Fake Summer Wife
Page 7
Two of them were patterned, and a bit distracting. The third was simpler and matched the dress perfectly, with very faint vertical pinstripe lines in a lighter silver.
“That one,” I said, pointing.
“Perfect.”
As I left the store, Vaughan rushed up to grab the bags from me. “What are you doing here?” I asked in surprise.
“I couldn’t wait to see you,” he said with a grin. “Plus, I didn’t think that my wife should be hauling packages around.” He looked up and down the street. “Where did you park?”
“I don’t have a car,” I laughed. “I took the bus.”
His eyes widened in horror. “Claudia, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. I should have sent you a car.”
“It’s fine. I’m used to the bus.”
I followed him to a huge work truck that said Walsh Construction across the side. “So you own the business?”
“Yes.” He opened the passenger door, carefully set my packages inside, then reached for my hand. As he helped me up the big step, I was struck again by how ridiculously large he was. But it wasn’t scary. It was comforting, somehow. I also noticed that he kept my hand in his for as long as possible, which was charming.
Once I was buckled in, he ran around to the other side. “Yeah, my grandfather started the company, dad took it over and made it grow, and now I guess it’s my turn.” He began to drive south.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I get the impression that you’ve been working too hard this summer. So consider this an evening’s worth of vacation time,” he smiled. “I’m taking you to the beach.”
It was as if Vaughan had somehow read my mind, or taken one look at me and known exactly what I needed. After working on my classes during the day, and my shifts at night, as well as not having any friends in town, my summer activities list had been short verging on zero.
“Trust me,” Vaughan said with a smile as we pulled into traffic. “I know the perfect place.”
We pointed out stores and restaurants we liked on the drive, and I appreciated the variety of his interests. I was glad that a bookshop was among his favorite stores. Tough and smart was definitely a good combination.
We arrived at an incredible restaurant down by the water called Endless Waves. It was breezy and comfortable, while still being quite elegant. We were led to the second floor, to a balcony patio that overlooked the waves.
“How’s this?” Vaughan asked, as he pulled out my chair.
“Perfect, thank you.”
I loved that he pulled out the chair beside me to sit in, not the one across the table.
As he sat down, I used the opportunity to take a closer look at his broad, hard body. He might be the boss of his company, but he certainly did some of the work himself. Those thick arms definitely came from hauling lumber, not fancy gym workouts.
Although his dark blue button down shirt looked fresh as if he had just changed it, he still managed to look a bit rough around the edges. The deep tan, the faint but charming smile lines around his eyes, and the casual way he held himself made me like him even more.
I hadn’t felt an attraction to anyone in so long. There hadn’t been time, or I’d made other excuses. But here was a nice, handsome man who was apparently interested in me. There was just no way to tell whether it was genuine attraction on his part, or whether I was simply fixing his ex-girlfriend problem.
If nothing else, though, this was a perfect opportunity to see if I could maintain my new outgoing personality when I wasn’t working at the diner. If Vaughan needed a wife to impress people, I was going to have to speak with strangers, and be bubbly.
I was going to have to appear absolutely delighted with everything. In other words, I was going to have to fake a lot of sincerity. Sure. No problem.
The server brought over menus, and although Vaughan ordered a beer, he suggested I have one of their fancy fruity drinks. “I suppose you’re not having one because they’re not manly enough?” I teased.
He looked sheepish. “Actually, that’s not it. Sugary drinks always make the booze hit me harder, and I’m driving you around. With just one beer, I know that I’m good.”
His honesty was refreshing, as was his ability to admit limitations. So far, Vaughan was checking every box in what I wanted in a fake husband.
I decided on a raspberry apple rum slushy, then we chose several appetizers so that we could
share everything.