“IS HE HERE YET?” Mia asked as she came out of the back room.
I was beginning to regret telling her about my agreement with Reed. She’d been asking me about it all morning while we worked at Hug in a Mug. I was already on edge as I waited for him to arrive for our logistics meeting, but the more Mia talked about it, the more nervous I became. What if this was all a terrible mistake? Was I just setting myself up to get screwed over by another jock? And where the hell was Reed? Maybe he’d changed his mind and wasn’t going to show at all. If he took much longer, I was going to talk myself out of the whole crazy idea.
“We didn’t agree on a time,” I replied, doing my best not to glance at the clock. I was getting seriously worked up, and I felt my heart skip a beat every time the bell above the front door chimed and a new customer came in. All Reed and I were doing was meeting to discuss our fake relationship, so there was no reason for me to be this anxious. I hadn’t even felt this way on my first few dates with Jeremy.
“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Nicole said. She’d also heard about my deal with the devil. While Mia, at least, seemed excited by the potential for drama it might cause, Nicole couldn’t see any positives. She was probably right. But I had to keep reminding myself that I’d done this for a good reason. To keep my sleezy ex-boyfriend off my back. And I had to believe it was going to work even if my friends thought that was delusional.
“Aren’t you worried about him?” Nicole continued. “Like, being alone with him?”
I shrugged. “I’ve been alone with him before, and nothing bad happened.”
“I guess.” Nicole wasn’t convinced. “But we’re talking about a guy who apparently intimidated his math teacher into giving him an A last year. A guy who got caught stealing a car in sixth grade. We’re talking about a Darling Devil.”
I was starting to lose track of all the different rumors I’d heard about Reed. None of them were good, and while he’d only ever been nice to me, the constant barrage of shocking stories that swirled around about him kept me uncertain. Perhaps now that I was his fake girlfriend, it was time I got to the bottom of some of this gossip and worked out who the real man behind the myth was.
I shrugged at Nicole. “People seem to have a lot to say about Reed and his family. I’m not really sure what to believe. It can’t all be true, can it?”
Nicole pursed her lips like she thought I was being naive. “I’m just trying to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Some of it’s definitely true. Like, you can see the scar on his neck. He got that in an underground street fight, you know.”
“I thought he got it in a bar brawl,” Mia said.
“Is there a difference?” I asked.
“If you’re talking about Reed Darling, you’re both wrong about the scar.” A girl I recognized from school had just come up to return her empty coffee mug. She leaned across the counter and lowered her voice as if she were about to reveal some big secret. “My mom works at the hospital. She told me he came in because a girl threw an ice skate at him and there wasn’t a cover on the blade.”
“Oh my gosh,” Mia’s eyes went wide, and from the look on her face, it seemed as though she much preferred this version of the story. Of all the rumors I’d heard, Reed’s scar was probably the one that intrigued me the most. Nicole was right. You could clearly see the evidence of the scar on his neck and shoulder, so there was no doubting its existence. But no one could agree on its origin. Clearly only one of the girls’ explanations could be true.
“Ouch,” Nicole added. “Why would she do that?”
“Probably an angry ex,” Mia suggested.
“Couldn’t be,” the girl replied. “Everyone knows the Darling Devils don’t date. My bet is he led her on and broke her heart. That boy’s a total player.” I couldn’t deny the girl’s theory made sense. Reed had pretty much admitted that his reputation as a player was accurate when he’d told me about the scores of girls “distracting” him from hockey. Jeremy had also seemed shocked by the concept of Reed having a girlfriend. Probably because they ended up throwing ice skates at him.
I looked between Nicole and Mia as the other girl turned and left the café. “He doesn’t even go to our school or live in Sunshine Hills. How does everyone know this stuff about him?”
“It’s Reed Darling,” Mia said as if that alone were answer enough.
“He’s captain of the enemy,” Nicole clarified. “Not to mention, he’s one of the best hockey players in the state. And you know by now how much this place cares about hockey.”
“When you add on top of that the way he acts and the way he looks,” Mia continued, “people are naturally going to want to talk about him. And now, I guess, they’ll want to talk about you too.”
“Lucky me,” I grumbled. I wanted to curse myself for acting so rashly last night. I’d done the sensible thing and told Reed we couldn’t be friends. But then I’d gone and kissed him and gotten myself into this whole mess. I couldn’t quite bring myself to regret the kiss though. I kept thinking about the way it had made my heart flutter and skin tingle. The look on Jeremy’s face hadn’t hurt either.
My heart leaped again as the café’s front doorbell rang once more, and the door opened. This time, Reed stepped inside. It was as if he’d known we were talking about him, and he’d chosen that exact moment to make his appearance. The sight of him caused nerves to ripple through my entire body. But it wasn’t for any of the reasons I’d been anxious before. His face was dark as he stood in the doorway, his huge frame almost obscuring the entire entrance. His eyes were narrowed as if he was staring down the entire café. He was just as intimidating and overwhelming as he had been when he’d arrived at Summer’s party with his brothers.
Maybe Mia was right. I probably should have been running in the opposite direction as fast as my legs could carry me. But then his gaze landed on me, and his icy exterior thawed. Amusement played across his lips and danced in his eyes. Suddenly, it was hard to remember why I’d felt intimidated at all.
I drew in a deep breath, giving myself a moment to settle my jittering nerves, and went to meet him at the counter. “You came,” I said, releasing a near silent sigh.
“You don’t need to sound quite so surprised. I take dates with my girlfriend extremely seriously.”
“Fake girlfriend,” I muttered.
He grinned, making his lone dimple pop. I did my best not to frown at the small indent in his cheek. Why couldn’t he be just a touch less appealing?
I was distracted because there were a couple of girls sitting at a table behind Reed. They kept laughing and shooting Reed flirtatious smiles. Was this an example of the reception he received everywhere he went? It seemed people were either fleeing from him, brandishing their pitchforks, or throwing themselves at his feet in the hopes they’d catch his attention.
“So, you ready to get logistical?” he asked.
“Logistical?” I looked at him once more, but it took me a moment to remember what he was talking about. It was a little hard to focus when I could still hear the girls whispering about him just a few feet away.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat before lowering his voice. “You know, about our relationship.”
“Right. Yes.”
“Is now a good time?” he added.
“Yeah, just give me a sec. Why don’t you go grab a seat, and I’ll bring you over a coffee. How do you take it?”
“You should know my coffee order, babe.” He gave me a wink before walking over to one of the booths.
I glared at the back of his neck as he moved away from the counter. How was I supposed to know how a Darling Devil liked his coffee? Probably tall, dark, and strong. That was no fun though, and I grinned as an image of the perfect drink for Reed formed in my mind. As his fake girlfriend, I knew just what he needed.
“I’m going to take a quick break,” I told Mia and Nicole once I’d finished making Reed’s coffee.
“No problem,” Nicole said. “It’s very slow in here.”
“True.” It had been quiet all morning, but I was hardly going to complain. I loved it when I got to work with my two best friends—and it was especially fun when we weren’t too busy.
“I won’t be long,” I said before I headed over to meet Reed with his drink in hand. I placed it down on the table before him, and his eyes widened with shock.
“What on earth is that?”
“It’s your favorite,” I said as sweetly as I could. “A strawberry Frappuccino with whipped cream, marshmallows, and sprinkles on top.”
“You know I have a reputation to uphold…” he murmured, keeping his voice low.
“I thought it couldn’t get any worse.”
“I guess that’s true.” He laughed before lifting the tall glass and putting the rainbow-colored straw to his lips. He looked pleasantly surprised as he took a sip.
‘Well, it might look like a unicorn threw up in my glass, but it tastes pretty good,” he said as he went back for more. “I do love strawberries, and you can’t go wrong with sprinkles.”
I laughed at his description. When I’d come up with the concoction, I’d been going for something a five-year-old girl might serve up to her imaginary pet unicorn, so unicorn vomit wasn’t exactly far off. I was surprised he’d even given it a go, let alone liked it.
“Not too sweet?” I asked.
“Nope.” He flashed me a smile even though the straw was still firmly stuck between his lips. “This is exactly what I wanted.”
My cheeks flushed because for a moment I wasn’t all that certain he was talking about his coffee. At least, a part of me seemed to hope he wasn’t talking about the coffee. I quickly pushed the thought away as I remembered Nicole and Mia were watching us closely. I didn’t look their way to check, but I schooled my expression to become more serious and focused on the task at hand.
“So…we’re really doing this?” I asked. “Pretending to be in a relationship?”
“Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
I was slightly terrified by the whole thing, but after the way Jeremy had treated me last night, I wasn’t sure I could back out. No, I needed to go through with this, so I shook my head. “I haven’t changed my mind.”
“Good.”
“But we need rules,” I quickly added.
His expression dimmed. “Okay, what kind of rules?” He really didn’t seem to like the sound of that. I guessed it wasn’t surprising when it seemed there were very few rules he actually followed in life.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Rules about things we are and aren’t comfortable with. Rules to make sure this doesn’t get out of hand.”
“Didn’t you already break your most sacred rule by being in this relationship? No hockey players, remember.”
“Yes,” I reluctantly admitted. “And look what a mess we’re in because I broke that rule. We’re making rules and sticking to them from here on.”
“Fine.” He let out a long sigh. “Give me an example.”
“Okay.” I said, with a firm nod. “Rule number one: no flirting.”
“What?” His face almost scrunched in disgust.
“No flirting.”
“But how are we supposed to convince people we’re in a relationship if we can’t flirt?”
He had a point. “Okay, then, no flirting unless there are other people around and we need to keep up the act.”
Reed still didn’t look certain and already seemed worried about how this was going to work. I could understand why it might be hard for him. A guy like Reed would probably chat up a streetlight if it had long hair.
“Okay, what else,” he asked.
“Uh, no kissing.”
“It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?” he said with a hint of a smile. “You already well and truly broke that rule.”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly when that happened.” I shot back. And if we repeated that mistake, I wasn’t sure I would ever think clearly again. Reed’s lips were far too skilled, and I’d enjoyed it far too much. Kissing was what had gotten me into this in the first place; it would only make things messier, and it was exactly why we needed to put these rules in place.
“No kissing,” I repeated.
“Again, how are we supposed to convince people we’re dating?” he replied.
“I’m sure holding hands is more than enough.”
“Did you have a rule about only holding hands with Hoffman?”
“No, I guess not,” I muttered. I felt myself shudder slightly as I recalled the way Jeremy was often so possessive in public. He always had an arm around my shoulder or a hand on my butt. He got even more handsy when he was drunk. I didn’t want to tell Reed any of that though.
Reed leaned back in his seat and exhaled as he placed his hands on his head. “I mean, we can try it,” he said before leaning forward once more and lowering his voice. “But I don’t think Jeremy is going to get the message if I’m not even allowed to kiss you on the cheek…”
“Okay, fine, you can kiss me on the cheek. But only if it’s necessary.”
He shook his head. “These rules are kind of taking all the fun out of our relationship.”
“You can have all the fun you like with your puck bunnies after the winter formal. And it’s a fake relationship.”
“Right. That’s what I meant.”
I wasn’t convinced, and my eyes narrowed on him as he took another sip of his Frappuccino. He’d demolished the drink, and a loud slurping noise sounded as he sucked up the last of the liquid through the straw.
“Do you have any rules for me?” I asked.
“I think we have enough already,” he replied. “Let’s get onto the important stuff. Where should we go for our first date?”
“Date?” I practically squeaked the word.
“Yeah.” Reed’s expression brightened as he continued. “To prove to your ex you’ve moved on to someone better.” I had a feeling Reed was all too happy to show Jeremy what an upgrade he was.
“Right.” I swallowed as nerves bubbled up in my throat. “Are you really sure you want to do this? It seems like a whole lot of effort on your part, especially when you’re supposed to be fully focused on hockey. Are the girls at your school really that bad?”
“Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “They’re a nightmare. Now, our date. Can you think of somewhere Hoffman will see us?”
“Uh.” Reed was clearly someone who wasn’t easily deterred when he had his mind set on something. “Well, I can think of one location where Jeremy would definitely see us,” I said. “And it will piss him off for sure.”
“Good,” Reed said, his face turning stern. “After the way he treated you, Hoffman deserves a little payback.”
“Well, Jeremy hated that I never showed an interest in his hockey,” I explained. “I was usually working and couldn’t make it to his preseason games, and he was always complaining that other players’ girlfriends went to watch their practices but I never did.”
Reed’s eyebrows shot up. “I mean, I guess I can understand he’d want you to come to his games. But practices?”
I shrugged.
“You don’t even like hockey…”
“Jeremy’s all about appearances,” I said. “I guess he just wanted the perfect little hockey girlfriend on his arm. But, clearly, I didn’t cut it.”
“Perfect is overrated,” Reed replied.
“Maybe.” It was hard not to feel the opposite. Perhaps if I’d been a little closer to perfect, then Jeremy wouldn’t have felt the need to cheat.
“So, you think you should come to one of my practices?” Reed asked.
“Uh, yeah?” I couldn’t have sounded less certain.
Reed chuckled as he took in my expression. “Hey, you were the one who came up with the idea.”
“Sorry, I know.” I squared my shoulders a little more and pushed down my anxiety at the idea of parading our imaginary relationship in front of my ex. “Yes, I think I should come to your next practice. You guys have the ice at the arena before the Saints, right?”
“Yep, and we’ve got practice tomorrow night,” he replied. “It’s fairly safe to say we’ll be seen by Jeremy or at least some of the guys on his team.”
I swallowed down the nerves that were refusing to stay buried. “Okay, I’ll see you there tomorrow night then.”
“It’s a date.” Reed grinned.
“A fake date.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
I shook my head at him. I still didn’t know what to make of the guy sitting across from me.
“What?” he asked. I must have been staring at him too long.
“I don’t know.” I hesitated, unsure whether I wanted to dive into the apparent dark side of Reed Darling. “I’ve heard a lot of stuff about you is all, and most of it isn’t good. But the few times we’ve met, you’ve gone out of your way to help me. I’m just trying to figure out who is the real Reed Darling.”
He laughed softly to himself and shook his head. “Well, now that we’re dating, maybe I’ll get a chance to show you.”
“True,” I replied. “But it’s just that some of the things I’ve heard are somewhat…concerning.”
“And do you believe everything you’ve heard?”
I didn’t answer straightaway. It felt unlikely that everything I’d heard about Reed was true, but that didn’t mean none of it was, especially given so many people had warned me about him. As I watched him, I got the impression he’d be disappointed if I admitted that.
“I guess not everything,” I said. “But how am I supposed to know what’s true and what’s not?”
“How about this,” he said. “Every date we go on, you can ask me about one of the rumors you’ve heard. I’ll answer you honestly, and if you don’t believe me, I can show you the receipts.”
“Do I get to ask you about one today?”
“I thought this was a planning session, not a date,” he replied.
“I mean, there’s coffee and talking.”
“But no flirting,” he replied. “Because that’s strictly against the rules. I’m not sure any date can really be considered a date without flirting.”
I opened my mouth to object, but he continued.
“And I also don’t think it can be considered a date when there’s zero chance we’ll kiss at the end of it…”
“I kissed you last night. Doesn’t that count?”
Warmth filled his eyes, and the memory of our kiss almost seemed to dance in his gaze. But the look was fleeting, and his smile quickly faded as he composed himself. He sounded more serious as he continued. “You really do want to know all my deep dark secrets, don’t you?”
“I’m just trying to make sure I’m not fake dating a criminal.”
“Fair enough.” He nodded. “Give me a rumor, and I’ll tell you if it’s true or not.”
My eyes dipped to the neck of his sweatshirt. I could see a hint of the scar the girls had been talking about earlier disappearing beneath his collar. Although I was intrigued, I didn’t feel comfortable asking him about it. It felt very personal, and a part of me didn’t want to hear about how he’d broken some poor girl’s heart enough to make her attack him with a deadly weapon. Instead, I decided to go with one of the first things Mia had told me about Reed.
“Did you miss school last year because you had to spend time in juvie?” I asked.
“Juvie?” His jaw seemed to clench a little, but he smiled. “Is that rumor still going around?”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No, I didn’t go to juvie. Last year, my dad had to move my grandma into a nursing home just as my junior year was starting. He needed help getting her settled and for someone to help out at the garage while he took time off. I volunteered, kept up with my classes online, and missed some school as a result.”
“Well, why would people assume you were in juvie?”
“Because I’m a Darling.” He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through it. “Either that or Parker was messing with everyone.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Getting your proof.” He turned the phone to face me and flicked through several pictures of him, Danny, and an elderly lady. A few of the pictures were selfies of the three of them, but there was one particularly cute one where Reed and his grandma were hugging. She was completely dwarfed by his massive size as she looked up at him adoringly.
“These are just pictures of you and your grandma, Reed. Maybe you went to juvie the week after these were taken.”
He rolled his eyes and pulled his phone away from me. “Going to need just a little bit of trust here, Sunshine. Or I could call my mom, and you can ask her?”
“No, no. It’s okay,” I quickly answered. I imagined that would be a very awkward conversation.
“Glad to hear it,” he replied.
The bell above the door sounded, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I was surprised to find the café had filled with people while Reed and I had been talking. I’d been so consumed in our conversation I hadn’t noticed. Mia and Nicole seemed to have everything under control, but I still felt guilty I’d taken such a long break.
“I should get back to work soon,” I said. “It’s getting busy in here.”
Reed smiled. “That’s fine. If we’ve missed anything, I’m sure we can talk about it on our date tomorrow.”
“Fake date.”
“Of course.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d had to correct him, and I was worried about how easily the edges of our agreement might blur over time even with my attempts at implementing strict rules. I was also a little worried about how much Reed seemed to be enjoying our arrangement so far. Given the way I’d lost track of time while we’d been sitting here, maybe I wasn’t hating it as much as I’d first thought I would either. I decided to make another addition to our rule book.
“Reed, before we go, there’s just one more thing,”
“Okay…” He suddenly sounded nervous, and I didn’t blame him because I probably looked a little sick as I thought about how to voice what I was thinking.
“We should promise each other that we won’t let any feelings get in the way of our arrangement.”
I slowly looked up at him, and his uncertain expression mirrored my own. “No feelings?”
“No feelings,” I replied. “Think of it as the golden rule. This isn’t a real relationship, and it’s never going to be. I’m not ready to date again after what happened with Jeremy, and I can’t afford to get my heart stomped on all over again.”
“Yeah, I get it.” Reed slowly began to nod, and it looked like he genuinely understood. “Okay, no feelings,” he agreed. “And I promise I won’t stomp on your heart if you don’t stomp on mine.”
I didn’t think there was any danger of that, but I nodded all the same. “Deal. And then in a few weeks, you can go back to your girls, and I’ll go back to avoiding hockey like the plague.”
“Sure” was all he said in response.
I blew out a breath, feeling more at ease now we had our golden rule to guide us through this minefield.
With that delicate conversation out of the way, the two of us stood from the booth at the same time. I was about to turn and walk away, but then I noticed there were a few kids from school seated nearby who were watching us. What would they think if I just left Reed standing there alone? I was supposed to be his girlfriend after all. I needed to act like it. But what about the rules I’d just—
Before I could fret any longer, Reed stepped forward and gently placed his hand on my waist. He leaned toward me and brushed a featherlight kiss against my cheek. His touch was so gentle but somehow still held an intensity that left me breathless. I was taken completely by surprise, but his lips were gone before I could react.
Had he already broken a rule? Or had we agreed that a kiss on the cheek was okay when necessary? I couldn’t remember. All I could think about was the feel of his lips on my skin. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he took in my wide eyes, and I quickly hid my shock as best I could.
“Uh, did that qualify as necessary?” I whispered. His face was still close to mine, and his hand still rested on my waist.
“Yes,” he murmured. “Definitely.” He brushed past me and made his way to the door. I stood frozen to the spot for a few seconds before quickly snapping to my senses and hurrying back behind the counter to return to work.
I was suddenly feeling very glad I’d decided to add our golden rule to the game plan at the last minute but also a little more worried I was going to have to work hard to enforce it.
