Page 12 of Just One Spark

I locked the door behind him and moved as far away as I could get from him."Your sister stopped by this morning to congratulate me."

"That was nice of her," Rowan said as he leaned a hip against the counter.His shoulders were relaxed as if he didn't have a care in the world.

I crossed my arms over my chest."No, Rowan, it's not okay.Your sister thinks we're actually engaged."

He frowned."Isn't that the point?"

I threw my arms in the air."My friend, and your sister, thinks we're engaged for real.We're lying to everyone."

His brows rose."Okay."

"I can't believe my meager acting skills are actually working."

"My family can be very nosy.If they're convinced, then we must have done a good job last night showing them that we're happy and in love."

I scowled."We're not in love."

He grinned wider."Relax, Hattie.It's just for a few weeks."

"I don't want to lie to your family."

He sighed, moving close to me."I know it sucks.But it's just for a short while and for a good cause.I don't want the community focused on my love life when it needs to be focused on the brewery."

"I want to help you."I felt guilty for how I'd dropped him as a friend all those years ago.

He reached over to brush a stray strand of hair off my forehead."I won't let there be any blowback on you."

The brush of his fingers sent tingles down my spine.But I knew that any blowback wouldn't come back on him.It would be on the girl from the troubled family.The one that couldn't seem to stay out of small-town gossip.

The skin around his eyes crinkled."If for some reason Clara finds out the truth, I'll tell her it was my fault.It was all my idea after all."

I sighed heavily."I hope you're right.I don't want to lose our friendship."

"I won't let that happen."He stood in front of me, blocking the window and the rest of the space.All I could see was him, and the scent of pine and beer permeated the truck.

I tried to move around him, and he shifted to let me pass.

"Do you want a hot chocolate before you head to work?"

"I have a few minutes, and I figured we should give anyone who's walking around town a show.We should greet each other like an engaged couple.

I popped my hip."And how does an engaged couple greet each other?"

He grinned wolfishly and placed a hand on my hip.

I was woefully unprepared for his head to dip and his mouth to land on mine.I sucked in a breath, which allowed his tongue to slip between my lips.

His hand gripped my hip, pulling me against his body.I had no choice but to rest my palm on his chest, over his heart.He was warm underneath my touch and hard all over.His leg slipped between mine, and I whimpered into his mouth.

What was happening?Was this how engaged couples greeted each other?It certainly was not how I was expecting to be greeted by Rowan ever.And it was lighting something up inside me that I hadn't known existed.The part of me that I'd pushed down deep when I was a teenager.

My needs, my desires, were irrelevant when you had a father who was going through something.Our family rode his ups and downs, the promises and lies.But this right here was for me.

My fingers curled in the flannel of his shirt, and I leaned against him as if I couldn't hold myself upright any longer.I wanted to move over his hard thigh, but that would be out of bounds.I wasn't supposed to want my fake fiancé.

He eased back slowly, finishing with soft kisses, and then pulled away as if he couldn't quite believe what just happened."That was?—"

"Completely unnecessary."There was another rap on the window, and I stepped back as if someone had dumped cold water on me.