Page 62 of Enchanted to Meet You

I flexed my foot instinctively, kicking my leg up a little higher as if I could examine it through the tights. “Fine, actually. Finally healing. I don’t need a bandage on it anymore.”

“I thought you were going to say you were suffering and couldn’t walk anywhere and force me to carry you everywhere.”

“Oh, yes, I am suffering and cannot walk anywhere, but I don’t expect you to carry me anywhere. You’d probably carry me straight to the dock and dump me in the water.”

He huffed a laugh that had my heartbeat kick up. “Ainsley, I’d carry you anywhere you wanted to go.” My face heated with a warm blush, but I ducked my head to hide it and started pulling bobby pins out of my hair, dropping them into the cup holder to keep them together. I couldn’t help but sigh in relief as my hair came out of the tight bun, falling in waves around my shoulders.

“I’m sorry for making you leave so late,” I said in an effort to change the topic—and to stop the memories of Rhys hooking his arm under my knees on Sunday and lifting me effortlessly into the house. “If it wasn’t for me, you could have left right after school and been there by now.”

“I didn’t want to go up right away anyway,” he said, his voice low and dismissive, as if the sacrifice was as insignificant as passing him a napkin. “Plus if we had, Landon definitely would have asked for a ride instead of going up with his family and you two would have had to do a thumb war for shotgun, so this worked out for everyone.”

“Well, obviously I would have gotten it. I’m your girlfriend.”

I froze right after the words left my mouth, realizing that it sounded like I was saying I was actually his girlfriend. There was nobody around to be pretending for, and yet, the words had come to me as easily as breathing. Why had I done that?

Luckily, Rhys didn’t seem to notice. “Trust me, we’re still better off just the two of us.”

My heart gave an awkward, uninvited thud against my ribs. Just the two of us. A two-hour drive up Highway 400, completely alone.

“You look like you’re going to faint, Ainsley,” Rhys snorted. “Are you that terrified of my driving, or are you just overwhelmed by my presence?”

“Well, your driving is a legitimate public safety hazard,” I shot back, adjusting my seatbelt as it dug into my collarbone.”And I’m not scared. I just don’t know what happens when Landon isn’t around to mediate. We’d probably be at each other’s throats within an hour.”

“Please. You love me.” He reached over and hit a button on the dash. “Now connect your phone and pick something good. If you play indie folk that sounds like someone crying in a forest, I’m pulling over and leaving you at a Tim Hortons.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at my mouth as I fished my charger cord out of my tote bag.

Within twenty minutes, we had left the suburban sprawl behind and merged onto the highway, joining a massive, crawling exodus of cars, trailers, and boats headed north. The cities were shedding their skin for the weekend, dumping thousands of restless teenagers and vacationers onto the roads.

“We should probably recap,” I said, staring out at the passing trees.

Rhys let out a scoff. “Recap what? How to light a campfire?”

“No, Rhys,” I said, turning to look at him, keeping my voice stern despite the heat rising in my cheeks. “The rules. We haven’t reviewed the ground rules since the first night, and we’re about to spend three days in a cottage with your whole family.”

Rhys rolled his eyes, though the amusement was clear in the slight curve of his mouth. “All right, fine. Go ahead, Professor Novak. Lay down the law.”

I held up my hand, ticking off my fingers one by one.

“Rule number one,” I stated firmly. “No public displays of affection unless there is an audience. Which means no fake hand-holding, no fake arm-wrapping, and definitely no fake...” I caught myself, the word sticking in my throat.

“...no fake kissing?” Rhys finished smoothly, his voice dropping an octave, rich and dry.

My cheeks burned hotter. “Exactly. No kissing.”

“Got it,” Rhys murmured, his eyes fixed on the dark road ahead, though I saw the quick, subtle flash of his white teeth as he bit down on his lower lip to hide a smirk. “Strictly professional boundaries when we’re alone. What else?”

“Rule number two,” I continued, clearing my throat to regain control of my authority. “The cover story—if anyone calls me, you do not exist. I am at Clementine’s cottage ten minutes down the road, eating junk food and watching reality TV and tanning.”

“Don’t see how that affects me, but agreed.”

“It affects you,” I said, poking him in his very hard bicep, “because I need you to not announce your presence when I’m on the phone. No yelling anything in the background.”

“When have I ever done that?”

“I’m planning for possible contingencies.”

“You need to stop overthinking. It’s the long weekend, Ainsley. Learn to relax.”