The Real Fake Fiancé: A Sweet, Small Town Romantic Comedy (Love in Mirror Valley Book 3) by Sara Jane Woodley

Author:Sara Jane Woodley [Woodley, Sara Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eleventh Avenue Publishing Inc.
Published: 2023-07-05T16:00:00+00:00

18

DEE

There are many ways I thought this evening might go.

After all, I like to be prepared for all worst-case scenarios, right?

But I’ll admit that I never expected to almost swoon on my doorstep, have my scary boss break the news that he’s extending his stay, choke on vinegar-soaked bread, surprise kiss my best friend (again), basically skinny dip in a freezing cold river at midnight, and then get dragged back to our town’s fanciest hotel by a very uptight security guard.

Nope. Past Dee could never have anticipated this.

“Don’t know what you kids were thinking, swimming in the river at this hour,” Hank the security guard grumbles yet again as he marches us through the Brookrose Inn reception. I count my lucky stars that no midnight lurkers are hanging around the lobby. At least our little trespassing walk of shame doesn’t have an audience. “Thought you could get away with it, didn’t you? Well, I had my eye on ya the whole time.”

Noah and I share a look and he winks at me. “You’re right, Hank. Dunno what we were thinking making basically zero noise in a quiet, wooded area that isn’t anywhere near sleeping guests.”

Hank must miss Noah’s sarcasm because he steadfastly replies with, “Exactly my point. And just so’s you know, the owners of the Brookrose are not going to be happy about this.”

Now, I look at Hank in full alarm. “You called Ivy?!”

“Here they are, Valentina!” Hank announces gruffly, gesturing to Noah and me before crossing his thick arms across his chest. He’s got a real man stance happening right now—legs spread, chin tilted up, lower lip jutted out. “Found the two hooligans who were trespassing in the gardens. Do your worst.”

Valentina—who is really Val, a good friend of mine and the Brookrose’s front desk manager—simply blinks at Noah and me in confusion. Her eyes are wide behind the maroon cat eye glasses she only ever wears on her night shifts. “Huh?”

“The two kids I saw sneaking out back of the inn,” Hank reminds her helpfully. There’s a strained pause before he steps towards her, dropping his voice. “The ones I told you about before I ran out of here? Saw them on the monitor?”

“Oh!” Val blinks in a big way, her lips twitching as she looks from me, to Noah, to me again. “Right. The rulebreakers.”

“What’d I tell ya? I caught them, didn’t I?”

“That you did. Well done, Hank.”

He smiles proudly, chest puffing out all the more. With his thick gray mustache, he looks every bit like the cat that got the cream. And right on cue, he trots away happily. Probably off to check his monitors for any other “hooligans” roaming around.

“Swimming in the river at this hour? You guys have a death wish,” Val says with a chuckle, reaching for a box perched high on a cupboard behind the desk. “It must’ve been freezing.”

“I’ve been warmer,” Noah says between clenched teeth.

Meanwhile, I have a full case of the shivers. I’m still wearing Noah’s dark blue work shirt and it is soaking wet, sticking to my body in severely unflattering ways.

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