Page 7

MARLOW

It’s been two days since Ryan asked me to be his fake date to the wedding. That is the last time we spoke. It’s the last time we even looked in each other’s direction.

Ignoring each other is preferable to our normal dynamic. We should have been doing this all along. It probably would have saved us both a lot of trouble.

But it’s not without its own set of problems. First of all, I don’t know a single detail about this wedding.

It’s this weekend, but I’m not sure which day or what time or what I’m supposed to wear.

Second of all, we’re not going to make a very convincing couple if we both act blissfully unaware of the other’s existence the entire time.

When I walk through the ranger station lobby on my way to lunch, Ryan is standing near the front desk talking to Jack. Jack gives me a quick nod, but Ryan doesn’t even glance over.

My nerves are already in overdrive just thinking about this weekend.

How are we going to tolerate each other for hours at a time, let alone make people think we actually like each other?

Will he want to touch me, to make it seem more convincing?

Does asshole-ism run in his family, or is he the genetic outlier?

I really have no idea what to expect. And right now, I don’t have time to properly consider the myriad of questions running through my head. I’m already running late to lunch with Abby.

When I arrive at Dot’s Diner, Abby is already settled into a large corner booth with papers scattered everywhere. This is a working lunch – our last meeting to finalize the itinerary of Nature Track’s first hike.

Abby looks up and smiles at me as I cross the restaurant.

We launch straight into talking about the program.

Abby is practically vibrating with excitement as she plucks papers out of the piles and points to various spots on a map, showing me the route she plans to take the kids on in a few weeks.

The first hike will be a simple day hike with a limited group size. Sort of a trial run.

Abby drags her finger to a spot on the map and pauses.

“This is the only part I’m not sure about. I thought we could stop for lunch around here,” she taps her finger to a red dot on the map, “but Hunter thinks it’s a bit too far for the kids. He suggested stopping near the hiking shelter instead, but it’s almost a mile out of the way.”

I nod along. I don’t know the first thing about the area. Or about hiking, for that matter. Paperwork and red tape are more my areas of expertise.

“Do you want to come with me on a trial hike this weekend? We can get a feel for the distance and see which spot might work better for lunch,” Abby says.

“Sorry, I can’t this weekend. I have to go to a…thing.”

Abby widens her eyes at me and laughs. “Ooh, a thing? That’s very mysterious of you. Is that code for a secret sex party or something?”

The waitress arrives with our waters just in time to catch the tail-end of the conversation. She suppresses a smile and leaves without a word, apparently having decided that we are not ready to order yet because we’re too busy talking about sex parties.

“Definitely not a sex party,” I say.

The idea of attending a sex party with Ryan instead pops into my head and heat flushes across my face.

I wouldn’t put it past him to attend that sort of thing, so I guess I should count my blessings that it’s just a wedding that I got myself into with my little prank.

I take a long sip of my water and hope this conversation is over.

“Sorry,” Abby says, “I was just kidding. I didn’t mean to be nosy.”

“No, it’s fine. I have a wedding to go to, but I’m not really looking forward to it.”

Part of me wants to tell Abby everything, but the other part is too embarrassed to repeat the story.

I haven’t had many close friends in my life, but it feels like Abby might become one of them.

She’s been so welcoming ever since I moved to Gatlinburg, and we get along great.

I feel guilty for keeping this secret from her.

Maybe she will even have some words of wisdom to get me through this ordeal.

“I’m going with Ryan,” I sigh.

“I knew it!” Abby practically bounces out of the booth.

“Knew what?”

“That you two actually liked each other.”

“Oh no, we still thoroughly dislike each other. Trust me.”

“Then why are you going to a wedding together?” Abby asks with a laugh.

I tell Abby the whole story. When I’m done, she’s laughing so hard she snorts.

“Well, maybe a trip to Lexington will do you guys some good. You’ll either come back as friends, or you’ll murder each other.”

“What do you mean? What’s in Lexington?” I ask.

Abby stops laughing and gives me a confused look. “The wedding is in Lexington, isn’t it? That’s what Ryan said a few months ago when he was venting to Hunter and me about it.”

“He didn’t mention that,” I say in the most measured tone I can muster.

Abby cringes dramatically. “Sorry,” she says quietly as she reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “Look, you two really need to sit down and have a conversation. Whatever’s going on with you guys is making you both seem insane.”

I nod absentmindedly. I hear what she’s saying, but my mind is still snagged on the part about Lexington.

For the rest of lunch, I push thoughts of Ryan and the wedding to the back of my mind and try to focus on Abby’s program.

We work out all the final logistics of the itinerary. We’re slightly short-staffed at the moment, but that will change once the seasonal interns start. A few of them have already expressed an interest in helping out with the program.

As we wrap up our meeting, I help Abby collect all the paperwork off the table and sort it into neat stacks. Before we slip out of the booth and say goodbye, Abby glances over at me with a serious expression.

“Promise me you’ll talk to Ryan, alright?”

“I will,” I assure her.

Yep, I will definitely be talking to Ryan as soon as I get back to the station.

_____

It’s almost two o’clock when I return to the office. Emmett greets me as I enter the building and I try to reciprocate, even though I’m practically shaking with anger. Ryan’s office door is closed, but that doesn’t stop me from casting an annoyed glare in his direction as I walk by.

I try to get some work done, but my thoughts are repeatedly pulled back to the idea of traveling to Kentucky with Ryan. I open a browser window and type in ‘distance from Gatlinburg to Lexington’ and audibly gasp when the results pop up: three hours and forty-eight minutes.

Nope. Nope. No, thank you.

I pull up a chat window on my computer and click on Ryan’s name. “Need to talk to you ASAP,” I type.

A minute later, a reply pops up on my screen: “Supply closet in 5.”

He knows I’m about to yell at him. And he knows how thin our office walls are. The supply closet is at the end of a largely empty hallway, and it has a heavy door that keeps sound from escaping. No one else will hear me telling him to fuck off, which I suppose is good for both of us.

Ryan walks into the supply closet exactly five minutes later. I’m already waiting for him, alternating between fury and deep breaths.

“What’s up?” he asks casually after closing the door.

“The wedding is in Lexington?”

“Yeah, is that a problem?”

“Obviously!” I whisper-yell at him. “You said a few hours of pretending to be your date. Driving to Lexington and back is an eight-hour trip…not to mention the actual wedding.”

“Well, we’re staying overnight, too,” he says with that stupid smirk.

“Not a chance, Ryan. I agreed to be your date for a few hours, not an entire weekend.”

“ Pretend to be my date,” he corrects. “And I only need you to pretend to like me for a few hours during the wedding. The rest of the time, you can be as mean as ever to me.”

“What? I’m not mean to you. We banter back and forth; it’s just what we do.”

My hand brushes his stomach as I motion between us. In an attempt to keep our voices low, we’re standing too close in the dimly lit supply closet. We both look down at the spot where I touched him, but neither of us makes any attempt to move.

“I don’t get it. Why was your ex here in Gatlinburg if she lives in Lexington?”

“Visiting friends. She used to live here, too.”

Of course. They lived together here in Gatlinburg before she left him for his stepbrother. A string plucks deep in my stomach. I’ve been so caught up in my own embarrassment that I never really stopped to consider how awful the whole situation must have been for him.

“Listen,” Ryan sighs after a tense minute, “you can back out if you want to. I should have told you earlier, but I had a feeling about how this conversation was going to go. You’re off the hook if you want to be. I’ll figure something else out.”

Ryan’s demeanor shifts. He shoves his hands in his pockets and the corners of his mouth tug down into a frown. We stand there silently for a few seconds before Ryan turns to leave.

I reach out for him – intentionally this time – and touch his arm. He turns around and studies my face.

“What’s the dress code?” I ask.

“Semi-formal.”

“And where are we staying?”

“The Henry in downtown.”

“Separate rooms?”

Ryan flinches. “One room, but separate beds. Blair set up the block of rooms, so she’d know if I reserved two.”

I nod slowly and suck in a deep breath. “Alright. What time are you picking me up?”

“Is noon okay?” Ryan smiles.

Looks like I’m going to Lexington.