Page 129 of The Rules of Dating

“Hey.” I brushed my lips with hers.

Her smile was sad. “I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

“Take your time. The sitter can stay until whenever I need her to.”

“Okay.”

We were both silent until she finished and grabbed her purse. “Do you want to go for a walk, maybe?”

“Sure.” I shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

We walked to a park a few blocks from the shop and got hot dogs from the truck that was always parked at the entrance. Then we sat down on a bench inside and made awkward small talk while we ate. After, I wiped my mouth and lifted a knee up on the bench so I could look at her while I spoke.

“I would give anything for an easy way to fix this so we could go back to the way things are supposed to be, Billie.”

She touched my cheek. “I know you would, Colby, and that’s part of what makes you a special person. You’re willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for the people you love, including your own happiness.” She paused and took a deep breath. “And that’s why I also know that when I ask you to do something for me, you will.”

My brows drew together. “Of course. Whatever you need.”

Billie held my eyes. “I need you to let Maya move in.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

She shook her head. “I’m very serious, Colby. I was up all night thinking about things. It’s the only real solution we have. You need to redeem yourself as a married couple during this second interview, and the only chance you have to do that is if you spend time with each other. You need to know things you can’t study for, like your morning routines and habits, and you only have two weeks to learn it all.”

I shook my head. “I can’t do that, Billie. I can’t do that to us.”

“You wouldn’t be doing it to us. You’d be doing it for us. I see you, me, and Saylor as a team, and this team needs to do what is best for Saylor, regardless of how we personally feel.” Billie’s eyes filled with tears. “I love Saylor, too. I’ll never be able to live with myself if my selfishness—not wanting you to live with another woman for a few weeks—got her hurt. So I’m not taking no for an answer. Maya is moving in, and you two are going to spend every waking moment together getting to know each other.”

I had to swallow the giant lump in my throat to be able to speak. “It means the world to me how much you care about Saylor.”

She sniffled. “Well, that’s good, because that’s what we both need to focus on for the next couple of weeks.”

I leaned my forehead to Billie’s and lost the battle to hold back my own tears. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened in my life.”

Tears began to stream down her face, too. “So it’s settled, then. Maya is moving in.”

It felt wrong in my heart, but my head couldn’t deny it was probably the best shot I had at getting through the hearing. So I nodded.

Billie took a deep breath. “There’s just one more thing I need you to do for me.”

“Anything.”

“I can’t see you for a while.”

I froze. “What do you mean?”

“My heart will be with you, but it will be too painful to deal with seeing you when you’ll be going home to another woman. And you need to spend all of your spare time on getting to know Maya, not hanging out with me.”

“But…”

Billie held her finger to my lips and shook her head. “I need you to do this for me,

Colby. Please.”

CHAPTER 28

Colby