Chapter 17 #2
“Shall we go to the car?” I offer her my hand again, and this time she allows me to take it. Her hand feels warm and small in mine, and I hold it carefully.
“You don’t have to hold my hand,” she says as we walk towards the car. “It’s not needed right now.”
“You’re my girlfriend. As my girlfriend, I would hold your hand.”
“Huh, I’m not actually your girlfriend, and no one is here, so I don’t really understand why we’re holding hands right now.”
“I feel like we should ensure that we are performing the relationship duties now so that when we get to the restaurant, you aren’t taken aback.”
“Oh, good idea,” she says as we head toward the Rolls-Royce, but I can’t tell if she is being sarcastic or not.
“Wow.” She stops as we stand next to the car. “We’re taking a Rolls? I thought we’d go in the truck or something.”
“I’ll take you out in style.”
“I could kind of get used to this. Wow.”
“Don’t get too used to it.” I laugh. “I don’t flaunt my wealth often.”
“Hey, I don’t really care either way.” She sounds slightly defensive, and I hope I haven’t upset her.
“It’s okay. So, what was your question?”
“I was wondering if anyone is really going to believe that we’re together. Are people going to ask me about our relationship? What am I supposed to tell them? Like, how did we meet?”
“We’re just going to tell them the truth,” I say. “We met a couple of months ago, when I first got to town, and I was at the bookstore.”
“I mean, we technically met at Cristy’s Cupcakes,” she says. “So that’s not the truth.”
“We technically met in the street,” I say, “when you were pretending to jog but had no energy.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She stretches her arms out like she’s getting ready for a race.
“I think we should say our first meeting was at the bookstore. It seems better, don’t you think?”
“I mean, fine.” She shrugs and wrinkles her nose. “Whatever you think is best.” I have no idea why she’s being so amenable, but I’ll take it.
“So we’ll say we met at the bookstore. We were immediately attracted to each other. We went on a date, and we’ve been seeing each other since.”
“Okay. And how serious is that?” she asks.
“I mean, how serious do you want it to be?” I open the door for her, and she gets into the car, sliding into the seat and buckling up before I close the door and head to my side.
I slide into the driver’s side and look over at her.
She looks like a million dollars sitting there, and for the first time in my life, I know what it is to want someone.
“I mean, I want nothing. This is your fake relationship, not mine.”
“That’s where you’ve gotten it wrong, darling.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“My fake relationship is also your fake relationship.”
“Sorry?” She stares at me like she thinks I’m crazy, and I try not to laugh. This is not the first time I’ve seen the expression on her face, and I’m almost positive it won’t be the last either.
“What if, for example, the paparazzi see us? They’re going to think that you are my girlfriend.”
“I mean, that’s the whole point of this, right?” she says, looking at me like I’m stupid. And maybe I am being stupid. Maybe this is a terrible idea, but at least it means I get to spend more time with her.
“Exactly. And if they choose to run a story, it’s your face that will be everywhere. Your name.”
“Oh.” She looks taken aback. “I didn’t think about that.” I feel bad for her. She’s never had to worry about the press constantly following her around and wanting to know everything about her.
“Well, it’s a good thing that I did.” I reach out and touch her shoulder gently. “I wanted to prepare you for that possibility.”
“But then people will think I’m really in a relationship with you.” She looks nervous then.
“And is that a problem?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t say it’s a problem, but we’re not in a relationship. Is there going to be someone who’s upset that you’re pretending to be in a relationship with me?”
“No.” My voice is harsher than it should be. “What about you?” I glance at her as I drive out of the estate.
“Look, you more than anyone know that Patrick and I are no longer dating.”
“Why was he here the other day?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “I seriously don’t know. In fact…” she pauses. “I shouldn’t be saying this, but a thought crossed my mind.”
“You shouldn’t be saying what? You’re confusing me.”
“I don’t want to say anything because if I say what I’m thinking, then you’re going to suspect me. But you really shouldn’t suspect me.”
“Gina, tell me what you’re thinking.” I hate these back-and-forth games.
“So one thing I noticed when Patrick and I were kind of dating was that he really wanted me to make introductions to all of my friends who were from wealthy families. Like my friend Emma, who was here the other day, cooking.”
“She’s a Bond, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“I know her brothers,” I say, nodding. “They’re very wealthy.”
“Yeah, they are very wealthy. But anyway, I noticed Patrick seemed to use me for my connections, and I wasn’t really sure why. I mean, I had my suspicions, but—”
“Get on with it, Gina. What are you trying to say?”
“I don’t think he’s the most honest guy.”
“I could have told you that.”
“I also feel like maybe when he was at the jewelry store that day, he wasn’t looking for a ring for me.”
“Then what was he doing there?” I stare at her. I will not bring up my real thoughts about that day. I don’t want to make her mad at me.
“I felt like maybe he was casing the joint.”
“Casing the joint? Wait, what? You mean like he was going to steal from the store?”
“Yeah.” She groans like she’s in deep pain and shifts in her seat.
“I mean, I don’t know why I thought that, but it crossed my mind.
And now, he’s shown up at your house, and your grandma’s necklace has gone missing.
” She bites down on her lower lip and rubs her palms together.
“And all I can think is, what if he stole it?”
“How could he have stolen it? How would he even know about it? I’ve never seen him in the house before.”
“That’s the thing I’ve been wondering myself,” she says. “How did he get in that day?”
“I thought he was there to see you. I didn’t realize he’d been inside.”
“When I got back, he was coming out of the house.”
“Out of the house? Wait, so he had been inside?”
“That’s what I’m saying. He wasn’t here to see me. I don’t know who he was seeing.”
I want to believe her, but it just makes little sense. I’ve been here for months, and I’ve never seen him before. Never. Now, suddenly, my grandma’s necklace goes missing, and Patrick was at the house.
“Let me ask you a question, Gina.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You seem to have gotten over the relationship quickly. I guess you could also say that you also seem to find him quite distasteful.”
“Yeah.”
“So why exactly were you dating him?” I pull up outside the valet, and we sit there for a second as I put my car into park and stare at her. She looks flustered as she thinks about her answer. “Are you going to answer my question?”
“It’s going to make me sound like an idiot.”
“I doubt it. But please tell me.”
“I don’t want to say.”
“Spill it.”
“Well, when I met him, he was really muscular and built, and I thought he was great-looking. And… well… I was kind of feeling like, wow, this superb-looking man wants to be with me.” She looks away. “Does that sound crazy?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “You obviously know what you like.” I frown slightly. “And if you like well-built muscular men, then that is what you like.”
“What does that mean?”
She looks at me, confusion in her expression.
“You like muscular men.” My voice is slightly cold, and I know she doesn’t understand why.
“I mean, I didn’t say I like a muscular man. I just said that he was muscular, and that wasn’t exactly a turnoff.”
“Okay. Well, good to know.”
“What’s going on? Why are you being like this?” she says. “Did I upset you?”
“No, you didn’t upset me. In fact, thank you for enlightening me as to the sort of woman that you are.”
“What do you mean, the sort of woman that I am, Hunter?”
“I think this conversation is over,” I say and jump out of the car, knowing she’s confused. But I obviously will not explain to her why I’m upset—for multiple reasons. It’s stupid, and it doesn’t matter. I’m just going to concentrate on the evening. I will not let Gina Spellman get under my skin.