Page 80 of Faking Romance

I blush and shake his hand. “I’m Roxy. I own the bookstore downstairs and live in the studio.”

“Oh, right, Al said he was leasing out the commercial space. Nice to meet you,” he replies as he looks at Gray’s arm that is wrapped around my shoulders.

“Nice to meet you too,” I reply.

“Looks like I have some catching up to do,” he says.

Cam waves her hand in the air. “Hutch is trying to solve the flower bench mystery. Al closed up the antique shop and leased it to Roxy. Roxy and Gray fake dated but now are really dating. The entire building is part of a romance book club now. Oh, and Cam may be on the verge of finally owning her own bakery.”

“And I lost a tooth!” Ava squeals as she runs over and smiles up at Kasen so he can see her missing tooth.

Kasen grins at her and picks her up. She looks ridiculously small in his arms. “Wow, did the tooth fairy come?”

She nods. “I got five dollars because it was my first tooth.”

“Darn! That’s a lot,” he says as he looks back at all of us. “So, I didn’t miss much, then?”

Everyone bursts out laughing.

“Come on, I’ll make you a drink and you can tell us all about where you’ve been,” Al says.

And just like that, everyone meanders over to the bar, surrounding Kasen and asking him a million questions. But Gray and I remain where we are.

“Will our story always start with the fake-dating thing?” I whisper.

“Should we start with me yelling at you about the noise?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

I press my lips together to keep from smiling. “No,” I manage after a second.

“Well, then I guess it will, but I promise you one thing,” he says.

“What’s that?” I ask as I wrap my arms around his neck.

“There’s nothing fake between us anymore,” he adds as he leans down and kisses me.

“Ewww! Kissing!” Ava yells as everyone laughs again.

“That doesn’t look fake to me,” Kasen says.

“No, Kase,thatis very much real,” Al states. And then there are some more comments from other neighbors, but I don’t pay attention because I’m too busy kissing my dream guy, my very own real grumpy-sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, fake-relationship, one-bed-trope, neighbor-romance book boyfriend.