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“Maybe. You looked like a woman determined to find trouble.”

She waggled her eyebrows. “The fun kind?”

“Debatable.” I wiped my hands on the napkin. “If I hadn’t walked in when I did, the bikers might have been all too willing to take advantage of you.”

“Like I said before… thank you for saving me.” She added a strip of bacon to my plate, reducing her portion, like some kind of reward for being the hero. “Still, I regret nothing. Except for breaking Betsy’s seatbelt. Sorry about that.”

“You remembered? Is there anything else you remember?” I wiped my plate clean of the egg yolk with my last half of toast, hoping she might recall my monologue before she passed out. Only she shook her head.

“I cried right? I was pretty upset about these rumors going around. In fact, I almost left yesterday, back to New York. Except your mama stopped by to talk with me. Convinced me to stay. Even carried my suitcases back to my room.”

Thank God for Mama. I swallowed hard. “You always going to run when things get hard?”

“I don’t mean to. Just… things happen.”

“You need to stop running, Lace.”

“If you could find a way for people to keep their noses out of my business, I might.”

“Speaking of rumors… People probably recognize Blue Betsy out front. If people see me leaving your house this morning?—”

“They’ll jump to conclusions and think you’re doing the walk of shame,” she groaned and buried her face in her hands.

“Would that be such a bad thing? Besides, I’m not sure I’d feel one bit of shame after a night with you.”

“Oh, Hudson, this isn’t a time to be funny,” she scoffed.

I wasn’t trying to be.

“Although…” She suddenly got a crazy look in her eyes, chewing her cheek. “What if people did see you leaving, us walking hand in hand to your truck? Maybe they’d start talkingabout us instead of Carson and me. Shift the narrative, get the gossips going in a different direction.”

“Come again?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“It makes total sense. You’re single, right?”

“Last time I checked.”

“I’m single. So…”

“What are you suggesting, exactly?” I shook my head, unsure of where this was headed.

“A distraction. You already said you’d help me fix up the house. We’re going to be spending some time together. People will naturally assume something is going on between us. Why not lean into it?”

“Lean in—?” I crossed my arms. She wanted to use me as bait. I wasn’t sure whether to be offended or... intrigued. “You want people to think we’re a couple.”

“Not forever. Just long enough to shut down the worst of the gossip. It’s a perfect plan.” She stood to clear the plates, stepping so close to me I could reach out if I wanted, run my hands up her thighs and strip that t-shirt off of her. “It wouldn’t bethathard to pretend you like me, would it?”

I met her gaze head-on, letting the tension simmer. She was playing a game. Problem was, I didn’t want to play. Not unless I could win. And the prize would be her.

“Here’s the thing, Lace,” I said slowly. “I don’t like pretending. Not about this. Not with you.”

Her hopeful smile dropped, and she rushed away with the dishes to the sink. Shit. I’d do just about anything for her, but this? Although I couldn’t stand to see her sulking, and the thought of her suitcases being at the ready to leave anytime didn’t sit well either.

I could have her now, pretending to be something we weren’t. Or not have her at all. Or keep hoping she came to her senses and saw what we could be together, eventually.Maybe both—pretend with her and then convince her I wasn’t pretending.

Yeah. That last one could be a good plan.

I sauntered up beside her, resting my palms on the counter, and sighed as she did the dishes. “I can’t believe I’m going to agree to this.”