She wraps her arm around my waist, crowding even more heat into my bubble.
I wince, catch myself, and make myself gaze adoringly down at her instead.
Too much?
Not enough?
Shit. I’m bad at this.
Also, she can likely feel how wet my shirt is.
“You arenot,” Lorelei whispers.
Chili harrumphs in her direction.
Pup needs a pool too.
“Weare,” Amanda insists so strongly that I believe her.
Even though I know better.
“We kept it a secret because we knew our families wouldn’t approve—andyouknow it too—but it’s just—it’s just right.” She beams up at me again.
My heart gives another painful thump.
You did this to yourself, dummy.
Pretend to be engaged to Amanda Anderson to end the family feud. Not so I can live out a high school fantasy of being her boyfriend.
Uh-huh.
So much forolder, wiser, more confidentme.
This was the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas.
“If the family doesn’t like it,” I say, sweating more now that I’m actually telling the lie and realizing the very likely consequences, “then that’s their problem.”
Lorelei’s smile drops.
She looks between Amanda and me, studying each of us in turn, before looking down at my dog. “Are they serious?” she whispers.
Chili rolls his eyes and flops to the ground, lying in as much of the shade of the house as he can get his body into.
“Dane wanted to tell you when we started dating, but I begged him not to,” Amanda says. “That’s such a heavy secret to carry, and we didn’t know if it would work out, especially since it was long distance for most of it. The last thing we wanted was the judgment we knew would come, you know? We’re so sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, but—”
“Amanda was right,” I cut in. “We know you can keep a secret, but that doesn’t mean you should’ve had to.”
Ninety-degree sweats have nothing on theblatant lying to my sistersweats.
“Is that one of them gingerdead kids?”Uncle Rob suddenly bellows. “What isshedoing here?”
If I never hear the wordgingerdeadagain in my lifetime, it will be too soon.
The animosity runs deep. Sometimes petty and childish too.
“Meeting the family, because we’re getting married,” I reply evenly, looking over Amanda’s head and straight at my uncle.
Pretending to be engaged and lying sucks.
