Page 12 of Mister McStudmuffin

“I almost kissed JD.” I jam my spoon into the cookie-dense ice cream and bring some to my mouth.

“Almost? What does that mean?”

I stare at her while I swallow my cold treat.

“What? Did he shove you away? Did you vomit on him? I don’t know, Chels, the options are literally limitless.”

“Pregnancy has made you cranky.”

She pulls the pint from my hands. “No more for you until you tell me the whole story.”

“Fine.” I blow out a breath. “We were talking about Terminator.”

“Of course you were.” She snorts. “Nerds.”

“Anyways, somehow, we got to discussing the differing timelines and he said something about a different timeline for us. One where I’d met him before Mike. Then I laughed that off because whatever. He’s a total horndog.”

“But is he? Really?” she asks. “Y’all work very closely together and you’ve never mentioned an endless parade of women at the office or calling him or anything.”

“He’s probably just discreet.” I bite down on my lip. “Though he did say he hasn’t been with a woman since he met me. But that can’t be true.”

My sister eyes me while she chews a mouthful.

“Why do people chew ice cream? I mean we all do it, but there’s not that much to actually masticate. This one does have cookie bits in it, but they’re pretty soft.”

“Chelsea! Focus. Don’t try to distract me with an inane conversation. JD basically told you he wants you and you almost kissed him? Why are you not naked in your office right now?”

“Because!”

“Because why?”

“I’m scared, okay. Scared he’s going to break my heart.”

“But what if he doesn’t? What if instead, he takes the very best care of your heart?”

“That seems highly unlikely,” I say.

“There is no actual evidence to prove that he’s a manwhore other than something one person told you nearly three years ago. Don’t you think it’s time to be honest with him? Tell him how you feel? Introduce him to Mike. You know, your dog!”

I squeeze my eyes shut. Just the thought of coming clean to him makes my insides feel like someone just set off a fire alarm.

“What am I supposed to say? Oh, by the way, I’ve been lying to you for our entire relationship. I pretended my labradoodle was my boyfriend. Isn’t that funny?” I wince. “He will think I’m a nutcase. Not only that, tonight, right before I left, he asked me to stay and I freaked out and told him I had to go home and feed Mike.”

“Oh Chelsea, what are you doing to yourself?”

“I don’t. I just know that it makes me feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin at the very thought of telling him how I feel. I’ve cared about men before. Had some crushes or whatever. But this…” I swallow the lump in my throat. “At first, the lie seemed so simple. I needed that job. I didn’t want to lose it. And, God, no one wants to be the person who sleeps with their boss! For a really long time, maintaining the lie seemed reasonable. Smart. But now…”

“Now?” Charlie prods gently.

“Now…” I glance at my sister, who’s waiting for my answer, spoon partway to her mouth. “Now I can’t lose him. JD means everything. He’s not just my boss. He’s not just the guy who holds my entire professional life in his hands. He’s the guy I spend most of my day with. He’s my sidekick, my partner in crime, and my best friend.”

“Hey!” Chelsea gives me a playful kick. “I thought I was your best friend!”

I roll my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

She gives a wry smile and says softly, “Yeah. I do.”

“I guess I’d just rather have him in my life in some capacity than none at all.”