The dinner rush was starting to slow down when I made my way to the bar to put in Kona’s order for a mai tai. As I entered the bar area, I spotted Chloe at the counter with a dinner plate in front of her—a recently plated serving of venison medallions with butter bourbon sauce. I glanced at my watch and saw it was after seven thirty, which meant it was nearing time for me to head out. With Chloe. The thought didn’t suck.

We’d been so busy that I’d barely had time to think about her, about us, about our situation since I’d come in at ten thirty this morning, but I’d done more than my share before that.

When I’d woken up today, doubts had plagued me. Would we be able to pull off a fake engagement? Living together? Would I drive her nuts? Annoy her with my work hours, habits, dedication to my brewing dream? Would such a grand effort sway Angelica in the end and get Chloe what she wanted?

But as I approached her from the side, after conveying Kona’s order to Dakota, those doubts dissipated. When Chloe spotted me and sent me a warm smile, my worries faded and seemed unrealistic. Just looking at her, I wanted to make it work.

“Hey,” I said, momentarily resting my ass on the stool next to her, one of only two free ones in the place at the moment. As the dining rooms emptied out, the bar would get busier, even though we were a restaurant first and foremost. We kept the bar open until eleven on weekends, so we did some extra beverage and appetizer business.

I wasn’t sure where we stood or what she was thinking after having twenty-four hours to consider our next move, so I didn’t lean in to kiss her. I could admit to being a little nervous about her decision. It didn’t make sense, as it was her future at stake, not mine, but if she’d decided it wasn’t worth it, if she said she didn’t want to move in with me and be my fake fiancé, it was going to sting the ego.

“Hi,” she said, pausing with a forkful of venison halfway to her mouth. “Have you been this busy all evening?”

“It’s been nuts all day,” I told her, moving my lips close to her ear because it was also loud in here and difficult to hear. “We had a group in the bar to watch the Predators this afternoon, plus Kona Powers’s birthday celebration tonight.”

A smile crept across her face. “I haven’t seen Kona for ages.”

Kona was the school librarian, first for the grade school, then later she’d moved to the high school. It made sense that Chloe had a soft spot for the kind, book-pushing woman.

“You could wish her a happy birthday,” I said.