Jacob

Alex is chewing on his bottom lip, brows drawn tight in concern, and it’s taking all my effort not to reach out and smooth out the crease with my thumb.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” he finally asks.

“Yes, I’ll be fine,” I drawl. “Stop worrying about me and go enjoy your vacation.”

He runs a hand down his face and sighs. “I know, I’m just…” he trails off. “I feel weird leaving you. We haven’t been apart since I was in college, and even then, I was only a short bus ride away. I’ve never been so far away from you, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, and what if it gets busy and you need me?”

There’s a pang in my chest.

Placing the piping bag down, I round the counter and stop in front of him.

He’s a few inches taller than my five-foot-eight frame, having been blessed with our father’s genes. Alex has always been the sensitive soul of the Lowry family; he has always cared for both people and animals around him. Like when he was eight years old and saved a baby bird that had fallen from its nest in the backyard. He made a new nest, safe from the neighbor’s cat and any other predators that might want to get it, and he fed it and watched it from the kitchen window every day until it was strong enough to fly.

He’s a caretaker, so it comes as no surprise that he’s getting himself worked up over being so far away from me.

“San Diego is only a four-hour flight away. If I need you—which I’m sure I won’t because I’ll be fine—then you can jump on a plane and be with me.” I reach up on tiptoes and wrap my arms around him, bringing him in for a hug and squeezing him gently. “Alex, we’re okay now. I’m okay now, so you can stop worrying and go enjoy yourself. Heck, I’d love to go to California. The sunshine, the beaches. The Navy SEALS training on the beaches? Yummy.” I grin.

He laughs, then his face softens. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel real.”

“That we’re no longer living a nightmare?”

“Yeah.”

“I get that. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to know I’m not dreaming too, but it is real. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

“It’s pretty crazy how much our lives have changed in the last six months, huh?”

“Yep! It’s pretty wild, but we would’ve gotten there in the end. Ethan just came into our lives at the right time and got us out of it sooner.”

He nods with a small smile.

It’s been me and Alex against the world for just over three years, since our grandparents passed away within weeks of one another. They had raised us ever since that knock on the door from the police, letting them know our parents had been in a fatal accident. I was ten years old, and I still remember it vividly. My grandma’s sobs, my grandpa’s choked voice as he thanked the police. Alex was only seven. He couldn’t understand what was going on or why they weren’t coming home, and it was that night I vowed to my parents, wherever the afterlife had taken them, that I would take care of him and ensure he was always happy.

I’ve always prioritized Alex, even now that he’s twenty-five and more than capable of taking care of himself. He’ll always be my baby brother.

My lifeline. My anchor. My purpose.

I might put on a brave face and pretend that everything is sunshine and roses, but I refuse to let him see the grief that often rocks me to my core.

“Also, remember, Aria is helping out a few extra days, and I’ve got Daniel,” I reassure him. “Between the three of us, we’ll manage just fine.”

Alex chews on his bottom lip, eyeing me with a hint of suspicion. Thankfully, Daniel inadvertently saves me by calling for Alex to help him out front.

“You promise me you’ll tell me the second you need me?” he pleads.

“Of course; you have my word.” I nod, although it would take something drastic for me to call him back from his vacation.

He’s already missed out on so much in his life; I won’t be the reason he misses out on anything else.

“Jacob!” Alex calls out an hour later. “Someone’s here to see you.”

I glance up as Ethan appears in the doorway, wearing a somewhat sheepish smile on his face. A rush of excitement washes through me at the sight of him, like it always does. I allow my eyes to roam over his wide-set shoulders, noticing the way his broad chest is testing the fabric of his olive green t-shirt. When he shoves his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans, my gaze instantly falls to those tree-trunk thighs.

It should be illegal for someone to be so hot. He should come with a warning label—I may scowl, but I’m hotter than the sun.

His hulking form makes the kitchen feel tiny.

I swallow, trying to dampen my suddenly dry mouth to speak. “Hey, Ethan.”

“Hey, Jacob.” He smiles, taking a step forward, and leans against the counter. The way he says my name in that deep baritone voice causes goosebumps to ripple across my skin.

“Can I get you a drink?”

He shakes his head.

“Something to eat?”

“No, thank you.”

I frown.

He always does this—shows up out of the blue, never wanting to eat or drink anything. Not that I’m complaining, but being around Ethan frazzles my brain cells. All the blood rushes to my extremities whenever I’m in his presence, and I become a fumbling disaster.

I want to shake him and demand he tell me why he’s here before I lose my mind. He isn’t usually one for small talk, which can only mean…

Shit.

“Did I miss a payment?”

He shakes his head again, his lips twitching with a smile. “No, you didn’t, and even if you did, I wouldn’t come knocking.”

“True.” I scrunch up my nose.

Ethan shifts from foot to foot, clearly nervous. The uncertain body language is so uncharacteristic that worry begins to bubble in the pit of my stomach. The frown line between his brows grows a little deeper, and when he speaks, my heart plummets into my stomach. “Maybe you should sit down.”

Wait, what?

A chill runs down my spine. Is he going to tell me our agreement is over? My palms start sweating. I wipe them over the front of my apron, and I hate how shaky my voice is as I say, “Ethan, you’re kinda making me nervous.”

I do as I’m told, though, and take a seat on one of the stools. Folding my hands in my lap to stop him from seeing the effect he has on me, I press my lips together and stare at him. Willing him to hurry up and speak.

“I need to ask you a favor.”

“Uh, okay. What’s up?”

“I’m heading to England soon, and there’s this wedding I need to attend.” He exhales, glancing up at the ceiling in contemplation before he continues. “Thing is, I don’t want to go, but I have to because it’s family.”

I blink at him. “O-kay, so where do I come into this?”

“I need you to come with me and pretend to be my boyfriend.”

My jaw hits the floor. My eyes widen in disbelief because there’s no way I heard that right.

Maybe I’m dreaming, or the iced coffee I’ve just had is making me a little delusional, and I’ve landed in some alternative universe. It sounded like Ethan, the guy I’ve been crushing on for the last five months, just asked me to be his boyfriend.

Okay, I may be purposely ignoring the “pretend” part, but whatever. That’s a minor detail.

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask.

He rolls his eyes, and if it weren’t for the deep creases on his forehead, I’d probably think I’m annoying him. Not this…situation. “I knew this was a stupid idea. I shouldn’t have listened to Blaine,” he grumbles.

My shoulders slump at the sound of Blaine’s name. The little bubble I was floating in bursts, and I quickly crash back down to earth.

This was someone else’s idea?

I try to ignore the weight of rejection on my chest.

“Blaine suggested that I go to England with you and pretend to be your boyfriend in front of your family?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” He squeezes his eyes closed before shaking his head and finally saying, “This was a dumb idea. I’m sorry, forget I mentioned anything.”

Running a hand through his hair, he doesn’t look at me. He simply spins on his heels to leave. I’m only able to move when I see him almost reaching the door. Rushing over to him, I wrap my hand around his inked forearm to stop him.

“Ethan, wait,” I plead.

He turns his head and looks down at me.

“I’m just…surprised, is all. I wasn’t expecting you to ask me that.” I look at where my hand is wrapped around his arm. How would it feel to have those arms wrapped around me? Holding me up against a wall while he⁠—

Not the time or place for that!

I mentally shake it off as I feel the heat rising up my neck.

“Can I have some time to think about it? I can’t just up and leave. I have this place to think about, and Alex is off to California tomorrow.”

“And I can cut my trip short.” Alex suddenly appears, his head bobbing into view between Ethan and the door. “From what Blaine’s told me, Ethan isn’t leaving for another week?” His eyes shift to Ethan for confirmation.

Ethan nods, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“So that means I can have a week in California, and you can go to England. We can always visit Blaine’s parents again when you come home, but you should go. Who knows if you’ll ever have the chance again.” Alex reaches through to poke me in the shoulder, his voice lowering. “Do you remember what you told me when I was worried about going on a date with Blaine?”

I close my eyes as I remember that awful night.

I had just received the latest bank statements, and the amount we owed seemed to be increasing. I ended up in tears because I felt like a failure. After endless hours, days, and even years, of pouring blood, sweat, and tears into my business, seeing it in black and white in my hands had been soul-destroying.

Yes, I made mistakes. I suppose a lot of small businesses do during their first year as they learn the ropes, but I had also been struck with bad luck. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. Alex suggested bailing on his date with Blaine so he could throw the hundred bucks we had set aside for his date back into the pot, but our debt was so much more than that. It wouldn’t have even touched the surface.

And if he hadn’t gone on that date, they wouldn’t have fallen in love. We wouldn’t have had the success we did when Blaine saved our asses that gloomy December morning, and he wouldn’t have introduced me to this gorgeous hunk of a man, who now wants to whisk me off to England with him and play pretend.

Yep, the coffee must definitely be playing tricks on me.

“Go and enjoy yourself. Don’t let it pass you by; you will only live to regret it,” my brother repeats my own words back to me and winks before giving Ethan his best scowl. “If you don’t take care of him, though, I’ll set Blaine on you.”

“Oh, I’m quaking in my boots,” Ethan deadpans, but his lips curve in a smile. “I will, don’t worry.”

Chewing on the corner of my lip, I mull it over. It’s too big of a decision for me to make here and now, but there’s something in my gut telling me to go. I can’t remember the last time I did something so…adventurous.

I turn to Ethan. He’s looking at me with a mix of apprehension and hope. I want to say yes so badly, but I need to be sensible.

“I’ll think about it and let you know. I need to make sure everything will be okay here.”

He nods understandingly.

“I understand, thank you.”

As he moves to leave, we both realize my hand’s still on his arm. I forgot all about it, and I rush to remove it as Ethan just smirks, looking at me.

I instantly miss touching him, and from the look in his eyes, I’m pretty sure he knows it.

“You!” I point an accusatory finger at Blaine. “What did you do?”

“Me?” A sly grin spreads across his face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Placing my hands on my hips, I walk further into the apartment, narrowing my eyes with every step. “You know very well what you did.”

Alex snorts behind me as I stalk closer toward Blaine, causing him to scramble to his feet and shift behind the couch. His eyes dart between me and where Alex is in the kitchen, slight worry lining his forehead.

“You’re gonna have to fill me in because I haven’t done anything.” He nudges Ernie, waving his hand in my direction. “Ernie, protect me.”

“If you haven’t done anything, why do you need Ernie to protect you?”

We end up circling the couch. Ernie follows us, bouncing excitedly across the cushions, his pink tongue lolling to the side.

I scowl at Blaine, then look at the dog. “Ernie, get him.”

Blaine trips on the corner of the rug, and that’s all the encouragement Ernie needs. He pounces off the couch and starts tugging on Blaine’s sock.

“Ernie! You’re supposed to be protecting me, not taking his side!” Blaine whines. He tries to shove the puppy away, then yelps when Ernie’s tiny puppy teeth catch his toes.

“Ernie knows not to interfere in things.” I cross my arms over my chest.

Alex chokes on his water, coughing and spluttering between fits of laughter. “Trust me,” he croaks. “He interferes a lot.”

I cast a glare at my brother before looking back at Blaine. He picks himself up off the floor, scooping the puppy into his arms and tickling his belly.

“I’m assuming a certain cranky captain came to see you today.”

“Yes, he did. He told me all about your brilliant idea. I was doing fine crushing on him in secret, Blaine! Why’d you have to go and put ideas in his head?”

“Look, I thought it was a good idea. Ethan needs help. You need a vacation. Throw in the fact you have a crush on him, and ta-da!” He does one-handed jazz hands. “You’ve got yourself a British summer romance. It’ll be like in that movie, The Holiday, but set in summer instead of Christmas, and neither of you are British.”

“It’s nothing like the movie at all,” Alex laughs.

With zero fight left in me, I drop onto the couch and cover my face with my hands, letting out a silent scream into my palms.

I hate the fact that he’s right. I can’t even remember the last time I went on a vacation. It was probably when I was in high school and our grandparents took me and Alex to a cabin in Wisconsin.

Hell, I’ve never been on an airplane before. I only have a passport because I applied for one when I opened the bakery.

I don’t even know why. There was just something in my gut telling me I’d need it one day.

Well, would you look at that—divine intervention.

I feel the couch dip as Blaine sits down next to me. Ernie wriggles his way onto my lap, weeding his face between my hands, and licks my face. I cuddle the bundle of fur to my chest and hide my face in his fluffy neck.

“For what it’s worth, I think it would be good for both of you.” Blaine’s voice takes on a softer tone.

“What makes you say that?” I ask, turning my head slightly to look at Blaine.

“Ethan is one of my closest friends, but he’s very…private. I’ve been playing hockey with him for six years now, and I’ve never met his mom.” He gives me a pointed look. “There’s obviously something between you, especially if he’s suggesting introducing you to his family. I don’t think any of the guys have met his mom either, except maybe Kendrick and Peyton—and probably Coach—but that’s because they’re old timers.”

“Why is that?”

“Who knows.” Blaine shrugs. “Ethan is an enigma, but maybe you can help him come out of his shell a bit more. We all feel like he’s keeping us at arm’s length on a personal level. As a captain, we’re under his wing. We can trust that he has our backs no matter what on the ice, but personally? Off the ice and away from the rink? Nobody knows him. His apartment is sparse. There’s no hint of who he is away from hockey. I think he’s lonely, but no matter what we do, he won’t let us in.”

That doesn’t surprise me at all. He is the definition of a grump, but I think it’s more of a protective shield than his actual personality. Plus, there’s got to be a reason behind his need for a fake boyfriend. What could he be hiding? Or who does he need protection from?

And why do I want to protect him from whatever it is?

Alex’s words play on repeat in my mind—about living in the moment and taking the chances I’m given with both hands. I know he wouldn’t push me to go if he didn’t think he could cope. He’s proven time and time again that he’s more than capable.

I trust him with every ounce of my being.

I’m wary because, while I would only be in England for two weeks, it would be enough time to fall for Ethan.

Being in close proximity, meeting his family, and seeing a side of Ethan Parkes that is unknown to most?

It’s my damn heart that I don’t trust.

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