Ruth stared at him, her mouth falling open.
“What?” he asked.
“You want to go with me?”
He gave her a strange look, like he didn’t understand the question. “Why not? We can make plans for our crazy scheme while we go.”
He waved a farewell to his brother and then put a hand on her back to guide her out of the bar. Ruth felt like she should probably have refused his offer—he couldn’t possibly want to go to the grocery store with her—but she wasn’t sure how she could do it now. He was already set on it, and if she put up an argument, it would make it into a big deal.
So she accepted the inevitable. And the truth was she enjoyed their chat on the drive to the store about how they should schedule their fake relationship. And she enjoyed walking around the grocery store with him. He made funny comments and asked real questions. He didn’t do anything obnoxious like look surprised when she picked out the generic store brands of products rather than the name brands or try to pay for it.
He did pay for the soups, sandwiches, and salads he got from a local café after they’d finished shopping. Enough for all three of them.
When they got to Ruth’s stepfather’s house—the place she’d lived for two years in high school—Ruth’s stomach twisted. She didn’t want Carter to come in. The place would probably be trashed out. It always was on the weekends. And her stepfather, Brent, might be rude to an unexpected visitor. Especially since Carter was one of the rich people Brent had always openly despised.
Ruth was embarrassed about what Carter would see in that house. She took a weird ragged breath and said, “I’ll just run the stuff in real quick and make sure Kayla is all right. Then we can eat our food somewhere else. If that’s okay?”
Carter didn’t even blink. “Of course. It’s late and I’m sure they don’t want a stranger showing up at their doorstep. Take your time. Then we can eat and make the rest of our plans.”
She really didn’t know why she was so relieved, but it hit her like a rush—a warm, strong rush of water. She gave a silly giggle and said, “Sounds good. I won’t be long.”
She gathered up the bags and went inside to find the situation exactly as she’d predicted. The men barely acknowledged her presence except to ask if she’d bring them more beer. Kayla was in her room, and she was so thrilled with the tasty dinner she gave Ruth a hug.
“I can’t stay long,” Ruth said. “Carter came with me. He’s waiting in the car.”
“Oh my God! He likes you! I’m so excited!”
Ruth might have been excited too, but she knew better. Carter wasn’t going to fall for her. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t help him out and enjoy being friends with him.
She could use more of those. Friends.
“I don’t think there’s anything to be excited about, but he’s a really nice guy. Maybe we can do something tomorrow. Go shopping or something. I’ll call you.”
“Have fun tonight. Tell me all about it.” Kayla was grinning as Ruth left.
Ruth was smiling too, and as she hurried back to the car, she saw through the windshield that Carter was smiling back at her.
A few more flutters awoke in her chest at his expression, but she gave them a firm mental lecture until they behaved themselves and went away.
Two
TWO WEEKS LATER, RUTH was on a cozy love seat in a Green Valley coffee shop. It was her fifth date with Carter. In addition to the evening they’d first met, they’d had lunch together twice and gone to the annual symphony in the park together last weekend.
Tonight they’d had a romantic dinner at an upscale restaurant overlooking the lake. Afterward, they’d held hands as they walked around town—making sure they were widely observed by the curious residents of town—and ended up at Roasted, where they’d split a cupcake and tried to act like one of those obnoxiously sappy couples Ruth had always rolled her eyes about.
If this were a real relationship, Ruth would be over the moon about how well it was going. Even recognizing it was fake, she was enjoying herself more than she would have imagined. It felt like she and Carter were mischievous children, knowing they were being a little bit naughty and relishing it all the more because of it.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun.
“You want another one?” Carter asked, licking the last of the cream cheese icing off his fingertips. He had very good fingers. Long and agile and strong. He also had a really good mouth.
She couldn’t help but watch with visceral interest as he sucked one of his fingers in a brief, casual move. There had never been anything overtly sexual in his interaction with Ruth for the past two weeks. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He was thoughtful. Careful. Decent. Always buttoned-up and holding tight to whatever he was feeling. Which made the thoughtless gesture with the icing all the more distracting since it hit her out of the blue with a wave of physical attraction.
She ignored it. Of course she did. Carter was a handsome man, and noticing that fact from time to time was inevitable. But she had no real interest in someone who was still hung up on his brother’s wife. A man who’d never fall for a woman like her even if he were emotionally available.
She might still be fairly young, but she’d lived most of her twenty-six years knowing daydreams and fairy tales didn’t come true. After all, when her dad had walked out when she was six, she’d spent the following year hoping and dreaming and praying he’d come back and make them a family again.
He never had.
More often than not, people let you down. Especially when you expected them to change.
Or expected them to fall in love with you.
She wasn’t going to go down that road, no matter how hot Carter was, sucking his finger.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, his dark eyebrows pulling together with that questioning concern that she’d learned was typical for him.
“No. Of course not.” Ruth had to hand it to Carter. Despite his innate consideration of other people, he was adorably clueless about what she was actually thinking. He had no idea she was lusting after him right now. “I was just trying to decide about another cupcake. But I’m pretty full, and if I eat any more, I might feel sick.”
“Okay.” They’d been sitting quite close together in the interest of acting their parts, but now Carter eased back some so he could turn to face her. “Are you ready to take off, or do you want to hang out a little more? You think we’ve done enough?”
She searched his face quickly, satisfying herself that he wasn’t trying to get away from her in his always courteous way. “Let’s stay a little longer. It’s still kind of early. If this is going to work, then we have to be convincing.”
“Okay.” He set down his empty coffee cup on a side table and then relaxed back against the cushions of the love seat. He reached over to pick up her hand and held it, gently stroking her palm with his fingers.
It felt good. Ridiculously good. A little throbbing awoke between her legs, and she felt her cheeks flushing.
Maybe he saw her reaction. Or sensed it. Because he asked very softly, “Is this okay? Should I have asked first?”