Her tone said exactly how charming that was, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I can imagine. Cade is…not the best at social graces.”
“That’s a generous way to put it.”
“He’s a good guy though,” I made sure to defend my friend, seeing the genuine distaste in Allie’s expression. “I’ve known him for years, and he’s always had my back. Don’t judge him too harshly until he warms up a little.”
“As if sleeping with me isn’t enough to warm him up,” she grumbled. I winced, but she smiled to soften it, showing a level of camaraderie with me that had started the day we sat in her section at Marv’s. She was watching me, eyes flicking over my face like she was trying to figure me out. And I was watching her right back, wondering why I’d found it so hard to be away from her for the handful of days since I’d seen her last.
Then, the anxiety of trying to keep another secret getting the best of me, I blurted out, “So, funny story—I may have accidentally told my mother you’re my actual wife?”
Allie choked on her coffee. “You what?”
I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “I think she found this photo booklet I had. You know, from Vegas. And she got all excited when she put it together. I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth.”
She stared at me for a moment. Blue eyes wide and unblinking. Then, like a burst dam, she laughed and laughed.
“Oh my God,” Allie started when she was finally calming down. “Jesus, Luca. That’s insane. And pretty stupid”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Not my best moment.”
“Does your mother want you to get married so bad she’s willing to take a quickie drunk wedding so long as you have a wife? Or is she somehow too innocent to know about the saying? You know, what happens in Vegas,” Allie clarified when my brow furrowed. I barked my own disbelieving laugh.
“Little of both, probably,” I mused. Plus a heavy dose of hopeless romanticism. “Anyway, I thought I should tell you. It shouldn’t come up ever, but…on the off chance my mom calls while we’re dealing with annulment stuff, can you back me up? Just until I figure out how to tell her the truth.”
Her laughter lingered, eyes dancing with amusement even as anxiety fluttered through my veins—not quite as pleasant as butterflies in the stomach, but not far off, considering Allie was the reason.
Surprising me again, Allie shrugged. “I mean, sure. Why not? I don’t even have a real boyfriend. Wouldn’t hurt to have a fake husband.”
I studied her, pondering the ease with which she’d agreed. Though she’d undeniably grown up in our time apart, there was still something a little wild about her, a taste of the girl we’d met that night in Vegas—something that told me she liked the chaos. Liked the adventure of being part of a silly scheme.
And damn, if that didn’t make her even more attractive. I was a play-it-safe type, and Allie Tate was exciting. I’d never known I wanted excitement before.
Allie checked her phone then, a simple reflex more than a reaction to any kind of sound. I didn’t mean to look, but as she checked it, I caught a glimpse of her lock screen over her shoulder. There, under the time, a little girl looked out at me—light hair, light eyes, a wide smile. Maybe school age, but maybe not quite.
I straightened, smiling a little at the child’s image even as something nagged at the back of my brain. “Cute kid. Who is she?”
I saw Allie’s expression shudder, her usual carefree openness clouding over. She shoved the phone back in her pocket quickly, straightening up and dusting herself off as a signal she was finished here. She ignored my question completely, which didn’tbode well. “Good to see you, Luca, but my break is over. I’ve gotta get back in there.”
She gestured toward Marv’s and didn’t wait around for me to respond before darting back inside through the glass door, the bell ringing over her head.
A similar bell seemed to ring in my head too, the already-fuzzy memory of a little girl’s face giving me a feeling there was something Allie Tate wasn’t telling me. Something she wasn’t telling any of the three of us, and I knew without knowing that it was something big.
9
ALLIE
Allie:Any updates? :)
The smiley face was the start of my subtle seduction plan. It was the umpteenth time I’d texted Gavin something similar in as many days, but I couldn’t help but look for more opportunities to flirt—and anyway, the sooner the marriage debacle was solved, the better.
I needed to get on the road soon if I was going to be on time picking up Daphne from daycare, and I made it a point never to check my phone while I was behind the wheel, but luckily, Gavin didn’t leave me waiting very long.
Gavin:None yet. Working on it though. Promise.
Allie:Promise, huh? I bet you say that to all the girls.
Gavin:Guilty.
Just as I’d suspected, Gavin seemed to be the easiest mark when it came to flirting. He’d flirted with me first at the diner, after all, and even back in Vegas, he’d been the first to initiate most of the good parts. I liked a man who took charge, and I hoped my hinting this time around would give him the green light to do it again.
