Page 29 of Careless Hope
“Yep. I know it sounds kind of weird . . . ”
“Weirder than me asking you to teach me how to get a man?”
“Ha. Maybe.”
“Go on.”
“I want us to pretend to be a couple.”
“Huh?” My response was less than eloquent and my mouth was still agape.
“You pretend to be my girlfriend in public, and with ourfamilies and friends. And I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
“Excuse me?” I blinked, certain I’d misheard him. Pretend to be a couple? With Walker Anderson? I tried to laugh, but it came out more like a strangled hiccup.
“Caroline, hear me out,” he said, the humor fading from his tone, replaced by something more serious. “It’ll be mutually beneficial. Trust me.”
“Mutually beneficial how?” My mind raced with questions. What could he gain from pretending to date me? Was it some sort of bet? A ploy to make another woman jealous?
“Let’s just say . . . it’ll keep the rumor mill churning in the right direction for both of us,” he explained, his gaze steady on mine.
“Right direction . . . ” I murmured, still trying to wrap my head around the concept. This was Whittier Falls. Gossip spread faster than wildfire and was twice as hard to control. But this time, he actually wanted them to talk? Wanted to be tied down, even falsely?
“Caroline, you need to loosen up a bit, learn how to let someone sweep you off your feet. And I . . . ” He paused, his gaze flickering away for a fraction of a second before meeting mine again. “I need to show I can stick with something. Someone.”
“Even if it’s all for show?” The idea felt ludicrous, but the earnestness in his eyes told me it was anything but a joke to him.
“Especially if it’s for show,” he replied. “People see what they expect to see. Let’s give ‘em a performance they won’t forget.”
“Sounds like quite the undertaking.” I toyed with a pen cap, snapping it on and off as I considered his words. There was more to his story, a depth he was skirting around. But pushing for answers didn’t seem right—not yet. There’d be time enough to uncover the layers of Walker Anderson.
“Exactly,” he interrupted my thoughts, as if reading them. “So, what do you say?”
A million reasons why it was a bad idea clashed with the single, undeniable fact that I wanted to learn from him. And Walker Anderson was offering me a deal I couldn’t refuse.
“Okay,” I heard myself say, the word hanging between us like a promise. “We’ll pretend.”
“Perfect,” Walker said, his smile returning. “Now, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of our arrangement.”
“Well if we’ve already modified it, then I have one more request.”
“Shoot.”
“I said I want you to teach me how to flirt. How to get a man.”
He nodded, that easy smirk of his spreading across his face. “I know. Easy. Done.”
“Not just that though. I need to learn what to do once I have him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I need you to teach me how to please a man. How to . . . fuck.”
I blinked. He blinked. “Fuck.”
“Look, I know that’s a much bigger ask. Being intimate with someone. But I figure, you’re used to having casual sex and I’m . . . not at all, but I could use the experience. It would be purely for my education, but surely still enjoyable for you, right?”
His eyes were as round as saucers and he opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He shifted in his seat.
