Contents
Prologue
1. Plastic Waste
2. Meeting Mr. Grump
3. Righty Ho
4. Wake-Up Call
5. Kidnapped
6. Faking it
7. Umm… what?
8. Cooties
9. Clue
10. Lady Bits
11. Dick
12. Duck
13. Chicken
14. That’s Worse
15. Appropriate PDA
16. Screwed
17. Ring-Ring
18. Let The Games Begin
19. You Only Live Once
20. Done For
21. Karma
22. Dick
23. Car Warranty
24. Oh No
25. Time Out
26. Capture the Flag
27. Talented
28. Consequences Be Damned
29. Denial is not a river in Egypt
30. Just Call Me Delusional
31. Irrational
32. Messy
33. I’m an Idiot
34. I Think I Messed Up
35. Just In Love
Epilogue
A Note From The Author
About Aurora Rose Reynolds
Also by Aurora Rose Reynolds
To everyone who is searching for forever, thinking that it will never happen.
Prologue
You know those little white lies you tell, because they’re harmless? Like “I wish I could go out tonight, but I’ve already got plans,” but you know those plans only involve you, the couch, and a movie? Or when a loved one cooks all day, and when it’s time to eat, what they made is actually terrible, but you’d never say that, so instead you lie and tell them it’s delicious?
Well, the little white lie I told is no longer harmless.
Or maybe it never was to begin with.
I mean, pretending to be engaged to someone is kind of a big deal, but in my defense, I believed my fake engagement would only last one short week and that when the week was over, I would go back to life as I knew it.
I had no idea the lie I told would spiral out of control and take on a life of its own. I for sure never expected to fall stupidly in love with Jace Ellis.
But fall I did, and now I have to figure out if he fell right along with me.
Chapter 1
Plastic Waste
“Did you send Aunt Lucy your flight details?” I ask my mom from where I’m lying next to her open suitcase. I listen to the sound of hangers clinking together coming from the closet on the opposite side of the room.
“Yes, Mom,” she calls like a teenager, and I can actually hear her rolling her eyes at me.
“And you gave her the list of medications you’ll need to get while you’re there, so she could confirm the pharmacy has them in stock?” I meet her gaze as she comes out with her arms full of stuff and she tosses it all onto the mound of clothes already piled high next to me.
“I did. Now stop being such a worry wart.” Seeing her with a smile on her face and color in her cheeks almost makes me believe that the last year and a half has been nothing but a bad dream. But the pretty floral headwrap covering the silver hair that’s now growing from her head is all the reminder I need to know it wasn’t.
In a single year, she’s completed two surgeries, then underwent chemo and radiation to make sure the breast cancer she was diagnosed with was gone. She’s one of the lucky ones who was able to ring the bell at the end of her last treatment one week ago. But that knot that started in the pit of my stomach when she was diagnosed is still there, and I’m not sure it will ever be gone.
“I’m going to be fine.”
Her statement snaps me out of my thoughts, and I focus on her. When I see her own worry, but for me, etched into her pretty features, I plaster a smile on my face. “I know.” And I do. I really do know she will be okay, but I still don’t love the idea that she will be so far from me. “Tell me again why you have to go for so long? I mean, what are you even going to do with Aunt Lucy for six weeks?”
“We’ll figure that out, and you, my beautiful girl, will act like the twenty-seven-year-old single woman you are and go out with friends… or find a man… to spend time with.”
I snort. I can’t help it. I don’t have much of a social life anymore, since all my friends stopped inviting me out when Mom was going through treatment after treatment and my answer to their invites was always no.
And spend time with a man? No, thank you very much. Been there, done that, and I don’t want seconds.
“Don’t act like that. You could at least try to date again.” She sighs.
“Mom, I’ve seen the fish in the sea, and they are all contaminated by whatever toxins are floating around in the water with them. It’s probably all the plastic waste out there.”
“There are nice guys around, Penny. You just have to find them.”
“And where do you suggest I find one of these nice guys, Mom?” I raise my brows. “On a dating app, where the guys are looking for a hook-up? Or the bar, where the men are drunk… and also just looking to hook up?”
“Don’t be a smartass. You could meet someone at a store.”
“A store?”
“Yes, it happens all the time.”
“Then I should just get a summer job at the grocery store. That way I’m around when Mr. Hallmark Movie needs a gallon of milk.” I laugh when she throws one of her frilly pillows at me.
“I’m just saying, you can find something to do while I’m gone that doesn’t involve sitting on the couch in your pajamas, watching documentaries about world wars and ancient history like some seventy-year-old man.”
“History is important.”
“Right.” She smiles, then her face goes soft, but her tone becomes serious. “Please do something fun, okay? Even just one thing. That way you can tell me all about it, all right?”
“Fine, I’ll find something fun to do while you’re gone.”
“Good.” She leans over to touch her fingers to my cheek, then looks at her suitcase. “Now help me pack, so I can get to the airport.”
“You have like five hours before your flight leaves.”
“Yes, but I might want a coffee or to shop before I get on my plane. Plus, I don’t want to rush.”
“All right, all right, let’s get you packed, just so you can leave me sooner.” I pout and listen to her laugh as I sit up. The truth is, I hate the idea of her being gone, but I’m happy she’ll be able to spend time with my aunt and grandma in New York, even if I will miss her. For a while, we didn’t know what the future would hold, so her being able to travel is a good thing, and I know she needs this trip.