Chapter Four

      What was he doing?

      Alyssa frowned at Jason, silently communicating her annoyance.

      She couldn’t imagine Diego saying yes, but still—what could have possessed her pretend boyfriend to make such an offer? She held her breath as Diego glanced at his watch, shrugged.

      “I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee before I make the drive back,” he decided.

      “Make that two cups, honey bear,” Jason said to her.

       Honey bear?

      But of course, she couldn’t object to his use of the term because she needed his help if her ploy was to succeed. Instead, she forced a smile. “Of course, sugar muffin. I was just about to make a fresh pot—I’ll have Geena bring it over when it’s ready.”

      Though his brows lifted, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he turned away to guide Diego to a vacant table.

      “Sugar muffin?” Sky echoed quizzically.

      “It was the first thing that came to mind,” Alyssa admitted.

      “I can’t believe you’re fake cheating on my brother with someone called ‘sugar muffin,’” her coworker remarked.

      “Your brother stood me up,” Alyssa pointed out in her defense.

      “He was late,” Sky acknowledged, pretending to be miffed. “And you didn’t wait half an hour to throw yourself into another man’s arms.”

      “Actually, I waited thirty-three minutes,” she said. “Desperate times and all that.”

      But even as her words justified her actions, her heart—still racing from that kiss—worried that she might have made a very big mistake.

      Sky glanced at the table where Jason and Diego were seated as she continued to mix drinks. “He’s actually kind of cute.”

      “Jason?”

      “No!” Sky said immediately. Vehemently. “Diego.”

      Objectively speaking, her friend was right. But Alyssa was more curious about Sky’s reaction to her question about Jason. “Do you have a history with Jason Channing that I should know about?”

      Sky shook her head. “Not personally.”

      “Impersonally?”

      Her friend chuckled. “No. It’s just that I’m a Gilmore and he’s a Blake—or rather, his mother was a Blake.”

      “I’m still not following,” she admitted.

      “You don’t know about the feud?”

      “What feud?”

      Sky shook her head, but before she could explain, Margot—one of the waitresses—came up to the bar with an order of drinks for a party table in the restaurant, and Sky turned her attention to filling it.

      While she was busy doing that, Alyssa grabbed a bus pan to clear some of the now empty tables.

      Jason and Diego were still chatting, and though she was admittedly curious about the topic of their conversation, she wasn’t worried. She’d made her point to Diego. Now he could go back to Elko—and ultimately to Irvine—cured of any notion that there was a future for them together.

      She sprayed and wiped a table, then turned and found herself face-to-face with her mother’s best friend’s favorite nephew.

      “I wanted to say goodbye before I headed out,” Diego said to her.

      “Oh. Okay.” She tightened her grip on the bus pan as he leaned over to kiss her on one cheek, then the other.

      “It was good to see you, even for a couple of minutes, Alyssa.”

      “You, too.” And now that she knew he was leaving, she managed to say the words with a believable amount of sincerity.

      Or maybe she was too believable, because he tried again. “You’re sure you don’t have any free time this weekend?”

      She glanced at the table where Jason was still sitting, watching them, and shook her head. “I don’t know what plans Jason has made—” which was the absolute truth “—but if he says we’re booked, we’re booked.”

      “I guess I’ll see you in July, then.”

      The expression on her face must have matched the blankness of her mind, because he smiled, and she realized that Sky was right—he was kind of cute. But she wasn’t attracted to him in the least.

      “Your parents’ anniversary party,” Diego reminded her. “I assume you’ll be home for that?”

      “Oh, yes. Of course,” she agreed.

      “Then I’ll see you there.”

      She exhaled a long, grateful sigh of relief when he finally turned away and headed out the door—crossing paths with Liam Gilmore on his way in.

      Sky’s brother glanced toward the bar, his gaze searching. Looking for Alyssa. He found her and was at her side with a few quick strides.

      “I’m late,” he acknowledged, his breathless tone suggesting that he’d raced to get there.

      “It’s okay,” she told him.

      He took the bus pan from her and set it on the table. “You’re too understanding,” he said. “And I’m so lucky that you’re mine.”

      Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

      * * *

      Sharing a public kiss with Jason Channing had drawn more attention than Alyssa wanted. Now, barely more than an hour later, she was kissing Liam Gilmore in the same bar—with Jason Channing watching!

      She pulled away. “Stop. Please.”

      “What’s wrong?”

      “What’s wrong is that you’re making a move on my girl,” Jason said.

      Liam scowled at the other man. “Excuse me?”

      Jason slid an arm across her shoulders. “Honey bear, you said you were going to tell him that you’d finally found a real man.”

      Liam’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

      Alyssa stepped between the two men. “Diego was here and you weren’t,” she explained to Liam. “So I tagged Jason to fill in.”

      “There was no one else around?” Liam’s tone was petulant.

      “Only Jason and Gavin Virga,” she said, naming the octogenarian ophthalmologist who was a Friday night regular.

      “So why’d you pick him?” he asked again, glaring at Jason.

      Alyssa nudged Liam toward the bar. “Go ask your sister to pour you a beer,” she suggested.

      He did so, but only after shooting one last narrow-eyed stare at Jason.

      “I appreciate you pinch-hitting tonight,” she said to Jason. “But now that Diego’s gone, you can go, too.”

      “I haven’t paid for the coffee.”

      “I did.”

      “Why?”

      She shrugged. “I figured it was the least I could do to thank you for playing along.”

      His gaze dropped to