Pretend You're Mine: A Small Town Love Story (13 page)

“Let the lousy nickname contest begin.”

***

T
hat night, after a dinner for one of canned soup and a BLT, followed by pretending to watch TV, Harper curled around Luke’s pillow in bed. She picked a shirt Luke had worn, which she purposely didn’t wash with the rest of the laundry, so she could still catch his scent. She had gone to bed an hour ago and was still staring at the ceiling.

Thinking. About him. The way he could look into her with those eyes that didn’t miss a thing. His jaw, usually set in a firm line, was perpetually covered with a 5 o’clock shadow. And that body, hard muscle under inked lines begging her hands to—

Her phone signaled a text from the nightstand jarring her from her fantasy.

Her pulse kicked up a notch when she saw Luke’s name on the screen.

Have a good day?

She’d play it cool, she decided.
Really good. You?

A few seconds later, he responded.
Not bad. Getting ready for bed now.

Hopefully it’s more comfortable than your couch.
She included a winky face. That was still playing it cool, right?

Funny. What are you still doing up?

Thinking about you.

A minute passed and then two before her phone dinged.
Same here. For a fake girlfriend, I can’t get you out of my head.

Harper did her best version of a horizontal happy dance and then counted to thirty before she responded.

What do you think that means?
She nibbled on her thumbnail from the time she hit send until he responded.

It means I’ve spent more time regretting my decision to stay away from you than convincing myself to stick to it.

Then don’t stay away. Come over to the dark side.

Cute. I just don’t want you to get hurt.

We both know there’s no future. What’s the harm in enjoying the present?
Her screen dimmed and then turned off. A minute ticked by on the bedside clock before, finally, another text came in.

Get some sleep, baby. I’ll see you tomorrow night.

I
t was a restless night’s sleep with dreams of Luke. The next day, she only had to drag her thoughts back to the present — away from all things Luke — every thirty seconds or so while she puttered around the house.

She still hadn’t heard from him by the time she dusted every nook and cranny of the banister, cleaned the inside of the first floor windows, and finished her murder mystery. She was debating on whether or not she should text him when her phone rang in her hand.

“Tell me you’re not busy getting naked with my brother today,” Sophie demanded.

“Your brother is currently out of town avoiding me, presumably to protect himself from my incredible magnetism that drops athletic shorts with a single glance. So, no.”

Sophie snorted. “Perfect! Then you can come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Harper asked, opening the back door and stepping onto the porch.

“It’s the Annual Benevolence Not-So-Polar Plunge at the lake.”

“Aren’t those things usually in the winter?”

“I’ll fill you in on the way. You’ll do it, right?”

Some cold water would probably do her hot blood some good, Harper decided.

“Sure.”

“Great! Wear your worst bathing suit.”

Harper only had one suit, and she hadn’t worn it for a few years. She hoped it still fit.

“I’ll bring your costume and pick you up in half an hour.”

“Costume?” But Sophie had already hung up.

Harper tossed her phone on the counter and dashed upstairs to find her bikini.

***

“O
kay, so, forty-five years ago, some high school students decided it would be fun to organize a Christmas cold water plunge to benefit a local cause.” Sophie launched into her explanation as she pulled out of the driveway. “I think it was a family whose house had burned down. Anyway, they were all set to do it when the lake froze over. So they decided to postpone it until the water thawed.

“Now, every year, townies get together in April, dress up like it’s Christmas, and jump in the lake. This year’s cause is a leukemia and lymphoma nonprofit.”

“That’s kind of awesome,” Harper laughed. “So what’s our costume?”

Sophie reached behind her into the backseat and dumped a sweater in her lap. Harper held it up and laughed. Garrison Christmas 1987. It had misshapen reindeer flying over lumpy, snow covered hills.

“These are from Mom’s knitting phase. We still do shirts every year, but now we order them online.”

“I’m feeling Christmas-y already. So how cold is the water?”

Sophie grinned. “Well, it’s not December, but it sure as hell isn’t warm! They don’t call the lake Arctic Hell for nothing. People don’t willingly get in the water until August. I brought a bunch of old towels, though and they hand out shots afterwords and have a bonfire. It’s pretty fun.”

When they pulled into the parking lot, Harper goggled at the number of cars already there. “It looks like the whole town is here.”

Sophie nodded, “More or less. James and Ty should be here already. Ty is on duty as a cop slash lifeguard. James will do the plunge with us.”

“What about Luke?”

Sophie shook her head. “He’s never done it. Even in high school. That boy was born an adult. I don’t know if he’s ever had a day of frivolous fun in his whole life.”

Harper yelped as a face plastered up against her window. “And then there’s my idiot brother James here who’s the opposite,” Sophie said, pointing at her window.

James yanked Harper’s door open. “Let’s go, ladies! The lake waits for no one.” He was wearing swim trunks and a Garrison Christmas 1993 t-shirt with a mooning Santa on it. Obviously he was much smaller in 1993 because it was more of a belly shirt now. He had plastic light-up reindeer antlers perched on his head.

“You look kind of adorable, James,” Harper teased, getting out of the car.

James lowered his sunglasses and winked. “Damn straight.” He plopped a Santa hat on her head and tossed one to Sophie. “Suit up, sis.”

Harper and Sophie peeled off their shorts and t-shirts and tossed them into the backseat before pulling on their sweaters.

Harper ignored James’ low whistle when he caught a glimpse of her white bikini. But Sophie cuffed him in the back of the head. “No poaching. I don’t want to watch Luke pound you into the ground.”

“Luke’s not here to do any pounding,” James grinned.

Harper took in the tailgating madness. It really did look like the whole town of Benevolence had turned out for the event. There were fat Santas and pointy-eared elves mingling with people dressed as stockings and Christmas trees. There was even a group of middle-aged men in red and green Speedos. She also caught a glimpse of Georgia Rae in an “I’m Mrs. Claus” sweatshirt.

James led the way through the crowd towards the lake.

“Excuse me, ladies. You look like you need mouth-to-mouth,” Ty, in a lifeguard tank top, red shorts, and yellow sunscreen painted nose, stepped up to plant a steamy kiss on Sophie.

“Ma’am, you’re looking like you could use some oxygen. Can I be of assistance?” A blond, muscle-bound guy, dressed like Ty and carrying a rescue buoy, sauntered up to Harper.

Ty stopped kissing Sophie long enough to punch him in the arm. “Nice try, Linc. This is Harper, Luke’s girlfriend. Harper, this is Lincoln Reed. He’s fire chief and Luke’s high school nemesis.”

“Girlfriend, huh? Nice to meet you, Harper.” Linc extended his large hand and Harper took it. He pulled her in a step closer. “Luke or no Luke, you let me know if you need assistance.”

Harper pulled her hand back and laughed. “Nice to meet you, too, Linc. But I’m breathing just fine. You guys look pretty impressive,” she said gesturing at their costumes.

“We take this event very seriously, which is why I’m going to have to insist that you do a shot before getting in the water,” Linc said, adopting a serious face.

“It’s purely a precautionary measure,” Ty agreed solemnly.

“We’d better do what the lifeguards say.” Sophie winked at Harper. “Lead the way, boys.”

Ty picked Sophie up and tossed her over his shoulder and started weaving his way through the crowd towards a makeshift plywood bar with a Remo’s banner hanging above it. “We need shots, stat, bartender!” Ty said, dropping Sophie on her feet in front of the bar.

Linc offered Harper his arm. “Better catch up, sunshine.”

Harper rolled her eyes and took his arm. “Lead the way.”

The bartender was Sheila from Remo’s. “Welcome to Remo’s Lakeside, ladies.” She plopped a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of tequila on the bar top. “What’ll it be?”

“Oh, tequila, my nasty friend,” Sophie sighed.

Harper decided on the whiskey, and Sheila poured the shots in plastic cups. “Okay, the rules are each participant gets two warm-up shots. No more. There will be no repeats of Puke Fest 2010. You can have them both now or one now and one later.”

“I’d save one for later, sunshine.” Linc leaned against the bar next to Harper. “You’ll need another to restart your heart from Arctic Hell. Or I could do it for you.” He flexed his pecs under his tank top.

Harper snorted. “Does that work on the ladies of Benevolence?”

“Like a charm. I’m thinking about extending my coverage area. Where are you from?”

“You’re ridiculous,” she laughed.

“I think you like ridiculous.” He nudged his plastic fluorescent sunglasses down his nose.

Actually, she had a thing for serious and broody. But a little harmless flirting with ridiculous sure didn’t hurt.

“Aren’t you gentlemen doing a shot with us?”

“Sorry, sunshine, we’re on duty. Gotta make sure no one drowns or gets a Charlie horse and needs carried out and massaged by the fire. How are your calves feeling? Any knots?”

Here was a gorgeous, red-blooded man standing in front of her flirting shamelessly and her pulse had yet to ratchet up a notch. But have Luke walk past her desk into his office without sparing her a glance, and she felt like she had a hammer in her chest. It wasn’t fair.

She shook her head. “Sorry, no knots here.”

“Bummer. I’m totally great at massage,” Linc leaned against the bar and flexed a bicep. Harper eyed the bulging muscle. Yep, not a flutter.

“A toast, Harp,” Sophie announced, grabbing her arm. “To your first Benevolence Not-So-Polar Plunge.”

“Cheers!”

They clunked plastic cups and knocked back their shots. Harper gasped at the warmth that spread through her chest.

James reappeared and clamped a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, I want to be at the front of the crowd so we can be first in, first out.”

Sophie gave Ty a smacking kiss on his cheek. “Keep everyone safe, Deputy Sexy.”

“You got it, babe,” he said, smacking her on the butt.

“Good luck, sunshine,” Linc said with a grin. “I’ll be nearby if you need any assistance.”

James grabbed them by the hand and led the way through the crowd to the sandy lakefront. A crackling bonfire was already going strong, with volunteers from the fire company unpacking massive quantities of s’mores fixings.

A Santa with a snorkel and flippers took his place next to Harper. He winked at her through his mask. “Get ready for some frigid fun,” he said around the snorkel mouthpiece.

“How cold is it?” Harper asked Sophie, reaching her foot towards the water.

“Trust me, you don’t want to do that. The key is to run in, turn around, and run back out as fast as you can. Don’t stop for anything, or you might actually need Lifeguard Hot Stuff to bring you back to life.”

“That cold, huh?”

Sophie’s reply was cut off by a shrill whistle. “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Forty-fifth Annual Benevolence Not-So-Polar Plunge,” Ty announced through a megaphone from his perch on a wooden lifeguard stand in front of the bar. “Linc and I are here to make sure none of you drown and/or freeze to death.”

The crowd cheered.

Linc raised his red buoy from the lifeguard stand by the fire. “Remember the rules,” he shouted. “Get in, get out, and don’t go under. Try not to trample your neighbors,” he shouted. “On your mark, get set, go!”

Linc and Ty blew their whistles and the crowd surged forward. Harper yelped as daggers of icy water stung her legs, but she kept moving. She rushed in up to her belly and shrieked. Sophie was next to her, flapping her arms. “Oh my God! Oh my God! Okay, out, out, out!”

They turned and dodged their way through incoming plungers and towards the sandy beach. They were almost out when Snorkel Santa on her left tripped over a flipper. She reached for him to hold him up, but they both went down and under.

The cold stole the breath from her body. Her muscles instantly froze, preventing her from reaching for the surface. She felt like an ice cube floating in a sea of frigid water. Strong hands grabbed her under the arms and yanked her up. Harper surfaced and swiped a frozen hand over her face. Snorkel Santa was back on his feet and hauling ass out of the water. Linc appeared at her side grinning from ear to ear. “Let’s move, sunshine, before your feet freeze to the lake bed.” He picked her up and carried her out of the water. Harper was too cold to be embarrassed and wrapped her arms around his neck, cuddling into the warmth of his upper body until he deposited her next to the fire.

Harper’s shivers started immediately. A blue-lipped Sophie appeared with a giant fluffy towel. “Oh my God, you went under,” she said, surveying Harper’s wet hair.

“S-s-snorkel Santa took me down,” Harper said through chattering teeth.

“She’ll be okay, just needs to warm up,” Linc announced. “All right, off with your sweater.”

Harper hugged her arms to her chest, squishing icy water out of the fabric. “What? No!”

“I’m not trying to get you naked. Yet,” Linc laughed. “You’re not going to warm up wearing it. So strip.” He pointed at the clothesline behind them that was already sagging under the weight of everyone else’s wet costumes.

Still not convinced, Harper shook her head until Linc took matters into his own hands and grabbed the hem of her sweater, yanking it over her head.

“Damn, sunshine. Someone kicked the crap out of you.” He turned her sideways and ran a hand down the fading bruises on her ribs and back.