Once we’re standing in front of the diner, I know I can’t stall any longer, so I turn to Elise and Grant. “All right, we’re here. Just please, let’s all remember that Travis is working. I don’t want to bother him too much. We like to keep our private and professional lives separate.”

That’s totally bullshit. Because for one thing, we’re not really dating, and for another, if we were dating, that would be pretty much impossible in a town like this. But Grant nods like he appreciates the concept.

Elise smiles. “I promise we won’t embarrass you.”

The comment makes me pause. It sounds like something a parent would say to a teenager. And it has me thinking painfully of my own parents, and of Elise and Grant with April, and... Well, it makes me wonder if there’s any reality in which these two could see me like a son. But I shake all that off, because there’s no use dwelling on people who are gone or things that are nearly impossible.

Hand on the door handle, I plaster on a smile and fake some confidence that this is all going to go fine. However, as soon as I step inside and lay eyes on Travis, I freeze, causing May to bump into my back.

“What the heck, Dad, move,” she urges, shoving me forward.

I wave awkwardly at Travis, then lead my group to an empty table. Luckily, my stalling paid off, and there’s only a scattering of other customers in here. May gives me a weird look as she takes a chair beside me, but I ignore it.

Because no, I don’t know why I malfunctioned like that.

Travis is wearing the same thing he wore at my house this morning—his typical jeans, black tee, flannel shirt outfit that he wears practically every day. Yet for some reason, I was overwhelmed just now by the sight of his total hotness.

Maybe it’s because I kissed him. Which, yes, okay, I’m still realizing was possibly not the best idea. But how was I supposed to know one innocent kiss was going to be so good that it would affect me like this?

While we were at my house, pretending to be a couple, we were sort of in this fantasy-type bubble. One where Travis wasn’t exactly Travis, my friend, the grumpy guy who owns the diner. Now here inside Reed’s, it’s back to reality. And the reality is that I kissed my friend, and I really liked it.

Shit, I just hope I can be normal around him again once this charade is over.

“Hey,” he greets us, coming over and passing out menus. “I’m glad you all stopped by.”