I held up the pendant and turned to face the mirror as he placed it around my neck. Evan’s fingers grazed my skin and I rubbed my arms as I tried to hide the goosebumps that I knew were forming. He was trying to secure the necklace and I couldn’t help but notice that we would actually make an attractive couple. But this was just a favor and he was my landlord.
“Thank you again so much for doing this. I feel like such a weirdo asking you to pretend to be my date, but it beats showing up alone.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“Plan?” I repeated.
“Yeah. I mean, what’s our story? Have we been dating long? Am I a rival photographer that you have a love-hate relationship with?” he teased.
I hadn’t thought that far ahead when I propositioned Evan with the ruse of being my date for the wedding. James knew me so well that if we weren’t careful he would be able to see right through it.
“We just recently met,” I started.
“That part is true.”
I smiled and went on. “Truth. You might be onto something there. Maybe we should keep it as close to the truth as possible to make it easier for us.”
“Okay, so we ran into each other by the elevator,” he said.
“Yes, and your sweet dog Peggy tried to kill me,” I added with a laugh.
“She didn’t try to kill you,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“Details,” I scoffed. “We started talking and I learned you were my new landlord.”
“Sounds good, not too far off track. And you fell for me the moment we met.”
“Whoa…hold up. I fell for you?” I asked with a raised brow.
“Literally.” He nodded. “You fell.”
I started laughing and shook my head. “Absolutely not.”
“Look, I don’t think you’re in any position to argue,” he teased. “I mean, I am doing you multiple favors now. I should get some sort of perk out of this.”
“Fine,” I groaned. “I fell for you. Anything else?”
He was quiet for a moment before asking, “Are we serious?”
I turned around and paced the small hotel room and groaned. “Dammit, Evan, you’re right. This is ridiculous. I mean, what if he sees through this? A fake boyfriend? What were Shelby and I thinking? If James figures it out, I’ll be humiliated.”
When I turned to face Evan, his head was cocked to the side as he studied me. In the time we’d spent together, I had learned that he was not quick to speak; he was thoughtful in the words he chose. But the pauses while he figured it out were dreadfully awkward.
He closed his eyes briefly and then shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. I meant, are we serious? Exclusive? Seeing other people? What’s our status?”
It took a moment for my head to catch up and I exhaled, simultaneously relieved and intrigued.
“Exclusive?” My voice sounded shaky, even to me.
Evan walked toward me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “We got this. I promise.”
I dropped my gaze from his eyes to the place where his hands were touching my arms. His grip was gentle and reassuring, which was odd, considering we barely knew each other. He must have thought I was uncomfortable because he lowered his hands and shoved them into his pockets.
“But there is one thing,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“If we’re dating, we hold hands and things like that, right?”
“I suppose.”
“Okay, well, it’s going to look weird if you get that freaked-out look on your face every time I touch you,” he said, pointing at me.
“You’re right.” I smiled. “I’ll work on it.”
“Okay. So are we ready to do this?”
“No. But let’s do it anyway.”
We walked to the door and he held it open as I passed. I waited until the door closed and he was standing next to me. He held out his hand and threaded his fingers with mine, somehow comforting me with that single action. I had known him less than a week, but seeing his face every day, while I taught him about my business and how to use my equipment, made him easily familiar to me.
“Why are you doing this for me? I appreciate it and all, but I’ve just sucked you into a whole world of crazy that you didn’t sign up for.”
“If you knew my family, you’d realize that this really isn’t that strange,” he said with a wink. “Now, are you ready for this, honey?”
“No. No honey,” I said as we started walking down the hallway.