5. Gracie
Love changed me, Sophie…Your love made me better. Tears cling to my eyes as I read the final chapter of a novel I’ve been struggling to finish for the past two days. I love Sophie and Dave’s story. It’s the kind that makes you want to keep flipping each page of the book without a care in the world.
It’s a peaceful afternoon, and the café has barely had any customers all morning. Natalie sits across my table and focuses on her phone while the other employees are reading. I love the quiet afternoons because I can get a lot of reading done.
Trevor hasn’t been here all day, thankfully. His absence also helps me stay calm and in control. I’m a hot mess when he’s around, and it’s worse that he doesn’t even notice anything about me.
A deep sigh vibrates through me as I flip my book’s page over and continue reading. A second later, Natalie draws in a loud gasp that catches everyone’s attention and murmurs, “Holy…” She doesn’t complete her sentence as I lift my head to look at her. She reaches for her cup, but knocks it over in her clumsiness, spilling her coffee all over the table.
Her eyes land on mine, and they hold the frightening hint of her panic as she looks at me. “You’ve got to see this, Gracie! Oh goodness! This is a mess.”
She leaves her seat and hurries towards me without pausing. Natalie hands over her phone to show me the video playing. “This is you and Trevor, isn’t it?” she asks in a chilly tone.
“What’s this?” I snatch her phone and peer closely at the screen to better view the recording. I’m holding Trevor’s hand in the video and he links our fingers before he turns and smiles at me.
The moment is captured perfectly, and I already know the kinds of rumors it will spark even before I read the caption attached to the Instagram post.
Trevor Hawkins spotted cozying up to his girl in the small beach town where he grew up.My heart does a speedy downward spiral as panic sets in, and I jerk out of my chair without thinking, burning from the rush of adrenaline that sprouts through me.
The door opens right then and Trevor waltzes in with a smile.
“Morning, everyone,” he greets when he takes off his sunshades and his baseball cap. All eyes are on him, and the air in the café is dense. Trevor’s smile slowly fades when he scans through everyone’s expressions and then finally looks at me.
“Did something happen?”
“You and I need to talk right now!” I march past Natalie with her phone and head out of the café with my nerves twisting into one tense ball of worry.
Never in a million years would I have imagined being tagged in the media as one of Trevor Hawkinss girls!
He steps outside of the café a second after me, and I don’t even give him the chance to say a thing before shoving Natalie’s phone in his face.
“Have you seen this?” I question, my head throbbing from the slight ache there. “Someone saw us at the hospital together. They think we’re a couple.” I’m wound up tight like a bow on a string, and he is amused as he watches the video.
Trevor’s smile shocks me. “You find this funny?”
“It’s not a big deal, Gracie,” he says, but my glare returns and I cross my arms across my chest.
“Are you kidding me? What am I supposed to do? Play the part? Act like your fake girlfriend while rumors about us keep circulating?”
“Or you could be my girlfriend for real,” he answers. His words make me draw in air quickly. My sharp gasp leaves my insides trembling from the tension that coils through me, ready to snap my insides in two any minute.
“Be my girl, Gracie,” he continues, the corners of his lips tweaking into a smile as he steps closer and reaches out to touch my chin.
I swat his finger away before I feel his touch. “Is this a joke to you?”
“Gracie…”
“You turned me down, remember? Six years ago, I told you I liked you and you said you didn’t feel the same way. You said you didn’t want to hurt me, and you could never fall in love, not just with me, but with anyone. You said that…”
“I know what I said,” he stops me, meeting my eyes fully as the magnetic charge between us erupts again. His nearness makes my head swoon. His scent envelopes me and makes it difficult for me to breathe deeply without traces of him filling my lungs.
“I know what I said, Gracie,” he murmurs, reaching for my hand. His touch makes me whimper. I hate the feelings he stirs in me because it will only end in a disaster. I can’t let them control me.
“Then what do you want now?”
My question goes unanswered as we stare deep into each other’s eyes. I dare to think of the emotions flitting across his eyes as uncertainty. We’re trapped in the cocoon of heat spiraling around us.
My chest heaves with the sheer force of my breathing, and I’m gradually drowning in the heat rising through me when the roar of a car’s engine cuts into the moment.
We both turn at the same moment a troop of other cars pulls up in front of Espresso Books. Camera lights flash across my face as a crowd of local reporters rushes towards us with hungry questions flying around at the same time.
“Are you two really married?”
“What’s the story between you two?”
“When did you first meet?”
“Will you be playing in this season’s games? How about rumors of suspension from your team? Tell us more about your wife, Mr. Hawkins…Is there a baby in view?”
The lights blur my vision and make me lower my chin. Trevor takes my hand without saying a word to them and leads me into the café. I’m shaking like a wet leaf, unable to completely absorb the shock from the sudden intrusion of my private life.
He shuts the door, turns around to everyone else, and announces in a calm voice. “I need someone to call the sheriff’s department!”
***
Hours later, the sheriff successfully gets rid of all the paps outside, and I’m seated in a corner of the café, my head buried in my hands.
How did this happen?Trevor walks over to me with a cup of coffee, sets it on the table, and takes the seat in front of me.
“Can you make this go away?” I ask without looking up at him.
Trevor’s quiet as he watches me, and when I finally meet his gaze, there’s a stroke of remorse nestled in his blue depths.
“The only way to handle this scandal is to give them the news they want. They already think we’re a couple, and admitting to it will make it go away faster.”
“No! It’s too much to handle, Trevor. I get that it’s your life and you’re used to it, but I’m not, Trevor.” I place a hand on my chest while shaking my head. “This isn’t my life, and I don’t think I can handle it.”
I’m still quivering inside, and worried about what the media would do with the pictures of us together from outside the café earlier. I could also feel the tension between us. Everyone will think the same!
“You can handle it,” he answers in a thick voice that strokes my insides with a coat of warmth. “It’ll only be for a little while, then it’ll blow over and everything will get back to normal. That’s what always happens.”
His words are so gentle, I dare to lift my eyes and look at him. “What?” I croak, then sniff to push back the tears forming in my eyes. My next words are a slight stutter. “I don’t understand.”
Trevor shocks me when he extends his hand over the table and slowly opens his palm to expose the silver ring. “I need you to be my wife, Gracie,” he announces, shocking the life out of me. “For a little while, Gracie. I’ll need you to be my fake wife.”
Stunned, I can only blink for a long second as I stare at him with my eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. Trevor seems serious, but his words are a joke to me, so I tilt my head back and let the bubble of my unamused mirth roll free from me.
“You’re kidding, right?” I wheeze when I finally catch my breath.
Trevor’s jaw hardens as his eyes bore into mine. “Not one bit!” The impact of his words hit hard and the air leaves my lungs with a whoosh that makes me dizzy.
Why would Trevor want to marry me?