Chapter 15

15

Beau

I tap my fingers on the table as I wait. I've been trying to distract myself all day and I've been unsuccessful to say the least. No matter what I've tried to do today, I can't shake the way I'm feeling about Autumn, and the things we said that night. Hence the reason I'm sitting here nervously waiting for her to arrive. I've never felt these emotions in my life; sweaty palms, heart racing, stomach swirling. I think we owe it to ourselves to explore what all of this means.

She texted me a few minutes ago to say she was running late and heading in with Eden.

My mind flicks back to my conversation with Fletcher while we were gaming, and some of what he said definitely makes sense. If I don't do something now, maybe I never will… Maybe he's right when he says I could end up alone, and soon enough Autumn would be in the arms of another man. Again, my heart constricts when I think of some other dude with his arms around her. Getting to see her beautiful smile, her body and being beside her, and not just in bed.

I mean, it isn't like there aren't other girls out there, but there's only one girl that I really want…

"Beau, hi!"

I look up with a start to see Dolly Simpson leaning against the booth, holding her takeout coffee cup in her hand. She has the longest hot pink nails I've ever seen and she's sporting a wide grin with her infamous red lips.

"Hey, Dolly."

"You're looking a bit lonely there, mind if I slide in?" Her vivid blue eyes flick over to the spare seat opposite me. Autumn's seat. Dolly is from the local beauty salon and has a reputation for being a gal who likes to flesh out fresh meat. She's also very forward.

"Actually, I'm just waiting for someone…" I trail off as Autumn walks up behind her and my eyes widen. Dolly turns her head slightly and gives Autumn a tight smile as she sits down opposite me.

"Finally here!" Autumn says. She appears bright enough, but if I'm not mistaken, she looks a little miffed. She presses her lips together, looking between me and Dolly with slightly narrowed eyes, trying to gauge if there's something going on between us. "Sorry I'm late."

"Well, have fun, y'all." Dolly drags herself away without looking back. At least she can take a hint.

"Bye, Dolly," I say after her.

Autumn raises her eyebrows. "Can't leave you alone for five minutes around here, can I?"

I laugh. "Dolly was just sayin' hi."

She slides into the booth. "I got a flat tire and my car was making weird noises after the gas station," she grumbles.

"What?"

"It's okay, Eden came along and gave me a ride. I just called roadside from outside the cafe."

"What do you mean, weird noises?"

"It was grumbling and gurgling before I got the flat."

"After you filled up with gas?"

"Yeah, a few miles down the road."

"Hmm, I mean, I'm no expert but it sounds like you may have put the wrong gas in?"

Autumn's face drops. "OHMYGOD!"

"It happens," I say.

"Oh shit. I mean, I've never done that before…"

"It's not uncommon, it can be fixed."

"Have you ever done it?"

"Well, not exactly, but I know other people that have."

"My dad's gonna kill me!"

"No he won't." I chuckle, trying to make light of it. "The fuel will get drained out and it'll be fine. He won't have to know."

"Why the hell is my life such a disaster area right now?" She folds her arms across her chest and sags a little. She's wearing a cute denim dress that buttons all the way down and has one side of her long dark hair pinned up. She looks so pretty. "To top it off I ran over a piece of wood that I think fell off the back of a truck and then my tire deflated. It's like luck hates me at the moment."

It's my turn to press my lips together because she has had a few things going on just lately but I don't want to make her feel bad. "Seems like you're just having a run of bad luck, that's all it is." My eyes flick to hers. She has the cutest freckles on her nose.

Why am I just noticing these things? Plus, her makeup is pretty, with a peach tone to her cheeks. Her eyes are outlined in a smoky blue kohl and her long lashes blink rapidly in her annoyance, making the blue in her eyes seem even deeper. I swallow and grab the menu.

"You sure about that?" She sighs.

She's even cuter when she's flustered. I pry my eyes away and act like the Stone's Throw menu, which I know off by heart, is the most fascinating thing I've ever seen in my life. "You worry too much, Autumn Leaf." She grabs a menu too and after a few moments I ask, "What do you feel like?"

"Just a coffee." She closes the menu again as the server JJ walks over to us. I haven't seen Aunt May yet, the cafe owner. She and her husband, Mike, still own the cafe but her daughter, Caroline, runs things now while they help out.

"What about one of those chocolate chip cookies you like?" Shit, should I be acting like I know every minor detail about her?

She smiles warmly, biting the corner of her lip. "Sounds good."

I smile back and place our order, waiting for JJ to head back to the counter so we can talk.

I lean on my elbows and take a breath. I guess now is the time to get to the nitty gritty. "Did you have a chance to, uh, think about things?" I ask.

She finally releases her lip and my mouth goes dry at the very sight. Lifting my gaze from her mouth to her eyes, she stares back at me, blinking a couple of times. Her voice drops to a whisper. "Assuming by things you mean that whole us getting married idea?"

"You had any other proposals I should know about?" I try to keep it light but the idea annoys me. So much so, I clench my hand against my thigh under the table.

"Nope. You're the only crazy one suggesting it."

I feel the smile spread across my face, I can't help it. It floods warmth through me — it doesn't scare me in the slightest that she could be my wife, even if temporarily.

"Don't tell me you're going off the idea before we've even had a chance to discuss it?"

"We discussed it the other night." She's still whispering, but now she's glancing around like someone might hear.

"I don't think any of the reasons you gave me were compelling enough, considering the big incentive for you is to finally get your inheritance."

She rests her hand on her chin and her eyes flick down to the table for a moment. She has an adorable thinking face. When her eyes return she's shaking her head, some resolution has come to her and it's so fucking cute. "I think the whole ‘this is ridiculous as we're best friends', is reason enough to abandon this idea. Beau, do you really know what you're saying or offering? I honestly came here thinking we'd laugh about this, order pie and move on."

I don't like that idea. "Maybe it's a little crazy. But you've got to admit it makes a little sense."

"Again, what's in it for you, though?"

I swallow, I have to think quickly because I can't outrightly say it's because I think I'm falling for her… Can I? I don't want her to freak out because this is supposed to just be a funny, friendly transaction to help her out of the tricky situation she's in.

"I just want to help." Even if it sounds lame — and admittedly, it probably does — at this point I don't care. "You won't let me help you with money, so this is the next best thing. I mean, it wouldn't be real, just a transaction between friends." Again, I don't like that idea, but I can't tell her that.

She sits back, just as our coffee and cookies are delivered. Her arms cross over her chest as she looks at me. When JJ leaves again she opens her mouth, "I thought I was going to show up here and we'd forget about all of this because no matter what you say, this idea is really out there, Beau."

"It is. But like I say, we can get it annulled later. What part about it do you hate the most?"

"I don't like the idea of lying to everyone."

"Okay, I get that, but we'll make it right somehow. Are you worried you have to pretend to like me, like you would a real husband?" I tilt my head to the side, knowing the corners of my mouth are pulling up into a cheeky smile and my intense stare has her shifting a little in her seat. I might be mostly clueless when it comes to women, but I know that I am having some kind of effect on her. I can feel the energy between us, it's like an unspoken truth, but neither of us seem willing to admit it.

"Beau, I don't have to pretend anything. You know I adore you. But it means us living together and acting like newlyweds. We need to really think this through and what it means in public."

"I have thought it through."

"And you're seriously okay with it?"

"I think we can navigate it, yeah. I mean, the other bonus is my parents would get off my back for a while about settling down and why I haven't snagged up a permanent woman yet. It's a win-win, Autumn Leaf."

She sits forward to reach for her coffee cup, lifting it to her mouth to take a sip. Her eyes twinkle a little, almost like she's coming around to the idea, or maybe it's just the hit of coffee making her feel good. "Maybe you're right."

Wow. Did she really just say that?

"I know it sounds weird now, but I think life is too short to worry so much," I tell her. "This could be fun if we don't overthink it. You get your parents off your back for a while, I get my parents off mine. We can annul the marriage later, and no damage will be done." I glance up at her as she listens to every damned word out of my mouth. Is she slowly coming around to the idea? "Our friendship is too strong to break, so I'm not worried about that, but you're right, in public we would have to act a certain way… and pretend to live together in holy matrimony."

She gives me an exasperated look as she grips her cup like she can't let go of it. She fiddles when she's nervous. "You make it sound so simple."

I shrug. "Maybe it is."

"I really just thought the two of us had too much to drink when I blurted all of that out."

"I wasn't drunk," I state. "Maybe we propose a toast to Carrie? She could be the reason I get to call you my wife." The words slip out before I can stop them.

Her eyes widen slightly. Is it just me, or do her cheeks flush? I'm certain I can see hints of pink creeping over her pretty skin.

"And you'd be my husband."

Goddamn, those words have never sounded so sexy.

I glimpse to my side to make sure no one is listening close by, before I lower my voice and lean in. "Exactly. Like I said the other night, I'm willing to go through with it. But if we keep going back and forth doubting ourselves, it won't work. I think we need to decide here and now."

Her eyes slowly open wider with the realization that we probably need to move with this sooner rather than later. "Now?" She balks. "As in, this could be our first fake date?"

"Why not?" I shrug like I can afford to be so casual and have all the fucking answers — which I definitely don't. The reality is, I have jack shit. "The more we wait, the more time passes when we could be announcing to the world our ‘newfound love'."

I hear the faintness of her laugh as her lips touch her coffee cup again. I pick mine up to take a sip and let my words sink in. It seems the bandwagon I've jumped on is speeding downhill with no breaks, and I'm not for one minute even thinking about the consequences.

I truly believe that this will solve a problem, and that's all I can hope from this fake marriage. And if there's one thing I really want in this life, it's to see Autumn happy and getting all the things she wants.

If we have to get married to make her family feel more comfortable in the knowledge she's in a committed relationship, then that's what we'll do. Another bonus is her mom will stop weighing in on that shithead Michael who cheated on her; she still seems to think the sun shines out of his ass.

"Newfound love?" She tilts her head this time, smiling so sweetly with those perfectly proportioned pink lips. I can't help but smile back at the ring that phrase has, and the way she says it is pretty darned sweet. I watch her break off some of her cookie and pop it in her mouth.

"It happens, A. We start acting all flirty, then I take you out on a date and you can tell all your friends about it. After that we make up a story that we didn't want to live in sin and gush about how in love we are. Meanwhile, we can have a bit of a chuckle behind closed doors at the absurdity of it."

"This could go really badly." She presses her palm to her forehead, but I feel like she's definitely coming around. I think she's just worried about what people will think, which I totally get.

"Or it could go really well." I reach my hand across the table as her eyes flick down to it. She has beautifully manicured hands, but unlike Dolly's talons, they're shorter and rounded, painted with a light pink shade.

"Beau, what are you doing?"

"Making the moves, Wifey . Are you in, or are you out?"

She scans from my hand to my eyes and I give her that quirky smile again. I think she likes it because her eyes are smiling too. "I guess it couldn't be the worst thing two people have ever done. Only we have to know the truth… Wait, what about our friends?"

"We have to keep it between us, at least for the moment. They can't know the real reason. For this to work they have to believe it, too."

"So no Eden and no Carrie?"

"Yes, and especially no Georgia-Blue." I roll my eyes.

"And no Fletcher," she adds.

"Exactly." My eyes slide down to the table as her hand not holding her coffee cup slides towards mine and her fingers roll over the top of my skin. Even from that faint contact, electricity shoots up my spine, tingling my body all over. Spreading warmth and… happiness?

Is that what it is? Because not one inch of my body is complaining, and my brain refuses to believe this could be a bad idea. I might have completely lost my marbles, but there's no other woman I'd like to lose them with.

Her hand interlaces over the top of mine as our fingers entwine, and I'm toast. When she squeezes, I know she's in.

"So what do you say, Wifey ?" I need her to say the words, to know we're really doing this.

She giggles. Actually fucking giggles and the sound stirs the body part I've been trying to keep at bay all afternoon. "I say, I do, Hubs ."