I’d always pegged him as fiercely protective of his daughter, but now I wonder if his protectiveness comes from a different place. It’s not just about guarding her, but about wanting her to have a future that’s secure.
Maggie snorts, rolling her eyes slightly. “Honestly? He’d probably like me to be married by now. I think it’s more about him wanting to know that I’m going to be okay when he’s gone. It’s exhausting. That’s why I was asking you about hobbies this summer—I need something to show him that I’m staying busy, happy, and living a full life on my own terms.” She pauses, her expression softening. “I don’t think I’ll be getting into MMA fighting anytime soon but I decided I’m going to train as a Pilates instructor at the studio in town. Figured it’s something I can do when I move back to Houston, too.”
Her confession throws me for a loop. My mind races, a plan starts to form—one that could either be genius or a total disaster. But right now, it feels like it could be the start of something big. Before I can over think it, the words are out of my mouth.
“What if… what if we told your dad we were dating for the summer?”
It’s her turn to set her fork down on the plate and look at me bewildered. “Why would we do that?”
I rub my hand over the stubble on my jaw, thinking it over. “Might get him off your back while you’re home? You said he’s been hounding you about dating and keeping busy.”
Maggie tilts her head, considering. “Okay... and what about you?”
“It’d get my family off mine too. They won’t be asking whereI’m disappearing to every morning and evening for training, and they’ll stop pestering me about finding a date for this wedding.”
“Wedding?” Her brows furrow, and guilt hits me hard—there hasn’t been time to tell her about Savannah’s wedding.
Is it a terrible idea to bring my not-girlfriend, fake-date, twenty-year-old, town sweetheart to my ex’s wedding?
Probably.
But fake dating Maggie would help me focus on training for the tournament next month without Wylie and Stevie trying to set me up with every random woman they know. It'd also give me an excuse for not being around as much as I used to be.
I let out a deep breath and decide to come clean. “Savannah’s getting married next weekend. Wylie RSVP’d for me—without asking—and threw in a plus one.”
Her eyes widen in surprise, nodding slowly as she processes this revelation. “Right... I forgot. My dad’s going to that.”
“It’d be weird if I showed up with someone else, considering the whole fake-dating thing, right?”
She nods again before stabbing a piece of pancake and popping it into her mouth. “Sure, yeah, that’d be weird. Let’s do it, then.”
“Really?” I blink.That easy?
She shrugs, casual as ever. “Why not? Despite our obvious age gap and the fact that some people may have opinions, I think my dad might be happy about this. He’s always saying good things about you, and it’ll give me the summer to focus on my internship, working at the co-op and getting my Pilates instructor certification without feeling only child guilt about disappointing him.”
“Okay...” I watch as she continues eating like we just made a completely normal decision.
Maybe she’s really sticking to this friends-with-benefits thing.
“Maybe we should set some ground rules?” I ask.
She snorts, rolling her eyes. “I already told you, I know this isn’t turning into something more, Clay. I’m fine with the whole friends-with-benefits thing, right? Because if we’re fake dating, I at least deserve the benefit of getting your dick and some orgasms out of it.”
I laugh, but inside, I’m not as relaxed as I pretend to be. I wasn’t suggesting ground rules for her—I was thinking of ground rules forme. Because now I’m not worried about her catching feelings. I’m worried about me falling for her… especially when this thing feels a lot less like friends-with-benefits and a whole lot more like a real relationship...
Chapter 24 – Maggie
Clay: It’ll be a soft launch.
Maggie: Do you even know what that means?
Clay: No.
Maggie: HAHAHHA
Clay: Ok, I googled it, I think it’s actually a hard launch.
Maggie: ??
