When Lightning Strikes (Whiskey Creek #1)(57)
Author: Brenda Novak

“If we sign a rental agreement covering the period until escrow closes, I don’t see why not.”

If they were in their new place, he couldn’t wake with his hand up her shirt again because they’d be sleeping in separate beds. Now, more than ever, they needed to give each other space. “What about furniture?”

“We could head over to Sacramento and do some shopping.”

“Sounds good.” After meeting Matt, he could use a break from Whiskey Creek.

He packed up his laptop and led Gail out of the coffee shop. To her credit, she didn’t so much as turn toward Matt, but Simon could feel the other man’s eyes following them all the way to the door.

* * *

Gail knew she was being too quiet. It was becoming obvious that encountering Matt at the coffee shop had left her reeling. If he hadn’t seemed so upset that she’d gotten married, maybe she could’ve taken it in stride. In the past few months, she’d convinced herself that he wasn’t interested in her. But when he hugged her he’d muttered, “I blew it,” and sounded genuinely disappointed.

She hadn’t responded to that. There wasn’t time, and she wasn’t about to undermine the believability of her marriage to Simon with a “Wait for me. This isn’t real.” For one thing, she’d look too mercenary, as if she’d done it for the money. She’d kept the secret for other reasons, too. Simon seemed to be stabilizing. The last thing he needed was for his new wife to become regretful or act as if she wanted to break up with him on account of an old crush.

She felt she’d handled the situation well, but she didn’t have it in her to make small talk. She kept wondering…if she’d left Simon to solve his own problems and tried to figure out another way to rebuild her business, as Callie had suggested, would she and Matt have had a chance? Would they finally have gotten together? She’d planned on marrying him since she was thirteen!

As they drove to Sacramento, she stared out at the passing landscape, remembering how she and Callie used to take turns peering through a knothole in Callie’s back fence while Matt threw a football with his father or older brother.

Maybe his knee injury and the possibility that his football career might be coming to an end were making him consider settling down. Maybe he wouldn’t go back to Wisconsin, after all. He could stay in Whiskey Creek. He could even marry someone else while she was tied to Simon.

Wouldn’t that be ironic? It was probably what she deserved for telling the world such a lie about Simon and her….

“You okay?” Since they’d left Whiskey Creek, Simon hadn’t spoken much, either.

She dug through her purse for her lip gloss so she wouldn’t have to look at him. She was afraid of what he might see in her face. “Fine, why?”

“Are we going to pretend?”

“Yes,” she said simply.

He had the sunroof open. The warm, midmorning air ruffled his hair, but she’d put hers in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in a romantic relationship?” he asked.

They were both wearing sunglasses, which helped hide their feelings and reactions. Today, Gail liked the buffer those glasses provided. She didn’t necessarily want to know what Simon was thinking, and she sure as heck didn’t want him to discern her thoughts. “I told you—I wasn’t. I don’t know what’s going on. I think…I think Matt’s return home is just bad timing.”

“When you’re ready, he’s not. When he’s ready, you’re not.”

“Something like that.”

“We could make some changes in our…arrangement,” Simon pointed out.

This was a business deal. She didn’t mean anything to Simon on an emotional level so she didn’t have to worry about hurting him. She understood that. But she couldn’t dissolve the marriage too soon. He’d lose all the ground they’d just regained. And if that happened, it could be the trigger that would send him back to the bottle. He needed more time.

She could give him that, couldn’t she? “I’m okay. I’ll take one for the team.”

His lips thinned. “Choosing me over him is taking one for the team? Wow, you really know how to flatter a guy.”

“You have enough women drooling over you. You don’t need me for that.” Actually, she drooled over him plenty. She just didn’t want him to know it. Whenever she was sure he wasn’t aware of it, she found herself watching him. It was a good thing she understood the difference between reality and fantasy. Matt was someone she’d known her whole life, someone she had a right to hope for. Except for this brief period of time, and their very practical reasons for being together, Simon was as out of reach as the moon. Once their two years were up, he’d shoot back into orbit.

She just hoped she’d still have some semblance of her old life to resort to—and that she’d be satisfied with it.

His phone buzzed on the console, but he didn’t even glance at it.

“You have a new text message,” she said in case he’d been too preoccupied to hear.

“I know.”

“Want me to read it to you?”

“No.”

“Want me to drive so you can read it?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not interested right now.”

“Why not?” She looked down and saw the message. “It’s from Bella.”

He didn’t seem surprised, which concerned her.

“Why would she be texting you?”

Lifting his bottom from the seat, he shoved his phone in his jeans pocket. “If you knew Bella you’d understand.”

“What does she have to say?”

“Nothing new, I’m sure.”

Another ripple of alarm went through Gail. “You haven’t been contacting her, have you?”

“No. Not once—at least, not in several weeks.” He sounded adamant. Whether she was right to take his word for it or not, she believed him. She hadn’t caught him lying to her yet. He’d actually told her some pretty harsh truths—including the fact that he was incapable of falling in love again. She figured he deserved the benefit of the doubt.

“She’s been reaching out to you?”

“I wouldn’t call it reaching out.”

“What would you call it?”

“Bella’s own brand of torture.”

“Which means…”