I headed inside and tried to focus on getting everything unboxed, but I didn’t have a lot. I stared at the bare walls. I didn’t have many photos or any posters to hang up. My bedroom consisted of a bed and a matching dresser. The living room had an L-shaped couch facing a mounted TV. The kitchen was even empty. I had a coffee maker on the counter next to my juicer.
I was unboxing the silverware when I heard a knock at the door. I paused, looking across the house, taking in the glass front door. I could see a body’s silhouette, and I knew it wasn’t any of the guys.
I headed down the hallway and opened the door. I wasn’t expecting it to be Nora. She stood with her arms crossed, as if I had interrupted her rather than her knocking at my door. Her lips tightened, and she tapped her foot as she stared at me for a solid second.
“What are you doing here? Actually, how did you even know I lived here?” I had only told the guys, and I doubted she would ask them where I was.
She gave me a shrug. “I have ways.”
Before I could even ask her any questions, she squared her shoulders, suddenly taking on a different look. “I’ll agree to your arrangement.”
I blinked, and then I blinked again. I was so sure she was never going to speak to me again, let alone agree to my idea.
“But I’ll have some ground rules,” she added. “Otherwise, no deal.”
“You’re agreeing to being my girlfriend?” I asked, making sure she understood what I wanted.
“Fake, emphasis on the fake, Kaleb.” She uncrossed her arms. “It’s not real, so I can handle that.”
“What changed your mind?” Something had to have happened for her to agree now. Had I been right about Ryan? Was he doing more than just making her uncomfortable?
She gave me another shrug, not giving me any details with her face. “I have my reasons. Do you want me to agree with this or not?”
I did. I didn’t know why she was suddenly hopping on board, but I wasn’t going to question it too hard. Otherwise, she might change her mind back.
I held my hand out. “Okay, you have a deal.” She looked unsure about shaking my hand, and I raised an eyebrow at her. “I don’t bite.”
She rolled her eyes and reached her hand out. My fingers wrapped around hers, and I felt a sensation go up my arm like electricity. I swallowed, knowing she had to have felt it too. But I didn’t want her to read too much into it.
“Okay.” I pulled the door further open. “Let’s discuss this. I’m sure you have just tooonnsss of demands that you want me to fulfill as your fake man. That and it’s cold out.”
I was trying to get her to laugh, considering what we were discussing, but she didn’t. Her lips pulled in tighter, and she rolled her shoulders back. She looked like she was going into afight rather than discuss something with me. “No, I have places to be. I can email you everything. If you have any questions after the emails, we can talk.”
I didn’t even have a moment to respond before she turned, heading back to her parked car. I looked at her, confused. Why was she agreeing to this when it was clear that she didn’t want to agree to this? If anything, it was clear she hated my guts and wanted nothing to do with me.
I frowned, knowing this was a terrible idea. How were we supposed to look like we were dating and in love when she looked at me with such contempt?
I shut my door when my phone vibrated. I raised an eyebrow as I took in the email she sent me. She made a list of dos and don’ts. I could tell she had put a lot of thought into this. We could hold hands, but no interlocking of fingers. I could kiss her, but the mouth was not allowed. I could hold her and hug her, but no longer than ten seconds. In big letters, she wrote, “No feelings whatsoever.” Everything is emotionless.
I pulled a hand up and pinched my nose. “Fuck.” This was going to be harder than I thought.
Chapter 5 - Nora
I smiled at Charlie as he walked back toward me. His long black hair was freshly brushed, and he’d had his half-mile walk. Out of all the dogs, he was the easiest to handle, and I liked spending extra time with him. “Who’s a good boy?” I asked as I bent down, running my hands over his fur. He started to lick at my legs, and I chuckled. I had thought about adopting Charlie, but my apartment didn’t have the space. That and they had a no pet policy.
“You’re such a good boy,” I said as I held his face, kissing his nose. “And some family is going to come and pick you soon. I feel it deep in my bones. You’re going to have that happy ending.”
I pulled myself back up, looking for more dog poop that needed to be cleaned up. I had finished walking the dogs, and Mike was inside cleaning out the dogs’ kennels, giving them all a spray down.
Spot was playing with Dotty near the north side of the gate. Dotty was gentle as she let Spot run around barking at her. Frank was lying in the sun near the water dishes we brought outside, which left Lily, a new dog that arrived last night. She was sitting by the door, still unsure about everyone and everything going on around her. She’d been picked up on the side of the road, looking lost and alone. We already had a few people interested in adopting her, but Mike said she needed to gain a couple of pounds first.
“Nora.” I turned my gaze up a little, finding Mike standing in the doorway. “I’m going to go feed the cats. You can bring the dogs inside. Everything is cleaned in here now.”
Lily moved closer to him, and I felt my heart jerk. It always made me feel bad to see a dog so lost and confused. I knew she, like the others, needed love to be reminded that there were caring people in the world.
Mike bent down, letting her sniff his hand. “Has Lily gone potty?”
I nodded. “Yeah, if you want to bring her in, she’s good to go. I think she’s just overstimulated.”
