‘Oh, yeah?’
‘Yes. She is beside herself that I haven’t dated anyone in two years.’
‘Two years?’ Daisy tried and failed to keep the shock out of her voice.
‘Aside from a few disastrous blind dates.’
‘Yikes.’ Daisy winced. ‘Sorry.’
‘I think yikes is the appropriate reaction.’
She couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I am sorry, but I like that this helps us both. A mutually beneficial endeavor.’ She did like that. It somehow made the whole thing feel less… icky. It wasn’t her fault this damn town was obsessed with her love life, and it wasn’t Elliot’s fault his mom was worried about him. They could help each other meet everyone’s absurd expectations while protecting themselves from the pain of a real relationship.
It mightactuallybe the perfect plan, after all.
‘Very romantic,’ he said, dryly.
Romantic was the exact opposite of what Daisy was going for. This was a business deal. ‘Now, Elliot, I think you know we failed at romance so we might as well create a situation where we can both be successful.’
He watched her for a beat. ‘Of course.’ He nodded and Daisy breathed a sigh of relief. He understood. He saw how this plan would help them both. He had his own reasons for fake-dating her, and they weren’t based on real feelings at all.
That was important.
No real feelings from either of them was integral to the plan.
They walked on in silence, passing The Gingerbread Bakery and The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore. Music streamed out of Mac’s pub as they walked past. She was sure plenty of townsfolk went straight from the meeting to Thursday karaoke night, but she was more than happy to walk on by tonight. She didn’t really feel like mingling with the people who saw her as a cursed mess.
A new litter of kittens stared at them from the window of the pet shop and Daisy stopped to put her hand on the glass.
‘Maybe I need a pet.’
‘To scare away the curse?’
‘Maybe. We’re not entirely sure how this curse works. Maybe a cat would do the trick.’
‘I’ve always been more of a dog person.’
‘Do you have one?’ Daisy asked, turning back to look at him. This was obviously important information to have about her fake boyfriend.
Elliot sighed and ran a hand through his mop of hair. ‘I did.’
‘He passed?’ she whispered, already dreading the answer about this poor sweet dog she didn’t know.
‘No, my ex kept him.’ He shrugged like he was used to life disappointing him.
‘That’s shitty.’
‘I told her to. It just made sense. She kept the house, too.’
‘Jesus, Elliot. What did you keep?’
He squinted like he was thinking about it. ‘The wedding china.’
Daisy slapped a hand over her mouth to keep in the highly inappropriate giggles bubbling up in her throat. ‘What the hell are you going to do with your wedding china?’
Elliot’s mouth tipped into a grin as more laughter escaped Daisy’s lips. ‘Well, I smashed some of it. That was pretty fun.’
She was full-on cackling now as they stood outside the pet shop in a golden puddle of light from the streetlamp.
