Page 62 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince

A whistle pierced the air filtering through our haze. We jumped apart seconds before we noticed a dog bounding towards us. A young kid around seven or eight-years-old ran right behind the Labrador, yelling, “Juniper! Juni, come back!”

I leapt to my feet before the dog reached us, but was too slow to pull Ashlyn to hers. Within seconds, the dog pounced on her, sending her flying backwards. Her hat landed next to her, and all I could see was a bundle of fur licking her face. I waited for the screams of anger and for her to shove the dog away.

Laughter burst out from under the dog, who was determined to not let a single spot on Ashlyn go unnoticed. “You silly puppy,” she cooed, finally distracting the dog long enough to get her hands on the collar to hold her in place.

I stared at Ashlyn in amazement. Then a goofy smile stretched across my face at the kindness she showed the dog. I’d expected her to react as my ex would have.

“I’m so sorry, lady,” the boy apologized as he grabbed the leash dangling on the ground. “Sometimes Juniper doesn’t listen so good.”

Finally able to push herself to her knees, Ashlyn threw an arm around the dog and smiled at the child. “I get it. She’s very sweet.”

The boy smiled back. “I’m Will.”

“Nice to meet you, Will. I’m Ashyln.” She then pointed at me. “That’s Dean.”

A male about my age came running over to stand behind the boy “Hi, I’m John,” he said, taking the leash and tightening it around his hand. “This scamp’s dad. I apologize for any problems they caused. I turned my back for a second, and they both took off.”

“Sorry, Dad.” The boy looked at the ground, digging his toe in the dirt.

“Oh buddy, it’s not your fault.” He ruffled his son’s hair. “Juniper gets very excited sometimes.”

The boy nodded. “She sure does. That’s Ashlyn.” he pointed at her. “And that’s Dean.”

The dad looked at Ashlyn. “Again, I’m so sorry. Can I pay to have your dress dry cleaned or something?”

Standing, Ashlyn brushed off the front of her dress. “Oh my gosh, please don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal. She didn’t do any harm. Did you, sweetie?” She leaned down and scratched the dog under the chin. Juniper sat there patiently staring at Ashlyn as though she hung the moon.

“Thanks for understanding.” John said gratefully. He tugged on the leash and pulled the reluctant Juniper away. Then took his son’s hand in his and walked back the way they came. The little boy peeked back at us once or twice to wave bye at Ashlyn who waved back each time.

I put my arm around her. “You are something else, you know that?”

She looked at me, her eyes scrunching up in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Most girls I know would have screamed and cried over that dog slobbering all over them.”

Ashlyn laughed, “Then clearly, you’ve been hanging out with the wrong girls.”

“Yeah, you might be right,” I admitted. If nothing else, this ruse of ours was teaching me that the one-and-done girls were far less satisfying than I’d led myself to believe.

We stood in silence, neither of us making a move to pick up the picnic before us. Being with her was easy. I was continuously amazed at how much I enjoyed our time together.

“So I was thinking—” I stuck my hand into my back pocket and pulled out my phone. I flipped through the apps and opened my social media account. “Want to make us official to the world?”

A red hue colored her cheeks. “Official?”

Her confusion created a twinge of regret that I quickly ignored. Too many times today I’d wondered what it would be like if this was real. It was better to keep reminding myself and her that what we had, while fun, wasn’t going to last.

“Oh, official,” she finally said, stealing a glance at my phone. She shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

I lifted my phone to take our picture.

“Oh my gosh, not a picture! I thought you were only going to change your status or something. I must look like a total mess.”

“A sexy mess,” I growled and leaned in to nuzzle her cheek. As her laughter spilled over us, I took the picture.

“Oh, I don’t even want to see it.” She groaned. “No, wait. I do. Hand it over.”

I placed my phone in her open palm. When her gaze landed on the photo, her lips parted in disbelief. “We look cute.”