Too Friendly to Date. Nicole Helm

to make sure he knew he was not her type.

      “Good night, Jacob.” Quickly, she walked away. The weird moment was gone, but he couldn’t stop turning it over in his mind.

      He watched her go, a big, shapeless figure in the frigid dark. She disappeared inside, her door closing with a distinct thud.

      Leah. Wanting him to touch her. Liking him touching her.

       You touched her cheek, you whack job.

      Yes. Yes, that. It had been an innocent touch in the cold and there was nothing to sit here and think over. He jammed his hand back into his glove.

      But even as he got in his car and drove back home, the moment stuck in his mind. And he wondered something he’d never allowed himself to wonder before.

      What if this little attraction he’d always shoved to the back of his brain wasn’t so lopsided?

      He didn’t have an answer for that, but he knew one thing. The question was going to haunt him for a very long time.

      * * *

      “SO, WHAT’S UP with you?” Grace plopped in the seat next to Leah. The kitchen at MC was always a revolving door around lunchtime, everyone eating on varying schedules. Ever since Grace had moved into MC earlier this year when the ex-boyfriend who’d beaten her up had gotten out of jail, it wasn’t unusual that Grace and Leah would eat together, but Leah had to admit she’d been hoping to eat alone today.

      So, she almost said she was fine. Almost smiled and shoved the offensive sandwich in front of her down her throat, but that wouldn’t solve her dilemma. “I need to tell you something, and, for the sake of my sanity, I need you not to tell me I’m nuts.”

      “Even if you are?”

      “Especially if I am.”

      “Gotcha. Shoot.”

      “So, you know how my family is coming on Friday and we haven’t always been the kind of close-knit family you have and all that?”

      Grace nodded, cracking open a can of pop and thankfully giving Leah time to spit it all out.

      Leah pushed the plate away. She couldn’t beat the nausea that all these nerves and stress were causing. “Well, they have this thing about being really overprotective, and in an effort to downplay some of that overprotectiveness, I kind of lied about a few things to them.”

      “You want us to corroborate?”

      Leah nodded. If she was a hugger, she’d have her arms around Grace right now for understanding so well. But then, she hadn’t told what they needed to corroborate yet, either.

      Leah swallowed. “I made up a boyfriend.”

      Grace laughed. “Wait. Seriously?”

      “Yup.”

      “Okay, so...if they bring up a boyfriend we just smile and nod and pretend like we know about him. We can do that.” Grace squeezed her arm. “Hardly a favor worth getting nervous about asking.”

      “I’m not totally done.”

      “Oh. Okay. So, what’s the rest?”

      “I didn’t make up a boyfriend, exactly. I used someone real as my fake boyfriend.”

      “Really? Who? If it was Ryan Gosling I don’t think you’re fooling anybody.”

      Leah wished she could laugh, but the nerves and fear over Grace’s reaction closed her throat, making it impossible.

      “Leah? Who is it?”

      “Jacob.”

      Grace laughed. “Am I supposed to understand whispered mumbling? Come on. Who is it?”

      Leah stared hard at her hands, and this time when she spoke she made sure to enunciate. “Jacob.”

      “Jacob,” Grace repeated.

      Leah could only nod.

      “My brother, Jacob. That Jacob?”

      Again Leah nodded. Preparing herself for a lecture on being crazy or explaining how it would never work or anything besides understanding.

      “Makes sense.”

      Man, the McKnights sure didn’t make it easy on her to beat herself up. Both Jacob and Grace acted as if it was the most normal thing in the world for her to pretend Jacob was her boyfriend.

      “Have you told Jacob?”

      “Yeah.”

      When Grace didn’t say anything else, Leah thunked her forehead against the table. “And this is where you’re dying to tell me I’ve gone batshit crazy.”

      “No.” But a weighty silence followed and Leah braced herself for something. “And Jacob agreed to pretend, I’m assuming.”

      “Yeah.” Leah shook her head, gave her forehead another thunk. “Say it. Just, whatever it is, tell me. I can handle it.” Maybe.

      “Don’t you think it might be a little awkward pretending to be with Jacob considering...”

      Leah straightened in her chair, the heat of embarrassment climbing her cheeks and forehead. “Considering what?”

      “Well, you guys just have...a thing.”

      “A thing?”

      “Yeah. Like a weird energy. Like maybe there’s a little interest or attraction there. Kyle and I have both definitely noticed a thing.”

      “There is no thing. We’re thingless! Well, he’s not. I mean, I assume he’s not. It’s not like I actually know. Oh, my God. Shut me up. Please.”

      Grace was doubled over laughing and Leah wanted to disappear into the floor, but it was all so ridiculous she found herself laughing, too.

      When was she going to accept this plan was stupid? Crazy? When would she accept lying probably wasn’t the best way to reunite with her family?

      Probably never. Because she’d thought about this problem for months. Going over every detail in her mind. Every possible scenario, but none of them worked. None of them allowed her what she wanted. Nothing except this crazy scheme.

      “Leah, be straight with me.”

      Leah met Grace’s steady gaze and sighed. “Okay, maybe there’s a little thing. But it’s...nothing. It won’t be awkward. It’s a favor. We’re just friends, and I can’t imagine anything that would change that.”

      Grace looked less than convinced, but she didn’t say anything more and that was why she was Leah’s best friend. “It’s just pretend. For a week. What could possibly happen?”

      Grace shook her head, but before she could offer any worst-case scenarios, Jacob and Kyle walked into the kitchen.

      In the end, Leah didn’t know if the interruption was a good thing or not.

CHAPTER FOUR

      WHEN JACOB WALKED into the kitchen of MC, he wasn’t surprised to see Leah and Grace eating lunch together. The two had become close since Grace had moved in. But the pink tinge to Leah’s cheeks was weird, even weirder when it deepened to a full-blown red as she glanced at him.

      What had they been talking about that would make Leah, of all people, blush?

      “Are we interrupting?” Kyle asked.

      Grace glanced at Leah. “You want to tell Kyle, or do you want me to?”

      Leah made a go-ahead gesture with her hand, eyes never leaving her sandwich. Funny, Jacob couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the stain of color on her cheeks.

      “Or should Jacob be the one to spill the beans?”