She met his gaze, unflinching. “Why are men afraid of their feelings?”
“I’m not afraid of mine. I’m afraid of yours.” He shrugged, trying to make it look casual, not like he’d rehearsed the line in his head a hundred times. “I left the night before last because we hadn’t set clear boundaries. Because I hadn’t told you up front that I’m a strictly friends-with-benefits guy. I don’t do commitments or awkward toothbrushes in the bathroom. Just fun until the fadeout.”
“You flatter yourself if you think I’d ever fall for a man destined to live in a small town.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Mark my words. You and every one of your brothers will end up making Gi Gi’s Crossing your permanent address by the time you’ve all finished your little tasks. And before you ask how I know this, it’s simple. I’m a woman. I can hear the truth buried inside another woman’s carefully chosen words.”
She turned back to the screen. Lips tight. Spine straight. Gaze forward like the movie was the only thing that mattered.
Marcus let a beat pass. Then another.
Then, with the kind of smirk that begged for a slap and a drink tossed in his face, he leaned in. “Now that we’ve established we’re both strictly no-strings types, what do you say we get out of here? Revisit that bedroom I had redone for you. Be a shame to waste that mattress.”
Frankie tilted her head slightly, like she was studying a particularly offensive bug on her shoe.
“Maybe we should,” she said coolly, “so I can smother you with a throw pillow.”
Marcus grinned. “So, I’m hearing a yes…with a little added kink?”
“You’re hearing a yes that ends in death,” she snapped.
“Worth it,” he muttered behind a fake cough.
There it was. The edge he’d missed. The real Frankie. The woman who could dismantle a man with one sentence and a flick of lashes. The woman who could ruinhim with a single glance…and look gorgeous while doing it.
And he was actively pushing her to that point. Baiting the dragon. Playing the idiot in a rom-com where the last-resort step was bad sex, followed by inexplicable crying, and ending with a poorly timed love confession.
God help him if he wasn’t able to tank their relationship so bad she left Gi Gi’s Crossing before it came to the execution of worst-case scenario.
Chapter 26
The next afternoon, Frankie and Evelyn hovered near the counter at Threads, pretending to chat about the quirky new shop on the corner of Main and Yesterday. In truth, they were watching the door.
Rae was late.
Not panic-late. Just suspense-late. And after spending most of the previous afternoon hemming jeans, adjusting seams, and dispensing emergency candy, Frankie was desperate to know how Rae’s debut had gone.
Especially after her own night had ended in a blur of popcorn, whiplash-level mixed signals, and a mattress comment so off-putting it had replayed in her head on a sadistic loop.
She’d wanted a fun evening. Maybe even a makeout session.
Instead, she’d been honked at, insulted, and made to buy her own snacks. Then, fifteen minutes before the movie was over, he’d decided they should leave early to “beat the rush.” He’d driven her back to the manor, parked out front like an Uber on a countdown, and toldher to watch her step on the walk to the cottage. No kiss. No proposition. Just headlights and the urge to file a one-star review.
Task: Make Marcus Grant Her Friendship Crash Test Dummy? Not a roaring success.
If she were grading herself on Chapter Seven:How to Cultivate a Friendship Without Accidentally Making Out (or Committing a Felony),she’d land at a C-minus. Generous curve. Would’ve been a D-minus if she hadn’t resisted his baffling offer to relive their greatest hits. What the hell did that even mean?
The bell jingled.
And Rae stormed in like a thundercloud with a designer bag full of attitude.
Frankie caught the scowl and gave Evelyn a small, abort-the-hugs head shake.
Rae stomped up to them. “You lied!” Her voice cracked with a mix of fury and hurt.
“About?” Frankie asked gently. Nothing stabbed deeper than feeling like the one person who was supposed to have your back had let you fall.
