Chapter 36 Bodie
BODIE
I took a long draw on my beer. I’d called in sick to work today to hide out in the relative privacy of my own living room.
After Suzy left the funeral home yesterday, my phone had continued to ring until I’d finally silenced it by turning the damn thing off.
How was I to know that agreeing to the wedding charade with Lacey would mean instant notoriety?
A knock sounded at my door. Suspicious of everyone and everything, I tiptoed to the door to peer through the peephole. Lacey stood on the stoop, the giant orange wreath in hand.
“I’m not home.”
“Hurry up, someone’s pulling up to the curb and I don’t recognize them.” Lacey tried the knob.
I peeked again. Sure enough, a white van had stopped at the curb. The driver got out and opened the side door. “It’s probably someone delivering a package to a neighbor. I need an evening off of wedding planning.”
“He’s coming this way,” she hissed at the door.
“Fine.” I fumbled with the lock, opening the door to Lacey and the giant orange wreath as the man reached the stoop.
“Bodie Phillips?” the driver asked.
“Who wants to know?” I tipped my beer up and downed another sip.
The guy launched into song. “Congratulations to you! Congratulations to you! Congratulations, Bodie and Lacey! Congratulations to you!”
“That’s it?” I cocked a hip. What kind of stunt was that?
“And a cookie couplet for the happy couple.” The guy produced a cookie in the shape of a heart. Red frosting across the center read Congrats on your engagement! Mayor Little.
Dammit. Buck was mocking me.
“Why would Mayor Little send us a singing telegram?” Lacey asked.
“I’m sorry, it’s not a telegram, it’s a sing-a-gram,” the man corrected. He didn’t move from the stoop.
I grabbed the cookie and shut the door.
“Didn’t you tip him?” Lacey asked.
“For what?” I shook my head. “I’ve owned dogs who could sing better than that.” To prove my point, Shotgun sat down, her tail wagging like a broom, and let out a half howl. “See?”
“Why aren’t you answering my calls?” Lacey barreled into the room, toting the ugly orange wreath with her.
“Do you have to bring that here?” I eyed the monstrosity. It was like a giant jack-o'-lantern but seven months too early.
“Why didn’t you answer my question?” She set the easel in the corner of my living room, blocking my view of the classic football game I’d been watching.
“What was the question again?” I smirked. At least I still enjoyed giving her shit, even though I couldn’t leave my house without being assaulted by well-wishers.
Lacey snagged the beer bottle out of my grip. Didn’t matter, it was almost empty anyway. “What’s going on with you? You said you were all in on this and you’re practically ghosting me.”
I padded to the kitchen on bare feet to grab another beer from the fridge. Based on how the conversation was going, I might need two. I pulled out another and popped the top.
“Bodie?” She’d followed me into the kitchen and stood next to the counter, her hip cocked, arms crossed over her chest.
I handed her the beer I’d just opened and popped the top off the other. “I didn’t realize what a splash news of our engagement would make.” I made air quotes around the word engagement.
“I told my dad.” Lacey took a deep swallow from the bottle.
My heart stalled. “You told him the truth?”
She shook her head. “No. You know what a big mouth he has when he drinks, even if he is housebound. I figured it would be best to string him along like everyone else until the wedding. If word got out that this wasn’t for real we’d probably lose the publicity, don’t you think?”
No, I didn’t think. I hadn’t thought this through at all. Playing along with Lacey’s idea to secure publicity seemed like a no-brainer at the time. But now that I was living through the repercussions, I’d begun to regret being so flippant about it in the first place.
“Everyone seems really excited for us.” Her lips curved up in a smile.
“That’s fantastic.” I wanted to kick myself in the nuts for the way the bitterness in my tone caused her mouth to turn down until that smile had morphed into an unsure frown.
“I talked to Helmut today. He said he’ll do the catering.” She set her bottle down on the edge of the table.
“Banzai Shakes for everyone,” I joked.
“You know, he hasn’t been slinging burgers his whole life. He used to be a real chef up in Seattle once upon a time.”
I knew I was being an asshole. And I really didn’t intend to be.
It was just, all this hubbub with Lacey on top of the threats from Buck, it had been rolling around like a tumbleweed in west Texas, gathering momentum, picking up dirt and dust and getting bigger and bigger.
“I’m sure the food will be terrific. Thanks for handling everything.
” I tipped my beer in her direction then headed back to the living room.
“Bodie . . .” She trailed behind me, reminding me of yesteryear, of times I’d walk away from her just like that and she’d follow behind. Even then she hadn’t given up on me.
“What do you want?” I whirled around, almost knocking her off her feet.
Her hands wrapped around my biceps to steady herself. Taking in a long, slow breath, I raised my gaze to meet hers.
She worried her lower lip with her teeth, her fingers tightening around my arms. “I know you didn’t want to pretend. I’m sorry for asking you to lie about it.” Her words came out soft, almost a whisper.
Dammit. How could I tell her how right she was?
I didn’t want to pretend. But it didn’t piss me off, it scared the shit out of me.
I didn’t want to pretend anymore because the feelings I’d been faking had become all too real.
What was I going to do when the fake minister pronounced us husband and wife and I had to lean down and kiss her?
“Don’t you dare apologize. I went into this with my eyes wide open. I just wasn’t expecting so many people to be so interested in us.”
The radio switched from a commercial to a slow song, one of my favorite classic country tunes. Lacey took the beer bottle from my hand and set it down on the coffee table. “May as well start practicing our first dance. Will you dance with me?”
My throat seemed to close, making it difficult to take in a full breath. “I’m not a very good dancer.”
“It’s okay, neither am I.” She nestled herself against my chest, putting one hand on my shoulder. “Just take my hand and I’ll follow your lead.”
Against my better judgment, I slid my hand into hers and pulled her into my arms. She stepped forward, burrowing even closer into me.
The scent of butterscotch surrounded me, even though I hadn’t seen her eat a butterscotch candy in years.
She had to be able to feel my heart—it seemed like it was going to beat its way right out of my chest. If Lacey noticed my strange behavior, she didn’t say anything about it.
After an awkward start, I caught on to the rhythm of the song and guided her around my small living room in a halfway decent dance.
“You’re not so bad,” she said as I twirled her away from me. “Lots of practice?”
I shook my head. “Nah. Just a natural, I guess.”
“What’s that like?” She batted long, dark eyelashes at me, her eyes twinkling.
“What?”
“To be a natural at something? Seems I have to fight tooth and nail to figure things out. Just once I wish something would come natural to me.”
I drew her tight against my chest, wrapping both arms around her. “Hell, Lacey, I’d say you’ve got a lot of natural talent.”
“Yeah, I’m a walking natural disaster.” She ducked her head, a self-deprecating smile on her lips.
“Stop.” My tone came out sharper than I intended, making her look up. “You’ve got more natural talent in your pinky finger than I do in my entire body.”
Her gaze raked over me. My blood heated, sending warmth coursing through my veins. “Is that so? Why do people always bring up the pinky finger?”
“Fine. How about I say you’ve got more natural talent in your big toe?”
“My big toe?” Her forehead creased. “I didn’t think you were a foot man.”
I wasn’t. Or at least I never had been before. But with Lacey I was an everything man—from her toes to the tips of her hair, and everything in between.
“Feet are underrated,” I joked. Especially Lacey’s feet. I loved how she kept her toenails painted, usually a bright shade of pink. I’d never been particularly drawn to feet before, but I could imagine myself doing all kinds of things to Lacey’s toes.
“Don’t tell me you’ve developed a foot fetish.” She rested her cheek against my chest as one song led into another.
“No.” I didn’t have a foot fetish. I had a Lacey Cherish fetish and that was ten million times worse.
What was I going to do when it was all over?
When she didn’t have a reason to come knocking on my door on a Tuesday night?
When she moved on to dance with some stranger in another living room?
My gut clenched at the idea of Lacey wrapped up in someone else’s arms.
I was being ridiculous, I knew that. And why couldn’t we have a shot at a real future? There was nothing holding us back. We were both adults, both consenting, contributing members of society.
I’d almost convinced myself it would be no big deal to dip my head down and claim her mouth with mine. We’d acted on desire before and in my own humble opinion, neither were the worse because of it.
“Hey, Lacey?”
“Mmm?” She lifted her head from my chest. The imprint of my button pressed into her cheek, reminding me of the time Luke and I had dared her she couldn’t stay up and watch the entire Star Wars saga with us.
She’d fallen asleep with her cheek on the zipper of her sleeping bag. Luke teased her about it for days.
“Nothing.” Reality check. Luke. Luke was the reason I couldn’t jump into a fling with Lacey.
That and I didn’t want to put her in any danger.
Once my dad and pops were out from under the threat they’d been fighting, once I had a chance to run this by Luke, once I knew for sure I wouldn’t lose my heart in the process—then I’d give in and see where this might go.
Until then, I needed to keep my head in the game and my heart completely out of it.