The future.
Behind her, Audrey flashed me a shy smile calculated down to the last fraction of an inch and fluttered her eyelashes.
Mom was setting me up.
WithAudrey Carfax.
Who’d never, in her entire life, shown any interest in me. Who I’d once overheard call me Delilah’sloser brother. Who was looking at me now like I was?—
Oh. Right. Her angle must have been…
The expectant look Mom had laser-focused on me made the back of my neck itch and forced my attention back to her.
“I—” I began, only to be interrupted by the sound of tires on the gravel behind me. Whoever was driving, I owed them a life debt.
I took advantage of Mom’s momentary distraction to turn and look.
Simon’s sensible little sky blue 2004 model Honda Accord, absolutely covered in bumper stickers, pulled up behind us. I’d never been so happy to see Gertrude—the car—in my entire life.
Or the man driving her.
Mom stayed quiet as Simon parked and got out.
He wasn’t wearing his glasses. Hewaswearing a pair of khaki chinos that actually fit him—really,reallyfit him, showing off his perfect butt—and a casual off-white collared shirt—linen, or a good fake—tucked into the waistband and open at the neck, showing off a tempting V of skin that ended at the hollow of his throat. His usually unruly chestnut hair was slicked back with what had to have been an industrial amount of product.
He lookedincredible.He barely looked like himself.
I freed my other hand from Mom’s grip and strode up to him, heart hammering in my chest.
“Simon,” I said, a smile so wide it hurt spreading over my face. He smiled back, amber eyes sparkling in the fading light.
I reached out for him once he was within touching distance, all the nerves and stress dropping away. It was such a relief I could’ve burst into tears.
Instead of doing that, I grabbed his face with both hands and, stomach swooping, kissed him square on the mouth.
5
SIMON
“Play along,”Theo murmured against my still-tingling lips. “Please.”
My heart was pounding so hard in my ears that I could barely hear him, let alone understand him.
He’d kissed me.
Why had he…?
Play along.
I glanced over his shoulder to see his mother standing with her mouth hanging open. I’d never seen Mrs. Hargrave even slightly ruffled before, let alone outright shocked.
Slowly, my brain caught up with what must have been going on. Theo had kissed me. He’d asked me toplay along.
For whatever reason, he was pretending we were… together. Boyfriends?
That raised more questions than it answered, but I didn’t have time to ask them. Theo needed something from me right now.
I gave him the tiniest nod and felt his sigh of relief in my own chest.
