Page 31 of Good Girls Don't Kiss and Tell (Rock Canyon, Idaho 7)

If she was willing to play along.

“Even if I agree to this, which I’m too angry to do at this point in time, my parents wouldn’t buy us suddenly getting together. They know we’ve done nothing but fight and bicker for years.”

Eric had the audacity to grin. “They’ll believe it. It’s like I told you, all that back-and-forth was just foreplay.”

Gracie glared at him. “And if I agree to this, just remember that it’s all an act. We might kiss and hold hands in public, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“As much as I love to tease you, Gracie Lou, you don’t have to worry about me carrying a torch for you. It’s all business for me…unless, of course, you want the pleasure, and then I guess I could be down.”

She lifted one hand, shaking her head vehemently. “No, uh-uh, if we’re doing this, there are boundaries. Despite what you wrote about me in that asinine blog, I am not easy and I do not sleep with every man who comes around.”

“Again, I never said that—”

She broke through his attempt to reason and defend himself; she didn’t want to hear it. “Boundary number one; unless it’s for the benefit of the people around us, there will be no flirting and absolutely no hanky-panky.”

She caught the flash of anger in his eyes, but didn’t give a rat’s ass if she hurt his feelings. It was gone anyway, replaced by a bored look and a casual shrug. “Your loss, but fine.”

“Boundary number two. If I am in need of a place to stay, I would greatly appreciate it if we could use your guest room. But you stay out of it.”

“I don’t know what you think of me, but I would never force myself on an unwilling woman. Especially with a kid in the room.”

“I know, but you can be…convincing.”

Eric raised an eyebrow. “Are you easily convinced?”

“No, but everyone has their weak moments.”

“Ouch. Fine. Any more boundaries.”

“If I decide to accept your offer, I’ll let you know.”

Eric crossed his arms over his chest. “So, how long before you give me an answer? The clock is ticking if we’re going to sell this bill of goods to the whole town.”

Gracie bit her lip, rubbing Pip’s back more for her nerves than to comfort the toddler. “I’ll call you Tuesday night for sure. Until then, you stay away from me or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

Chapter Eleven

“The holidays are set up to get you laid. For example: spiked eggnog and mistletoe. And New Year’s Eve is basically just an excuse to get drunk and kiss a bunch of strangers. Need I say more?” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.

On Monday morning, Gracie was just buckling Pip into the car seat when her cell phone rang. Smiling at the toddler as she answered, she didn’t even bother checking caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Gracie, it’s Viola.”

Gracie could tell from the tone of her voice that it was good news for Pip, and she hated that her heart sank. “When are you coming to get her?”

“This morning. Her great-grandmother is very excited to meet her.”

“Great-grandmother? Why not her grandmother?” Gracie was picturing a woman with a bad hip, who wouldn’t be able to keep up with Pip, and she didn’t like it.

“Her grandmother couldn’t take her, but her great-grandmother was more than happy to. She has her own house, and has been completely vetted by my department.”

“Well, that’s it then, I guess.” Gracie sounded like a frog, the lump in her throat was so big.

“I know you’ve grown attached to her, and this will be hard, but this is a good thing. She’ll be with her family.”

Gracie cleared her throat. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Do you want me to meet you somewhere with her things, or do you want to come to my house?”