Chapter 29
Ari
Last night at the football game, under the stadium lights, with a few people still around, Wade kissed me.
I’m saying this in the most informational way possible—with a shrug, even.
He kissed me.
All’s fair in bets and fake dating, so I’m not going to make a big deal out of it. The kiss is a non-issue.
It happened fast.
One second, Wade was staring at me. Next, his hands were on my face. Then, his mouth was on mine. Then, it was over.
Like a blink. Or a sneeze.
A very confusing sneeze.
Scratch that. There was nothing confusing about it.
The kiss was for Ashtyn—obviously. It was a fake-dating Standard Operating Procedure, the SOP of false relationships.
An impulsive decision.
A strategic move.
And really, I should be thanking Wade. He helped my side of the bet by kissing me in front of Ashtyn.
It’s a win-win.
Because, although short, I liked the kiss. I can admit that I liked it and then forget about it. That’s mature adult stuff.
So I’m moving on.
I dump another packet of apple cider mix into the drink dispenser and glance out the kitchen window.
Outside, Dad, Jaxon, and Wade stand around the fire pit.
The flames crackle against the darkening sky as a few scattered orange and gold leaves tumble across the green lawn.
Large maple trees surrounding our property are finally beginning to turn, their branches painted with streaks of amber and crimson.
It’s the perfect night for a backyard bonfire.
The night temps are cool enough to see a puff of breath when you talk, and a thin cloud hangs low around the hills, creating the ambiance of fog.
Tonight is all about wool blankets, s’mores, hot cider, and getting Barb Langford to warm up to the idea of Wade.
Through the window, Dad gestures dramatically toward the lighter fluid. Jaxon laughs. Wade slaps my dad on the shoulder.
The sight of him in flannel and jeans has my heart working overtime, pumping out blood faster than I can keep up. Mostly because Wade looks like he belongs here, in Autumn Ridge, in my backyard with my family.
A comfortable thought.
I stir the cider and force myself to move on. Just like I’ve done with the kiss.
“Ari.”
I nearly tip over the orange Igloo container full of hot cider.
Landrie stands in the doorway.
“Good grief.” I press a hand to my chest.
She studies me. “You were checking Wade out, weren’t you?”
“Pfft.” I shake my head a little too aggressively. “No.”
“He’s your boyfriend. You should be checking him out.” She grabs a bag of marshmallows and opens them up. “But I think you like him more than you’re even letting on.”
I open my mouth.
Close it.
Open it again. “I like him the appropriate amount for what this is.”
“Okay.” She laughs. “So, what is it, then? I mean, you brought him here tonight to get Mom and Dad’s approval. You must be serious about him if you want that.”
“No, I want Mom’s approval so she’ll stop trying to set me up with other guys.”
“I don’t believe it. You’re totally into him. Like, a lot. You just don’t want to admit it.” Next, she opens up the graham crackers and arranges them in a small basket.
I don’t like the tone behind her words. And I especially don’t like the accusations she’s throwing around.
“I’m not into Wade.”
“Why are you acting so offended?” She smiles at me. “I’d be concerned if you were spending all this time together and you weren’t into him. I’m just saying this feels a little more serious than just a casual fling.”
A strong need to come clean takes over. “Wade and I are not actually dating. The whole thing is fake.”
“WHAT?” Her screech echoes through the kitchen.
“Keep your voice down!”
“What? You don’t get to tell me to keep my voice down after announcing you’ve been faking an entire relationship for weeks.”
“Shh! Mom can’t know. You have to promise not to say anything.”
“Why?” she demands.
“Because Mom will—”
“No,” she interrupts. “I mean why are you faking like he’s your boyfriend?”
I glance toward the window to make sure nobody is approaching. “It’s complicated.”
“Ari, you have exactly two seconds to tell me all the details before I slap you with a bag of marshmallows.”
“It really started because of Wade.” I lower my voice. “There’s a student situation.”
Her expression immediately changes, concern replacing amusement. “A student situation?”
“Nothing dangerous.” Hopefully. “Rumors. Gossip. A student who got the wrong idea. Wade needed help.” I keep it all very generic to protect Wade’s job, just in case Landrie can’t keep her mouth shut.
“And you agreed to help?”
“Yeah, and Mom was trying to set me up with every single man within a fifty-mile radius. I just thought if we pretended to be together, it could benefit me too.”
Landrie shakes her head in disbelief. “I cannot wrap my head around this. So, like, when you kissed him in the kitchen, that was all fake?”
“Yeah, and he kissed me last night at the football game.”
Her smile turns devious. “He kissed you?”
“The kiss isn’t important. It barely counts.”
“Ari, if he kissed you, that must mean that he likes you.”
“No, no, no. It was small and for a specific purpose. Over before it even started, definitely for the fake-dating scheme.” Ashtyn literally stood three feet behind us when Wade grabbed me and kissed me. The evidence is overwhelming.
Landrie folds her arms as if she doesn’t believe me.
“I swear it didn’t mean anything. He kissed me then immediately walked away.”
“He didn’t say anything?”
“Not a word.”
“Wade Stevenson voluntarily kissed someone and then immediately walked away without trying to go in for a second, steamier kiss?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm.”
“See? Like I said, he doesn’t like me. We’re both just pretending to help each other out.”
“Did you like the kiss?”
“It wasn’t some big romantic moment. It lasted maybe two seconds. It was a tiny kiss. Microscopic.”
Her lips purse, further proof that she doesn’t believe me.
I don’t believe myself either.
Before Landrie can respond, Mom sweeps into the kitchen, carrying a stack of blankets.
“There you two are. Stop hiding and go outside.” She eyes the cider and the basket of supplies. “Bring those with you when you come.”
Mom disappears out the door. Landrie and I stare after her then slowly turn back toward each other. The conversation is very much not over, but I can’t leave Wade out there alone with my mother. The part where we convince her we’re real is still ongoing.
I glance out the window and catch Wade looking back at the house, and for one brief second, our eyes meet.
The memory of his mouth on mine hits me all over again.
Then he smiles.
And it’s all I can do to get out of that kitchen before Landrie sees the blush creeping into my cheeks.
Wade
I WAS NERVOUS to come to the Langfords’ tonight.
Like, really nervous.
For one, I’ve never gone home with a woman I’m dating to meet her parents.
I know, shocking for a man my age who’s dated as much as I have.
But that’s just it. I’ve dated. Not committed to anyone enough to be brought home to the family. Sure, women have asked, but I’ve always just dodged it and then immediately broken up with them because they were clearly getting too serious for me.
But everything with Ari is different.
Fake dating has created this world where intimacy and commitment aren’t a big deal because none of it’s real—or at least it’s not supposed to be real.
Then I arrived here at the Langfords’, and Ari made some sarcastic joke about how a man with a mustache should never be allowed to wear flannel, and my nerves immediately eased.
She has a way of doing that to me.
Now I’m standing around the fire with Jaxon and her dad, like this is how it’s meant to be.
“That’s not how you split wood,” Dusty says to his future son-in-law.
I glance over at Jaxon standing beside the chopping block, holding an axe. “This is how my dad taught me, but I’d be willing to try it the Langford way.”
Dusty stands beside the raging fire with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. “I’ve been splitting wood for twenty years, but my guess is that Tom Walker has been doing it longer than that. So go with whatever your dad taught you.”
“Well, Dusty, I can’t have you thinking this poorly of me and my skills.” Jaxon hands the axe over to me. “So let’s watch Wade cut wood instead, and that’ll make me look better.”
“Happy to help,” I laugh, gripping the wooden handle.
A pile of split logs already sits beside the fire pit, but there’s still another stack waiting near the shed. I plant a round on the chopping block, adjust it with my boot, and bring the axe down.
Crack.
The log splits neatly in two.
“Dang it,” Jaxon mutters. “You were supposed to make me look better. Now I look worse.”
“I mean, I’m trying to impress the Langfords too.”
“That’s true.” Jaxon laughs. “I guess I’m already part of the family. Your standing is still up in the air.”
“Exactly.” I split another log, doing my best to make Ari’s dad proud. I straighten, glancing her way.
She stands near the refreshments table, pretending to help Landrie organize supplies, but really, she’s watching me. The second our eyes meet, she pulls them away like she’s not interested in this manly moment I’m having.
But I’m calling her bluff.
She’s interested.
I might as well capitalize on that.
I split another log, just to see if she’ll watch again. Once the wood cracks in half, I lift the axe, letting it rest on my shoulder behind me—a real lumberjack position. I turn my eyes to her. This time, she smiles, something guilty, like she knows she got busted watching me.
Interesting for someone who hasn’t said anything about our kiss last night. Not only has she not said anything about it, but she’s acting normal, as if it never happened at all. Or maybe she knows it happened, but she’s acting like it didn’t affect her.
I’m affected, in the toss-and-turn-all-night-can’t-stop-thinking-about-it kind of way.
“Careful,” Jaxon says.
“What?”
“You keep smiling at Ari like that and Barb’s going to think you’re proposing to her daughter tonight.”
My smile immediately disappears.
Right. Barb. The entire reason I’m here.