Chapter 5 Build The History

Four days ago, my biggest concern had been surviving my cousin's wedding. Now I was willingly going on a first date with a man who wasn't my boyfriend but had somehow been promoted to my fiancé.

Life had taken a very strange turn.

I slipped on my sneakers and muttered, "This has to be the dumbest plan we've ever come up with."

"Our plan?" Austin asked.

"You mean your plan."

"You said yes."

"...I really need to stop doing that."

Austin just opened the apartment door and stepped aside. I rolled my eyes and walked past him anyway.

Somewhere between one disastrous WhatsApp comment and one painfully logical conversation, I'd accidentally become the kind of woman who went on first dates with her fake fiancé.

The elevator ride felt longer than it actually was. Neither of us seemed interested in breaking the silence.

When the elevator doors slid open, I followed him across the parking garage until he stopped beside a sleek black SUV.

"...You changed your car?" The question escaped before I could stop it.

"Yeah."

A soft beep echoed through the garage as him unlocked it. Instead of getting in, he walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and motioned for me to go first.

I wasn't sure when Austin had become this polite. Or maybe he'd always been like this.

I climbed into the passenger seat. The door closed with a solid thud behind me.

A moment later, Austin settled into the driver's seat and started the engine.

I glanced around the spotless interior. "So... since when?"

"Almost a year."

"Oh." I tried to sound casual. "Looks... expensive."

"It gets me from one meeting to another."

"You used to drive that old silver sedan."

"I did."

"The one that made weird noises every time you turned left."

"It finally gave up."

"...I'm strangely sad about that." I said it as a soft sigh slid out.

Austin glanced at me. "You named it."

"I named everything."

Something tightened quietly inside my chest.

He'd bought a new car a year ago. And I hadn't known.

I looked at him again. Really looked at him.

A different watch, sharper shirts, and that quiet confidence that hadn't been there before.

Life hadn't waited for either of us.

"I guess your company's doing well," I said.

"We've been busy."

That sounded exactly like Austin. Never bragging or complaining. Just stating the facts.

Austin eased the SUV out of the parking garage and merged into the afternoon traffic.

I rested my forehead against the window, watching the city drift past in blurred patches of glass and sunlight.

"So..." I said eventually. "How many dates are people supposed to go on before getting engaged?"

"I don't know."

"Really?" I looked at him in an instant, amused. I never thought there'd be a question Austin Wood couldn't answer. 

"I've never been engaged."

A quiet laugh escaped upon his reason. "...I've never really been on a first date either."

That finally made him glance at me.

"...Daniel?"

"We met through mutual friends. We'd known each other for years before we started dating." I shrugged, trying to sound lighter than I felt. "There wasn't a first date. One day we were just... together."

Austin waited. 

"I always thought we'd have one eventually. Maybe after work slowed down. Maybe after the wedding planning." 

The smile on my lips felt bitter as my fingers traced absent circles against my jeans.

"We skipped straight to planning a marriage."

The joke landed with a little more sadness than humor.

"I guess we did everything backwards."

"No."

I looked at him.

"You skipped something important."

His voice was quiet, matter-of-fact, and completely certain. 

The traffic light turned green, and Austin drove on as though nothing had changed.

Maybe for him, nothing had. I tried to make sense of the ridiculous thought that refused to leave my head.

I'd never had a first date with Daniel. But somehow... I was having one with my fake fiancé.

A few minutes later, I realized we weren't heading toward the shopping district. Or anywhere Austin would've chosen for himself.

I glanced over at him.

"Where are we actually going?"

"You tell me."

That stunned me for a sec. I wasn't expecting that.

He continued. "We need somewhere you'll remember." 

"I thought you already had a plan."

"I do."

He waited. He always did. And sometimes it drove me crazy. 

"...Which is?" I finally asked. Unlike Austin, I didn't have the patience to sit in silence forever. 

"You choose."

A quiet groan slipped out again.

"You're making me work way too hard for a fake relationship!"

"You'll thank me later."

"I sincerely doubt that." I murmured as I stared at my hands, trying to picture the kind of place I'd actually want for a first date. 

No. The kind of place we'd want. 

Oh, great. Two years apart, and now I was expected to remember Austin's preferences.

A café? No. Austin usually grabbed coffee to go.

A movie? We'd spend two hours staring at a screen instead of each other. Besides, the last time we watched one together, Austin had fallen asleep halfway through. And I still hadn't forgiven him for that!

The silence stretched just long enough for me to overthink every option.

"Have you decided?"

"Ssh." I waved a hand without looking at him. "I'm thinking!"

A park? Too weather-dependent.

A museum? We'd spend the entire afternoon reading little signs instead of talking.

Then a familiar bookstore sign caught my eye as we waited at the next intersection.

"...A bookstore?"

Without hesitation, Austin switched on the turn signal.

I stared at him. Then at the road we'd just turned onto. Then back at him.

"You already knew I was going to pick this, didn't you?"

"I thought you might."

"Liar."

He didn't deny it. He simply kept driving.

I watched him for another second before giving up.

"How?"

"You always lose track of time in bookstores."

My mouth opened. Nothing came out.

"You start in fiction," he continued. "Then you wander into art. After that, you tell yourself you're just looking."

"And then?"

"You leave carrying at least one book."

"...Okay, that's... a little creepy." 

"You've always done it, Em."

Those words settled somewhere unexpectedly warm. 

Two years…

I'd forgotten what kind of coffee Austin ordered. I'd forgotten he'd replaced his car. Somehow… he still remembered the way I wandered through a bookstore.

"You said we needed history," I murmured. "This feels less like we're making one but borrowing mine."

For the first time since we'd left the apartment, the corner of Austin's mouth lifted into the faintest smile.

"It's easier to build a believable story when it already sounds like you."

It made sense. Absolutely perfect. So why wouldn't my heart listen?

A few minutes later, he pulled into the bookstore parking lot and switched off the engine.

The familiar brick building stood across from us, sunlight glinting off its wide glass windows.

"You really meant a bookstore."

He only shrugged. A laugh escaped before I could stop it.

For the first time all day, I felt my shoulders relax.

Austin got out first and circled the car. By the time I reached the sidewalk, he was already waiting.

"You know," I said as we crossed the parking lot, "this might be the least romantic first date in history."

"I disagree."

"Oh?"

"You'll enjoy yourself."

"That's… your standard?"

"Yes."

I shook my head, smiling despite myself.

"You're terrible at dating."

"So I've heard."

The automatic doors slid open with a soft chime. The familiar scent of paper wrapped around me almost instantly. Without thinking, I slowed. Rows upon rows of books stretched into the distance.

A smile escaped before I could stop it. Beside me, Austin noticed, but he didn't say anything.

"Welcome," he said quietly. "Our first date starts here."