Chapter 15
KNOX
My eyes are glued to Emery as she throws her head back in a full-on laughing fit. My heart races as I watch her let loose.
“Hilarious,” her sister mumbles, staring me down. I guess I’m not scoring any brownie points on that front, but I’m nothing if not persistent.
“Sorry, Eve,” I say with my go-to charming swagger, “but now that my hands are clean, I can properly shake your hand. I’m Knox. Mechanic by day and Emery’s lover by night.”
“Knox,” Emery grunts, dropping any hint of humor still lingering on her face.
“Oh, my bad,” I say, still waiting for Eve to accept my handshake. “Emery’s boyfriend.”
The sister makes me sweat for a solid ten seconds before gripping my hand and giving it one polite shake. “Nice to meet you. I would say my sister has told me a lot about you, but I’d be lying.”
“Ouch, Bambi,” I say, turning to her. “That stings. I’ve been screaming at the top of my lungs about our love. There’s not a soul in Honey Grove that doesn’t know about Knoxery.”
Emery quirks her brow and crosses her arms. “Knoxery?”
“That’s our ship name…as the kids would say,” I explain, wiggling my brows. “You like it?”
“What’s a polite way to say it makes me want to gag?”
I let out a light chuckle. “Fine, we can workshop something else.”
Eve is quiet as she stands there and lets her eyes dart back and forth between us.
I’m honestly surprised Emery didn’t tell her sister about the real nature of our relationship.
I wasn’t planning on telling Henry because if he knew, he’d tell Emma, and then Emma would tell her best friend, Wren, and then the entire town would find out.
“How long are you in town for, Eve?” I ask, deviating from my banter session with Emery.
“Just till Sunday,” she answers, slowly eyeing the shop. I can tell she’s going to be a tough nut to crack. I’m sure she’s still mad at me for breaking her sister’s heart. I was still mad at me too.
“Perfect!” I say, clapping my hands together. “I guess that means you can come to family dinner Saturday night.”
“What?” Emery asks, panic laced in her voice.
I was planning on telling her about Emma’s invitation tonight, but I didn’t know her sister would be in town.
Knowing Emery, I bet she was planning on avoiding me all weekend.
She should know she can’t escape me. But not in a creepy way… unless she’s into that.
“Sorry, babe,” I apologize, taking a giant step forward. I give her a pointed look before she nods, permitting me to crush her into an inescapable side hug. “But I couldn’t say no. Emma has already started prepping for tomorrow. She’s a little too excited.”
“Already meeting the family, Ree?” Eve questions, quirking a single brow. “I thought you weren’t that serious.”
Emery stiffens against my side. “We’re not,” she says, tripping over her words. She glares up at me for back-up.
I grin wide. “That depends on what you consider serious. If being utterly obsessed with someone counts, then yeah, I’d say we’re pretty serious.”
Eve looks down her chin and analyzes me carefully. It’s the type of look that would make most guys sweat, but it’s a good thing that I’m not most guys.
“You’re a freak,” Emery hisses under her breath, trying to break away from me, but I squeeze her tighter.
“A freak for you, babe,” I say, leaning down and giving her a quick butterfly kiss on her nose. When I pull back, she looks like she wants to kill me, and weirdly, that makes my heart flutter.
“So, family dinner,” Eve says slowly, pulling our attention back to her. “Sounds fun. We’ll be there.”
Emery shoots her sister a look, and they exchange one of those secret telepathic conversations with lots of flared nostrils and pointed stares.
“Eve, can you give us a second? I need to talk to my boyfriend,” she says sweetly, pinching my hip enough to make me yelp and jump away. Why did this woman enjoy hurting me?
“Sure,” Eve says, surprising me with the ease of her answer. “I’m going to head back to your place. The sexual tension in here is starting to make me uncomfortable.”
She has no idea.
Emery cranes her neck to make sure Eve is out the door before taking both hands and shoving me away. “Are you crazy?”
I let out a small chuckle and shake my head. “What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is,” she begins, taking one finger and poking my chest. “I told my sister we weren’t serious, and now you’re inviting her to a family dinner.
I didn’t even want to tell her about us, but you fucked it all up.
I thought I could take a short break from our fake relationship, but now I have to lie to her the entire weekend. I hate lying to my sister, Knox.”
Her voice trails off at the end and her stare sinks to the ground. Without thinking, I reach out and hook a finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to mine.
“Hey. I get it. But I’m not asking you to do this by yourself. We’re in this together, and if she starts drilling you with questions, I’m happy to take the attention off you.”
She relaxes, and I drop my hand to my side, still keeping close. “You do love attention,” she laughs, making my heart beat faster. I love it when she drops the hard-ass act.
“Exactly,” I smile, searching for more words to help ease the stress clearly visible on her forehead. “Plus, it’s only until Sunday. After that, you can tell her you dumped my ass because I’m too sweet or too hung. I’ll let you decide.”
Emery’s cheeks turn an innocent shade of pink, but she tones it down with a classic eye roll. “You’re an idiot.”
“Technically, I’m your idiot for a few more weeks,” I wink, leaning into the sweet scent of cherries and white jasmine, “and you better get it together before tomorrow. You’re meeting my dad, and he’s the one we really need to fool.”
“Right,” she says, sucking in a nervous breath. “I’ll just give you permission to touch me now, so we don’t have to deal with any awkward pauses.”
My hands shake at my side, already itching to take her up on that offer. She is truly playing with fire, and I’m tempted to test every boundary tomorrow night.
Almost as if she can read my mind, she says, “But none of that cringey stuff. No Knoxery. No butterfly kisses. And absolutely no talking about being obsessed with me. It’s a little much.”
“Oh, come on, Bambi,” I tease, tilting my head. “Don’t tell me you don’t like it when I act like I worship the ground you walk on.”
I’m not a relationship expert, but I thought that’s what girls liked. Hell, I’ve even used it to get what I want more than once. However, Emery is different. She isn’t the type who needs over-the-top confessions of love all the time.
“Whatever,” she says, making her way toward the door. “Just don’t make me regret this.”
I smile and let her walk away, biting back the urge to tell her just how wrong she is. I will never let her regret me again. But for now, I settle for being the idiot she loves to hate.
“Thanks for helping me with this, man,” I say to Beau before handing him a water. He puts down his drill and eagerly takes it.
“No problem,” he says, twisting off the lid. “Why are you just now putting up shelves in here? Haven’t you lived here for almost a year?”
“I finally found a good use for it,” I say, scratching the back of my head. I step back to admire the new shelves Beau just helped me mount in my spare room in the garage. Also known as Emery’s workroom, which she has yet to use. I was starting to worry she only told me yes, so I’d quit asking.
“Don’t tell me you’re moving in with that chick already,” he frowns, following me into the other room where there are a few stools scattered around the shop.
I cross my arms as I lean back on the stool. Irritation settles in my gut at the way he says chick. I shouldn’t be upset over an insult about my fake girlfriend, but I’m playing a part, right? I should be defending her.
“She’s not just some chick,” I snap, tempted to grab the end of the plastic water bottle so it splashes all over him.
“I’m sorry,” Beau says, his eyebrows raised like he’s just now realizing he struck a nerve. “I didn’t realize you two were that serious. I thought you just started dating.”
There’s that phrase again. The same one Eve tossed out last night. It’s completely accurate, yet it still raises my blood temperature. “We did,” I sigh, gripping the bridge of my nose and taking in a few deep breaths. “That was definitely an overreaction.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Beau corrects me. “I guess I don’t know how to act around you now that you have a full-blown girlfriend. It’s definitely taken some adjusting on my part. You’re all in love and shit now. It’s weird.”
That statement causes my spine to stand straight up. How did we go from not that serious to him thinking I am in love? Talk about emotion whiplash. “It’s fine, man, really,” I say, grabbing my own water from the table beside us. “Now you know how I felt when you dated Kate.”
Beau lets out a deep chuckle, making me feel like we’re relaxing into our dynamic again. We’ve been friends since we were in elementary school, which is a long-ass time. I always thought he’d move away and go to college, but when he ended up staying in Honey Grove, I can’t lie—I was thrilled.
“You can say it,” he says, taking another drink. “It’s only fair since I dissed Emery.”
A grin pops onto my face. “She was a bitch man,” I say with my full chest. I don’t take pride in using the b-word often, but Kate Whitmore earned that title when she broke my best friend’s heart…repeatedly.
He nods his head, agreeing with me, but I know he’d never say it himself. Beau was a gentleman even when he didn’t want to be. “I haven’t thought about her in a long time,” he says, letting out a sigh. “I think it’s safe to say I’ve fully recovered.”
He’s right. Bringing up Kate’s name would’ve had him sulking for days. Still, thankfully, with a heavy dose of reality and a lot of late-night talks from the master of emotion, also known as Knox Cooke, Beau was no longer at the mercy of a five-foot something manipulation master.
“How are things going with Emery?” Beau asks, quickly pushing all the attention off him. He’s good at that, which makes us the perfect duo. He hates attention, and I love it.
“They’re good,” I say, and for once I’m not lying.
She no longer has a permanent scowl on her face when she looks at me, and she’s even let herself laugh at some of my jokes.
I’d call that progress. Not to mention our unplanned yet earth-shattering kiss had me breaking through barriers I never thought I’d see the other end of.
It’s safe to say I’m a certified Bambi whisperer.
Beau leans forward and tips his chin to me like he’s expecting more.
I guess real boyfriends typically rave about their fake girlfriends.
Silly me. “She’s great, man. She’s smart, stubborn, and way too good at reading me.
And I can’t stop smiling when I’m around her.
Being with her just makes things feel light and warm. ”
I look at Beau, and I suddenly realize I’ve said way more than I intended to. “But yeah. She’s great.”
“Wow,” he says, slapping his thigh. “You’ve got it bad. I’m going to have so much fun teasing your ass.”
I roll my eyes, and a memory from the other night pops up in my head. “Speaking of women,” I begin, a huge smile stretching across my lips. “I saw you talking to Marie the other night. Or should I say getting yelled at by her.”
Beau’s shoulders square up and his left foot starts shaking. I hit a nerve. “She hasn’t liked me since high school,” he admits.
“Really? I don’t remember you two ever interacting much.”
He shifts in his seat awkwardly. “We didn’t really. She dated my cousin for a few months back in high school.”
“What does that have to do with you?” I ask, but all I get is a grunt in response. I roll my eyes—a trait I’ve seemingly inherited from Emery. “Why are you being so cagey?”
“Cagey?” he asks, amusement peeking through the cracks.
“I’m not an English teacher, Beau,” I say, kicking his heel. “Look it up, dumbass. You could use a few new words in your vocabulary.” Can you believe I used to think this neanderthal was smarter than me?
“Whatever,” he replies, shaking his head. “All you need to know is she didn’t like me then and she doesn’t like me now. End of story.”
“Oh, come on,” I grin, slapping my hands against my thighs. “There has to be a reason. Did you steal her lunch money? Run over her dog? Fuck her sister?”
He levels me with a flat look. “Drop it,” he grumbles, getting to his feet.
“You know she’s my girlfriend’s best friend. I could totally—”
“Why are we friends again?” Beau asks, irritation weighing down his brows.
“Fine, fine. I’ll drop it,” I say, holding up my hands.
He narrows his eyes, unconvinced. “I’m going to put up that last shelf and you’re going to be quiet, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, knowing full well quiet is not in my vocabulary. I will break him down, and when I do, I have a feeling it’s going to be juicy.
Beau Richardson just got a whole lot more interesting.