Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Logan

I’ve never so much as seen a photo of Danielle’s sister, but I know that woman standing there has to be her. They look alike, with the exact same shade of blue-green eyes. Her sister’s are heavily lined in dark liner, topped with fake lashes so long it’s a wonder she can see anything in front of her.

Danielle stammers but holds her ground.

“Well, then show me your ring,” her sister spits in a tone that borders on mocking. She knows Danielle isn’t really engaged and made the whole thing up. I have no idea why she did, but I’m sure it was for a good reason. Her family is judgmental and cares about appearances.

Maybe her parents were pressuring her to come back home so they could set her up with another rich asshole. The thought of Danielle going on a date with some trust fund jerk makes jealousy bubble in my stomach. I need to stop giving a fuck.

Danielle only wants to be friends.

“I, uh, I…”

Diana snatches Danielle’s hand and lets out a snort of laughter. This is exactly the type of thing Diana will never let Danielle live down, and I can see the panic in Danielle’s eyes, which is out of character for her and I don’t like it.

I want to stay neutral in all of this and not get involved. But, dammit, I can’t sit back and watch Danielle struggle like this. She’s tough even though she doesn’t realize it. She stands up for what she believes in, even if that means upsetting a few people.

She thinks her life is a mess, but it’s one hell of a beautiful mess if that’s the case.

No one can unnerve you like your family can, and right now, she’s fumbling bad. Why she lied about being engaged doesn’t matter. What matters is she’s my friend, even though I long for more.

“What’s that?” the jerk who I assume is Peter asks, eyes dropped to Danielle’s chest. Blood rushes to Danielle’s cheeks, and I can’t stand this anymore.

I don’t think. I just act.

“Did you forget your ring again, honey?” I dart around the bar and over to Danielle. “She does it all the time. Takes it off when she’s out in the barn with the horses and forgets to put it back on.”

Diana’s eyes flutter, and it’s a surprise those ridiculously long lashes don’t tangle and get stuck together. Danielle’s shoulders relax, and she spins around, eyes meeting mine. The look of relief in them makes my heart do a stupid skip-a-beat thing.

“You’re right, babe!” She giggles and reaches up to touch my arm but hesitates for just a second before putting her delicate fingers on my bicep. “I’m always so worried about losing it in the barn I take it off. It’s safe and sound in my jewelry box in my room.”

I smile down at her, carefully bringing one hand up and resting it on her waist. She’s wearing a crop-top today, and my fingers grace her warm, smooth skin. She tenses, but I don’t think it’s because she’s uncomfortable by my touch.

“I told you we should just get matching tattoos instead.”

Danielle laughs, and this time it’s more like her normal laugh. Her grip on my arm tightens a bit. “Right, as long as yours says property of Danielle so everyone knows you’re mine.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I laugh and look into her eyes. She holds my gaze, silently thanking me, and then turns around, facing her sister.

“This is Logan. Logan, this is my sister Diana.” She purposely didn’t introduce Peter, and I’m half tempted to act like I don’t notice him. For two weeks straight, Owen and I acted like Quinn was invisible when we were kids. We played the part so well Quinn actually thought no one could see her…which got her into trouble when she tried sneaking around.

“You’re engaged to him?” Diana’s eyebrows go up even higher.

“Yeah, why? What were you expecting?”

Her sister shakes her head. “A cowboy, I guess. Definitely not someone who looks like they—”

“Tend bars,” Peter interrupts. “Which is what you do, right? I’d like to order a drink, actually.”

“Logan owns this place,” Danielle says. “And I tend the bar. You got an issue with that?” She cocks an eyebrow, testing him.

That’s my girl.

“So, go ahead and take a seat if you’d like to order. I’ll bring out the hot water and lemon in just a minute.” She waves her hand at an empty table. Diana and Peter walk away, and Danielle grabs my arm, pulling me into the kitchen.

“Thank you, Logan, so much.” She lets out a shaky breath.

“Why does your sister think you’re engaged?”

Danielle winces, and her cheeks redden again. She has no poker face, and it’s so fucking charming. “Her wedding is coming up, and I never sent in the RSVP. She emailed me and made a point to say I’m only allowed to bring a ‘serious’ plus-one, and if I didn’t have one, I’d be paired up in a hotel room with some other random single guest. Then my mom called and was being judgey and condescending as normal without even trying. She said she was marking me down as single, and I just blurted out I was engaged.”

“Wow.”

She lets out a breath, shoulders sagging. “I know. Thanks again…but I don’t want to drag you into any family drama. It’s like quicksand. Once you fall in, you can’t get out, and then you’re just waiting for the slow release of death. By sand? Does it kill you by crushing you? Or from the lack of oxygen?”

“I think the latter.”

“That makes sense.” She wrinkles her nose. “That would be awful. But not as bad as telling my mom the truth.”

I look at her pretty face, mind racing. She told her mom she’s engaged and is bringing a date to the wedding. Her sister already thinks I’m her fiancé. What’s the harm in continuing the lie?

“Don’t tell her the truth,” I blurt before I have a chance to think about what I’m saying. That’s been my issue all along. I’ve overthought every damn move I’ve made. I’ve almost grabbed and kissed Danielle more times than I can count, and I’ve stopped myself every time, thinking about the ways things could go wrong.

But what if they go right?

“She’s going to wonder when I show up alone in Hawaii.”

I reach my hand out, brushing a strand of Danielle’s hair back behind her ear. “I guess I’m going to Hawaii with you.”

Her lips part and she stares at me like I’m crazy. Which I am. I’m completely and totally crazy about my best friend. Swallowing hard, I let my hand fall. “I mean, if you want me to.”

“Yes. Just don’t go falling in love with me, Dawson.” She bites her lip. “I…I actually wanted to ask you to come with me before but didn’t think you’d want to.”

“I’ve never been to Hawaii,” I start. “And I’ve always wanted to go.” I give her a crooked smile. “And you’re paying, right?”

“Paying to take you to Hawaii is a lot cheaper than what the escort would have charged.”

I let out a snort of laughter. “You were going to hire an escort to take to Hawaii with you?”

“It crossed my mind until I realized they charge over five grand for a weekend.”

“Damn. I went into the wrong business. Well, not so much me. But Owen…he’d have his weekends double-booked and would pull it off.”

“I promise never to mention it to him.”

“Good idea. Better to play it safe.”

She lets out another sigh and grabs a coffee mug, filling it with hot water. Adding a wedge of lemon to the saucer, she takes it out to her sister. I check on a few of the other customers and then get flagged down by Diana. Danielle is seated at their table, and I come over, taking a spot next to Danielle.

“So, how’d you two meet?” Diana asks.

“Danielle came into the bar,” I start, telling the complete truth, “her first night in Eastwood. I saw her walk through the door and knew I was a goner.” I flick my eyes to Danielle. She doesn’t know I’m telling the truth, though.

“I started working here,” Danielle goes on. “And we hit it off right away.”

A real couple would kiss or hug or at the very least touch each other right now. I take a breath and then put my hand on Danielle’s. She flips her hand over, lacing her fingers through mine.

It’s unnerving how natural this feels.

“How long are you staying in town?” I ask Diana. She needs to leave before someone blows our cover.

“Not that long. We have to head back to Chicago soon,” she replies quickly. Danielle and I both know the only reason they made the two-hour drive from Chicago to Eastwood was to try to bust Danielle’s lie.

Joke’s on you, bitch.

“Are you going to see Grandpa?” Danielle asks, and I know what she’s thinking. Though, her grandpa would probably go along with this. He’d find it amusing, actually.

“Is he home? We could stop by on our way out of town.”

“He might be.” Danielle fidgets in her seat.

“Where else would the guy be?” Peter laughs. “He’s retired, right? Pushing ninety. Of course he’s home watching Jeopardy or something.”

“It’s Monday evening,” I say, trying not to smile by the way Danielle is staring daggers at Peter. “He’s at church.”

“Right.” Danielle nods. “He’s volunteering tonight.”

I wiggle my eyebrows. “That’s just what he wants you to think. Did you forget about the church ladies?”

Danielle laughs and pulls her hand out of mine only to playfully push me away. “Oh my God, no. Stop it right now.”

“Most of them are widowed, you know,” I go on, laughing as well.

“Then I guess we should head out of town,” Peter says.

Danielle raises her eyebrows. “So, you’re not even going to say hi to Grandpa?”

Diana flicks her eyes to Peter. I can tell she wants to see her grandpa but won’t risk disagreeing with this fucker.  “He’s busy.” Diana shakes her head. “I don’t want to bother him at church.”

“What, are you afraid you’ll get struck down by lightning if you try to enter the church or something?” Danielle says.

“There’s a good chance I will be,” Peter says, thinking he’s being funny or smug or something. I really can’t stand the guy and I’ve only been in his presence a few minutes.

“Well, we need to get back to work,” I start. We really do, and I know Danielle wants to get away from her sister. “Did you still want that drink?” I ask Peter.

“Why not?” He grabs a menu from the center of the table. Danielle and I go back to work, and right as Danielle sets the food on her sister’s table, Quinn and Scarlet walk in.

“Hey,” I say to them as they take a seat at the bar. “You taking a night off from mommy-duty or something?”

“Mom has both kids,” Quinn says, taking her purse off her shoulder and setting it on the bar top. “Archer got called in for emergency surgery and Wes is out tonight too. So we’re being party animals and came in to order cheese fries and onion rings.”

“I’ll put your order in.” Before I do, I look at Danielle, who’s standing by her sister’s table. Quinn follows my line of sight.

“Does Danielle know that couple?” she asks.

“Yeah. It’s her sister and her fiancé.”

Scarlet tips her head, blonde hair falling over her shoulder. “He looks like the kind of guy I used to hustle. He’s got douchebag wanting to prove he’s hot shit written all over him. AKA an easy target.” She shrugs and turns back around in her barstool. “I thought her family lived on the coast.”

“They do. They came for a surprise visit.”

“Poor Danielle.”

“You can say that again.” I go into the kitchen, putting in the order for fries and onion rings. I fill a few drinks, clean up a couple tables, and wipe down the bar. Scarlet must have gotten up to use the bathroom or something, because Quinn is sitting alone at the bar, looking down at her phone.

I go over, resting my elbows on the wooden countertop.

“Could a fake diamond pass for a real engagement ring?”

Quinn looks up. eyes wide. “Are you proposing?”

“No.”

“Way to get my hopes up.”

I arch my eyebrows. “Asking about fake rings got your hopes up? Have a little higher expectations for me, sis.”

“Fine. Sorry. And I suppose so. Why do you want to know?”

“Danielle’s sister, Diana, is getting married in Hawaii soon, and I’m going with to pretend to be Danielle’s fake fiancé.”

“Logan,” Quinn says but trails off, shaking her head. She doesn’t have to say it for me to know what she’s thinking. This is a terrible idea. “Can I at least know why you’re posing as her fiancé?”

“She didn’t want to go alone, and they wouldn’t let her bring someone unless it was serious. Like engaged.”

“That seems a little strict.”

I nod, flicking my gaze to Diana and Peter. “They’re not the best people, and this wedding is going to be awkward for Danielle. Her sister’s fiancé made a move on Danielle about a year ago, and she got blamed for it because her dress was too short.”

“Oh, hell no.” Quinn shakes her head, instantly angered, and jerks around to glare at Peter. She shudders and turns back to me. “It doesn’t matter if she was naked. If her sister’s fiancé hit on her, it’s his fault.”

“Exactly. Like I said…not the best people. They run 5Ks on Thanksgiving.”

Quinn gasps. “They’re the worst.”

“I know, right?”

“I have a ring that might work. The side stones are real diamonds but the big fat center one is cubic zirconia. I got it with the intention of swapping out the big stone with a sapphire, but then I realized it passed as real and kept creepers away at bars. I kind of forgot about it, but I’m pretty sure it’s still upstairs in my jewelry box. I’ll put it in the mailbox, and you can grab it on your way home tonight. Logan?” she asks, looking into my eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She won’t say it, but she knows. She knows I have real feelings for Danielle. Real feeling I’m going to have to convince Danielle are only fake.