Chapter Two #3
“It was not dramatic,” she said. “Daniel and I weren’t right for each other. He will be at the gala because his company is sponsoring a program. That is all.”
“And you don’t want to go alone,” Hailey said.
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
The answer was gentle.
Too gentle.
“I am perfectly capable of attending alone.”
“Of course you are,” Hailey said.
“Painfully capable,” Amanda added.
“That sounds insulting.”
“It’s affectionate.”
Jack crossed his arms. “Take a date.”
Meagan looked at him. “Thank you for solving the problem.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
“I know you were.”
Tyler glanced toward Aaron.
The movement was small.
Meagan noticed.
So did Amanda.
Her entire face brightened.
“No,” Meagan said immediately.
Amanda looked innocent. “I did not say anything.”
“You thought it loudly.”
Aaron leaned against the SUV. “What did she think?”
“Nothing.”
“That Meagan should take you,” Amanda said.
Silence fell.
Meagan looked at her with the calm focus of someone reconsidering the legal definition of friendship.
Amanda smiled.
“That is unnecessary,” Meagan said.
“Probably,” Amanda replied. “But convenient.”
“No.”
“You already had breakfast.”
“Breakfast does not create a relationship.”
“It creates a timeline.”
“There is no timeline.”
Aaron pushed away from the SUV.
“I’ll do it.”
Meagan turned toward him.
“You’ll do what?”
“Go to the gala with you.”
“No.”
“That was quick.”
“Because the answer is obvious.”
“I’ll already be there.”
“You are working.”
“I am, but mostly before dinner.”
“You do not need to spend the night pretending to be my date.”
Amanda inhaled audibly.
Meagan closed her eyes.
There it was. The word.
Pretending.
She looked at Aaron.
His gaze had sharpened.
“Pretending?” he asked.
“I mean—”
Amanda stepped forward. “That is an excellent idea.”
“It is not.”
Hailey touched Amanda’s arm. “We should let them discuss it.”
“Privately?”
“Yes.”
“That seems inefficient.”
Jack placed one hand against Amanda’s back and guided her toward the house.
“I can help,” Amanda protested.
“You’ve helped enough.”
“I have barely begun.”
Tyler followed them inside.
Hailey hesitated.
Meagan softened. “I’m fine.”
Aaron made a small sound beside her.
She looked at him. “Do not.”
Hailey smiled and went inside.
The door closed.
Meagan and Aaron stood alone in the driveway.
Not entirely alone.
Amanda’s yellow dress passed behind the front window.
Meagan pointed. “They are watching.”
Aaron glanced over and the curtain snapped shut.
“I think we’re safe.”
“We are not.”
He smiled.
Meagan folded her arms. “You are not taking me to the gala.”
“I’m already going.”
“As an employee.”
“And I can bring someone.”
“I don’t need rescuing.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
“This entire conversation happened because they think I cannot face Daniel alone.”
“I think you can.”
“Then why offer?”
Aaron’s expression settled.
“Because you don’t want to go alone.”
The statement tightened her chest.
“That does not mean I need you.”
“No, I know.”
“And I would not be asking because I want a real date.”
“I completely understand.”
“It would only be for appearances.”
Aaron held her gaze.
Something quiet and warm moved through his expression.
“I can probably manage.”
Meagan’s pulse moved hard beneath her skin.
She looked away.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Probably.”
“Daniel may not even speak to me.”
“Then we’ll have a nice dinner.”
“We?”
“If we’re pretending to date, I assume we sit together.”
“We are not pretending to date.”
“Not yet.”
She looked back at him.
He smiled, but there was something beneath it she could not name.
“This would only be for the gala,” she said.
Aaron nodded.
“It would not become a larger situation.”
“Of course not.”
“Amanda cannot invent a romantic backstory.”
“That may be beyond our control.”
“She will choose an anniversary.”
“Then we should choose one first.”
Meagan paused.
“We are not choosing anything.”
Aaron’s smile widened.
She realized she had started negotiating.
“That was not agreement.”
“I know.”
“You look pleased.”
“I like progress.”
“There has been no progress.”
“You moved from no to terms.”
“I moved from no to explaining why it remains no.”
“Very different.”
“Completely.”
The curtain shifted again.
Meagan glared at the window.
It stopped.
Aaron checked his watch. “I need to get back to the office.”
“Good.”
“The gala starts at six-thirty.”
She frowned. “Why are you telling me?”
“So you know when I’ll pick you up.”
“You are not picking me up.”
“Six?”
“Aaron.”
“That gives us time for traffic.”
“And what else?”
“Whatever Amanda requires before releasing you.”
Despite herself, Meagan pictured him arriving at Hailey’s house.
Aaron in a suit.
Amanda directing photographs.
Hailey smiling while pretending none of it had been arranged.
The image appeared with far too much detail.
She pushed it away.
“This is unnecessary.”
“Probably.”
He took her suitcase from the back of his SUV and rolled it toward her rental car.
“But I’m still picking you up.”
“That is not how invitations work.”
“I thought you understood invitations.”
“Both people have to agree.”
Aaron stopped beside the trunk.
“Then agree.”
The teasing disappeared from his voice.
The quiet sincerity beneath it was more dangerous.
Meagan looked at him.
He was not treating her discomfort as entertainment.
He was not telling her she should be embarrassed for caring what Daniel thought.
He was not asking her to prove she could handle the gala alone.
He was simply offering to stand beside her.
As though wanting that would not make her weak.
“I will consider it.”
Aaron nodded. “Fair.”
“That is not a yes.”
“I’m aware.”
“And you should not make plans.”
“Of course not.”
He placed the suitcase inside her trunk.
“You’re still going to pick me up, aren’t you?”
Aaron walked backward toward his SUV.
“Six o’clock.”
“I said I would consider it.”
“Wear something comfortable.”
“It’s cocktail attire.”
“Comfortable cocktail attire.”
“That is barely a category.”
“I trust you’ll solve it.”
He opened the driver’s door.
“You are extremely presumptuous.”
“I’ve heard that recently.”
“Aaron.”
He paused.
His smile softened.
“You don’t have to earn the favor,” he said. “And you don’t have to explain why you want it.”
Meagan went still.
“I haven’t said I want it.”
“No, you haven’t.”
His gaze held hers.
“But you’re allowed to.”
Then he climbed into the SUV and drove away.
Meagan remained beside her rental car until he disappeared at the end of the street.
The front door opened.
Amanda stepped onto the porch.
“So,” she said.
Meagan did not turn around.
“No.”
“Is he picking you up?”
“No.”
“At six?”
Meagan closed her eyes.
Hailey laughed from inside the house.
Meagan pulled out her phone and opened the gala invitation.
She should decline. Book a flight. Return to New York before the event and avoid the entire situation.
That would be sensible. Clean. Temporary.
Instead, she pressed the RSVP button.
Attending.
The guest field waited beneath her name.
Meagan stared at it.
She thought of Daniel’s polished smile.
Of Aaron untangling the lights without making her feel incapable.
Of the coffee order he had remembered.
Of the way he had offered to stand beside her without asking her to admit why she wanted him there.
Her thumb moved across the screen.
Aaron Morris.
Meagan pressed submit before she could change her mind.
Amanda appeared beside her and looked at the screen.
Her gasp could probably be heard from the beach.
Meagan locked the phone.
“This means nothing.”
Amanda wrapped both arms around her.
“It means everything.”
“It is one gala.”
“With fake dating.”
“There is no fake dating.”
“You entered him as your guest.”
“For convenience.”
“Of course.”
Meagan pulled free. “Do not make that face.”
“What face?”
“The one that suggests you know something.”
Amanda smiled.
“I know you ordered lemon pancakes.”
Meagan looked toward the empty street, her heart beating with entirely unnecessary anticipation.
“It was only breakfast,” she said.
But this time, even she did not believe it.