“Maybe a few…”
“Last month, we spent an entire Saturday watching them!” Jen added. “Remember? You brought your famous death by chocolate brownies, and we all thought it was the perfect dessert for a serial killer marathon?”
“Okay, I think we’re getting off-topic here. The fact is that we know nothing about Levi!”
“We know…”
“And saying he’s good looking doesn’t count!” she quickly interjected before either friend could bring that up again.
Like she needed the reminder of how attractive he is–tall, muscular, sandy brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a dimple.
Yeah, she was very familiar with Levi’s looks.
“It’s obvious that you’re attracted to him,” Donna said. “And now you get to like…practice date him.”
“Practice date? What does that even mean?”
“It means you get to sample the goods before committing,” Jen said, laughing. “Like…you know…a test drive! You get to date him for a week, and if there’s a spark there, you can explore it afterward. But you’ll have the week you’re away with him to see if you might be a good fit.”
“It’s perfect, Willow. The two of you could fall madly in love and…”
“We don’t even know his last name for crying out loud!”
“So you’ll find it out tomorrow on your date. What’s the big deal?” Jen asked. “You spend a couple of hours with him and…you know…interview him.”
“Interview him? What does that even…” She paused. “Okay, how do I do that without being obvious or sounding like a complete dork?”
“Well, you’re going to be obvious, Willow,” Donna said. “You’re going to have to have a list of questions that you need him to answer so you’ll be believable in front of your family.”
“Yeah, and as for the dorky part…um…just…don’t,” Jen reasoned.
Opting to ignore that comment, she looked at Donna. “Like what kind of questions?” Groaning, she added, “This already is beginning to feel like way too much work.”
“Oooh! I know!” Jen said excitedly. “Let’s finish our drinks and go back to your place! We’ll pick up some ice cream or something on the way, and when we get to your apartment, we’ll help you think of all the things you’ll need to ask him.”
“You’re going to have to come up with a story about how you met…”
“Why can’t we just use how we really met?” Willow asked, feeling more confused and overwhelmed by the moment.
“Okay,” Donna said, patting her on the arm. “That will work, but you may have to adjust your timeline based on when you first told your grandmother you were dating.”
“Oh! And his name! You may have to ask Levi to change his name based on whatever name you gave your grandmother.” Jen looked at her expectantly. “Well? What name did you give?”
Oh, God…this is embarrassing.
“I…” Willow paused and wrapped her hands around her drink as she stared down at it. “I may have said his name was Levi.”
“Oh, my God!” both friends cried in unison.
“I just…”
“Are you not getting how perfect this is yet?” Jen asked, bouncing in her seat. “We couldn’t have planned this better ourselves!”
“We have a lot of prepping to do,” Donna said, pulling the drink from Willow’s hand. “Sorry, no drink for you. You need to drive. Sooner rather than later.”
“But…”
“No. No buts. We have work to do, and I know I’ve already got a running tally of things you’re going to need for tomorrow,” Donna explained. “You can drink when we get to your place.”
“I don’t think they offer to-go cups here…”
Her friends laughed and finished their drinks. “You are so funny, Willow! Levi is going to love you!” Jen said as she climbed off her seat.
Glancing over her shoulder, Willow caught of glimpse of him and sighed.
If only…
“So, um…how old are you?”
Levi did his best to not laugh. Willow was sitting across from him at his favorite sushi place and reading from a small notebook. From what he could see, she had a lot of notes written down.
Like seriously, a lot.
“I’m thirty,” he answered, knowing they were just getting started.
“Have you ever been married before?”
“No.”
“Are you currently dating anyone?”
“You mean other than you?” he teased.
Looking up, Willow’s hazel eyes were wide. “We’re not…I mean…not really. I meant…”
Reaching across the table, Levi placed his hand over hers. “Relax, Willow. Please. I know what you meant, and I was trying to lighten the mood. But just to be clear, no. I’m not dating anyone. I never would have volunteered to be your fake boyfriend if I already had a girlfriend. That wouldn’t have been cool.”
“Oh,” she said softly, seeming to relax. “Okay.”
“Okay, then.” He smiled but didn’t remove his hand. “Next question.”
Their waitress approached before Willow could respond. “Are you ready to order?” she asked.
Levi looked across the table. “I know what I’m having, what about you?”
“Um…can I please get the salmon bento box with the California rolls?”
Nodding, the waitress wrote down Willow’s order before looking at him.
“Can I please get the spicy tuna roll and the dragon roll?”
She nodded again. “Would you like soup with that?”
“No, thanks.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile before walking away.
“So…” Levi said, getting them back on track. “What’s the next question?”
Willow studied the page in front of her and frowned before she closed the notebook, placing it on the table. “Can I ask you something?”
“I thought that’s what we were already doing.”
Her laugh was soft–like the way she was currently blushing. “Why did you volunteer to do this?”
How the hell was he going to explain that? There was no way he could come out and say it was the only way to guarantee that she’d go out with him, so where did that leave him?
“Levi?”
Slowly, he pulled his hand back. “Honestly? I saw how upset you were and…I don’t know…this seemed important to you.” He shrugged. “I figured I’d try to help.”
“But you have no idea what all this is going to entail, and you don’t even know me!”
“Well, I was hoping you’d tell me what it was going to entail over lunch. As for not knowing you, I disagree,” he stated. “We’ve
