Chapter 6: A Reckless Proposal
1193 Words
And right now... Maple Hollow believed neither of them were staying.
The café hummed around them, but the space between Aria and Caleb felt suspended in something thicker than air.
His gaze didn’t leave hers.
“You’re playing with fire,” he said quietly.
“Maybe,” she replied. “But you said it yourself. Perception matters.”
He leaned back slightly, studying her as if trying to determine whether she was serious.
“You’ve been here three days.”
“I learn fast.”
“This isn’t a strategy meeting in a boardroom,” he said. “This is my life.”
“And it’s mine,” she shot back. “Six months. That’s all I have before the bank takes the inn.”
His jaw tightened.
“You think pretending to date me fixes that?”
“I think,” she said carefully, lowering her voice, “that if the town sees you investing in the inn… in me… they’ll stop waiting for me to fail.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“And what do I get out of it?” he asked evenly.
Honest. Direct.
She appreciated that.
“You repair your reputation,” she said. “You show them you’re not afraid to start something again.”
“That’s not how this works.”
“Isn’t it?” she countered. “They think you can’t commit. They think I won’t stay. If we’re seen together consistently, publicly, it changes the narrative.”
He stared at her for a long moment.
“You’ve thought about this.”
“Since last night.”
“And it didn’t occur to you that this could get complicated?”
“It’s already complicated.”
A pause.
“Fake dating,” he repeated slowly, like testing the words for weakness. “You’re suggesting we pretend.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Until the permits are approved. Until the renovations are underway. Until people stop questioning whether I’m leaving.”
“And then?”
“Then we end it,” she said. “Mutually. Amicably.”
His eyes searched her face.
“You make it sound simple.”
“It can be.”
He let out a quiet breath, almost a laugh but not amused.
“You don’t know this town.”
“Then tell me what I’m missing.”
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.
“Maple Hollow doesn’t do casual. It doesn’t do pretend. If we do this, they won’t see it as temporary.”
“That’s the point.”
“No,” he said firmly. “That’s the danger.”
Silence stretched.
Aria felt the weight of his hesitation but she also saw something else beneath it.
Fear.
Not of gossip.
Of vulnerability.
“You’re afraid,” she said softly.
His eyes sharpened.
“Don’t.”
“You’re afraid they’ll believe it.”
He stood abruptly, chair scraping against the floor.
“This is a mistake.”
She stood too.
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“Because it won’t work?”
“No,” he said tightly. “Because it might.”
The words landed between them like a dropped stone.
The café noise swelled again around them.
Caleb ran a hand through his hair, frustration clear now.
“You think pretending to date me is just holding hands at the market?” he asked. “It’s dinners. Church on Sundays. Town festivals. Questions. Expectations.”
“I can handle questions.”
“It’s not the questions I’m worried about.”
She held his gaze.
“Then what are you worried about?”
His voice lowered.
“That you’ll leave.”
The honesty of it startled her.
“You don’t know that,” she said quietly.
“I’ve seen it before.”
The unspoken name hung in the air.
Lydia.
Aria softened slightly.
“This isn’t that.”
“You don’t know that either.”
Another pause.
She stepped closer not touching, just closing the distance.
“I’m not asking you to fall in love with me,” she said gently. “I’m asking you to stand beside me.”
His eyes flicked down briefly, then back to hers.
“And when the six months are up?”
“If I fail,” she said, forcing steadiness into her voice, “then none of this will matter anyway.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only honest one I have.”
Silence.
The tension between them wasn’t romantic.
Not yet.
It was cautious. Electric. Uncertain.
“You’d have to stay at the house sometimes,” he said suddenly.
She blinked.
“What?”
“If we’re convincing,” he continued, practical now, “people will expect to see you there.”
Her pulse jumped.
“That’s… not necessary.”
“It is here.”
She hesitated.
“Separate rooms,” he added quickly. “I’m not suggesting anything inappropriate.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
“Good.”
Another pause.
“You really believe this could work?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“And if it backfires?”
“Then at least I’ll know I tried everything.”
He studied her face again.
Searching for doubt.
He didn’t find it.
“You’re reckless,” he muttered.
“Only when it matters.”
A long breath left him.
“This doesn’t leave this table,” he said finally. “No one knows it’s pretend.”
“Of course not.”
“We set boundaries.”
“Agreed.”
“No mixed signals.”
She nodded.
“No emotional expectations.”
That one lingered.
But she nodded again.
“Fine.”
He extended his hand.
Not warm this time.
Formal.
Businesslike.
“If we’re doing this,” he said quietly, “we do it right.”
Aria looked at his hand.
This was it.
The line between strategy and something far more dangerous.
She placed her hand in his.
“Deal,” she said.
His grip tightened slightly.
Not possessive.
Not intimate.
Just solid.
Outside, through the café window, two older women were already watching them.
Aria noticed.
And, without thinking
She stepped a fraction closer to Caleb.
His arm brushed hers.
He didn’t pull away.
The first move had already been made.
And Maple Hollow was watching.
- Writer
