That can’t be true.
Jaxon
That’s what I’ve been trying to convince myself as well, but you saw how quickly they came to me last night.
That’s the most I’ve written at one time in more than a year.
And the song for the Lupus Foundation is due so soon. I can’t let them down.
Please?
Me
Fine. It’ll help our fake-dating ruse anyway.
Jaxon
You’re the best.
Chapter twenty-two
Jaxon
“Well,thisisawkward,”I say as I stand on Izzy’s porch, my guitar in one hand, a bag of takeout food in the other.
“What’s awkward?”
I jump at the sound of her voice, sure I was alone out here after knocking for almost a minute straight with no answer.
“You can just go in,” Izzy says as she walks down the narrow sidewalk from the street to the front steps. “It’s unlocked.”
“Oh, right. Thanks,” I say, pushing my way inside.
“Need me to grab something for you?” Izzy asks, reaching toward my bag of food, but I just shake my head.
“I’ve got it.”
Izzy’s house is nice. I mean, it’s pretty small—much smaller than either of the houses we grew up in, and much smaller than any house I own now, including my condo in New York, but it has big windows that let light into the kitchen and dining room, and you can tell they take good care of it.
“Thanks for ordering dinner,” Izzy says as I put my bag of food on her counter. “I was harassed by family members and nosy Nellies all day today after our ‘date’ on Saturday. My mom stopped by the office three times.Three,” Izzy says. “I hope you grabbed enough dinner for Becca too because she’s really annoyed she had to deal with all the drop-ins today.”
I watch her unload the takeout boxes from the bag as she talks, her hands moving faster than her mouth by some miracle. She’s in jeans and a dark gray shirt today, one that dips down in the middle, showing the promise of cleavage while still appearing work appropriate. Izzy’s never been one to wear much makeup, but I can tell she’s got something on her eyes. The smokey lining makes her irises darker, a deep chocolate brown with just the hint of green on the outside.
“Becca and I have been officing on Main Street for almost ten years now, and we’ve never had more than one person a day just randomly stop by. Today, we had seven.Seven.And all they want to talk about is if I’m dating Jaxon Steele. They all call you Jaxon Steele too. Like they don’t know your real name.”
“Don’t we want people to think we’re together?” I ask as Becca walks through the front door.
Becca laughs. “Iz is just mad that it’s working so well. According to Ken, it’s all the men at coffee could talk about today. Apparently, everyone saw it coming.”
“Which is ridiculous, since no one saw this coming!” Izzy says. “It’s like we’re back in high school again, and no one will believe us when we say we’re just friends. Though, maybe this is different since we want them to think we’re dating.”
“But it still pisses you off?” I say with a smile.
“Exactly.” Izzy accentuates her point by jabbing her fork in my direction. “They’re clearly assholes for caring.”
“I was thinking the exact same thing. It’s why I told every single person who asked for an autograph while I was picking up this food to just go straight to hell.”
“Only viable option,” Izzy agrees.
