Pretending I Love Lucy: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (Apple Valley Love Stories Book 3) by Julie Christianson
Author:Julie Christianson [Christianson, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-27T23:00:00+00:00
Chapter Twenty-One
LUCY
Fix has been gone for approximately 1,830 seconds. Not that Iâm counting. Iâve just helped a lot of my brothers and sisters with their math homework over the years, so I can convert minutes into varying increments of time without really thinking too hard.
Iâm definitely not sitting in the parlor, obsessing about Fix being alone with Valerie. In a car. Or at a motel. That would be silly. Iâm sure heâs had plenty of other women in his life besides Val. The man is handsome and wealthy and chivalrous. And despite his claim that he only thinks about himself, Iâve witnessed firsthand how Fix takes care of other people. And Iâm not just talking about Grams. Fix is worried about leaving Arthur Kent in the lurch and about being a burden to everyone at work. Heâs been generous with me, which in turn trickles down to my family. Heâs even taking care of Valerie now. I glance out the window again, and then at the wall clock.
1,920 seconds.
I couldnât hear much of what Fix and Valerie were saying to each other, but I know things ended between them six months ago. How many seconds is that? A lot. But itâs entirely possible that Fix still has feelings for Valerie, especially if their breakup wasnât his decision.
Maybe thatâs why heâs making sure sheâs okay tonightâdriving her to The Granny Smith and getting her settled.
Jealousy wraps itself around my lungs, like barbed wire cinching in tight. I shouldnât be jealous. Valerieâs a part of his past. But what if she apologizes enough to him in the present to make him reconsider being with her in the future? There would be nothing I could do to stop that.
Iâm not actually his girlfriend.
But a bigger issue is taking root in my brain and sprouting quickly, like grass on a Chia pet. If Valerieâs the kind of woman Fix usually dates, Iâd never stand a chance of being with him. Even if I wanted a chance, which I donât.
I canât want it.
For the record, I know the grand gestures in romance novels and on the Hallmark Channel arenât realistic, but the underlying themes are. Theyâre about a love that overtakes you. A love that sweeps you off your feet. An all-consuming love that makes you realize you canât live without that person. I want nothing less than this.
But even if Felix Dodd III wanted to date me, the man never wants to get married. Meanwhile, Iâve spent my whole life dreaming of finding my soulmate. Of falling in love and being a wife. So the point is moot, and my jealousy over Valerie is absurd.
And yet.
Once Mrs. Dodd said the words out loud to Valerieâthat Iâm Fixâs girlfriend nowâa flip switched over in me. I suddenly felt territorial, like we were actually a couple. There I was, covered in sauce and sugar, while possessiveness clawed up my throat. I wanted to shout at her, Hey! Thatâs my man. If you get too close, my lightsaber wonât be made of wrapping paper.
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