Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“Ha! Never going to happen.”
“Evil wench,” he muttered but took out his phone and opened up what he wanted her to see. “Here.”
She leaned in close to him, her ponytailed hair brushing against his shoulder as she looked at the small screen. “Is this someone you follow?” she asked. “They take amazing pictures of their food. That fresh-fruit tart looks out of this world.”
When Danny said nothing, she looked at him and her eyes widened. “It’s you?” she whispered. “Secret recipes page?”
He nodded. “Don’t follow me.” Her account was too big, and she had fans dedicated enough to stalk who she followed. “What do you think though?”
Having grabbed his phone, she began scrolling through his posts. There weren’t that many as he’d only set up the account in the past six months, under the name of TheAnonymousWannabeChef. It was too long, but it seemed to have hit a chord with people and he’d somehow managed to collect a thousand followers.
That was peanuts in comparison to his main account, but these people liked his recipes, tried to make them, and reported back on their successes and failures. They weren’t following him for his rugby skills or because they thought he looked hot in rugby shorts—hell, they’d never seen a single picture of him. They were there for his skills in the kitchen.
It felt good.
As did the admiration in Catie’s eyes when she turned to him. “This is amazing, Danny. They’re so dedicated to you.”
Flushing, he said, “I get a real kick out of it when they post pics of things they’ve made using my recipes.”
“I’d scream,” Catie said with a grin. “What a rush!” After giving back his phone, she took out her own.
“Hey, I said don’t—”
She waved away his interjection. “I have a supersecret account, duh. I use it to follow friends who prefer not to have the media hound them for quotes about me, and you know, fun stuff I enjoy but don’t want the magazines writing articles about. Had it for years.”
“I didn’t know that.” Oddly hurt by the fact she hadn’t told him about the long-term private account, he glanced at the shelf of baking supplies to hide his reaction.
Then she said, “I don’t post anything on it. It’s only for follows—and I follow you out in the open where everyone can see me smoke you in our nemesis wars.”
Right then, his account yet open on his phone, he saw that he’d just been followed by StringOfNumbersPlusOne. He snorted. “Seriously?”
“What? It’s easy to remember.”
They carried on with their shopping, though they didn’t have to get that much. It was fun just browsing with Catie—she wasn’t fussed if he spent time deciding between three different types of vanilla, and she happily hunted the shelves for his favorite ingredients. She did refuse to agree with his choice of “best baked beans,” instead championing an utter abomination of a brand, but then, she was his number one nemesis.
“You said you’re flying out tomorrow midafternoon, right?” he said after they’d paid and he was carrying the bags to the car.
“Yep. Which flight are you on?” When he told her, she shook her head. “I’m an hour later. I guess I’ll see you back in Auckland.”
An odd little skip in his heart. “Yeah.”
* * *
The apartment was still redolent with the smell of baking when Catie began to get ready for the night. She’d cursed Danny for making such delicious goodies when she was about to put on an outfit that was not designed for carrying a food baby.
“It’s dessert for us, for after,” he’d said with zero repentance on his far too handsome face. “We’ll veg out in front of the TV and eat and discuss our nefarious fake-relationship plans.”
That actually sounded amazing. Too amazing.
“Rein it in, Catie,” she muttered to the mirror as she finished doing her eyeliner. “This is a result of the situation. Temporary blip.”
Only, the thing was… it didn’t look to be fading. Rather, it seemed to be careening fast in the opposite direction. For crying out loud, she’d had the best time just grocery shopping with him! Their ridiculous argument about baked beans had made her pulse race.
It freaked her out.
And it wasn’t because she was afraid of parental disapproval. Alison and Joseph liked Catie. The same with Jacqueline when it came to Danny—the Dragon was not in any way a fan of sports, but she’d been known to give Danny a compliment or two.
“Determination and skill are determination and skill regardless of the field chosen,” she’d said. “That young man has drive.”
So yeah, approval wasn’t the issue.
What worried Catie lay at the opposite end of the family spectrum: one hint of an actual relationship and everyone would start planning their wedding. The two of them could never have a casual fling—their lives and families were too entwined.