Fake Marriage Box Set

“That’s good, Jack. I’m glad you’re happy.”

“You seem happy, too, Em. I never seen you smiling the way I did that night at the bar. What’ve you been up to since college?”

“I’ve been working on a farm outside of town. Pete owns it.” I paused, but, this time, I knew just what to say. “We’ve been dating for a few weeks now. I take care of the horses on his ranch.”

“Dating the boss, huh?” he asked, his smile widening.

I smiled, too. It didn’t bother me anymore, really. I felt at home on the ranch, with Pete. “He got the ranch from his daddy right out of high school, and he’s kept it running since then. It’s such a beautiful piece of property. He has acres and acres. It reminds me of growing up working side by side with Daddy and Kasey. I basically get paid to play with horses all day.”

“I remember you running home from the diner after hanging out because you had to feed the horses or mow the side lawn or some other terrible chore,” Jack said.

I laughed out loud, covering my mouth at how loud it sounded in the mostly quiet restaurant. “It’s good honest work. That’s all I’m after.”

“That’s fair,” he replied. “I work hard as a fireman, too, just in a different way.” He puffed out his muscular chest. I couldn’t get over him not being the gangly teenager I remembered. I was sure I hadn’t changed even half as much as he had.

The waitress brought us our meals, setting a steaming plate of what looked like lumpy gravy in front of Jack and a burger and fries in front of me.

Jack took a good long whiff of his food, his eyes rolling dramatically back in his head. “Damn, I missed this.” He cut a big hunk of his fried steak while I bit into my burger. No place I’d ever gone outside of this diner made a hamburger this good.

“We have to do this more often,” I said. “Do you come home much?”

He had to get through a nearly overflowing mouthful of steak and potatoes to answer. At least that much hadn’t changed. The boy could still eat. “More than I did before. Being so close helps. You can come out to see me too whenever you like.”

“Pete gets out to Austin pretty often for rodeos and other ranch-related business. I’m sure I could tag along with him.” I didn’t care much for driving long distances and never had. I could ride a horse for hours, though.

Jack’s dark eyes were shining, and I knew that look from hours spent staring into them. He was about to jump on me about something, teasing until I yelled at him to stop. But as soon as he finished what was in his mouth, he said something that brought tears to my eyes.

“I’m happy for you, Emma. You seem to be doing exactly what you love. And, it really looks like you care about this Pete guy.”

I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face at hearing that. I hadn’t meant to bring Pete up quite so much tonight. But when I talked about my life now, most of it involved him. We worked together all day and spent most nights together, either out or at home. I’d even spent a few full nights with him, waking early to the sounds of him frying up eggs and bacon in the kitchen as he hummed and slid around on the linoleum.

“I really couldn’t be happier right now,” I told Jack. “My work, my love life, things with Daddy and Kasey. It’s all perfect.”

He lifted his water glass. “Cheers to perfection, however it comes.”

Grinning, I lifted my glass to clink the rim with his.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Pete

Friday

I’d barely rested my ass in my seat on the porch before Emma’s cute little sedan turned off the main road and came tooling down the driveway. It wasn’t even five thirty. What in hell had gotten into her this morning? I knew she was an early riser, but damn. I was grinning by the time she walked up, always just so glad to see her. Half of me kept expecting her to disappear just as unexpectedly as she’d arrived, but she kept turning up every day.

“Howdy, pretty lady,” I said, and she smiled. I loved that. Making her smile.

“Howdy, yourself.” Instead of climbing the steps up to the porch, she rested her booted foot on the first step. “How does breakfast at the Texan sound?”

I slapped my empty belly. Well, mostly empty. I’d had a mug of coffee right after I dragged my ass out of bed. “Sounds damned good.”

She tilted her pretty head, her grin getting even wider so it was the brightest thing in the dark. I swear to God she glowed with some inner light I still didn’t understand but was happy to bask in.

“I thought you might say that.”

We took my truck into town, the windows rolled down so we could enjoy the coolest part of the day before the sun rose. Emma went straight for the old timers’ table in the corner, where we sat down side by side. I liked how easy she was with them. The waitress came over with some fresh mugs of steaming black coffee for us.