Fake Marriage Box Set

I snorted. “It worked well enough for me,” I said.

“At least until the point that they exiled you to Hawaii!” Mina teased.

I glanced over at Gretchen, smiling at her. “No, that's worked out pretty well for me, too,” I said.

Both girls giggled a little at that one, and I slung an arm around Gretchen's shoulders, pulling her into a sideways hug for a moment.

“But seriously,” I said. “There may be certain friends who you don't want to go into business with, but for the most part, I think that's bullshit. No one respects you the way that your good friends do. And while that can, in itself, be detrimental to a business, it’s about taking everything in moderation, right?”

“Yeah,” they agreed.

“So, why pineapples anyway?” I asked Mina suddenly. It wasn't something that I'd ever asked her before, I realized. And although of course there were pineapples galore on the island, it still seemed sort of strange to me that she'd set up a shop devoted to them.

Mina laughed. “When I was a kid, my mom used to put my hair up into this high ponytail,” she said. “Only my hair wasn't long enough for it, so it just kind of spiked up everywhere. I grew up getting called Pineapple Girl. It seemed only fitting that I take that nickname with me into business.”

I stared at her. “Really?” I asked.

Mina shrugged. “It wasn't like I knew what else I wanted to do. And originally, I sold all sorts of different fruits and some vegetables, but pineapples don't go bad as quickly, and they seemed to be the most popular things in the shop anyway. I started focusing more and more on them, and here we are today!”

“You've tried her pineapple shakes, though,” Gretchen said, smiling fondly at her friend. “They're amazing, aren't they?”

“They are,” I agreed. “And I can see how refreshing they are after a long massage.”

“They'll be especially refreshing when enjoyed in a hammock out on the porch of our new place!” Mina said, grinning happily. “I can't believe we're putting in a dozen hammocks.”

“It was a great suggestion,” Gretchen said.

“Especially given the proximity to the beach,” I agreed. “We're going to have to watch and make sure that they're paying customers using them, but otherwise, I think it's going to be awesome.”

“Definitely.”

We were all silent for a while, considering the waves, munching our sandwiches, and thinking our separate thoughts. “You know, if the press were to happen to get news that you were hanging out around our shop…” Mina said suddenly, trailing off at the end.

I laughed a little. “Is that your marketing strategy?” I asked her. “Send an anonymous tip into the press and shamelessly whore me out for business?”

Sh

e shrugged, unrepentant. “It couldn't hurt, right? They'll get bored of your lifestyle soon enough anyway, especially once word gets out that you and Gretchen are living together. You're no longer the most eligible bachelor in the country. They'll move on to the next hot thing, sorry to say.”

“I'm not sorry,” I said, reaching over to squeeze Gretchen's hand. “It was nice while it lasted, but I like this better.”

Gretchen didn't respond except to lean over and kiss me gratefully.

“You two are so sappy,” Mina said, rolling her eyes, but I could tell that she was secretly pleased with our relationship. I still had a long way to go in winning over the rest of the island, especially those of them who had witnessed the scene at New Year's, but it was only a matter of time.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Gretchen

Mina was in a good mood when I got to work on Monday morning. “Just finished choosing paint chips with the decorator,” she told me. “I'm so excited. Can you believe we only have a few weeks left until we move into the new place together?”

I smiled at her, glad that she was this excited about the décor at the new place. Neither Christian nor I cared all that much about it, although I knew that I wanted it to be soothing for my clients. But Mina had been overjoyed to take over that side of things, so we'd left her to it. “And just what color are the walls going to be?” I asked her. She'd been maddeningly secretive about the whole thing.

Sure enough: “You'll just have to wait and see,” she said in a singsong tone of voice.

I rolled my eyes a little, but I knew there was no way I was getting it out of her. I would just have to wait and see when it was all finished. I only hoped it wasn't something like princess pink or anything like that, but I trusted Mina's sense of style, or else I would never have agreed to this.

“Saturday was a lot of fun,” Mina said, changing the topic. “I'm starting to like Christian, and I like who you are around him.”