Page 14

Luna strolled into the bakery, her hands shoved into her pockets, her smile set to maximum charm. The scent of fresh bread and sugary cakes filled the air, and she inhaled deeply, as though the smell alone would be enough to sate her appetite.

Miguel and Jason were both behind the counter today, working in tandem to put together sandwiches. Jason glanced up first, his expression brightening until Miguel nudged him in the side.

“Well, well, well,”

said Miguel, arching an eyebrow. “If it isn’t Luna, Little Chipping’s most unpredictable resident.”

“Guilty as charged,”

Luna said with a wink. “You’re still sore about that time I pushed you off the climbing frame when we were seven, aren’t you?”

“Am not,”

Miguel said, but Jason giggled.

“I’ll take two turkey sandwiches and a chocolate croissant. Oh, and a blueberry muffin for Mia.”

She grinned brightly. “I’m taking her lunch up at the hotel.”

Miguel’s ears perked up at the name. “For Mia, huh? Still keeping up that charade, are you?”

Luna froze for a second. As far as she was concerned, things were going swimmingly with Mia. Okay, so she might have overdone things a bit in front of Mikey. But Mikey had left and was leaving Mia alone. Mia was going to have all the time and space she needed. Job done. Now all that was left was to convince her grandmother that they were an item.

She forced herself to plaster on a grin. “Charade? You wound me. What Mia and I have is the real deal. As real as…”

She looked around for inspiration. “As real as those overpriced macaroons.”

Miguel snorted. “Right. As real as that time you said you were going to be a football star and turned up to all of three practices? Or like that time you were going to only speak in French and then got bored before lunch?”

“This is different,”

Luna said, leaning on the counter nonchalantly. “I’m not fifteen anymore. Mia and I are the real deal. Like… Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, that kind of thing.”

Jason tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Didn’t one of them die in Titanic? And they both did in Romeo and Juliet. I don’t know. I’ve seen Mia around quite a bit. She’s so… put-together. Efficient. You’re… you know.”

“A free spirit? A beacon of chaos?”

offered Luna cheerfully. “Look, I’ll prove it to you.”

Before they could stop her, she grabbed a napkin and a pen off the counter, scribbled Mia and a love heart on it, folded it neatly into a paper crane, and deposited it in the tip jar.

Miguel stared. “Um, what was that supposed to prove, exactly?”

“That love is an art form, and I’m an artist,”

Luna said confidently.

“You’re something alright,”

Jason said, laughing.

Miguel shook his head. “We’ll believe it when we see it. Here’s your order, Little Miss Artist.”

Luna took the paper bag. “Doubt me all you want. But one day, you’ll be telling all your little grandchildren about the great romance you were witness to.”

“Right,”

said Miguel as she left. “And pigs will fly.”

***

Mia leaned on the counter of the coffee shop, contemplating the immense menu, and finally settling on yet another cinnamon latte. It was a slow morning; the hotel was booked out, but all the guests were off enjoying the summery weather.

And she was… not content exactly. But Mikey had left. His visit wasn’t hanging over her anymore. So she was more relaxed. Relaxed enough that she could hear the little voice in the back of her head telling her that she really needed to sit and think and try to figure out what her life was. A voice she was choosing to ignore just at the moment.

“If it isn’t our runaway bride,”

Helen said cheerfully, wiping her hands on her apron as she came in from the back.

“Cinnamon latte, please,”

Mia said, ignoring the bride comment.

“Coming right up, love,”

Helen said. She started work on the machine. “So, you and Luna, huh?”

“Mmm-hmm,”

said Mia carefully. “Me and Luna.”

Helen grabbed a cup and raised an eyebrow. “Not to put a dampener on things, but I’ve known Luna a long time. I’ve never thought of her as exactly, well, relationship material.”

“People can change,”

Mia said stoutly, though she wasn’t exactly sure she believed that herself.

“Change?”

said Jan, the owner of the flower store, as she walked in. “Who’s changing?”

“We’re just talking about Luna and Mia,”

Helen said, with a nod toward Jan.

“Huh, Luna, change?”

Jan said. “I’d call it a miracle if Luna ever settled down.”

“Hey, Luna’s great,”

said Mia, the words coming out more defensively than she’d intended.

“She is great,”

Helen said quickly. “But you have to admit, the two of you are a bit of an odd pair. You’re serious and sad and she’s… she’s Luna.”

“Opposites attract,” Mia said.

It might not have gone as she’d intended, but Luna had helped her with Mikey. Now it was her turn, which meant people had to buy this relationship. Otherwise, Luna’s grandmother would hear about it.

Jan leaned on the counter, eyebrow raised. “Go on then, what’s the most romantic thing that she’s done for you, spill the beans.”

Mia’s mind went instantly blank. “Um, she, er, she made me laugh when I was having a really bad day,”

was the best that she could come up with.

Helen smiled. “That’s kind of sweet.”

“See?”

said Mia, relieved. “She’s a romantic. We’re romantic.”

“I’ll believe it when I see her serenade you,”

Jan said with a snort.

Mia’s cheeks turned crimson, and she swallowed hard. “Luna’s not serenading anyone.”

Honestly. Why would she? What would she do if Luna tried to serenade her? The thought didn’t bear even thinking about.

“Not with that attitude, she won’t be,”

Helen laughed. “Is that latte for here or to go?”

“To go,”

Mia said quickly. She took her coffee and made her escape.

The road back to the hotel was steep, and she was considering taking a nap when she got in. But the second she’d put her bag down and thrown her coffee cup away, there was a knock on her room door.

Mia opened the door to see Luna looking hot and sweaty.

“Lunch,”

Luna said, shoving a paper bag at her. “And you really need to get a cell phone. I can’t come running up to the hotel twice a day just to talk to you.”

“I’ve got a cell phone,” Mia said.

“Oh yeah?”

“With the rest of my things. At home,” said Mia.

Luna rolled her eyes and reached over to pluck a sandwich out of the bag that Mia was now holding. “You look like you’ve had a rough morning.”

“You could say that,”

said Mia, closing her room door and taking the second sandwich out of the bag. She sighed and sat down on the armchair. “I went to get coffee and Jan and Helen grilled me about our relationship.”

She snorted. “Apparently, they’re expecting you to serenade me.”

Luna perked up. “Really? I could totally do that. What about ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’? It’s a classic, maybe a bit trite, but still…”

“Don’t even joke about it,”

Mia said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “This is getting a bit out of hand. Everyone’s getting suspicious.”

Luna sat down on the bed and took a bite of sandwich. “You’re right,”

she said when she’d swallowed. “We need to step it up.”

“Step what up?”

“Our fake relationship,”

said Luna. “Obviously. We need a real date. Something big. Public. Romantic. Something people will hear about and talk about.”

Mia’s heart started to race in the most unusual way. But before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door and Rachel’s voice sounded. “Mia? You alright? Everything okay in there, love?”

Luna raised an amused eyebrow. “Your guard dog’s here,”

she whispered.

Mia growled at her and got up to open the door.

“Ah,”

said Rachel, peering inside. “You’re here again, are you, Luna?”

“I’m practically a regular at this point,”

said Luna, waving her sandwich around.

“Regular enough that I can start charging you a room rate?”

asked Rachel crisply. She cocked her head. “Or will you be staying in here with Mia?”

“Ha ha, very funny,”

Mia said, before Luna could answer.

“Mmm, I’m still trying to figure out what Luna’s angle is here,”

Rachel said, narrowing her eyes.

“There’s no angle,”

Mia said firmly.

Rachel sighed. “Okay, okay. I’m just looking out for you. And I’ll give you some peace and quiet. I’m sure you know what you’re doing. You’re both adults.”

She left, and Mia closed the door behind her.

For once, Luna was looking pensive.

“What?”

asked Mia.

Luna scratched her nose. “We could…”

She sighed. “If you don’t want to do this anymore, I’d understand. If you need to… call things off.”

“No!”

said Mia, far too quickly. She took a breath. Why had that come out so fast? “No,”

she started again, more slowly. “No, you’ve helped me. I need to help you now. That was the deal. We’re not calling it off.”

Luna tilted her head, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,”

Mia said firmly. “We’ve come this far. We might as well see things through.”

Luna gave her trademark grin and ran her fingers through her messy curls. “Really committed to the bit now, huh?”

“I owe you,”

said Mia. She sighed. “And I suppose you’re right about that date.”

Luna’s grin widened. “Something flashy, something that’ll get people talking. Leave it all to me. This date is going to blow people’s minds.”

Mia eyed her and shook her head. “Why do I feel like I’m seriously going to regret this?”

Luna grabbed the paper bag and extracted dessert for them both. “Probably because you will,”

she said quite cheerfully. “But hey, at least you’re going to have fun.”