Chapter 17
PETAL
“Oh, Petal, this is so exciting, especially after that mess with Andy,” Mom says, scrolling through her phone and reading article after article about Rake and me.
Newlyweds!
San Fran girl and star athlete!
Breaking the ice!
Slapshot to love!
The headlines go on and on. It’s weird that people are so interested, but I guess that’s the point.
I want to tell my mother this is all a sham.
Just be straight with her, no hiding things.
But I can’t, not under the terms of the contract I signed.
I mean, I could tell her, but my mother is like the town crier.
Everyone in her circle would know in hours, which means that the word would be out everywhere.
No, Mom can’t keep a secret to save her life. I’ll just have to keep her in the dark for the time being.
“Thanks, Mom. It feels really good,” I say, mustering all the fake enthusiasm I can.
I grab the glass of wine she hands me over the kitchen counter and take a long inhale. It feels good to be back in her house, the one I grew up in, drinking Mom’s wine, and hanging out with her.
She drives me crazy, sure, but it’s been just the two of us since the beginning. We’re kind of a team, which is why I hate lying to her.
And the rest of the world.
I could have stayed here, at Mom’s, after the shit hit the fan with Andy.
But I needed to get the hell out of Dodge.
I quit my accounting job, shocking the hell out of my boss, who claimed I needed to learn to take the bad with the good and that I needn’t have bailed on Andy.
This, coming from a woman who’s already buried three husbands.
I try not to think too hard about that one.
I moved out of the apartment I shared with asshole Andy, and hightailed it out of town and up to the guest cottage at Mom’s winery.
It’s so quiet and peaceful there, and one day when walking around town, I saw a help-wanted sign in the window of Twisted Hearts.
It was meant to be, I was sure. I’ve been a romance reader since forever, and a bookstore dedicated to exactly that was a godsend.
I’m hoping Rake won’t mind my spending a couple nights a week up there at the cottage, even though we’re ‘moving in’ together. I’d really like to keep my part-time job. It’s fun and has kept my mind off the shit show I created in San Francisco.
Mom throws an arm around my shoulders and squeezes. “Just think. My baby, finally married.”
Finally married? What the hell? I’m only twenty-seven years old. I hadn’t realized my expiration date was drawing near.
“You know, honey, when things went… went south with Andy, well, I wondered if I’d ever see you walk down the aisle again. Now, I do wish you hadn’t eloped with Rake. It’s romantic and all, but I should have been there. I’m still very happy for you, though.”
“I know. I’m sorry you weren’t there too. But you know…” I wrack my brain for the plethora of lies I made note of, which I plan to use again and again to get me through this deception. “It just felt right.”
So. Cheesy.
She pulls up a counter stool next to me. “I’m throwing you guys a party. It’s the least I can do for you—”
Oh God no.
“Mom, that’s not necessary. I appreciate it, I do, but we don’t need anything like that.”
“Nonsense!” she booms and jumps off her chair to grab a pen and paper.
Here we go.
“Okay, I’m making a list, everyone who’s anyone in San Francisco will be there. Ooh! I wonder if we can have it at the Cable Car Museum? That would be so fun. We’ll have everyone take a cable car ride and then we’ll end up at the museum. Kind of where it all started, huh?”
“Mom, Rake is super busy. But thank you.”
“Nonsense! I’ll take care of everything. All he has to do is show up. Oh honey, you get a list from him, the entire team and their significant others. His family too. Will you help me with that?”
“Sure, Mom.”
An hour later I’m pulling my car into the guest spot next to Rake’s Range Rover in the parking garage of the high rise building where he lives.
I’ve never particularly liked the South of Market part of town, mainly because I can remember back when it was broken down and deserted, before the big developers came in.
Even now, I’m still not in love with this part of town with its boxy skyscrapers.
The buildings are cold and impersonal. I prefer cozy and warm.
Like the cottage up in Sonoma.
“Hey, darlin’,” Rake says as I pull my bags out of the car.
As instructed, I texted him when I was pulling in so he could come down and help me. All for show, of course.
“Hi,” I said, giving him a half-hearted hug.
“Petal. You have to do a little better than that. At least when we have an audience,” he says, slinging my bags over his shoulder like they’re empty.
“I will. When we have an audience.”
“I think you should start now. You know, parking garages have cameras.”
Oh. Right.
We get to his apartment, which I would describe as decorated in ‘Bachelor 101.’ It’s not bad, just a little impersonal, like a hotel lobby or an airport lounge.
I do a full three-hundred-sixty degree turn and am pleased to see it’s clean.
I walk over to a window and gasp out loud at the stunning view of the Bay Bridge.
“So that’s why people live in these buildings,” I say.
He stands next to me, and we check out the view together. “Part of the reason. It’s also the convenience. I pay a homeowner’s fee, so everything is taken care of. And anything that is not, is taken care of by my housekeeper.”
It finally dawns on me that something’s cooking, which said housekeeper probably deserves all the credit for. “What smells so good?”
He smiles and takes my hand, leading me to the kitchen.
Why he has to take my hand, I don’t know. He’s really into this charade. But I can’t say I mind, not completely. It feels nice.
“I want you to meet Betty. She’s an incredible cook. And she generally takes care of most all details of my life. Don’t know what I’d do without her.” He slings an arm around her shoulder.
Betty, a small woman in an apron, turns to me. Her eyes are warm and her smile is sweet. Everyone should have a Betty. “Congratulations, Miss Petal, on your marriage. I’m so happy for you and Mr. Rake.”
Here we go, kicking off the charade.
“Thank you, Betty,” I say, leaning into my fake husband. “We’re lucky to have found each other. Aren’t we, honey?” I look up at him and batting my eyes.
“Sure are, baby,” he says, planting a kiss on top of my head.
We’re even putting on the show for the housekeeper.
“Mr. Rake, you can take the roast out of the oven in about five minutes, and everything else is in the other oven, staying warm.” She unties her apron and hangs it in the pantry. “Will you be needing anything else?”
He peeks in the oven and turns back with a huge grin. “Nothing else, thank you, Betty. We’ll see you tomorrow.” He sees her to the door.
He actually walks the housekeeper to the door.
Sweet.
Now it’s my turn to peek in the oven. I love a good roast. “Dinner looks amazing. And I brought a bottle of my mom’s wine,” I say, pulling out one kitchen drawer after another.
“Make yourself at home, why don’t you,” he teases.
I locate a corkscrew and starting working on the bottle. “You bet. After all, this is my home too, right?”
“That it is.”
We sit down to eat and I have to say, Betty’s food is even better than it smells.
“This is so good. All of it,” I say, piling more onto my plate.
“Damn. I don’t know many women who can eat like that,” Rake says.
Probably worried his new ‘wife’ is going to gain weight or something. That’s a shallow athlete for you.
I hold my chin up. “I have a good metabolism. Plus, I’m active. And last, I don’t worry about what I eat. My maintaining a certain weight was not in our contract, buddy.”
“I wasn’t implying it was.”
I push my plate aside for some serious talk. “Let’s set some ground rules, okay? So we both know what to expect from each other. And this arrangement.”
He nods. “Sure. You first.”
“To start with, I’m staying in the guest room. I know I told you that already, but it needs repeating. I know you were voted sexiest-something-stupid, but that shit doesn’t work on me.”
He rubs his chin. “You know, I get why you want that, but Betty will be suspicious if we’re not sharing a bed. I hadn’t thought this through.”
Nor would I expect him to. Guys never think things through.
“Tell her I snore. She’ll get it.”
He shrugs and nods. Like he has any choice. I’m the one holding the cards here. He needs something from me, but what he has to offer in return does not have nearly as much value. Cleaning up my reputation is a would be nice. Nothing mandatory. It’s not like I’m trying to save my job or something.
“What’s next?” he asks.
“I’ll be staying up in Sonoma at Mom’s cottage a couple nights per week. I want to keep my job up there. I really enjoy it.”
“Sure. Why not? That’ll work. And when I don’t have a game or early practice, I’ll come up.”
I gulp. It’s a good idea, his coming my way. Adds legitimacy to the ruse. But there’s only one bed in the cottage.
I’ll worry about that later.
“Now, what do you need?” I ask him.
“Well, this all needs to be kept confidential, as you know. I think we’re on the same page on that. And should we ever fall into some hanky panky, which I know we don’t want, but hey, I’m being realistic, we’ll keep it no strings attached. That work?”
I open my mouth to say there will certainly not be any hanky panky but stop. The idea of no strings doesn’t sound like a bad one, should we experience a weak moment.
Which I am sure we will not.
I shrug my approval. “Anything else?”
“Nothing that will come as a surprise, but you’ll have to come to my games, at least the home ones, and pop in on the occasional practice. And there will be other events we’ll need to attend together.”
“Is there a lot of this stuff?” I follow him into the kitchen with my empty plate and am surprised when he starts cleaning. “During the season, yeah, there are quite a few events. Hey, give me your dish.”
“I can help.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t have to clean in my house.”
He puts our dishes in the dishwasher and starts on the pots and pans.
“Someone trained you well,” I say.
He laughs. “I guess so. Anyway, you’re already doing me a big favor just by being here. I want to make it as pleasant as possible for you.”
I’m down with that. Stay in a nice place and have someone pretty much wait on me?
Sounds like a vacation. One I really need.