Page 17

The next day dawned just as hot and beautiful as ever. This really was the most perfect summer, Mia thought as she walked down to the town. And with any luck, the festival should be just as beautiful. Clear skies were not something that could be counted on during a usual English summer.

The bell over the coffee shop door jingled as Mia went in, the smell of fresh brewed espresso enveloping her the second she walked in. And the first person that she saw was Luna propping up the counter as she gossiped with Helen.

“Well, well, if it’s not the other half of the town’s favorite couple,”

Helen declared, grinning widely at Mia as she approached.

Mia’s stomach twisted a little. The comment was supposed to be cute and endearing. But it felt like a spotlight being shone directly on their charade. She was starting to like these people, and lying to them wasn’t so comfortable anymore.

“Morning,”

said Mia, stepping up to the counter next to Luna.

“Morning, darling,”

Luna said, smiling and wrapping an arm around Mia’s waist. “Your usual?”

“Absolutely,”

said Mia, trying and failing to sound casual as her brain registered the goosebumps that Luna’s arm had raised on her skin.

Helen was hovering, watching them with the kind of fond smile that people usually reserved for cute children or puppies. “You two are really adorable,”

she said, with a sigh. “You’ve got the whole ‘meant to be’ vibe going on.”

Mia felt her cheeks flush, and she glanced at Luna, who seemed completely unbothered. In fact, she looked smug.

“We aim to please,”

Luna said, her tone light and flirtatious.

Helen laughed and went to make coffee, leaving them alone.

Mia leaned in, ignoring the sweet leather smell of Luna when she got close. “Do you think she believes all this?”

Luna shrugged, taking a sip of her cappuccino. “Why wouldn’t she? We’re very convincing.”

“You’re convincing. I’m just… here,” Mia said.

“Don’t sell yourself short,”

Luna said with a wink. “You’re the perfect reluctant romantic lead. It’s charming, really.”

Mia sighed and fiddled with a coffee stirrer. She was out of sorts. “It just feels like everyone is starting to buy into this. And what happens when it all falls apart?”

She hated saying the words, but she had to. She had to remind them both that this wasn’t real.

Luna’s playful expression faded slightly. “You’re overthinking it,”

she said, a little more coolly. “That’s tomorrow’s problem. Today, we just have to be the best fake couple this town’s ever seen. Easy peasy.”

Mia didn’t respond, but her unease lingered like a shadow between them.

BACK AT THE hotel, Mia stood in front of the small mirror in her tiny room, staring at the small pile of clothes she’d somehow amassed since coming to town. She held up her floral sundress, then a white blouse and shorts. Nothing felt right. It wasn’t just the clothes, though. There were other things that weren’t feeling right.

“What are you doing?”

Rachel asked, poking her head around the door. She had a mischievous smile on her face.

“Just… figuring out what to wear for the festival opening tomorrow,”

Mia said as casually as she could.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “For the festival, or for Luna?”

Mia sighed, knowing that there was little point in pretending. “Both, I suppose,”

she said quite glumly.

Why was she so out of sorts? Why had she gone from happy and glad to be with Luna to this? It felt like there was a nest of snakes in her belly.

Rachel stepped into the room and plucked the sundress from the bed, holding it up. “This one. It looks lovely on you. Short enough to be a bit cheeky, but covers enough to be decent. Perfect for someone who’s maybe trying a wee bit too hard to impress.”

Mia glared at her half-heartedly, but Rachel only laughed.

“Relax,”

Rachel said, putting the dress back onto the bed. “You’re nervous. It’s normal. Even if whatever all this is isn’t exactly conventional, you’re still human.”

Mia frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rachel’s smile softened, and she sighed. “It means that you’re starting to care again, whether you want to admit it or not.”

***

Luna was elbow-deep in daisies and peonies at the flower shop, hands moving on autopilot as her thoughts wandered. What had Mia meant about all this coming to an end?

“Careful, you’re going to decapitate that poor peony,”

Jan teased from behind her.

Luna glanced down at the flower she was holding. “Oops. Sorry.”

Jan smirked, crossing her arms. “You’re distracted again. Mia?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Why would you think that I’m suddenly incapable of focusing on anything except Mia?”

“Because you are,”

Jan said matter-of-factly.

“I’m fine,”

Luna insisted, setting the peony down and reaching for another flower. “This is just…”

She trailed off.

“All part of the grand illusion?”

suggested Jan.

Luna froze. “What?”

she managed to choke.

Jan sighed. “Luna, come on. I’ve known you a long time, and I spend a lot of time with you here. I’ve played along, but you’re hurting here. Let’s drop the bullshit, shall we?”

Luna closed her eyes. “You know?”

“I sort of guessed,”

Jan said gently. “I mean, I suggest you get a girlfriend to prove your dependability and the next thing you know, there you are with a girlfriend. I’m happy to keep playing along, or I was.”

“You were?”

Luna said, heart sinking.

“You’re putting an awful lot of effort into something that’s an illusion, don’t you think?”

Jan said carefully.

Luna didn’t respond immediately, her fingers tightening around the flowers she was holding. “It’s complicated.”

Her mouth was dry. Maybe Mia was right, maybe they did need to think about when all this was over. Because Jan knew already.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated,”

Jan said. She tugged at Luna’s arm until they were looking at each other. “Sometimes, what starts as pretend can turn into something real. You just have to be brave enough to let it happen.”

Luna snorted. “I’m plenty brave. I once hitchhiked across China with twenty dollars and a broken phone.”

Jan shook her head. “Hitchhiking is easy. Feelings are hard.”

***

“Just grab the croissants for breakfast service in the morning,”

Rachel said. “And then you’re officially off the clock.”

Mia, who’d been considering trying to move her car, pulled off her apron. “I’ll run down to the bakery right now,” she said.

But when she got there, the bakery was bustling, and Luna was standing at the counter

“Well, well,”

said Miguel, as she approached the counter, his voice sing-song. “If it isn’t Little Chipping’s power couple.”

Luna pulled Mia closer and Mia felt that arm around her waist again and her heart started beating again and she flushed over what felt like her entire body.

“What’s the pool on how long it’ll be until you two elope?”

Jason said.

Mia groaned on the inside, but Luna just pulled her even closer, seeming to thrive under the attention.

“As if we’d elope,”

Luna said airily. “When we tie the knot, it’s going to be the event of the decade. Big dresses, big hair, big cars.”

She lowered her voice a little. “You two might even be invited. Or maybe we’ll let you make the cake.”

Miguel rolled his eyes. “Mmm-hmm. We’ll believe it when we see it.”

Jason laughed. “Unpredictable Luna? Come on. Relationships take stability. Commitment. Remember?”

“And Luna’s allergic to both?”

Mia asked, half-joking, half-serious.

Luna’s grin faltered slightly, but she recovered quickly. “Didn’t we already go over a list of my allergies?”

She looked at Mia. “Did you hear stability and commitment on that list?”

Mia opened her mouth to respond, then the words wouldn’t come. What was that supposed to mean? What did that mean? Was Luna intimating that she might be in the market for a relationship? Why did that thought make goosebumps run up and down her spine? How could a spine have goosebumps?

“Besides, Mia keeps me grounded,”

Luna was saying now. “Right, darling?”

“Right,”

squeaked Mia, forcing a smile.

Jason and Miguel exchanged a skeptical glance, but didn’t push things further.

And when they left the bakery, Luna’s arm now draped loosely over Mia’s shoulder, the silence between them felt heavier than usual.

“You okay?”

asked Luna, her voice more gentle than Mia was used to.

Mia shrugged, avoiding Luna’s gaze. “I suppose… I just didn’t really realize just how much everyone’s been watching us.”

“Welcome to small-town life,”

Luna said. “Everyone’s in everyone else’s business.”

Mia stopped walking, balancing the box of croissants on one hand. “And what happens when they find out we’re lying?”

Why was she pushing this issue? It was like poking at a painful tooth with her tongue.

Luna hesitated. “Then we deal with it,”

she said. “Together.”

And there was something about the word together that made Mia feel better. Safer.

Safe enough that when she sat by the hotel window later that evening, watching as strings of twinkling lights were put up along the street in preparation for the festival, she had bubbles of delight at the thought of spending the following afternoon with Luna.

Her life had turned upside down in the span of just a few weeks. But then there was Luna.

Luna with her quick wit and easy charm. Luna who could make her laugh and make her furious in the same breath. Luna who had somehow become the center of her world here, without Mia even realizing it.

Luna who had almost kissed her.

***

Across town, Luna lay on her bed, staring up at the familiar ceiling. How many nights had she spent lying here thinking about leaving?

She’d always been good at keeping things light, at avoiding anything that might tie her down or, worse, make her vulnerable. And then along came Mia.

Mia made her want things that she wasn’t sure she was ready for.

Mia made her stare at the ceiling and contemplate not leaving.

With a groan, she rolled over onto her side, burying her face in her pillow and trying not to scream.

“Get it together, Truman,”

she muttered to herself.

But deep down, she knew it wasn’t that simple.