Fakers by Meg Collett

she finally remembered Hale had said the water was shut
off.
    “A warning would’ve been nice,” she
grumbled.
    She stepped out of the shower and squirted
herself with body spray. She tried to fix her hair before she
dressed, but it was a hopeless mess. Giving up, she wrapped it up
in a messy topknot, and she didn’t even bother with makeup before
she made her way over to Stevie’s.
    Stevie answered the door with a glass of
wine after Kyra knocked. “You look like I feel.”
    She grimaced. “My water’s turned off and
this day has been one from Hades. How was your trip?”
    Stevie wrinkled her noise. “Let’s put it
this way: People annoy me, and I was surrounded by them.”
    Kyra laughed and followed Stevie inside. She
led them to the back porch again, where a chilled pitcher of green
tea and a fresh glass awaited Kyra. An assortment of takeout menus
were spread across the table.
    “The old birds across the street have
already called about your fit out in the road today.” Stevie took a
sip of her wine, staring at Kyra with raised brows over the rim of
her glass.
    “My fit?”
    Stevie shrugged. “You did throw cookies at
the man.”
    “Ugh.” Kyra rubbed her temples. She’d almost
forgotten about throwing cookies. “This has been an awful day.”
    Stevie nodded knowingly. “Almost getting
creamed by a truck will do that.” When Kyra didn’t respond, she
said, “Uh-oh. What else?”
    “Well…” Kyra said. “I ran into my
grandmother today at Maggie’s Bakery. That didn’t go too well. And
then I had another fight with Hale when he tried to apologize.”
    “Oh!” Stevie leaned forward in her seat.
“Did he throw you down on the bed and kiss you until you apologized
for almost making him kill you?”
    Kyra snorted with laughter. “Not even close.
He called me fake.”
    Stevie pursed her lips, the amusement fading
from her eyes. “Now that pisses me off.”
    Kyra shrugged. “I guess he’s kind of right,
but he apologized. He left me this note.” She pulled the note from
her pocket and handed it to Stevie. She watched as her friend
quickly read it.
    “Hmm…”
    “What does that mean?” she asked,
frowning.
    “It means I don’t remember him leaving a
note for poor Mrs. Campbell when he told her he didn’t have a magic
trick for ridding her carpets of cat piss, but that she could try a
litter box.”
    Kyra’s mouth dropped open. “He said
that?”
    “Oh, yeah. She was fit to be tied for months
afterwards.”
    “Are you trying to tell me he likes me?” she
asked, her tone sarcastic, but she felt the slightest twinge of
excitement, which was completely crazy.
    “Maybe. Maybe not. Nearly committing
vehicular homicide might’ve rattled some good manners into
him.”
    “It didn’t rattle hard enough,” Kyra said
under her breath.
    Stevie laughed. “Enough about Hale Cooper.
Men are stupid. Let’s order burgers.”
    “I’m vegan,” Kyra said.
    “Bless you.” Stevie picked up a barbecue
menu.
    “No, I’m vegan ,” Kyra repeated,
grinning. “How about a veggie pizza?”
    Stevie was quiet for a long moment, studying
her carefully. “As in vegetables?”
    “As in vegetables,” Kyra confirmed.
    “Dear God.”

six
     
     
     
    K yra didn’t know
what to expect the next morning with Hale; the note had said he
would try harder today. Kyra groaned and sat up in bed. What was
she doing? Her first thought this morning had been about Hale
Cooper.
    “Really, Kyra? Really ?”
    She swung her legs over her bed, scowling at
her bedraggled reflection in the chevron-painted mirror propped on
the floor.
    “Get it together.”
    To punish herself, she threw her hair up in
a ponytail and grabbed her running gear. She was out the door in
five minutes, taking off down the beach in her bare feet. She set a
grueling pace right from the start with her legs churning over the
sand. Her hair bounced against her back as the rising sun began to
warm her skin.
    She ran for an hour just because she