The Sweetheart Hoax (11 page)

Phil had looked at her strangely in the foyer of his parents’ home and just now in the car, as if they’d been talking about something more than just the sleeping arrangements. Even though she stood in the center of the country, she felt as if she were trying to balance on a raft in the ocean, trying to anticipate the next wave that could take her under for good. Phil reached for her hand and led her toward the admittance gate. When she tried to pull her hand free, he held on tight. She thought she saw a hint of hurt in the frustrated look he spared her. How could that be? She was the one about to capsize and drown.

 
He pulled her to the side of the walkway to let the group behind them pass. “Look,” he said in a whisper that had his breath tickling the side of her face. “I know you don’t want to hold hands, but I guess we should have talked about this. If we’re going to act like we’re in love, you’re going to have to be okay with me touching you.”

I’m more than okay with you touching me
,
she wanted to say
. It’s when you stop that I’ll have a problem. It’s when the weekend is over and I can’t stop thinking about you touching me is the problem. “I’m fine with it, Phil. I’m just…your parents are really nice. I guess I feel a little weird deceiving them like this.”

“That’s on me. I don’t want you feeling guilty for doing me a favor.”

Right. A favor. Holding hands and smoldering looks were just a side benefit, but nothing more. She needed to remember the purpose of the weekend and step up to the plate.

Maybe if she initiated the touching, if she played up the physical side of their pretend relationship, she wouldn’t feel so adrift and needy. She desperately wanted to feel in control.

She held out her hand, sent him a flirtatious grin when he linked their fingers, turned, and made her way to the gate.

“Two, please,” he said to the older woman manning the table.

“Phillip Williams,” she cooed. “Didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”

“Hi, Betsy.” He handed over a ten-dollar bill from his money clip. “I’m in town for my father’s retirement party tomorrow night.”

“Of course,” she said. Margot scooted behind Phil as kids pushed forward with money in hand. “Looking forward to the big shin-dig.” She cocked her head to the side and winked at Margot. “How is South Carolina?”

“Great,” he said, ignoring a perfect opportunity to introduce Margot as his girlfriend. “How’s Jimmy?”

“Go on in and see for yourself. He’s starting tight end.”

“I’ll do that, Betsy. Good to see you.”

He reached behind and grabbed Margot’s hand, pulling her along until the base of the stairs where the path opened up to the concession stand. She figured if he wanted people to think he wasn’t gay, the crowded line for concessions was just about the best spot.

“Do you want a drink?” he asked.

His eyes widened as she stepped slowly into him so their chests brushed. She let her fingers dance up his shirt and into his hair, pulling his head down. She wondered if he could feel her heart galloping in her chest and the roaring in her ears as his hands came around and grabbed her waist. She nipped at his bottom lip only once before his eyes darkened and sharpened on her face. She’d intended to tease him, to flirt and play the part of the moony-eyed girlfriend, until he lowered his head to kiss her softly over and over again as if he were drinking from a spring and he were parched.

A cluster of teens walked by. “Get a room,” one of them said and giggled along the path.

She sagged
bonelessly
against him before remembering where she was and why she was there. She straightened her back and stared into his eyes. “Mission accomplished,” she said after clearing her throat. “And we’re not even in the stadium yet.”

He jerked his head back as if she’d slapped him. “What? Oh.” He swiped a hand over his face. “Sorry about that. My brain kind of clicked off for a minute.”

“I thought that’s what you wanted?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and settled his hands on his hips. “I’m not sure what I want anymore.”

She could only stare up at him, the man she’d lusted after for three years, who seemed like he was seeing at her for the first time.

“Margot—”

“Phil?”

His head lurched sideways and his hands slipped from his hips to dangle at his side. A woman with dark, glossy hair, bright shining eyes, and two bags of popcorn in each hand stood staring at Phil as if he’d materialized in front of her. “Julianne.”

“I…I assumed you’d be back for your dad’s party. I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”

“Just got in this afternoon.” He shook his head at her and kept shaking it like his neck was on springs. “You look…” Margot followed his gaze from her tennis shoes and well-worn jeans to her royal blue sweatshirt. “You look good, Julianne.”

“You, too, Phil.” She glanced at Margot, obviously waiting for an introduction.

When it became clear he wasn’t going to do anything but stare at the woman, Margot stuck out her hand. “I’m Margot Manning, Phil’s girlfriend.” She tucked her hand away quickly, nodding toward the popcorn. “You obviously can’t shake. Sorry.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Margot.”

“So how have you been?” Phil asked, oblivious to his social faux pas. Margot had never seen him behave so awkwardly.

“Good. Kids are keeping us busy.”

“I’ve heard they can do that.”

“You heard right.”

Margot couldn’t stand the sight of them locked in a flirtatious
stare,
two people with a history and who, at the moment, only had eyes for each other. She backed away slowly and, when neither of them noticed, made a beeline for the bathroom.

Inside the stall, with the cheering crowd and flushing toilets singing in the background, she pondered the strange turn her life had taken. She’d never left the state of South Carolina, and here she sat in Cash, Illinois at a high school football game, trying to hold back tears of frustration. She looked at her watch. Had it really only been six hours since she’d stood in her house anticipating the weekend to come with excitement? She swallowed her emotions, washed and dried her hands, and walked out into the night, not sure where to find Phil or if he would have even noticed that she’d gone.

“There you are,” he said from behind her. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Sorry.” Her tone came out sharper than she’d intended, but she couldn’t stand the way he was looking at her, as if she’d intentionally ditched him. “I had to use the bathroom.”

“Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?”

“I didn’t think you’d even notice,” she mumbled as she moved toward the field. The sooner they took their seats, the sooner their charade would be over and she could go to bed. The image of the pretty queen bed flashed through her mind and she realized her troubles were only beginning.

He grabbed her hand and led the way. “I don’t know why you say that,” he said over his shoulder. They inched up the teeming bleachers while Phil called greetings to practically everyone around them. Margot felt her cheeks heating under the curious stares of the crowd. He led her to the top corner of the stands where his mom and dad were already seated.

“We thought maybe you got lost.” Judy leaned over Bo to give Margot a smile.

“The game’s packed,” Phil said in answer. He obviously wasn’t going to mention his run in with Julianne.

“We’re 7 and 3,” Bo explained. “We might actually make the playoffs this year.
Soloman’s
our biggest rival.”

“
Soloman
used to be terrible,” Phil shouted across Margot to his dad. “We crushed them every year.”

“They’ve got a big tire plant there now.” Bo reached for Judy’s popcorn and she shooed his hand away. “It’s a bigger school than it used to be.”

Phil scanned the crowd, his eyes landing on Julianne and her family. “Yeah,” he said only loud enough for her to hear. “A lot has changed.”

Julianne sat a few rows down with a stocky man with thinning hair and broad shoulders. Between them were two boys with inky black hair. She spared a glance at Phil. He watched the four of them so intently he had a furrow between his brows. He was probably wondering the same thing as Margot. How had that guy snagged a cute girl like Julianne? From the way Phil stared, Margot knew the guy had stolen Julianne right out from under Phil’s nose.

Judy passed the popcorn to Margot, who passed it to Phil. He took a handful and popped it in his mouth. “Did you want something from the concession stand?” he asked. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t even offer before we came up here.”

“I’m fine,” Margot said.
If only that were true.

***

Phil stared at Julianne and Stan Waterston and the two boys between them. Except for a few extra pounds around her midsection and some lines around her eyes, Julianne looked the same as she did in high school. He would have recognized her anywhere. Stan, on the other hand, hadn’t aged well. His bald spot shone in the field lights and he’d gained more than a few pounds. As the school’s best linebacker, he’d always been thick, but with the passing years, he’d edged a little closer to pudgy. Julianne must have inherited her mother’s gift in the kitchen.

As the second quarter ticked away on the scoreboard, he pondered his feelings about seeing her again. He’d heard about her marriage and the birth of her boys, but he’d never actually been face to face with her since the night she’d broken his heart. He’d always imagined them meeting again and laughing about the good times they’d shared together, thankful they’d parted ways before he’d done something stupid and proposed. He never imagined she’d sigh with relief that the rumors of his homosexuality weren’t true. As if she had reason to doubt.

Julianne had never wanted to leave Cash or her family behind. She’d gone to college in St. Louis and come home every weekend while Phil had mended his wounds at Ball State and only come home for holidays, careful to avoid her. She let him go, she’d said all those years ago, so he could spread his wings and fly without the burden of a hometown girlfriend with marriage and kids on her mind. Phil couldn’t imagine living in
Cash,
growing old with the same guys he went to high school with, going to games on Friday nights and church every Sunday. She’d done the right thing in letting him go, but he always thought of her as the one that got away. Sitting in the stands, watching her and her husband and their kids, made him feel lucky to have been given the gift of freedom.

He could feel someone staring at him and turned his head in time to catch Margot’s annoyed glare. He hadn’t meant to press his mouth to hers after the little nip she’d given him. Her minty breath had swept over his face like an invitation and, before he could stop himself, he’d planted a kiss on those very appealing lips.

He hadn’t meant to feel the little hitch and hum of anticipation like he usually did when he’d finally gotten his hands on a woman he…appreciated. He hadn’t meant to forget it was Margot who stood before him, her breasts brushing his chest while his fingers dug into the soft silk of her hair. He certainly hadn’t meant to elicit a moan from his ex-receptionist and pretend girlfriend as he took her lips again and again and again, as her hands gripped his arms and tugged him closer so their bodies met dangerously close in all the right places.

Off limits, he told himself as she shivered beneath the jean jacket in the cool October evening. He reached his arm around her shoulders and scooted her closer.

“You’re cold,” he said to her answering scowl. He leaned closer as a flyaway curl teased the skin of his cheek. “And we’re supposed to be happy together.”

“How in the world could I forget?” she whispered.

When he pulled back, he caught his mother’s lips twitching as she jabbed his dad in the ribs.

“What?” his father asked. “I wasn’t even reaching for the popcorn.”

“Phil?” Margot said, drawing his attention back to her face and the stubborn line between her brows. “I’m not sure what you want from me. Are you mad about earlier?”

“When you kissed me?” he asked.

“When you kissed me,” she stated.

“How could I be mad?” He tucked the curl behind her ear and watched it pop back into place. She blew it out of her eyes with a sexy pout. “You did exactly what I asked.” And more. As she turned her head and watched the game, he wondered if he would he be able to stop if she did it again.

Chapter 12

Judy pursed her lips as she pretended to watch the game and snuck glances at her oldest son and his “girlfriend.” She’d thought, before dinner, that they might be in a real relationship, but now she wasn’t so sure.

“What’s wrong with you?” Bo asked. “Cash just scored and you didn’t even move.”

“Nothing,” she said. She waved her head toward Phil and Margot. “What do you think about them?”

“I like her.”

“I know you like her. What’s not to like about her? I mean them as a couple?”

He leaned forward and then back. Judy felt his shoulders rise and fall at her side. “They look cute together.”