7. Chapter 7
Sadie
I sat in Cole’s car and ran my hand over the leather seat. I’d never been in a car this nice before. I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised, considering who his grandma was. He drove toward the apartments, and I stared out the window. He hadn’t said anything, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
I couldn’t decide how I felt about Cole Hart. Mad? Terrified? Embarrassed? I’d ignore the ridiculously attracted. He ran a hand through his hair, and my eyes followed before I could stop them. My stomach did something traitorous. I’d go with feeling terrified. Definitely not attracted.
Terrified of attraction? Possibly.
“You probably need to tell Alyssa about us,” he finally said. “I got into a bit of a situation at work, and I either quit or got fired—I’m not really sure which. Anyway, things came out, and people will know we’re getting married by the end of the day, if gossip is as reliable as I think it is.”
I looked over at him and frowned. “She’s not going to believe we fell in love in a day.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
I ran my lip between my teeth. “I’m not sure.”
“Let’s go to your place and think about it, okay?”
I nodded, and soon we were sitting in my living room, awkwardly drinking lemonade.
He tapped his finger against his glass. “What if we tell her we were dating before the misunderstanding?”
I wrinkled my nose. “You don’t date someone and not know where they live.”
“Tell her we’re impulsive, and you want to go with me to Lansing Falls?”
I sighed. “Maybe…”
“Got drunk and married by accident?”
She arched an eyebrow. “Definitely not.”
“I’m out of ideas.”
“She’ll be home soon. She doesn’t have work today.” I couldn’t think of anything—not that she would believe.
“Not to jump subjects, but what’s with the receptionist’s eyebrows at your job? Is that a style I missed?”
I smiled slightly. “Tia has her own style.”
“Hm. Okay, back to Alyssa.” He leaned back on the couch, eyes glinting. “What if you tell her we kissed, and it was the best experience of your life, and you knew right then you needed to spend the rest of your life being kissed by me?”
Heat ran up my neck. “Are you kidding me right now?”
He grinned, unbothered. “I’m grasping here.”
Keys jangled outside the door, and I sucked in a breath. I wasn’t ready.
“Come here,” Cole said, holding out his arm. I scooted into him, and his arm settled over my shoulders. There was no way I looked natural.
Alyssa entered and stopped dead when she saw us. I scooted away a little—because honestly, that’s what I would’ve done in this situation. I jumped to my feet, probably looking just as guilty as I felt, which I supposed went with our lie.
“Good day?” I asked.
“It was fine,” she said, coming over and sitting in Grandma’s old rocker. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“I… wanted to… spend some time with Cole before he moves.” Cole pulled me backdown.
Alyssa’s mouth turned down. “You’re moving? How will I pass math?”
“Sorry,” he said.
“Where are you going?”
“Lansing Falls.”
“Where’s that?”
“New Mexico.”
“That’s not too bad.” Alyssa’s eyes narrowed when Cole ran his hand over my back. “What’s going on between you two? You’re acting weird.”
I pressed my lips together, trying to think of what I should say.
She crossed her arms. “I know you two were hiding something before you found out we were neighbors.” Her eyes flicked between us as if she were lining up puzzle pieces. “Were you secretly dating?”
I laughed—weakly.
“You figured it out,” Cole said. “Weird, we didn’t know we were neighbors. It’ll make a good story, right?”
She looked at me. “I knew it! The moment I saw you checking him out that day after tutoring, I thought something was happening.”
If I thought my face was warm before, I’d been wrong. “I was not checking him out!”
She rolled her eyes. “You watched him walk away until he was out of sight.”
“Oh my heck,” I muttered, putting a hand to my forehead.
Cole laughed. “You can check me out anytime.”
Alyssa smiled. “Take us with you!”
“Take you where?” he asked.
“When you move.”
Cole and I shared a glance.
“I’ve got an even better idea,” Alyssa said. “Get married.” She said it too casually.
I blinked. It was like she was handing us our lie without us needing to do anything. She couldn’t possibly know, right?
“Don’t you think that would be a little fast?” Cole asked.
“But you don’t want to leave Sadie here, do you?”
“No. But do you really want to leave your friends?”
“So long as it’s after homecoming. I don’t have many close friends, and I’d love a change.”
Cole took my hand and kissed it. “What do you say? Marry me?”
His warm lips made my pulse trip, and I forced a smile. “Yes.” I hoped it didn’t sound as shaky as it felt.
Stupidest proposal in history. It sounded fake. All of it. I guessed that made sense since it was fake.
Alyssa studied us for a second too long before clapping. “As my new brother-in-law, I command you to make me a math expert.”
He laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”
“You two will be so cute together,” she said. She smiled and got to her feet. “I’m going to grab a banana, then start my homework. You should seal that engagement with a kiss.” Her eyes twinkled as she went into the kitchen.
Cole scooted closer and whispered, “Was that too easy?”
“It feels like it. I’m already getting a headache.” I glanced toward the kitchen to make sure she was out of sight. “How many people are we going to have to convince?”
“The town of Lansing Falls.”
“Oh boy. How do we start?”
“Social media pics?”
“You think that’ll work?”
“Sure. I post one picture of the two of us and the entire town will see it.”
I swallowed. Once he did that, there’d be no turning back. Not that I could turn back. I didn’t have a job anymore.
“How often do you check me out?” he teased.
I glared. “Never. Just because I was looking in your direction does not mean I was checking you out.”
I stood up, shaking out my arms. I felt too tense being that close to him. I wasn’t sure if it was nerves, attraction, a mixture of both, or maybe I just needed to eat.
“Admit it. You were checking me out. Alyssa wouldn’t lie.”
I tilted my head. “Nope. I was admiring your ability to wear jeans with a nice fit.”
His eyes sparkled. “I’ll take it.”
Why had I said that?
Alyssa peeked around the corner.
Cole’s hand caught my wrist, and before I could protest, I was on his lap. I tried to look less surprised and more excited, but I was completely out of my element.
“Hey, Cole?” she asked. “Can you help me with my homework?”
“Sure. Give me a minute.”
She smiled. “Thanks.” Then she disappeared back into the kitchen.
His arms stayed around me, and I tried not to breathe funny. It had to be nerves. Attraction? Nerves. Man, I was a mess.
“Try not to look so terrified next time,” he whispered.
“You didn’t give me any warning!” I hissed back.
“There isn’t always time for a warning.”
I turned my head slightly, and my cheek brushed against his stubble. I shivered. Trouble. That’s what I was in. His lips brushed my cheek, warm and quick.
I jumped to my feet. He grinned, and I glared.
“That goes against my conditions!” I yell-whispered.
“What?”
“Nothing like that when no one’s looking.” The second it left my mouth, I realized how that sounded.
He gave me a mischievous grin. “But when people are looking, anything goes?”
“Not anything.”
“Do you want to give me a list of things that are acceptable?”
“Just use common sense. How do normal people act in public?”
“Doesn’t that depend on the people?”
“Sure, but I’m more reserved, so I’m not going to be making out in the street or anything like that.”
“Even if you were crazy in love?”
“Even then. It’s embarrassing, and I judge people who do it.”
He laughed. “Noted. No making out in the street.”
Something about his laugh made my stomach flutter. If I were someone else, I might’ve said a kiss right here was fine. But that wouldn’t be right. I’d been ready to kick him in the shins only yesterday.
“So, we need to get that picture for social media. Where do you want to do that?”
I sighed. “I don’t know.”
“Do you have any family?” he asked.
I shook my head. “We have a dad out there somewhere, but he’s not going to turn up and pay attention.”
“No cousins, anything?”
“Nope.”
“It’s just Alyssa and my family we need to convince, then.”
“And your hometown.”
“Right. And that. So picture?”
“I have a tripod for my phone,” I said reluctantly.
“Great. Why don’t you set that up, and I’ll help Alyssa with her math, then we can take a few pictures.”
I nodded. Cole seemed almost excited about all of this, which I was sure wasn’t normal. Maybe he liked tricking people. Maybe he was tricking me. I had no way to know—only hope to keep me going.