Being in a fake relationship isn’t supposed to be complicated. Kissing isn’t supposed to make me think foolish, ridiculous thoughts about Bea actually wanting me when she kissed me, too. This situation is terrifyingly beyond me.

“Dr. West!” Luca, a seven-year-old patient of mine, waves as Ned brings him back into the office and starts his vitals.

“Hey, Luc.” I smile at him and pocket my phone. The phone I definitely wasn’t holding as I considered texting Bea for the eightieth time since we parted ways on Friday. “Catch any bad guys lately?”

“Ten!” he says emphatically. “I used my villain-destroyer machine.” He lifts his shirt, revealing the insulin pump that he was fitted with just a few weeks ago.

“Whoa!” Ned says, wrapping the blood pressure cuff around Luca’s arm. “Better keep that safe. Can’t let the bad guys get anywhere near your destroyer machine.”

Patting his pump like a cowboy with his holster, Luca grins. “Trust me, I’ve got it under control.”

“He’s done a great job taking good care of his villain-destroyer machine,” Luca’s mother says. “And I’ve felt much better now that Luca’s got it. Now I know he’s safe.”

“And you’re safe, too, Mama,” he reassures her, legs swinging from the chair as Ned takes off the cuff. “Don’t you worry.”

A smile tugs at my mouth. There’s nothing like kids. Their innocence and warmth. Their guileless transparency. I find them so much easier to connect with than adults. Because with children, there’s no hidden agenda, just their honest thoughts and feelings. Unlike the matchmakers and many adults, who seem to have no problem manipulating people and situations to suit them.

Guilt sours my stomach. Am I treating Bea any better than the meddlers with my radio silence? Three days after the Bowling Alley Kiss, is she wondering why I’ve been so quiet? Then again, she’s been quiet, too. Maybe she’s relieved that I haven’t texted.

Worse, maybe she doesn’t care at all.

“Okay, buddy,” Ned says. “Everything’s good. Let’s get you back to your room and settled in.”

Glancing up, I give Luca my attention. “I’ll see you soon, okay, Luc?”

He smiles as he walks by with his mom and Ned. “Okay, Dr. West.”

Just as they turn down the hall to our exam rooms, my phone buzzes in my pocket.

BEA: We’re not even *actually* dating and you’re ghosting me. I’d say I’m disappointed but honestly I’m just impressed.

A groan leaves me. I can’t ignore that. I shouldn’t ignore that.

JAMIE: I’m deplorable.

BEA: Nah. You’re just freaked out because the best kiss of your life was your fake girlfriend.

She has no idea.