That might be a lie. I can barely handle my northside problems, let alone this royal drama.
“Okay.” Disappointment flashes in his eyes, but he hastily blinks it away. “I’m still not entirely sure how this will work with the society, but for now, we can maybe walk around the hallway, holding hands, and let the gossip spread on its own.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” I cannot believe I’m doing this. “It’s going to suck lying to Lily. She’s so nice to me.”
“I think it’s for the better. That way, she won’t have to lie about what we’re doing.” He collects the bag he brought with him.
“That’s true,” I say. “So, only you, me, and Finn will know?”
He nods, opening the bag. “And you can trust Finn. I promise.” He sticks his hand into the bag. “Now, I have two things for you, one of which sort of has to do with what we’re discussing.”
“What? Do you have a fake promise ring in there?” I joke, eliciting a crack of a smile from him.
“Nope. No promise ring. But I think you’ll like it as long as you don’t consider it a gift but a necessity.” He pulls out a small box that has a watch in it.
“No, I’m not accepting that.” I shake my head and slide away from him. “I can time myself manually like I’ve always done.”
“Maddy,” he starts with a pressing tone. “It’s not only about you being able to time yourself. I mean, it’s partly about that, but this watch also has a tracker built into it, so if something bad did happen to you, I could find your location.”
I drag my fingers through my hair. This is getting so complicated. “I don’t like this.”
“Like what?”
“That you’re getting so wrapped up in my problems. I never wanted to put any of this on anyone.”
“I know you don’t, and that’s what makes you so amazing.” He moves closer to me and opens the box. Then he removes the watch and softly takes a hold of my wrist. “I’ve spent a lot of my life drifting through events, complying, obeying, doing everything for other people, so I’m well aware when I’m doing things I don’t want to. And this isn’t one of those times.” He places my hand on his leg and wraps the watch band around my wrist.
I should fight him—protest—do something other than watch him secure the watch onto my wrist like some lovestruck idiot. But that’s what I do.
Once he’s finished, a smile materializes on his lips as he looks at me again. “I have one more thing.” He sticks his hand into the bag and pulls out a chocolate muffin.
I scowl at him. “I said no more buying me food.”
“It’s healthy, and it’ll help you run better.” He hands me the muffin.
I stare down at it like it’s the devil. Maybe it is. Maybe falling for him is my first step toward plummeting to a hellish end. I should step back—run. I’m good at it. Instead, I take a bite of the muffin.
“You need to stop with the gifts and giving me food,” I insist around a mouthful of chocolatey goodness.
“Okay.” But the way he says it reveals he probably won’t.
I shake my head, but before I can argue, he rises to his feet. “We should go get our practice in because there’s a meeting later for people who want to join the cross-country team.”
“What? How did I not know about this?”
“Did you sign up for the newsletter?”
“No. But I will now.” I stand up, stuffing another chunk of muffin into my mouth. “I’ll hurry and get changed.”
He leaves then, appearing more upbeat than when he first wandered in. I make a grand effort to convince myself his shift in behavior has nothing to do with me agreeing to fake date him. But it did coincide with the agreement.
I hurry and get dressed in shorts and a tank top, then pull my hair into a ponytail. I pick up my phone but pause to look at the watch. Do I really need my phone if I have this? Probably not, so I abandon it, slip on my sneakers, and endeavor into the living room, where River is waiting for me.
He’s sitting at the kitchen table with a water bottle in front of him. He has his phone out, and his arms are resting on his legs as he drags his thumb along the screen. He doesn’t notice me entering the room so I pad over to him as softly as I can and tap him on the shoulder.
He startles so badly he drops his phone onto the floor. “Shit,” he curses his wide eyes zeroing in on me.
I slap my hand over my mouth. “Oh my God, I didn’t mean to scare youthatbadly.”
