Dana threw me the keys to their truck.
“I’ll just stay here for a few minutes to assess the damage to the flowers,” I said. “I have a bad feeling it’s going to affect the wedding that’s next week.”
Roz stopped in her tracks. “I’ll stay too. There was something else I wanted to discuss before you head off.”
I tilted my head. We’d discussed the architect’s plans. What else did Roz want to talk about? After my vivid thoughts about kissing Roz in the study, I was eager to put some distance between us.
Dana’s gaze flitted between us. “Okay then. I’ll see you later.”
I began to retrace Thelma and Louise’s path of destruction through the flower fields, Roz trailing behind.
Once Dana, Ronnie and the cows were out of earshot, Roz cleared her throat. “After our run-in with Fred at Novel Gossip, I think we need to work on being a more believable couple. We’re at a critical point right now. We can’t afford to be head butting and generally being awkward around each other, especially when Fred could pop up unannounced at any moment.”
I stopped and turned to her. “What exactly are you proposing?”
Roz pressed her lips together. “I’m not sure. Perhaps we could agree on some couple-ly things to do in front of Fred if he reappears?”
“Well, in the fake-dating movies they often…” I slammed my mouth shut.What the hell was I thinking?Telling Roz about the practice make-out scenes in fake-dating movies was a terrible idea. My gaze dropped to her lips. I swallowed. An absolutely terrible idea. I dragged my eyes away, refocusing my attention on the yellow tulips at our feet. They hadn’t been trampled, thank god. And no signs of any aphids either.
Roz blinked. “Hang on a second. Fake-dating movies?”
My head jerked up. “Yeah, you know, likeThe Proposalor10 Things I Hate About You.”
Roz shook her head. “Never heard of them.”
My eyes widened. Good lord. What planet did Roz come from? “What? Come on, you must have seen at least one fake-dating movie. You’ve seenPretty Woman, right?”
“I don’t have time to go to the movies. And when I do watch something at home, it’s usually a documentary.” Roz swatted at a fly. “So, you’re telling me there are a whole lot of movies made about fake dating that might have helped us with this situation, and you’re just mentioning it now?”
I held up my hands. “I thought everyone knew. And I’m not sure how much help they’ll be anyway. Most of them are rom-coms, so it’s typically them just making a whole lot of silly mistakes and nearly getting their cover blown.”
“Sounds familiar.” Roz pursed her lips together, one corner twitching up.
A thought entered my mind and left my mouth before I’d had time to consider whether it was a good idea. “Well, what are you doing tonight? I could give you a crash course on fake-dating movies. Even if they’re not useful, at least you’ll be filling a gaping hole in your movie knowledge.”
Roz’s left eyebrow arched. After a moment of silence, she said, “You know, that’s not a bad idea. It’ll also give us something truthful to say if Fred pops around this week and asks what we’ve been doing. A movie night sounds like something people who are dating would do.”
And something to avoid doing when trying to squelch feelings for your fake girlfriend. My stomach dropped. But now that I’d suggested it, I couldn’t exactly take it back.
“Okay,” I said, shielding my eyes from the sun behind Roz. “Should we meet at your place, around seven? We should be able to stream them on most of the apps.” My apartment was a mess. Judging by the state of Roz’s study, she was much neater than me.
“Sure,” Roz said.
“I’ll bring pizza. Was that all you wanted to talk about?”
Roz nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, great. Well, don’t feel like you have to hang around with me. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than fuel your allergies by surrounding yourself with flowers.” Hopefully that didn’t sound too harsh, but I really needed some time to myself. Away from Roz.
Roz stared at me for a moment. “I’ll head back then. See you tonight.” She turned and made her way back down the field toward her truck.
I exhaled and refocused on the flowers. My chest tightened as I reached the daisies. Petals were strewn on the ground, the heads of many of the yellow flowers missing, others crushed. Damn. I’d definitely need to rethink the flower arrangements for next week’s wedding.
I trudged back to the truck. Could I use ranunculus instead? I’d need to talk to the couple to check if they were onboard. What a pain.
I glanced at my watch. I needed to get a move on if I was going to stop in at Lowe’s, do an inventory check of the storage room and also get pizza for tonight.
The memory of Roz in the study earlier, bending close to me, smelling so damn good, came flooding back. What would have happened if Thelma and Louise hadn’t escaped?
