting and absolutely no hanky-panky.”
She caught the flash of anger in his eyes, but didn’t give a rat’s ass if she hurt his feelings. It was gone anyway, replaced by a bored look and a casual shrug. “Your loss, but fine.”
“Boundary number two. If I am in need of a place to stay, I would greatly appreciate it if we could use your guest room. But you stay out of it.”
“I don’t know what you think of me, but I would never force myself on an unwilling woman. Especially with a kid in the room.”
“I know, but you can be…convincing.”
Eric raised an eyebrow. “Are you easily convinced?”
“No, but everyone has their weak moments.”
“Ouch. Fine. Any more boundaries.”
“ If I decide to accept your offer, I’ll let you know.”
Eric crossed his arms over his chest. “So, how long before you give me an answer? The clock is ticking if we’re going to sell this bill of goods to the whole town.”
Gracie bit her lip, rubbing Pip’s back more for her nerves than to comfort the toddler. “I’ll call you Tuesday night for sure. Until then, you stay away from me or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”