Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 567(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 567(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
“Not just that,” Sarah says, keeping her voice low even though I’m not that far away and can hear every single word. “She has a laptop now. I saw it. Can you imagine Junie using anything that works?”
“What? No way.” Jake is totally, painfully serious. “You mean she’s finally entered the twenty-first century on some dude’s dime? Let me know the next time Big Fish comes in so I can shake his hand.”
God, I feel my cheeks turning ten shades of red as they laugh.
“Hey, let’s be nice and not get too carried away,” Sarah finally says. “It’s Junie after all. You know how she hates spending money. The laptop could still be a loaner from her gran or something. She had to finish the accounting stuff so the new CPA can sort it out.”
I scowl in their direction.
Way to rub it in, guys.
Being poor and being a technophobe are two different things. It’s not like I don’t want to update my life and the store.
“I’m surprised, though,” Sarah whispers. “I just didn’t think he was her type, you know? Like, I never figured she’d go for someone so… well…”
“Bossy?” Jake suggests. “Shitty? Rich?”
The worst part is, he’s not wrong.
“Hot,” Sarah whispers, then dissolves into giggles.
Okay, I’ve had enough.
“Guys,” I snap, poking my head through the door. “You do know I can hear your whole conversation, right?”
Sarah gasps and flushes up to her ears.
Jake clears his throat, awkwardly staring at his shoes like a kid caught with fireworks.
“So, uh… were we right?” he asks sheepishly. “Are you dating Big Fish?”
“First of all, you need to drop the nickname. He’s a paying customer and he shouldn’t be disrespected,” I say, like I haven’t been using it too. “Second, my private life is none of your business.”
“He hugged you!” Sarah blurts out.
“Hugs can be platonic,” I hiss back. But hell, if she saw it on camera, then she knows that hug wasn’t meant for friends. “Look, okay, yes, we’re… seeing each other. You could call it an arrangement.”
“Arrangement?” Sarah wrinkles her nose and tucks a strand of her hair back into her ponytail. “Way to make it sound like the least interesting relationship ever.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“You don’t exactly seem happy.” Jake looks at me, his previous embarrassment forgotten.
Yeah, I’m not.
I’m not happy about the relationship part. The money, on the other hand, is reason enough to smile. So I show my teeth.
“We’re just testing the waters, guys. Nothing too serious.”
“He’s giving you money,” Jake points out.
“I—” I grit my teeth and take a deep breath. “We have a business agreement, okay? He happens to be a very big fan of what we do here. It’s for the store’s benefit, so do you guys think you could put a lid on gossiping for one minute and get back to work?”
“Sure, sorry, it’s just slow today.” Jake points at the empty tables. “We’ve got nobody right now.”
“Yep, the perfect time for you to clean the bathroom.” I fold my arms, daring him to argue back.
“You don’t pay us enough for this,” he grumbles.
I grab a tea towel and flick it at his back. “Less complaining, more working, big boy. Or else you might not get paid at all.”
Everyone laughs.
It’s an empty threat and he knows it, but he grabs the cleaning equipment and heads into the bathroom while Sarah wipes down the tables again.
I head back into the kitchen and lean against the counter. My palms sweat and I wipe them on my pants.
This is fine. Fine.
It’s been two years since Liam. Two freaking years and I am so over his boring, noncommittal ass.
The staff gossiping about me and my nonexistent love life is normal, actually. Wouldn’t they gossip about anyone and their hot, rich new boyfriend?
So what if it’s fake?
And no matter how hot or rich he happens to be, Big Fish wouldn’t be my first, second, or last choice for a serious date.
But for a fake relationship, he’s peachy—and having his smug face in my head is just a reminder of the terms of the arrangement.
Mutually beneficial, remember?
If I play along like a good girl, then the Sugar Bowl might have a real future for the first time in my lukewarm tenure as boss.
I’m smart enough to avoid getting too invested in annoying, backstabby men.
I’ve been burned before and I’ve learned my lesson.
This is a two-way business partnership and not a real relationship. It’s not love or even casual dating.
Never again.
Nana’s house is small, adorable, detached, and boasts a huge yard teeming with summer color.
She’s particularly proud of the green lawn with patches of wild clover and her spacious garden in the back.
When she’s not baking or listening to her favorite true crime podcast about famous psychopaths and gruesome murders, she’s outside, grubbing around in the flowerbeds and coaxing gorgeous blooms out of dying plants she finds at the nursery.