“I didn’t want anyone to know. I was so embarrassed. I thought we’d be together one day. That he was just waiting until we were older. I had all these childish dreams, and they just went up in smoke.”
She pulled back but kept hold of my hands. “But now you’re fake-dating the guy you were in love with for years…”
I gave her a smile that I knew looked like a grimace. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Wren barked out a laugh. “G…”
“I know. But I hoped having him in my life again would make me realize that we weren’t right for each other after all. That the childhood image I had in my head would be shattered, and I could finally move on.”
“How’s that going for you?”
I sighed, leaning back against the tree. “Sometimes, I want to kill him. Other times, I want to jump him.” But he clearly didn’t feel the second half of that equation. Last night was more proof of that.
“Sounds super healthy.”
I groaned. “It was such a dumb idea, but now we’re in it, and I’m not going to bail on him because of a stupid childhood crush.”
Wren worried her bottom lip. “I don’t wantyouto end up crushed at the end of this.”
“Trust me. That’s not high on my list either.”
“You could just have a fake breakup now. Maybe it’s been enough already to get Rance off your case. Or I could have Holt talk to him—”
“No! I don’t want my brothers involved. You know how they are. They’ll probably pummel Rance and insist on coming on any date I ever have from now on.”
Wren frowned. “They’re not that bad.”
I arched a brow. “Do you remember when Bobby stood me up for Homecoming?”
Wren winced. “We found him duct taped to the flagpole in his underwear on Monday.”
“And someone would just happen to let the air out of his tires every month or so for the rest of the year. Not to mention the fact that they tried to make me take Lawson to prom.” I sighed. “I know they love me, but sometimes that love is stifling. Living life means getting hurt now and then.”
“I won’t tell Holt. I promise. But are you sure you can handle the hurt that could come with dating Caden, fake or not?”
A lead weight settled in my stomach. I wasn’t sure at all. I just had to hope that all this time with Caden would burn him out of my system for good.
13
GRAE
The screen doorslapped against the frame as I strode back into the office.
Eddie looked up from his computer. “How was it?”
I slid my backpack off my shoulder and let it fall to the floor next to my desk. “Perfect.”
It had been one of those afternoons that reminded me why I loved this job so much. The group was small, just two families on vacation together from back east. Their kids were all middle and high school-aged and in awe of their first taste of the Pacific Northwest mountains.
They’d been interested in learning about the vegetation and animal life, and no one had lied about their fitness level. Add in the ideal weather and flowers in bloom, and you had the perfect afternoon.
Eddie leaned back in his chair. “Kind of hard to believe that we get to do this for a living, huh?”
“It really is.”
Jordan peeked out of his office and shot me a grin. “Your tip came through on the website. Twenty-five percent.”
Eddie let out a low whistle. “Damn, girl, you’re on fire.”
