Chapter 13

Havinga sister married to a very famous movie star has a lot of perks. But the red Louis Vuitton heels I put on for our brand meeting with Flex might be the biggest one.

Audrey wore them down the red carpet once, then decided they were too small. Because I am a very good sister, and because Lucy happened to be at work so she couldn't fight me for them, I was generous enough to take them off Audrey's hands. They happen to perfectly match the Hermes silk blazer I found in a second-hand store in West Asheville. When I pair both with my black pencil skirt with the tiny kick pleat, I feel like a million bucks.

In control. Powerful. Empowered to represent my clients' best interests.

The fact that one of those clients turns my insides to pudding every time he so much as looks at me?

It's fine. I'm totally in control.

We stop at the bank of elevators in the building that houses Flex's corporate offices, and Nathan presses the up button. He and Alec are both quiet this morning; it could just be the early hour, but Alec seems particularly distracted. And completely incapable of looking me in the eye, which is weird for him.

Alec's teammates like to call him Ego, and it makes sense. He's supremely confident, and his sharp sense of humor means that sometimes he really does come across as egotistical. I've seen Alec play it up intentionally, like he knows he has some sort of reputation to keep up, but then, all the guys do that to some extent. Nathan is the grump, Van is the flirt, Alec is the ego, Felix is the bookworm, Eli is the golden retriever.

But they're all a lot more than that, too. Now that I'm getting to know Alec, I'm seeing a lot less ego and a lot more unusual self-assurance. Alec Sheridan is happy with who he is in ways that a lot of people don't ever figure out. That inner confidence means he's the kind of person who confronts problems instead of evading them.

But he's definitely evading something right now.

"Hey," I say as we climb onto the elevator. I nudge his elbow. "What's up with you?"

"Me?" he says, nervously looking from me to Nathan. "Nothing. I'm good. Everything is good."

"Then why are you being so weird?" Nathan says.

"Thank you," I say, feeling justified now that Nathan has noticed too.

"I'm not being weird, you're being weird," Alec shoots back.

Okay. He's definitely being weird.

"I haven't said more than four words since we left the hotel," Nathan says.

"Which is perfectly normal for him," I say. "You, on the other hand, can't even make eye contact with me. What gives?"

Alec's jaw clenches, and he looks at the ceiling before he lifts his hands and says, "I saw you two in bed together!"

Before either of us can respond, the elevator doors ding open on the second floor to reveal an elderly woman holding an enormous stack of file folders. She steps onto the elevator, and the three of us move to the back to give her room.

Unfortunately, the presence of a woman old enough to be our grandmother does nothing to deter Alec's confessional. "I still had your room key from yesterday morning, so I let myself into your room, thinking you'd need someone to wake you up, and there you were. All snuggled up and looking like whatever you'd been doing all night had definitely worn you out."

I freeze, my eyes shifting to Nathan as heat floods my cheeks.

The woman in front of us clears her throat, casting a horrified glance over her shoulder.

True to form, Alec stares her down, offering her his most charming smile. "How are you?" he asks, his tone perfectly polite but somehow still conveying a mind-your-own-business message.

When I woke up this morning with my arm draped over Nathan's chest, my head resting on his shoulder, he was still sound asleep. I managed to extricate myself and relocate to my side of the bed before yawning loudly and making enough noise to wake him up. Which he immediately did—I really do have superpowers when it comes to waking Nathan—none the wiser that seconds before, he'd had his hand resting on my hip.

Does he remember the snuggling? Is it imprinted on his brain the same way it is on mine?

Nathan's face is unreadable, so I finally shift my gaze back to Alec. "It isn't what you think."

The elevator doors open on the third floor, and our unwitting companion steps off, casting one final judgmental scowl over her shoulder.

"There was a leak in the ceiling over my bed in my hotel room," I say, "so I knocked on Nathan's door and asked him if I could crash for the last few hours of the night. We just slept. That's it."

Alec frowns as the elevator deposits us on the fourth floor. "So, the relationship is still fake," he says. "That wasn't actually…you weren't, um…?"

"It's fake," Nathan says so quickly that it stings, and I barely keep myself from wincing. He steps off the elevator, holding up his phone, which is vibrating in his hand. "Sorry. I gotta get this." He moves over to the window to the left of the elevators, where there is a grouping of those funky egg chairs sitting on either side of an enormous ficus tree. In front of us, a giant glass wall emblazoned with Flex's logo tells us we're in the right place.

I use Nathan's absence to take a few intentional deep breaths and mentally pull myself together. I have a very important meeting I'm supposed to run in less than half an hour. I don't have time to get caught up in my feelings.

"Fake, huh?" Alec says as we move toward Flex's main door. "You sure about that? You guys looked awfully comfortable this morning. Plus, the look on your face when he said it was fake was pretty telling."

I force a smile. "Does it matter what I think if he's sure?"

Alec gives me a knowing look, his eyes filling with compassion. Or is that pity? "It always matters what you think."

I look at Nathan across the lobby, phone pressed to his ear. He's wearing dress pants and a light blue chambray shirt, and his hair is up, knotted at the back of his head in the perfectly messy bun he always wears. "Any clue why he's so cynical?"

"Not really," Alec answers. "I mean, a lot of guys just want to focus on hockey, you know? And all that crap he said at dinner the other night, about the schedule? He's right about that. It's tough." He opens the door for me, holding it as I pass into the very chic Flex lobby. "Listen," Alec continues. "You're a good sport doing this, faking this whole thing to take the pressure off Nathan. But you know you don't have to do it, right? Parker would understand."

I don't love that it feels like Alec is trying to warn me off. Like he can already sense that this might end up with me getting hurt. But I do love that he cares enough to be looking out for me.

"I know," I say. "Thanks, Alec."

As Nathan puts his phone away and moves toward us, I remind myself that I'm going to be okay. Even if things are fake, I can handle this. I can follow the rules.

When Nathan finally reaches us, I force myself to smile at him. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Good," he says. "Just getting an update from Mom about Blake."

"Anything new?"

"Just that they have a meeting with a new attorney on Monday. That has to be Franklin, right?"

"I'm sure it is." A wave of gratitude for Franklin's timeliness washes over me. It hasn't even been forty-eight hours, and he's already meeting with Blake. "That's really great news, Nathan."

He pushes his phone into his pocket, holding my gaze. "Yeah. It is." He doesn't say anything else, but I feel the gratitude in his expression.

I give him the tiniest nod, and his lips lift the slightest bit. I am never at a loss for words, so it's weird to feel like I just had a conversation without talking, but that's exactly what happened.

Still, I can't just stand here and stare at him.

I have a job to do.

"Okay, well, I'll get us checked in, if you guys want to sit," I say.

Nathan and Alec move over to the low-profile couches filling the lobby while I make my way to the counter. A receptionist is sitting on an elevated stool, already watching us.

She smiles wide as I approach. "Oh my gosh!" she practically squeals, eyes bright. "It's actually you! I'll be honest. I feel a little like I'm meeting a celebrity."

I pause, my brain immediately thinking of Flint. If she's a super fan, it's possible she's dug into his family enough to know who I am. But Flint is notoriously private when it comes to his personal life, at least since he married Audrey, so she would have had to dig pretty deep.

But then she breathes out a little sigh and says, "I've watched that moment when you and Nathan look at each other through the glass at least twenty times. Seriously. To have someone look at me like he looks at you. And that kiss! Girl. You've got yourself a keeper."

My cheeks immediately flush with heat.

Thisis going to take some getting used to.

Of course it was going to happen—the Appies have an enormous following—but I hadn't really thought about this part, about people recognizing me.

"Oh, wow. Yeah," I manage to say. "He's…pretty special."

"Oh my gosh, I'm being so weird, aren't I?" She hops off the stool and retrieves three water bottles from a mini fridge behind the counter. She sets them in front of me. "Let me try again?"

I nod and smile, immediately liking her unabashed charm.

"Hi! Welcome to Flex," she says. "I'm Riley, one of Flex's chief designers, filling in for our receptionist, who is out sick today, and I'm so excited you all are here. You're Summer Callahan, right?" She leans forward the tiniest bit. "I swear I know that because I read over the meeting agenda first thing this morning and not just because I've been watching your video on a loop. Anyway! It should just be a few minutes until the team is ready for you. In the meantime, if you need anything at all, just let me know."

"Thank you. But I just need to clarify, when you say you can help with anything, does that include getting me a pair of the leggings you're wearing? Because they're fantastic."

They really are fantastic. And Riley is rocking the athleisure look. Sleek high ponytail, flawless makeup, a boxy tee, and the aforementioned leggings that have a high waist and subtle seams that are doing amazing things for her butt.

"Um, absolutely. They're great, right?" She comes around the counter and looks me up and down. "How do you want the fit? Like, I'm working out so keep me tucked and tight? Or more I'm lounging at home please wrap me in softness? Actually, forget I asked. I'm getting you both." Her eyes catch on Alec and Nathan sitting across the lobby. Nathan is studying his phone, but Alec is watching us, his expression curious.

"Are you a big hockey fan?" I ask, and a blush climbs up Riley's cheeks.

"Oh, um, sort of? I'm actually from Asheville, so I went to Appies games when I was little. But the Appies now—they're an entirely different thing, you know? When our marketing advisor suggested we reach out, I started doing some research, found them on TikTok, and one thing led to another. I think I'd say I'm more of an Appies fan than an actual hockey fan? Does that make me sound so lame?"

"Not at all. I get it. I'd never been to any hockey games before the Appies."

"They look bigger in person, don't they?" Riley says. "Is that just me?"

"No, they definitely do. Want me to introduce you? Nathan will probably just scowl, but Alec is Prince Charming if ever there was one." Riley suddenly looks nervous, so I motion to the bottles of water still sitting on the reception counter. "Here. You could deliver these."

"Oh! Good idea," she says, scooping them up.

I can't really blame her. If I didn't know Nathan, I'd find him terrifying. But then, Riley isn't looking at Nathan. Her gaze has zeroed in on Alec.

Nathan looks up as we approach, his gaze piercing.

It's not far off from the look he gave me last night when he was on the ice and half the internet was watching, but it's close, and heat immediately pools in my belly.

Is this the way it's always going to be now? He'll be able to undo me with a single look?

I make quick work of introducing Riley and Alec, then pull out my phone, needing something—anything—to occupy my mind for a few minutes.

Luckily, I have a text from Lucy, and it's one I definitely want to answer now.

Lucy

WHAT ON EARTH, SUMMER. YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE FAKING. YOU DID NOT TELL ME FAKING WOULD INVOLVE KISSING.

It's rare for Lucy to put an entire text in all caps, but after what happened last night, it feels totally justified. I would have called her with an update the minute I was back at the hotel after the game, but she was already at work—she's been working nights for the past few weeks—and the news felt too big to simply send in a text.

I glance at my watch. We arrived a few minutes early, and we still have ten minutes before our scheduled meeting time, so I motion to Riley, letting her know I'm going to make a call just outside, then hurry out to the small seating area in the annex.

"I should have mentioned the kiss," I say the second Lucy picks up. I eye one of the egg chairs I noticed earlier. There are cushions inside, but I'm not sure I trust it. How will I not feel like a hatchling, hanging out inside of my egg?

Tentatively, I turn and sit…and oof. Okay. This was definitely a mistake. I am a hatchling, and this chair has basically swallowed me whole.

I'm not exactly short—almost 5'8—and my feet are no longer touching the ground. They're just dangling. Like I'm a child sitting on an enormous sofa.

"You okay?" Lucy asks.

"I'm sitting in a ridiculous chair."

"Go on," she says, humor in her voice. "Clearly, your chair situation is much more important than the kissing thing, so please, tell me more about the chair."

"It's one of those weird egg chairs. I'm about to have a very serious meeting. What if they have these in the conference room? How does anyone have a professional conversation when they're sitting in an egg chair?"

"You can always stand," Lucy says.

"I'm sending you a picture of this thing," I say. "It's totally ridiculous. My feet are dangling."

Lucy chuckles. "I'm loving the visual. Please make the picture a selfie. But I wasn't actually serious when I told you to talk about the chair instead of the man."

I sink back into my egg. If someone were to see me from the outside, they would only see my dangling legs, but I ignore that ridiculous image and take a deep breath. "What do you want to know? His fans were crazy, I thought it might help, so…I told him to kiss me."

"Okay, but…Summer, he really kissed you. And you really kissed him back. That did not look like faking. And that moment before the game when you got all googly-eyed through the glass? How are you not going to fall for him for real?" she asks. "The internet can't stop talking about how perfect you two are."

It takes me a long time to answer because I don't actually have an answer. I probably am going to fall for him. It's stupid and reckless and completely unlike me in every sense. But I don't know how to stop it from happening.

"I think I probably will fall for him," I say. "That seems like where this is headed."

She's quiet for a beat. "Even when you know he isn't interested? Summer. You know if it were me in this situation, you would tell me to jump ship and run."

"Believe me. I've had that conversation with myself a million times."

"Then why didn't you say no?"

It's a valid question. But I don't have an answer that's going to satisfy her. "I don't know why," I say. "I just…felt like I should."

She scoffs, a noise I don't often hear from my endlessly gentle sister. "That is the most un-Summer-like response I think I've ever heard."

I reposition the cushions behind me, a feeling of indignance rising in my chest even if Lucy is right. "And it was a very un-Audrey-like thing to do when she agreed to date a freaking movie star. But look at how that turned out."

"Is that what you're hoping for?" Lucy asks. "That this will end with a happily-ever-after for you?"

Yes, I think, but I won"t let myself admit it out loud.

"I'm not that delusional," I say instead. "I promise I can handle this. I'm fine."

"Okay," she finally says, but she hardly seems convinced. "Just promise me you'll be careful. And whatever you do, don't sleep with the man. Kiss him all you want, but your faking better stop there."

"Solid advice," I say. "I promise."

Lucy huffs out a laugh. "I honestly cannot believe that I'm the one telling you to be more logical."

"Believe me," I say. "It's weird for me, too."

"On the upside, I do love the idea of Jason P. Roscoe finding out you're dating a famous hockey player." Lucy utters the name of my former boss like it's a curse word, as it absolutely should be.

"Ohhh, I hadn't thought of that!" I say. "I like that idea very much."

"Summer?" a voice says across the annex.

I lean forward and see Nathan, who has poked his head through Flex's front door. When he finally spots me sitting inside the egg, he presses his lips together like he's fighting a smile.

Do it, I think. Smile.

But he only clears his throat. "They're ready for us."

"Okay. I'm coming," I say. "Gotta go, Lu. Love you."

"Love you too. Go get 'em!"

I lean forward in the chair, shifting back and forth as I try to work my way to the edge of the egg. These chairs really are the stupidest.

After another second or two of struggling, Nathan appears in front of me, his large hand extended.

"Need some help?"

My cheeks flush as I slip my palm into his. "This chair is the worst," I grumble as he pulls me to my feet.

"Looks like it," he says softly. We're standing close enough that I feel the rumble of his words as much as I hear them, and they send a delicious shiver through my body.

Nathan gives my fingers a tiny squeeze, and I look up to meet his eyes.

He doesn't say anything, which, that's not all that surprising, but just like earlier, it still feels like he's talking to me.

"Yo," Alec says. "What's the hold-up?"

Nathan drops my hand and takes a huge step back, like we're middle schoolers in a secret relationship and someone caught us seconds before our first kiss.

"No hold-up," he says, and then he spins on his heel and stalks toward Alec.

Sure, I think. No hold-up at all.

Just give me a minute to put my heart back inside my chest.

Three hours later, we have a signed contract, we've enjoyed a lovely lunch with the Flex team, and all three of us have changed into Flexwear, not because we have any contractual obligation to do so, but just because the clothes really are amazing. The leggings Riley gave me are unbelievable—perfect for traveling—and the hoodies they gave all three of us are butter soft, with a classy Appies logo stitched on the sleeve. They had them custom made just for us. Well, for them. But I'm already starting to feel like an us. The matching hoodies definitely help.

We're at the airport now, making our way through security, getting enough attention that I'm beginning to wonder if wearing matching, branded gear was a good idea.

A few yards away, Nathan is posing for a picture with one of the TSA agents, and Alec has already taken about a billion selfies with people.

"Hey, you okay?" Alec drops onto the bench just past security to put on his shoes. "You look…sad. Or, I don't know, lost?"

I slide my laptop back into my bag, then reach down to tie my boots. "I'm okay," I say, though even I can hear how unconvincing I sound.

But honestly—this feeling, the intensity of my attraction, is different from anything I've ever experienced before. I didn't feel it with my college boyfriend even though we dated for over a year. I didn't feel it with Seth, the last semi-serious boyfriend I had just after I graduated from law school. I've never felt it with anyone.

"So, I've been thinking about what you asked me," Alec says, his eyes still on Nathan. "About why he's so cynical."

"Yeah? Got any new ideas?"

"I'm just wondering if it has something to do with his dad." Alec pushes a hand through his hair. "He was a great hockey player, a legend, really. But Nathan doesn't talk about him. Doesn't seem proud of him. It just makes me wonder if his dad wasn't that great of a guy off the ice."

"He's never talked about him? Told you anything?" I'll be surprised if Alec says yes.

"Nah. But I've heard rumors that his death was alcohol-related. Not like an accident or anything. Just that he drank too much. There's no way that didn't impact Nathan."

"How old was he when his father was injured?"

"Based on the year the Bruins won the cup, probably…five or six?"

I nod, a surge of compassion filling my chest. Nathan probably has very few memories of a father who wasn't drinking all the time. "Thanks, Alec. I appreciate you telling me."

"I'm here for you, all right?" He tilts his head toward Nathan. "And I love the big idiot, so I'd kinda like to see this happen for you."

I huff out a little laugh. "He is an idiot, isn't he?"

Alec offers me a hand, tugging me to my feet as I swing my laptop bag onto my back. "I mean, Summer. Look at you," he says. "Of course he's an idiot."

"Who's an idiot?" Nathan says, moving up beside us.

Alec winks at me, then pats Nathan on the shoulder. "Nobody you need to worry about."

"Shall we go?" I say, a little too cheerfully. "You guys only have a few minutes before you start boarding."

A few more minutes before Alec and Nathan will be on their way to Cleveland and I'll be on my way to Harvest Hollow. Maybe then, I'll finally be able to take a full breath.

The three of us walk together for a few hundred yards before the terminal splits, their gate in one direction and mine in the other. Off to the left, there's a group of women watching us. One of them is wearing an Appies sweatshirt, and it's clear by the look on her face that she knows exactly who the guys are. She keeps watching me, eyes bouncing between me and Nathan, and then I realize she knows who I am too.

I've been recognized for the second time today. But this time, Nathan and I are in a public place, and we're about to have a public goodbye.

I step closer to Nathan and slip my hand into his.

His eyes widen the slightest bit, so I push up on my toes, pressing a quick kiss to his jaw, just beside his ear. "Fans at three o'clock," I whisper. "We have to get better at this faking thing."

He nods his understanding, then his arm comes around me, holding me against him even as I sink back onto my heels.

"I'm going to miss you," I say, meaning every word. He holds my gaze, and I get the sense that he knows I'm not faking about that part.

He lifts a hand to my cheek, cupping my face as he tilts it upward, then presses a lingering kiss to my lips. "Please be safe," he says.

The urging in his tone makes my heart squeeze, and I lean back in, stealing another kiss before he pulls away.

"I will. You too."

He pulls me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me for a hug that's over much too soon, then he lets me go.

Suddenly, weirdly, an inexplicable wave of panic washes over me.

Five minutes ago, I was looking forward to parting ways, thinking it might make it easier to breathe. But this feels like the opposite. This feels like I won't be able to breathe without him.

"Especially on the ice," I call out, and Nathan looks up one more time. "Don't…get hurt."

Alec steps in next to Nathan, his expression soft. "I'll look out for him," he says. "I promise."

As I walk to my gate, a dull ache settles into my heart, and I intuitively know it won't disappear until I see him again.

If this is what it feels like to have a fake relationship with Nathan, it's maybe better if this is all that ever happens.

I'm not sure I could survive a real one.