“Sure. Everyone within in a ten mile radius of Blessings goes to the carnival.” Her blue eyes widened with curiosity. “Are you?”
“Wasn’t planning on it, but I might just change my mind.” The wheels were turning swiftly in his mind. “And I know for a fact Garret will be there.”
Her head cocked to one side. “As we’ve established, I’m pretty sure he won’t even notice I’m there.”
He snorted. “What if you went with me?”
Confusion passed over her face. “What are you saying?”
Garret has always wanted anything Joseph shown the least bit of interest in. Cars, sports, even girls. If they played this right, he’d be eating out of her hand in no time.
“I’m saying I’m in.” He swallowed hard. “We’ll go together, flirt a little in public, and you’re right, Garret will notice. He’ll wonder if you’re my girlfriend. When he asks, I’ll tell him we’re just friends. I’ll encourage him to go after you. And if we play it right, you’ll have a date to the Harvest Ball on Saturday.”
He c
ould predict his younger brother’s every move. Once he assured him that his relationship with Michelle was nothing more than a harmless flirtation between friends, Garret would be free to go after her. And he would be the hero who helped her get what she wanted and also the guy who helped his little brother get over his tragic habit of dating girls who were more interested in their Instagram accounts than him.
“Are you sure?” She gave him a pained expression. “Now that I’ve said it aloud, it sounds really crazy.”
He shrugged. “It is, but what do you have to lose?”
She stared hard at him for a long second before something flipped in her eyes. It looked like acceptance. Shaking her head, she chuckled and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“Just to warn you, I’m not a very good liar. He might spot our deception a mile away.”
He shrugged. “Come on, I’ve known you since we were both in diapers. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Well, yeah...”
“Then a little flirtation between friends doesn’t seem like lying. It’ll be harmless fun. Trust me.”
She gazed up at him, a sequence of worry and doubt flashing through her eyes. But when she finally released the breath she’d been holding, she seemed to accept his plan.
“Meet me there at 4:00?”
“By the cotton candy booth.” He smiled, relieved she would entrust him with this. “Trust me, Garret will be interested in you. He’d be crazy not to.”
Her cheeks pinkened and her lips curled into a soft grin. “I thought you said he’s oblivious.”
“Yeah, well that was before you had a military man on your side.” He puffed out his chest, enjoying the sense of purpose once again. “Secret ops are sort of my thing. You’ll see.”
Her right eyebrow arched and she scanned over his face, her eyes flashing. “Right. We’ll see.”
He exhaled slowly and watched her leave. Pride filled his head as he thought about what would be his next successful mission. He’d never failed one yet. But at the same time, there was an indescribable twinge of nerves inside his chest.
He’d never been nervous for a mission before now. And there was no reason to change. Joseph Smith wasn’t the kind of guy who went off script. He won the battle and brought home the gold.
“I hope you’re right about this, Joseph,” Michelle called over her shoulder as she walked down the hall. She turned and walked backwards, shooting him a smile. “Because if this all goes wrong, that lobotomy just might be my plan B.”
He returned her smile with a military salute, warmth flaring in his gut. The only thing he was really sure about in that moment was that his brother had to have been blind to turn down someone like Michelle Bright. Anyone could see she was different from all the other girls.
It wouldn’t be hard to fake it with her.
Chapter Three
Michelle had never stress eaten so much cotton candy in a single sitting. She paced by the booth handing out the pink confectionary, her desire to eat out-muscling her ability to say no. Why had she blurted out her harebrained idea to Joseph? She thought her crush on Garret Smith had been put to rest years ago in a single, disappointing night. To even entertain the idea of getting his attention by fake dating his older brother was crazy. It would never work.
And yet, she couldn’t tell Joseph to forget it. The way his eyes had lit up with the plan had been fascinating. He’d seemed so reserved when she first set foot into that study. Like a man hiding from the world. But the moment he had latched onto the idea, that mentality had melted away. He was a man with a mission. She couldn’t let him down now.