Chapter 5
Five
Poppy
“Are you sure this is really necessary?” I asked as I followed Patrick through Silver Falls Express as he pushed a shopping cart down one aisle and stopped abruptly in the women’s clothing section.
“Yes. It’s really necessary given that you didn’t bring anything with you besides the clothes on your back, Poppy.”
“I wasn’t planning on staying,” I said tightly, forcing a smile when two women looked at us.
Their eyes lit up when they saw Patrick, and then that light diminished when they looked at me. Apparently, good news traveled fast in small towns. I only wish I had taken the time to clean up so I didn’t look like Patrick’s raggedy girlfriend.
“Well, you were the one who volunteered yourself to be my girlfriend who is staying through the holidays, so you’re going to have to live up to that. Your cousin is going to kill me as it is; I don’t want to add to it by having you running around wearing my clothes and smelling like me.”
“You act like that would be such a bad thing,” I muttered, picking at my cuticles to keep from giving dirty looks to the women who were still staring at us.
Patrick looked at me and frowned before looking over to see the two women.
“Six,” he said loudly, giving them a nod.
They both frowned and tilted their head in confusion.
“The record is six orgasms in one night, just in case that’s what you ladies were trying to figure out.
Our goal is to hit seven tonight, so we’re stocking up on supplies so we don’t have to leave the cabin for a while.
” He winked at them and then turned back to face me as my jaw dropped.
“You did not just do that,” I hissed, looking past him as they grabbed their shopping carts and stormed off.
He shrugged and continued as if he weren’t bothered.
“Patrick!” I hissed again, struggling to keep up with him. I finally caught up and walked beside him as I smacked his arm. “You can’t go around doing that.”
He stopped and turned to face me, his body dangerously close to mine.
“Why not?” he asked, his fingers gently pushing my stomach until my back was against a pole. “You already told Terry that I was your boyfriend. I’m only living up to the part and making sure the people in Silver Falls believe it.”
“By making up a lie!”
“Who said it would be a lie?” He licked his lips as his eyes searched my face, quickly noticing the blush that covered my cheeks. “My current record is five in one night, so don’t think I’m not some overachiever who isn’t ready and willing to beat that.”
I swallowed hard, hating how dry my throat suddenly was.
“Let’s go get our shopping done so we can visit your cousin and get the ass kicking out of the way.” He took a few steps away from me, giving me space to breathe and try to think clearly.
“I don’t think it’s going to be that bad,” I said, following him as he tossed a red hoodie into the cart. “I don’t like red.”
“Well, it’s my favorite color, so you do now,” he replied, playfully winking at me. “And yes, it will be that bad.”
I pulled the hoodie out of the shopping cart and set it back in the pile it came from, then grabbed a pink one and tossed it in the cart instead.
“You guys are adults now. Do you really think he’s going to care if you’re pretending to date his cousin?”
“I do. Because I nearly beat his ass last year when he started really dating my sister.”
I scrunched my face, knowing that must have been quite the fight between them.
“Yeah, but sister is different than cousin.”
“True. But Gage holds grudges longer than most, and I really don’t want to stay on his bad side.”
“Well, thankfully, we have plenty of shopping to do here. You said so yourself. We might not even have time to go say hi. What a shame.” I shrugged and pulled my mouth into a crooked smile.
“Nice try. We’re going to see him and deal with everything today. I hate secrets, so the fewer I have to keep, the better.”
“Ugh. Now you tell me,” I teased, tossing my head back and groaning.
“Keep it up with that attitude, and there will be a price to pay,” he warned, his finger digging into my side where he knew I was ticklish.
“Is that a threat or a promise?” I asked, feeling braver than I was.
I wasn’t afraid of Patrick by any means. But that didn’t mean that I trusted my heart not to betray me right now, especially since the last thing I needed was any more complications.