Page 15

CHAPTER 15

Almost Definitely a Fake Kiss

LUCY

Thursday, October 3

K ellen sits on the edge of the fountain in Old Town Square—the heart of Fort Collins—looking down at Ava, who’s shoving a chocolate sprinkle donut in her mouth. I feel like a bit of a voyeur stopping to watch them, but I can’t help myself. Bear sits at my feet, for once not being a menace to society.

We’re meeting up before heading to Deep Roots Cafe for our first public moment in front of Paul and Savannah.

The moment when we’re supposed to kiss.

Which we agreed to do by committee vote last weekend.

The idea of kissing this man is freaking me out. It’s got my pulse racing a bit faster than it should, and I brushed my teeth for more than the required two minutes this morning.

Here we go.

I approach Kellen and Ava, and when she sees me, she squeals.

“Coach Lucy!” She drops her donut on a napkin and jumps up, then spots Bear and gasps dramatically. “Your dog!! ”

I nod down to Bear. “He’s super friendly. Go on and pet him if you want to.”

Ava drops to her knees and holds her hands out to Bear, who licks her enthusiastically. Kellen’s daughter is so darn cute. She’s an exact mix of Kellen and her mom, and the little girl is super friendly and sweet.

“I love the name Bear! But Daddy told me he used to be Waffles?” Ava looks up at me with big blue eyes.

“It was Waffles when I first got here, but he wasn’t listening very well.”

Kellen scoffs gleefully behind Ava, and I shoot him a dirty look.

“Since then he’s been Zeus, Taco, Harry, Prince Harry, and now Bear. But I don’t think he likes the name Bear.” I stop myself from revealing that her father suggested his current name.

“That’s so funny!”

“I’m still trying to find the right name for him. But he keeps changing his mind.”

“Really?” Ava stares with wide eyes. Bear sits and gazes lovingly up at the little girl. “How do you know if he likes the name?”

“Well. If he responds to it. If he seems happy when I say it. I’ll show you.” I clear my throat. “Bear, roll over.”

He doesn’t react to my voice.

“Bear. Do you like your name?” Nothing. “Hello?”

At that, Bear turns to look at me.

Ava bursts into giggles.

“Do you have any good name ideas?”

“You want me to name him?” Ava’s eyes widen, and she looks at me, completely serious.

“I’d love it.” That’s not exactly what I meant, but we’re gonna go with it. A bunch of adults have not managed to successfully rename my dog. How much worse could it be if a five-year-old girl did it?

“Lucy? You might regret this,” Kellen says.

“Nah.”

“I’m gonna come up with the best name.” Ava’s face scrunches into a determined mask.

“Let me know when you figure it out.”

“I will.” Ava nods solemnly.

“Did you have fun at practice last night?”

“Yes, so much fun!”

“Good morning.” A younger woman walks up, and Ava jumps to hug her. The woman takes the backpack from Kellen’s outstretched hand.

“Lucy, this is Grace, Ava’s nanny.”

“Nice to meet you,” Grace says.

“You too.”

“Lucy works at the Blizzard.”

Grace smiles at me and then leans down to touch Ava’s shoulder.

“Time to go, Ava. Let’s get you to school.”

“Awww.” Ava leans over and kisses Bear’s head, and he leans into it.

“He likes you.” I stand. I don’t say that Bear pretty much likes everyone, and I’m glad, because the smile on Ava’s face is worth it.

“Say goodbye to me, Aves.”

“Bye, Daddy!” She leaps into Kellen’s arms and kisses his cheek.

“Did you just kiss me with the same lips you kissed that dog?”

“Yup!” Ava jumps down from Kellen’s arms and walks away with Grace. “Bye, Coach Lucy! Bye, Bear!”

“She’s such a cutie,” I say, aware of Kellen’s eyes on me as I wave goodbye to Ava before turning to him.

“Sure is.” Kellen sticks his hands in his jeans pockets. He’s wearing a Blizzard t-shirt that’s fitted around his chest and loose around his waist. “You’re good with her. And the other girls.”

I shrug. “I love kids. I’m grateful you suggested I help out with the Snowballs.” Even though I’m pretty sure I begged him to let me help.

“I should be thanking you. Let’s turn this season around for that team.”

I laugh. “I’ll do my best. But they don’t keep score in kindergarten soccer.”

“Fair enough.” Kellen chuckles. “But honestly, telling Ava she can rename Bear wasn’t the smartest move. She definitely loves you now though.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” I squat down and give Bear’s head a pat. He attempts to slime me with his long tongue.

“Hey. Just so you know, I’m not going to tell Ava we’re dating. Especially since you’re also coaching her.”

I look up at Kellen, and he’s got a furrowed brow.

“Of course not.” I nod and stand. “I wouldn’t expect you to.”

An awkward silence settles between us.

“Should we go—” Kellen’s eyes flit down to my shirt, and he groans. It’s a DC FC jersey. “Are you wearing a soccer jersey?”

“Yeah?”

“You work for a hockey team. Your brother plays for a hockey team. You are dating a hockey player. Please get some hockey apparel. Preferably Blizzard.”

I laugh. “ Fake dating, and yeah, I know. I’ll work on it.”

“Let’s go.” Kellen shakes his head and huffs with (probably) fake annoyance. “Paul and Savannah are supposed to be at the cafe in fifteen minutes.”

I nod and fall into step next to Kellen.

“I hope you’re not offended that I’m not telling Ava. It’s not personal.”

“I’m not offended.” He’s being a good dad protecting his young daughter. I get it. And it makes him that much more attractive.

“I don’t want to introduce her to people I date just to have things end.” Kellen turns his body to shield me from a trio of men in suits talking and not paying attention to where they’re walking. “There was one woman I dated a year ago.” He glances at me. “We dated casually for a few months, but she had a painfully hard time interacting with Ava and Bri.”

If meeting Ava and Bri was a test, I think I passed. At least with Ava. And last night, Bri was friendly enough when I introduced myself to her and the other parents at practice.

“After I ended it, she shared all these pictures and details about our life with a hockey gossip website.”

“That’s awful.” How could someone do something like that? It’s one thing to be mad at a man for hurting you—I totally relate to that—but to do something to harm his child? Unimaginable.

Kellen shrugs. “So I’m very cautious. Especially when it comes to Ava.”

“I appreciate you trusting me with her.”

“Well, you did pass that background check.”

I laugh and gently elbow him in the arm.

A few minutes later, I’m waiting at a table at Deep Roots Cafe while Kellen gets us coffees.

My heart races in anticipation of our kiss.

“You feeling okay about this?” Kellen places a covered cup in front of me along with a jumbo slice of crumb cake.

“I guess so.”

“Did I get your coffee right?” Kellen glances at the cup. “Vanilla oat milk latte?”

“Perfect.” I nod.

“The crumb cake is really good here.” Kellen sits down right next to me. “So are the muffins.”

“Macarons are my favorite baked good. Not that you asked.” I wish I could control my tendency to offer too much information.

“Yeah? What flavors?”

“All the flavors?” I smile. “But if I had to choose: chocolate, pistachio, and salted caramel.” I tick them off my fingers.

“That’s good information to have about my fake girlfriend.” Kellen unwraps the crumb cake and breaks it in half, pushing a section to me.

“Holy, that is so good,” I say as I bite into the dense, rich crumbs.

“Right?” Kellen pops the entire piece into his mouth, then casually lays his hand on the table, palm up. “Should we hold hands?”

“That was quite the transition.”

He grins. “Rip the Band-Aid off, I suppose.”

“Makes sense.” I move my hand towards his, and my body seems to go in slow motion. The sounds of the coffee shop fade around us, and all I can focus on is reaching across the table.

The feel of our hands touching is a lot to take in. He slowly entwines his warm and rough fingers with mine, like he’s taking his time, learning the shape of me.

My heartbeat has not slowed down one bit.

I’m going to have to pull it together, or I’ll blow this whole thing, for me and for Kellen.

“Tell me a story while we wait. Distract me.” Kellen’s voice has the slightest shake, like he’s nervous too. Which I must be imagining, because would one fake kiss really make Kellen nervous?

“Okay.” I try to think, hard, but I keep losing my train of thought as I look into Kellen’s blue eyes. The dark swoops of hair on his forehead. The way his thumb is slowly moving on the back of my hand. Does he know he’s doing it?

“I’m not a great soccer player.”

Kellen laughs. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really. I got on all the good soccer teams growing up because of my father. I’d be on this top team and clearly the weakest player.” The memories of those games are not great. I truly loved being with the team but always felt a degree of shame at not carrying my weight on the field. I would’ve been much happier on a lower team. Richard took that opportunity away from me by giving me what he thought of as a better one .

“Oh no.”

“It finally ended after high school. I refused to even try to play college soccer. Not that I would’ve been able to. Dad was so disappointed. I know everything about the game, and I loved working for a soccer team. I like to watch. Coach kids. Not play.”

“What about Atticus? Did he ever play?”

“He was a great soccer player. But he loved hockey far more. Pissed our father off. To this day, Richard is not supportive of Atticus, which I know you know.” I shake my head.

There were so many fights growing up. Atticus and our father never got along.

“So by being here, you’re basically taking Atticus’s side.”

“I guess.” I glance down at our hands. I can’t ignore the sensation of us touching, and the way his thumb is still gently moving against my skin. It feels warm and comforting. Natural.

“They’re here.” Kellen looks over my shoulder at the door.

“Okay.”

Time slows and I take a deep breath. We lock eyes and everything fades away, including Paul and Savannah’s presence.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” I nod and swallow.

“Alright, Lucy. I’m going to kiss you now.”

My name out of his mouth washes over me like that first step into a hot tub. I nod.

Kellen reaches his other hand over and slides it along my jaw and behind my head, so gently. Tingles burst from where he’s touching me, and I melt into his palm.

I glance down at his mouth as he closes the distance between us. I think my heart is going to beat right out of my chest and explode in the middle of this cafe.

Then our lips touch.

It’s soft and sweet, and I forget to breathe while our mouths are pressed together. The voices around us dim, and romantic music floats through the cafe. Someone throws rose petals. A dove flies elegantly by. A narrator says something like and there it is, ladies and gentlemen, the infamous first kiss .

And then it’s over, and Kellen leans back, letting his hand linger on my neck for a second longer than is required, his eyes still locked with mine.

I unintentionally let out a deep, whimsical sigh, and force myself to sit back. Pull it together. It was just a fake kiss .

“You okay?” he asks, his voice with a slight rasp. “Was that too much?”

Too much? No way. It wasn’t enough… not by a long shot.

“It was—” I search for an appropriate word. “—nice.” I lean back in the chair, desperate to project nonchalance. I can’t take my eyes off Kellen, and he’s got a soft smile on his face.

He glances at the door, raising a hand. “They’re leaving, Savannah just waved. They must’ve called their drinks in ahead of time.”

Right, we did that for Paul and Savannah’s sake. I might have forgotten all about them.

“Oh, great.” I look over my shoulder and catch Savannah raising a hand back at Kellen. Once outside, she jogs to catch up to Paul and whispers something in his ear.

“They’re talking about us,” I note.

“Probably. Then again, we’re HR official now, so it’s basically public record.”

Any chance this man liked that kiss as much as I did?

“Well, nice working with you.”

“You too,” Kellen says. Then we both crack up.

We are the most awkward humans on the planet. Kellen runs his hands through his dark hair and pulls his phone out of his pocket.

“I gotta run to practice. You headed to the arena?”

I shake my head. “I’m heading home before dropping Bear at the Delightful Doggy Palace.”

“I’ll walk you back to Atticus’s apartment.” Kellen stands. I follow him out the door, and we walk in silence to my brother’s place.

“Next Saturday, right?” I ask, like I don’t have our next fake date engraved on my soul.

“Yup. The fall festival.”

I pause with my key in the lock and watch him walk away.

I liked that kiss way more than I thought I would.

I like Kellen more than I thought I would.

This is unexpectedly confusing.