Page 24 of Just One Spark

I sighed."I knew you'd want to talk about that."

She raised a brow."Can you blame me?Since when are you even dating?"

We talked about most things, and she knew that I'd had a long dry spell."I'm not."

She pointed at me."Then you have some explaining to do."

The thing I liked about Meg was that she was blunt and told you how it was."You have to keep this quiet because it's a secret."

Meg set her sandwich down."I'm not sure how I feel about keeping a secret."

I held up my hand."I worked the Hart Holiday Illuminary the other night."

"I remember.I was there too.That's when the news broke about your engagement."

"Rowan was being interviewed by aTelluride Timesreporter, Jane, and she wanted to host a contest for single women to win a brew bath with Rowan."

"You're kidding," Meg said dryly.

"I think he panicked.Later, he said he didn't want the attention on his love life and not the brewery.He worked so hard, and he wanted the focus to be on that."

"That's understandable.But how did you get involved in this?"Meg was protective of her friends, and I was fairly sure I was included in that sphere now.

I shrugged."I was standing nearby, and we used to be friends when we were kids."

"All you need to get engaged now is to be standing close to the person and to have been friends at one time?"Meg asked incredulously."I'm going to have to be careful about who I'm standing next to."

"That's what he told me.Afterward, he asked if I'd play along, pretend to be his fiancée for the holiday season or just until the brewery opens."

Her eyes wide, she said, "That's a big ask."

"I felt badly about how our friendship ended.”

"Is he one of the people you pulled away from when you learned about your father's addiction?"Meg asked.

"I didn't want anyone involved in that.I was too ashamed.Besides, the Harts are so perfect."

Meg nodded."I know exactly what you mean.I don't trust displays of happiness like that.I should be past those kinds of feelings by now, but I'm not."

"The contrast between our families was too much.Rowan always saw everything that was going on.He would have known something was wrong, and he would have wanted to fix it.But there was no changing that situation."You can't control another person's actions.You can be there for them, but I learned that wasn't enough either.It was the most frustrating situation I'd ever been in, and I hated how much it hurt my mother.

"So you're going along with this then?What's in it for you?"Meg asked.

Meg was always looking out for everyone in her small circle.It's what I loved about her."I told him he didn't owe me anything.But last night he showed up and insisted on making sure I got home okay in the snow."

Meg paused."Really?"

"He was worried the truck would get stuck.When we got to my apartment, there was a notice on the door that it was uninhabitable because of mold.They found mold in one of the apartments, then inspected the rest of them.I can't stay there until it's removed."

She winced, knowing how much I needed that place to live."You could have slept on my couch."

I gave her a look."You have a studio with a tiny couch."

She shrugged."It would have worked in a pinch."

"I know how much you need your space."She was used to sharing everything when she was a kid.So now, she was reluctant to allow anyone into her apartment, including friends.

"What are you going to do then?Will the landlord put you up somewhere else?"