“No, that’s fine. I’d planned on telling them anyway. Did you ask Steve and Jenny about the box?”
He nodded while setting out ingredients for the chili on the cutting board. “Steve said he hadn’t read anything about a box in the journals or Jenny’s manuscript. He said it was just something that worked for the game. As far as Jenny knows, there was no mention of it in the journals either. They did agree that it was a good idea to have Neil, Mike, and Charlie looking for the box while they work at the house.” He tapped a knife on the board. “No more talk about the case, we have work to do.”
It was surprisingly fun cooking with Josh. Although she supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. He had a knack for making the most mundane thing seem fun; he always had. He cupped his hand under the spoon. “Give it a try.”
It smelled delicious. She leaned in and took a tiny taste. “It’s good.”
He ate the rest of the chili off the spoon. “It’s not good. It’s amazing. I might just make a cook out of you yet.” He reached for the bowls on the top shelf of the cupboard, the bottom of his sweatshirt riding up to reveal a dark happy trail that disappeared under the waistband of his gray joggers.
“In your dreams,” she murmured, thinking he’d probably play a starring role in hers tonight.
“Couch or the table?” he asked, turning to fill the two bowls with chili.
“What?” Her voice went up an octave, and she mentally slapped her forehead. He wasn’t asking whether she wanted to make out on the couch or the table. He was asking where she wanted to eat. “Couch. Couch, would be good.”
The couch wasn’t good. The couch was bad, very bad. The chili had been great, the pumpkin pie cheesecake even better, but sitting under the blanket with Josh binge-watching The Haunting of Hill House? It was as if her teenage fantasies had come true.
His phone pinged, and he leaned over to grab it off the coffee table. He glanced at the screen. “So you know how I said we’d go biking tomorrow?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry if something else came up.” She thought she could use a day away from him. Maybe five.
He showed her the screen. “My mom. She’s decided we should go on a family outing before dinner.”
She’d forgotten they were supposed to have dinner with his parents the next day. “Where does she want to go?”
“The apple orchard. But if you’d rather go biking, I’m good with that. Don’t feel obligated to say yes.”
She hesitated and then realized Patsy and Phil would provide the distraction she needed. She wouldn’t fantasize about Josh with his parents there. “The apple orchard sounds good.”
Em awakened to the sound of the TV and blinked her eyes open, praying she was experiencing a particularly vivid dream. She slowly lifted her head and immediately closed her eyes. This was no dream; this was embarrassingly real. She was sprawled on top of Josh’s hard body, and if she wasn’t mistaken, a part of his anatomy was happy to have her there. She rested a hand on the back of the couch to ease herself off him without waking him up.
His eyes slowly opened, and then he squinted at her as if trying to figure out if she was real. She knew the moment he realized he wasn’t dreaming. His jaw went slack, and two red splotches colored his stubbled cheeks, and then he practically threw her off the couch. She put out her hand to save herself from landing on the coffee table.
Pushing himself into an upright position, he scrubbed his hands over his face. He looked at her over his fingers and winced. “Sorry about… you know. It has nothing to do with you. It’s just an early morning thing.”
For some reason, his explanation ticked her off. “I might be a grocery store virgin, but I’m not a virgin virgin, Josh.”
He groaned. “Really, Em?” He swung his legs off the couch. “I can’t believe we fell asleep.”
“We had a late night the night before.” She didn’t think that was it, at least not for her. The fire had been crackling in the woodstove, the rain tapping on the roof, and she’d been warm and cozy snuggled up with Josh, and she hadn’t wanted to move. She’d wanted to stay like that for as long as Josh would let her. She swallowed at the thought. She knew what she had to do.
“Josh,” she said at the same time as he said, “Em.”
“You go ahead,” he said.
“I don’t think we should keep fake-dating. It’s been great and everything. But you know, with how Cal reacted…” She trailed off, not sure what else to say.
He blew out a breath, looking relieved. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. It was good though. For both of us. You seem comfortable hanging out and dating now, making small talk, that kind of thing, and I’ve proven I’m not just a two-date guy.”
For some reason, the fact that Josh was relieved bugged her. No, it didn’t just bug her, she realized, it ticked her off. She’d thought he was beginning to feel something for her but obviously not. Ugh. What was wrong with her? She didn’t want him to feel anything for her. Just like she didn’t want to feel anything for him. That was why she was breaking up with him… fake breaking up with him. This was the stupidest idea she’d ever had. Except it hadn’t been her idea, it had been Josh’s. She wanted to punch him.
Instead, she changed the subject. “So what are we going to do about dinner with your mom and dad?”
“Would you mind if we still go? They knew we were fake-dating anyway so it’s not like they’ll be upset. They’d be more upset if you didn’t show up. You know how much they love you.”
She felt the same way about Patsy and Phil. At that moment, she liked them a heck of a lot more than she liked their son. She nodded. “It’ll be nice to spend time with them. So we’re still on for the apple orchard too?”
“Unless you have other plans.”
It sounded like he was trying to get out of it, and because she was ticked at him and feeling contrary, she said, “No, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Oh, okay, good.” He stood up, holding the blanket in front of him. “What about practices? You still good to come? I know the guys would be disappointed if you didn’t. No pressure though.”
She nodded. “I’ll still come to practices. Although once I’m back at work, I might not be able to make it to all of them.”
“That’s okay. Even if you can make a couple practices, and a game or two, it would be good for the guys to see that we’re still friends.”
With that one word, the spark of anger inside her fizzled and died. It wasn’t Josh’s fault that her feelings for him had crossed the line from friendship to something more. She remembered the night down by the river. He’d been a good friend. She couldn’t have asked for better. He’d kept her confidences. He’d been there for her. She needed to be there for him.
“I agree. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure everyone knows that I broke up with you.”
Chapter Twenty
Josh frowned up at Em and rubbed his head. She stood on a stepladder reaching through the leafy branches for another shiny red apple. She’d just dropped the first one she’d picked onto his head, and he was pretty sure it had been intentional. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”