Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Annabelle crosses her arms, her lips curving into a knowing smile.
“So, you’re the best friend?” York asks, like he’s just solved some complicated puzzle.
“I am,” Annabelle replies with pride, her eyes darting between us, clearly enjoying this way too much.
I glance at York, silently pleading with him to stop talking, but he’s too busy being charming, and I’m too busy trying to survive this painfully awkward encounter. Annabelle knows me too well, every flustered glance, every tiny stumble in my words, she’s picking it all apart like a hawk.
And she knows. Of course she knows.
I feel like the whole world knows. Why would York Steele pick me?
After a few more awkward moments filled with forced smiles and the inevitable promise to call Annabelle later and give her the scoop, the whole scoop, and nothing but the scoop, York and I finally escape. We head toward the truck in the parking lot, the cold air nipping at my face as I breathe in deeply, relieved to be moving on from that encounter.
I’m ready to go home. Tonight’s been… something else. If I’m being honest, the whole day has been something else. A whirlwind of playing pretend, dodging suspicious looks, and keeping up this charade that feels more real with every passing hour. I try to think back to when York and I weren’t pretending, but it’s a blur now—the airport, my parents’ house, the sleigh ride through the park.
We climb into my father’s truck, and as we drive, the hum of the engine fills the silence. The windshield wipers swish rhythmically, brushing away the snowflakes as York navigates the windy roads back to my parents' house. I can’t shake the tension coiled in my chest, my thoughts bouncing around like stray snowflakes caught in the wind.
“Is this how it always is?” I finally ask, my voice cutting through the quiet.
York glances over at me, raising an eyebrow. “How what is?”
“Being famous,” I clarify, scrolling through my phone mindlessly until I land on yet another post. This time, it’s a picture of us from earlier, holding hands on the sidewalk downtown. The caption reads something like, ‘New couple alert?’ I roll my eyes. “Like this,” I say, holding up my phone for him to see.
He glances at the screen for a second before refocusing on the road, his jaw tightening ever so slightly. “Unfortunately, yes. It’s like that most of the time. Eventually, you start to ignore it. It all fades into the background.”
I let his words sink in, staring at the photo on my screen for another beat before shutting off my phone and slipping it into my coat pocket. I can’t imagine living like this. With every step scrutinized, every moment dissected. My stomach twists with unease. “I don’t know how you do it,” I murmur, shaking my head as the reality of his world starts to hit me.
He’s silent for a second, the only sound is the low hum of the truck’s tires on the snowy road. Then, in a voice softer than I expected, he says, “It’s lonely.”
That one word hangs heavy in the air between us, and I glance over at him, seeing York in a new light. The charm, the confidence—it all suddenly seems like armor he wears to keep people at a distance. To protect himself from the isolation fame brings. I want to say something comforting, something that will make him feel less alone, but the words catch in my throat. Instead, I just sit here, watching the snow fall outside, feeling the weight of it all.
Maybe pretending isn’t so far from the truth after all.
Chapter 11
York
I pull into Coach’s driveway and kill the engine, the sudden silence inside the truck almost deafening. My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I sit there, staring at the dimly lit porch ahead. All I can think about is what I just said to Noelle. How lonely I feel. I can't believe I let that slip. That was such a rookie mistake.
But the truth is, I didn’t even realize how lonely I’ve been until Noelle was sitting beside me, filling that empty space in ways I didn’t even know I needed. She’s like a bright light in the dark, and now that she’s here, the loneliness I’ve carried around for the past year feels louder, heavier, like it’s suddenly come alive and is clawing at me from the inside. It’s unsettling, and it makes me want to cling to her, hold her close, and never let her go.
But that would be a really bad idea.
Coach would have my balls if he ever found out. And just thinking about how pissed he’d be if he knew I’m even thinking about his daughter like that? Yeah, that has me sitting here uneasy as hell. My pulse quickens, and my chest tightens at the thought. Noelle isn’t just some girl I can get close to and hope for the best, no, she’s the coach’s daughter. The one person who should be off-limits. But the more I’m around her, the harder it gets to pretend that keeping her at a distance is even an option.