For the Love of Donuts

32. How Do I Fix This?

Skye

It’s been three whole days since my amazing first date with Tatum, and we’re supposed to have dinner tonight at his parents’ house so we can tell them that we’re dating.

However, I just keep thinking about our fake engagement. I don’t know how to get out of it anymore. Anna was right, trying to break up is going to be hard when we’re becoming a real couple.

Which is why I’m here, standing on Dria and Trey’s front porch.

If there’s anyone who can help me fix this, it’s my sister.

I just hope I survive the lecture she’s going to give me…

“Hey, pookie!” Dria exclaims after tossing open the front door. “Trey is playing outside with the girls, so we should have nothing but peace and quiet for our crisis talk.” She gives me a quick hug, and then ushers me inside so she can close the door. “What kind of crisis are we dealing with though? You didn’t say. Is it Tatum? I thought the date went well! Are you nervous about the next date falling flat?”

“We’re supposed to break up!”

“I’m sorry?” She looks at me like I’m crazy. “What the heck are you talking about?”

“The plan was to end our fake relationship!” I stomp over to the couch before throwing myself on it. “After Tatum took pictures for the Dovell Donuts anniversary party and I got my promotion, we were supposed to break up, and all the pretending would be over!”

Dria props her hands on her hips. “You guys can’t fake break up when you’re dating for real!”

“That’s why I’m here!” I wail, cuddling one of her fuzzy throw pillows. “How do I fix this? Tell me what to do!”

She proceeds to roll her eyes. “You hate when I tell you what to do.”

“Dria, please ?” I beg, giving her my best pouty look. “I don’t want to make things even messier!”

“See?” She cocks an eyebrow at me. “This is why lying is bad . It’s great that you and Tatum are FINALLY together, but you never should’ve lied to Zoya. You’re better than that, girlie.”

Owwwwwww. And there’s the lecture part.

“I know it was wrong to lie,” I mumble, fidgeting with my hair. “That’s why I need your help to fix this!”

“My sweet baby sister,” she says with a loud huff, “the best way to fix a lie is by telling the truth.”

I can’t help but wince. “Tell the truth?”

“It’s the right thing to do, Skye.” She makes herself comfortable on the couch and wraps an arm around me. “And you’ll feel a lot better once you’re honest about the whole thing.”

I lean my head against her shoulder. “I’m going to get fired.”

All that work so I could get the promotion, and it’s not even going to matter now.

How ironic.

“There are lots of other jobs you could do,” she assures me, rubbing my arm like it’s a magic lamp. “It’ll be okay. You need to talk it out with Tatum first, though, because this is going to affect him too.”

True. When Zoya fires me, I highly doubt she’s going to want my best friend-turned fake fiancé-turned almost boyfriend working for her either, even if it’s just one event.

But I hate the idea of Tatum losing a photography gig, especially if it’s going to be my fault!

“Do you think maybe I could wait to tell her everything after Tatum does the pictures for the anniversary party?”

“Skye, we both know you shouldn’t wait that long to come clean. It wouldn’t be right.”

I curse under my breath. “Do you think he’s going to be mad at me?”

She scoffs. “I doubt it. Knowing Tatum, he’s just going to be worried about you.”

That just makes me feel worse.

“What time are you guys supposed to be at his parents’ house?”

I tap her smartwatch screen to see the time, and then I do some quick math. “Probably in like forty-five minutes. I’m picking him up from his place once I leave here.”

“Good. That means you can talk to him about exposing your fake engagement before or after dinner.”

“ Yay , I can’t wait.”

“That’s the spirit!” She gives me a tight hug. “Now, let me show you this video I found because it reminded me of us, and I’m sure it’s going to cheer you up.”

I crack a grin at that. “What if I’ve already seen it?”

Which usually happens.

“Then act like you haven’t and humor me, dang it!”

Spoiler alert: that’s exactly what I end up doing.

Even though Tatum and I spent time together during my lunch break on Tuesday, it still feels like we haven’t seen each other in forever, so that’s why we start playing catch up right after he opens his front door.

It’s only a handful of quick, innocent kisses, and yet my stomach is somersaulting all over the place. Or maybe that’s because I know we need to talk. And I don’t want to talk.

Not about Zoya and the fake engagement, anyway.

“You look pretty,” he murmurs as we transition to hugging on his front porch. “And you smell so good. Maybe we should just stay here, order some food, and watch a movie instead.”

I pat his back, forcing myself not to grope his defined shoulder muscles. “Nice try, but there’s no way I’m choosing takeout over your mom’s cooking. Be for real.”

Especially since she’s making her special creamy chicken and noodles. And before you start thinking it’s chicken noodle soup—you’re wrong—the one pot dish is kind of like chicken and dumplings, but with egg noodles instead. It’s incredible .

“You’re right, you’re right,” he exhales, pulling away from me. “Besides, my parents would be disappointed if we bailed.”

“There’s always afterward…” I trail off as I tug at the bottom of his shirt. “I do have to bring you back home at some point.”

He grunts at that. “Still think you’re bad at flirting?”

I offer a cheeky grin. “I would say I’m improving.”

“Understatement of the year,” he says, kissing me once more. “All right, we should probably go before my mom starts texting me.”

Once we’re settled in the car, Tatum connects his phone and chooses our “safe” playlist, but I can’t focus on the music because I’m too busy thinking about our little dilemma. Should I bring it up now? Or do I wait until the ride home? It should be now. What if I lose my nerve later on? Not that I currently have much nerve to begin with…

“I know that look, Pink Stuff,” he drawls as I back out of his driveway. “You’re thinking about something but don’t know if you should say it out loud. What’s up?”

I sigh when he lowers the music volume. “Talking about it could ruin the night.”

“Well, if we don’t talk about it, the night’s already going to be ruined because I’ll just be thinking about how you don’t want to tell me something.”

The man has a point.

“Okay, okay,” I concede, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. “So, you know how we’ve been pretending that we’re engaged?”

“ Yes , I’m aware,” he replies with a laugh. “What about it?”

“My plan was for us to break up after I got promoted and after you did the pictures for the anniversary party, but now we’re dating. We can’t fake-break up if we’re going to be an actual couple, Tatum! So, Dria thinks that I should come clean and tell Zoya the truth, but I know I needed to talk about it with you first.”

Part of me wants to see his reaction, but I’m also too scared to look at him, so I keep my eyes on the road instead.

“I mean, yeah, I get it. I don’t want the start of our real relationship to be tainted by our fake one. Being honest with Zoya is the right thing to do.”

“Even if you might not get to do the pictures for the anniversary party?” I ask with a wince. “There’s a really good chance she’s going to hate both of us once I tell her the truth.”

“There’s always other opportunities,” he reminds me, not hesitating for a second. “I’ll find another gig. It’s okay.”

Actually, it’s not okay, but I appreciate that he’s trying to make me feel better.

“And ya know, if you end up with some extra time on your hands—”

I flat-out snort at him. “That’s a very nice way to say if you get fired .”

“If you end up with some extra time on your hands,” he repeats himself, ignoring what I just said, “then maybe you could work a little social media magic for me with my photography accounts.”

I could cry.

How did I not realize sooner that Tatum is the perfect guy for me? That no one else is going to take care of me like he does?

“So, you’re not upset over the possibility of losing Zoya as a client?” I stop at a red light and turn my attention to him. “Because I know this party would be a big deal for you, Tate. You could connect with so many people—”

“There’s only one person I’m worried about,” he interrupts, reaching forward to brush his knuckles against my cheek, “and I’m looking right at her.”

“Tatum—”

“Hear me out for a second.” His voice is gentle but firm, and I have no other choice than to keep my mouth shut. “Losing Zoya as a client will be disappointing, but I’m not upset. I’ve still got your back no matter what, okay?”

Guilt is swirling through my veins, but I manage a weak smile. “Okay.”

“Good.” He nods past me. “Light’s green.”

The rest of our drive is spent with us talking about which movie we’re going to watch once we’re back at his house, but I think we both know it doesn’t really matter. The movie will mostly be background noise while we start playing catch up again.

“Hey, c’mere,” Tatum says as we start walking up his parents’ driveway.

I place my hand in his, and he draws me into a warm hug. “Would you rather wait to tell my parents about us?” he asks, brushing his nose against the top of my head. “I understand completely if it’s too much right now.”

I pull back just enough to look at him in admiration. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

And the shy smile on his face makes him downright adorable. “I just—I don’t want you to feel more overwhelmed.”

“We don’t have to wait,” I say, resting my hands against his chest, “I want them to know. Maybe we’ll just leave any fake engagement stuff out for now? To keep things simple?”

“Agreed. We should go inside though, before they come out here and realize something’s different between us.”

I raise an eyebrow at him. “How would they realize that?”

Sure, his arms are still around me, but we hug a lot as friends.

“Because,” he mutters close to my ear, sending a wave of shivers down my spine, “if we stay out here any longer, I won’t be able to stop myself from kissing you.”

Oh. Well, I guess that would be a dead giveaway.

And yet, I find myself saying, “I don’t want you to stop yourself.”

“ Skye ,” he groans, dropping his head to my shoulder. “Not now. I want to, more than anything, but let’s wait until afterward.”

I bite my lip when his breath teases my exposed collarbone, causing me to melt all over. “Promise?”

“I can do better than that…” His voice is husky as he captures my pinky with his own. “I pinky promise we’ll be finishing this afterward.”