I put a hand on her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze through her silky black pants. “I’m sorry. It seems like you two are really close.”
She glances my way, sniffing as she nods. “Thanks. We are. I love her so much. She always just…got me, you know? In a way my parents and Lauren never really did.” Her lips curve in a fond, sad smile. “She always said we were kindred spirits, like Anne and Diana in Anne of Green Gables, even though we were born over sixty years apart.”
I give her leg another squeeze. “That’s awesome. And special. I never knew my grandparents. Dad’s mom and dad died in a car crash when he was a kid, and my mom’s parents are still part of some commune in California that doesn’t allow them to talk to ‘outsiders,’ even if the outsiders are their grandchildren.”
Harlow rests her hand on mine. “I’m sorry. That sucks. My grandparents were all pretty great, though Gram’s always been my favorite.”
I turn my palm face up and thread my fingers through hers. It’s an intimate gesture, but it feels right.
She glances down at our joined hands, a question in her honey-brown eyes.
I smile. “If we’re going to fool your family, we should probably practice pretending to be a couple before we get there, right?”
She blinks faster. “Really? You’ll do it? You don’t think it’s weird and I’m totally crazy?”
“Oh, it’s weird,” I say with a laugh. “But I get it. And you are many things, Harlow Renee Raine, but crazy isn’t one of them.”
Her lips quirk up on one side. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I say, an idea popping into my head as I spot a billboard advertising Bargain Bob’s Truck Stop and Gift Emporium. My idea is definitely a little crazy, but I’m not the kind of guy who does things halfway. I go big or I go home, so I don’t hesitate to nod toward the sign and say, “Let’s stop for snacks, and I’ll pick up a few presents while we’re there. I don’t like to meet the parents, or the grandparents, for the first time without an offering of goodwill.”
Harlow makes a scoffing noise. “Oh, my parents won’t care. They know you from all the times you picked Evie up at my house growing up, and they’re not gift people, anyway. We don’t even exchange presents at Christmas anymore. We just get my nieces and nephew toys and focus on eating as much sugar as possible before dinner.”
“Good. I’ll get them chocolate or something,” I say, taking the exit. “But I can’t show up empty-handed. It’s not my way and definitely not grade A-boyfriend behavior.”
She nibbles her bottom lip. “Okay, but you can’t be too great. At least not with my parents. Lay it on thick with Gram, but I don’t want my mom and dad to be upset when we eventually break up.”
“Noted,” I say, ignoring the insane voice in my head suggesting that we might not break up, and she won’t have to worry about that.
That voice is unhinged. Harlow seemed to find that kiss at her place as hot as I did, but in her heart of hearts, she still loathes me. I am absolutely alone in wondering if this truce might turn into something more.
But when we walk into the gas station hand in hand, it doesn’t feel strange or forced. It feels natural to open the door for her and press a kiss to her cheek before she hits the bathroom. Natural to watch her go and then make a beeline for the glass case at the back of the store, breezing past the candy section to grab two boxes of chocolate on the way.
It looks like Bargain Bob’s is going to come through for me on all fronts today.
I finish checking out just moments before Harlow reemerges from the bathroom, shaking her head as she motions behind her. “Sorry, there was a line.”
“No worries,” I say, leading the way out to the parking lot, deciding now is as good a time as any to take this fake date situation to the next level.
I wait until Harlow’s standing beside the passenger’s side of the SUV, waiting for me to unlock the door, and pull in a deep breath. Setting the bag of chocolates on the roof of the truck, I reach into my pocket and sink down on one knee.
Chapter Five
Harlow
My jaw drops and my heart executes a series of Olympic gymnast flips in my chest. My throat tightens and my thoughts race in frantic, feverish circles as Derrick holds up a small jewelry box and cracks it open to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring.
“Harlow Renee Raine,” he says, his eyes dancing, “will you do me the honor of being my fake fiancée for as long as we both agree it’s a good idea to pretend to be madly in love?”