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He had no answer to that, so he only said, “Sorry.”

“Oh, well. Maybe that will be over by the next time I see you.”

Not a chance. Even if this thing with Damaris ended badly, he wasn’t touching that one.

“That’s a mighty disappointed woman we left in Tampa,” Travis said on their way home. “I remember the days when you nailed every pretty woman who gave you half a chance. And that was way more than half. From the looks of it, that was a full-blown invitation to party. But you’re reformed now.”

Nate rolled his eyes. “You’re exaggerating. I wasn’t that bad.”

“Yeah, you were.”

“Whatever. I haven’t done that in a long time.” Not since he’d fallen in love with Damaris. Damn, he’d almost told her he loved her a dozen times in the last two weeks. And he had a feeling—no, make that he knew—she wasn’t ready for that yet.

“Speaking of Damaris—”

“I wasn’t.”

Travis continued as if Nate hadn’t interrupted him. “I knew you had the hots for her, but I didn’t think you were ever going to do anything about it. Then, poof, out of the blue you two are dating.”

“It wasn’t out of the blue. And what do you mean, you knew I had the hots for Damaris?”

“It was pretty damn obvious. Maybe it’s the fact that whenever you talked about her you’d get a look in your eyes I recognize.”

“Oh, yeah?” A lame response but he couldn’t think of a better one.

“Yeah. Remember, I’m a married man.”

“Duh. What does that have to do with anything?”

“I recognize the signs. So when are you going to pop the question?”

Was he kidding? “Who said I was going to pop the question?”

“Aren’t you? You’ve been in love with her for years; now you’ve finally started dating. You’re not going to chicken out now, are you?”

Travis was one of his best friends. He was the one who’d brought Nate to Whiskey River. The one who’d made him part of the airport. Also the one who, apparently, knew how he felt about Damaris.

“I’m not. We’re not dating. Not really. The whole thing’s a fake.”

Travis stared at him. “The hell you say.”

“Yep.” Nate went on to tell him the story about his grandma’s dearest wish and his plan to make her happy.

“You are shitting me,” Travis said when Nate finished. “You asked Damaris to be your pretend girlfriend? Why? Why didn’t you just tell her the truth?”

“Because I knew she’d freak out if she knew it was for real.”

“Why would she? It’s obvious she likes you.”

“Yeah, she likes me. Enough to set me up with any pretty woman she can find.”

“But she hasn’t done that for a while, has she?”

“No,” he admitted.

“Okay, good. You just got back from San Diego. You mean to tell me you didn’t close the deal the whole time you were there with her?”

Nate shrugged. “That’s beside the point. She’s still convinced we’re just friends—with benefits.”