Page 37 of A Match Made In Fall

Sammy grins. “So, I’m guessing you said yes to his invitation.”

I grin. “I did. He’s picking me up here at six.”

“Well, I know someone else who’s going to be very happy to hear this,” she continues. “Your brother is beside himself about you dating a pro athlete. But be prepared because he’s going to ask you for hockey tickets constantly.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I say. “Just remind him that they aren’t my tickets to give out.”

“You should invite Austin to come with us to the pumpkin patch today,” my mother says as she walks into the kitchen with Jude on her hip.

I narrow my eyes. Obviously, she overheard our conversation.

“Um, that’s a no. I’m sure Austin has better things to do than attend an infant photoshoot.”

Because that’s what today is all about. Yes, we will pick out some pumpkins, but the main purpose is to take hundreds of photos of the cutest baby on earth in his tiny overalls.

My mother hands Jude to Sammy. “What did I tell you the other day? I knew you’d be thanking me.”

Sammy instantly looks between us suspiciously.

“Okay…what exactly is she supposed to thank you for?”

I point at my mother. “Would you like to explain to your daughter-in-law what a bad influence you are?”

Mom grins proudly ignoring my comment. “Dexter texted Isabella pretending he was checking in about her injury. Then he asked if they could talk, so I stepped in with a solution. Isabella is just being dramatic.”

Sammy raises her eyebrows. “What kind of solution?”

My mother folds her arms proudly. “I simply told Isabella to text him that she had a new boyfriend.”

Sammy’s mouth drops open.

“And then she typed Austin’s name into the message and hit send,” I add.

Sammy gasps. “Noooo.”

“Oh, it gets worse,” I say, groaning. “Dexter never even responded to me. Instead, he messaged Elise asking who Austin was and how long we’d been dating.”

Sammy places her hands on her cheeks. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was. Then Elise called me in a complete panic because she thought I secretly got into a relationship with Austin and somehow forgot to mention it to her. The only thing she knew was that I was going out with Austin and a group of people. Naturally she’s freaking out thinking I was already in a relationship.”

“So you’re in a fake relationship that has already spiraled out of control.”

“Pretty much.”

I point toward my mother again. “And I already told her if this backfires, I’m telling everyone it was her idea. I’ll throw her under the bus in a second.”

Mom looks unbothered. “Well, it worked didn’t it. Dexter hasn’t contacted you since. You don’t need any more stress right now while you’re healing.”

In her defense, she has a point. Dexter backing off was the goal, and he hasn’t messaged me since that text.

The only problem is the rumor floating around that someone named Austin is now my boyfriend. I know how this goes—gossip like this can spread like wildfire.

“Austin doesn’t know about any of this, right?” Sammy asks carefully.

“No way. Could you imagine that conversation? Something like this could end things before they even begin. I guarantee he wouldn’t want to date someone who tells people they’re already in a relationship.”

She visibly relaxes. “Good. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”