"I don't mind. Just to rehearse what we'll tell people."
She nods. "I finish my shift at three."
"I'll text you when I'm on my way."
We exchange numbers and walk to James's car. Elise slides into the passenger seat, and I close the door for her. Through the window, she gives me a small smile and a wave. I wave back, fighting the urge to press my palm against the glass like some lovesick teenager.
Jesus Christ. I'm almost thirty, and I'm acting like this.
Pathetic, obsessive fool.
James circles around to the driver's side but pauses beside me, well out of Elise's earshot.
He elbows me in the ribs. "Goddamn. I was right all along. I thought I was imagining the way you looked at her back in high school."
"Shut the fuck up, James," I grit out, but I'm not really denying it.
He laughs and shakes his head. "You are in trouble, my man. Rehearsal my ass."
Despite myself, I chuckle.
He's right. I am in trouble. Deep, deep trouble.
And I'm just getting started.
===
3
ELISE
Today will be fine. Absolutely fine. Just a normal day where a gorgeous, successful basketball player worth millions happens to be visiting my tiny apartment above a coffee shop to practice being my fake boyfriend.
I wipe down the counter for the third time in five minutes, glancing at the clock again. 2:47 PM. Thirteen minutes until my shift ends.
"That's the cleanest countertop in America," Jane says, nudging me with her elbow as she passes. "Want to tell me why you've been jumping at every sound the bell makes for the last hour?"
"I'm not jumping."
The bell chimes as the door opens, and I nearly drop the rag. Jane gives me a look that says I've proven her point.
"Just expecting someone," I say, relaxing when I see it's just Joyce coming for her daily cappuccino.
"Someone?" Jane waggles her eyebrows.
I'm saved from answering when Joyce approaches the counter, and I take my time making her drink, adding the perfect milk foam heart. When I turn back, Jane is still watching me, arms crossed.
"It's nothing. Just ... remember the guy I mentioned? From high school? Not James, but Elias. He's coming by to talk about the reunion."
Jane's eyes narrow. "The basketball player? Your crush from?—"
"Shh! Yes, that one." I glance around nervously, though the café only has three customers, none within earshot.
"Well, well. Maybe this reunion thing won't be so bad after all."
The bell chimes again, and this time my heart actually stops. For a beat or two. Because there he is.
Elias ducks his head as he enters the café, those green eyes scanning the room before landing on me. He's wearing jeans and a simple navy t-shirt that stretches across his shoulders in a way that makes all my lady parts tingle. His hair is slightly rumpled, like he's been running his hand through it.
