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“For as long as you want.”
“And the real reason why I came back to town to live?”
His confidence was catching. “Absolutely. You missed me so much you didn’t want to spend another day without seeing my sexy face.”
She laughed at the situation. She and Dean engaged? Who would believe it? “And how long have we had a long-distance relationship? Since I left?” Then again, Mrs. Fran thought it was plausible. Would they be able to fool everyone else?
He looked down at the rocky sand, digging his fingers in instead of meeting her gaze. Finally, he said, “We’ve been friends forever, which is true, but only in the last” —he paused and seemed to be counting in his head— “seven months have we known our relationship was something more.”
“Seven months?” Emile said. “That’s hardly enough time to date before getting engaged.”
“Finn and Ava have been off and on for years, minus the one other time she dated someone.”
An uncomfortable sensation crawled up her back. He seemed to know a lot about Ava’s dating life. “Do you and Ava keep in touch?”
He shrugged but didn’t meet her eye. “Rumor mill and all that. They’ve been hot and cold since graduation.”
Another worry bugged her. Would their friendship suffer if they had a plan? Would it end in chaos and hurt feelings? Before they agreed, she had to set some terms.
“I don’t want to lose you as a friend.” Dean raised an eyebrow. “I mean it. I won’t do this if our friendship ends in shambles.”
He drew lines in the sand around their feet. “You think we’ll be over because of this? Girl, you’re gonna have to trap me in a net to get away now.”
She smoothed the sand around her and drew circles with the palm of her hand. “So we’ll still be friends after this is said and done?”
His smile faltered. There was no way she’d do this without his assurance. Before she could back out, he met her eyes with a hard stare. “If you promise to give staying a chance, I’ll make sure our friendship stays safe.”
An uneasy restlessness slipped into her mind, shaking her confidence. She grabbed her cherry limeade and took a deep swig. It wasn’t like she didn’t trust Dean. But giving this place an honest chance would require effort. At least if she tried, she could leave with a good conscience. She slipped her hand into his for a handshake. “Deal, I’ll protect our friendship as well, but if after a year it doesn’t work out, you can’t be mad if I leave.”
“Don’t worry. You’re going to love life in Danvers and never want to leave me.” His warm, calloused hand sent unwanted tingles up her arm.
She dropped her hand and pulled her food into her lap. “Let’s eat before this gets cold.”
The ocean lapped against the shore while they ate. Gulls passed overhead, filling the silence while questions rolled around in Emilie’s mind. What would people ask her, and what would she tell them when they asked about wedding details?
After crunching into a particularly thick onion ring, she stole a glance at Dean. His hazy blue eyes focused on the sea, probably looking for boats. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world to be engaged to him. He’d earned her trust long ago by keeping her family secrets. Finn, on the other hand, couldn’t handle the truth about her family and fled. Some great guy he turned out to be!
She visually traced the angles and planes of Dean’s face, surprised he hadn’t dated more with how good-looking he was. She had asked him plenty over the last year on long conversations that continued into the morning, but now after seeing how hot… qualified he was, it really made no sense. Nope, she could do much worse than him. She regarded him as he continued to stare. Just because she was in a state of desperation over coming back to town didn’t mean she had to throw herself at Dean. That had been a bad idea the night she left Danvers six years ago. An even worse idea now that they were fake engaged.
She’d always been attracted to Dean but was never brave enough to do anything about it. Finn had been her first real boyfriend, and after their breakup, it was too painful to even consider Dean. The night after her mom’s funeral, she’d packed up everything and left for her dad’s, only stopping at Dean’s house to say goodbye. He’d looked as broken as she felt. He had begged her to stay, but she couldn’t. And then he kissed her. A simple, beautiful kiss she’d never forgotten all these years.
“So when are we getting married?”
Emilie inhaled sharply when Dean’s words came out so smoothly. Disbelief and something else she couldn’t name flooded her mind. Was it the hilarity of the thought of them dating?
He scooted closer until their knees brushed. “Or we could say we want to get you settled first. Then there might be fewer questions.”
Emilie nodded. Props to Dean for staying logical. Setting a wedding date felt too final. “Let’s do that. But what happened seven months ago to change things?”
Dean threw his wrapper in the bag and stretched out on the sand, his hands sliding behind his head. “Seven months ago, you came down to visit your mom’s grave, we met up, and things just clicked.”
She’d avoided her hometown since the day she’d left, including her mother’s grave. Guilt slashed across her like a ballet dévelope kick to the stomach. “I’ve wanted to visit Mom.” Her voice took on a panicked tone. “Well, I did and I didn’t. The dance company was always touring somewhere. Made a perfect excuse in the beginning, and then later, I didn’t want to come. I haven’t visited once since the funeral.”
He sat up and patted her free hand. To anyone else, the touch might’ve seemed patronizing, but from Dean, it was kindness. “Her gravestone’s nice. Whenever they’re in season, I bring her a big bouquet of yellow snapdragons.”
Emilie grinned, remembering how her mom always planted them in the spring, but by fall, the cold wrapped terrible fingers around them and killed them. “Thank you, Dean.” Emotion crawled up her throat. For six years, he’d continued caring for her family. His love went above and beyond what she could’ve imagined.
“You know I’d do anything for you, right?” He slipped an arm around her waist.
