She turned to leave, and Grant watched her walk away, his mind already racing through everything that could go wrong.
Fake dating Riley Monroe through the holidays.
He was already lying to everyone.
And the worst part? He wasn't sure how much of it would actually be fake.
Grant spentthe rest of the evening on autopilot—selling trees, packing up the booth, loading the truck. His mind kept circling back to Riley. To the way she'd smiled at him. To the factthat tomorrow they'd sit down and plan out every detail of their fake relationship.
By the time he got home, it was late. The farmhouse was dark except for the porch light his dad always left on. Grant trudged inside, kicked off his boots, and headed straight for the kitchen.
Thomas was sitting at the table with a mug of tea, reading the newspaper like it was still 1995.
"Late night," Thomas said without looking up.
"Festival ran long."
"Mm-hmm." His dad turned a page. "See Riley?"
Grant froze halfway to the fridge. "Yeah. Briefly."
"She looked good."
"She always does."
Thomas looked up, one eyebrow raised. "You two talk?"
"A little."
"About?"
"The reunion. She's coming by tomorrow to finalize some plans."
"Plans," Thomas repeated, clearly not buying it.
Grant grabbed a glass and filled it with water, avoiding his dad's gaze. "It's not a big deal."
"If you say so." Thomas went back to his paper, but Grant could feel the smile in his voice. "
Grant escaped upstairs before his dad could say anything else.
In his room, he pulled out his phone and stared at the last message Riley had sent him.
Riley: Thanks again. See you tomorrow.
He'd replied with something simple. Something safe.
But now, alone in the dark, he let himself acknowledge the truth he'd been avoiding all day.
This wasn't going to be fake.
Not for him.
It never had been.
THREE
Riley
