Chapter 26

“Callie, you’re practically drooling,” I teased, watching as my best friend circled Haides like a shark scenting blood in the water. It was a rare sight to see Callie so flustered; she was usually the epitome of cool composure. Haides, for his part, stood like a statue carved from granite, his expression unreadable.

“I’m just taking in the view,” Callie quipped, her eyes roaming over Haides with unabashed appreciation. “You didn’t tell me He of the Brooding Darkness was also He of the Killer Jawline.”

I rolled my eyes, though a part of me swelled with a strange sort of pride. “Eyes on the prize, Callie. He’s not a piece of meat.”

“Oh, I’m looking at the prize alright,” she murmured, and I shot her a warning glance. She threw her hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’m backing off.”

Haides’ gaze finally shifted from Callie to me, and I saw the corners of his mouth twitch in what might have been the beginning of a smile. “She’s not wrong,” he said, his voice a low rumble that seemed to vibrate through me. “I do have a killer jawline.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, the tension in the room easing slightly. “See what you’ve done?” I said to Callie. “You’ve got him showing off already.”

Callie clapped her hands together, all business now. “Okay, lovebirds, now that we’ve established that Haides is easy on the eyes, we need to start planning your public dates. We’ll document them all over social media. It’s the perfect cover for our boy here.”

Haides’ eyes narrowed at the nickname, and I bit back a smile. “Our boy here,” he said, his voice dripping with mock severity, “is not a fan of being called ‘boy.'”

“Noted,” Callie said with a cheeky grin. “Now, back to the plan. We need to make you two the most talked-about couple since Bonnie and Clyde, minus the whole shooting spree thing.”

Haides raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged. “She’s not wrong,” I echoed his earlier sentiment. “We do need a solid alibi, and what better way than to play up the whole ‘author loving someone so much they couldn’t write a better love interest than the one they have in real life’ angle?”

“It’s genius,” Callie agreed, pulling out her phone and already tapping away. “We’ll start with something low-key but public. A coffee shop in a bookstore date, perhaps? Candid photos of you two laughing over lattes will have the internet swooning.”

Haides let out a long-suffering sigh, but I caught the hint of amusement in his eyes. “Lattes, huh?” he said, playing along. “I suppose I can manage that, as long as there’s no pumpkin spice involved.”

I laughed, imagining Haides’ grumpy expression if someone dared to offer him a pumpkin spice latte. “Deal,” I said. “No pumpkin spice, and I’ll even let you pick the coffee shop.”

“Generous of you,” Haides deadpanned, but the ghost of a smile on his lips told me he was warming up to the idea.

Callie looked between us, her grin widening. “This is going to be so much fun. We’ll have you two attending book signings together, going on romantic walks, maybe even a couples’ cooking class for some comedic relief.”

“Cooking class?” Haides’ tone was suddenly wary. “I don’t cook.”

“Exactly,” Callie said, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “It’ll be hilarious. Imagine the photo ops: flour in your hair, icing on your nose—”

“I’m starting to regret this already,” Haides muttered, but there was no heat behind his words.

I reached out and squeezed his hand, feeling a rush of warmth at the contact. “Don’t worry,” I assured him. “I’ll be right there with you, every step of the way.”

Haides looked down at me, his dark eyes softening in a way that made my heart skip a beat. “I’m counting on it,” he said, and for a moment, it was just the two of us, lost in each other’s gaze.

Callie cleared her throat, breaking the spell. “Alright, you two, save the mushy stuff for the camera. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us if we’re going to turn Haides into The World’’s Next Top Book Boyfriend.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t deny the thrill of anticipation that ran through me. With Haides by my side and Callie orchestrating our every move, we were about to embark on a wild ride—one that I knew would be anything but ordinary.

Holding Haides’ hand sent a jolt of warmth through me. His palm was rough, so different than mine, soft from years of arranging flowers and typing away on my laptop. Callie’s plans swirled around us, buzzing like an excited hummingbird. I tried to focus, to engage with the reality of what we were planning, but my thoughts kept drifting back to those moments of connection with Haides, moments that shouldn’t have been real but somehow were.

Haides squeezed my hand lightly, pulling me from my reverie. “I’m assuming you’ve got this all worked out, Callie,” he said, his deep voice resonating in my chest.

“You bet,” Callie replied, barely looking up from her phone. Her fingers flew over the screen, no doubt scheduling our every move like the master strategist she was. “Your first ‘date’ will be in two days’ time, at that indie bookstore cafe in town. Neutral ground, lots of organic photo ops, and I’ve already tipped off a certain gossip blogger I know for some extra publicity buzz.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her, impressed yet slightly terrified. “And here I thought I had an airtight cover story already,” I remarked, only half-joking. Haides might have been my creation initially, but it was clear that Callie was set on shaping our reality into something picture-perfect for our audience.

Callie leveled me with a knowing look. “Honey, this is just level one. Once we have the public eating out of our hands, we’ll start strategically revealing more about the mysterious ‘Haides.’ Trust me, by the time I’m done, there won’t be a soul out there doubting your… shall we say, unique love story.”

Haides let out a low chuckle, his eyes briefly meeting mine in a rare moment of levity. “Cora’s unique love story,” he mused aloud, seemingly amused by the prospect.

I nodded, caught up in Callie’s enthusiasm and the weird, wonderful web we were weaving together. “It’s brilliant, Callie. Kitschy yet captivating.”

Haides smirked, the faint traces of his amusement never fully leaving his intense gaze as he watched me. We were both walking a razor-thin wire, balancing between truth and fiction. I wanted to believe we could master this delicate performance together—that somehow, we would emerge unscathed on the other side of this masquerade we’d constructed. The thought of falling into a life with him, shadowed as it may have been, sparked both a thrill of exhilaration and a tendril of dread in the pit of my stomach.

It was impossible to predict the outcome, but one thing was for certain: no matter the risks, we were going to face our future with our heads held high. And for once, as I stood next to this dark, captivating man, who was every bit as enthralling as the figure I had dreamed into existence on the pages of my notebook, I realized that it was a journey I would gladly walk a hundred times over, just for the chance of reaching an ending that included Haides in my life. Callie’s plans faded into the background as a new chapter awaited its first word—our love story, quite literally penned into existence from the depths of imagination and now scorched into reality, a powerful force that dared the world to second-guess its improbability.