I Pretend You're Mine

11. I Changed My Mind

Tim kept his fingers loosely tangled in Lucy's hair as the rest of his body tensed at the sight in front of him. From where he stood in the ocean, the water up to his knees, he turned to the shore to see Amy on the beach standing next to Ashley.

His ex girlfriend Ashley.

Kojo's low growls pierced the silence as everyone stared at the visitor. He was snarling at Ashley in a way Tim had not seen since the first time the dog met the blonde woman.

"Kojo, stop!" He commanded.

Lucy wished she could growl at the unwelcome guest, too.

"Ash-Ashley? What are you doing here?" Tim sputtered out.

"I came to talk to you, but it looks like you're busy," Ashley scoffed.

Reflexively, Lucy tightened her grip on where she was holding Tim's hips to keep him with her.

He looked down at the woman next to him whose mouth was slightly agape and eyes trained on the unwelcome visitor. His hands slowly moved out of Lucy's hair and across her cheeks to hold her face. He trained his gaze on her while talking to Ashley with the slightest smug smirk playing at his lips, "Yeah, I'm busy."

"That's no way to speak to a guest," Amy admonished.

He sucked in a breath, finally turned his attention away from Lucy to face Ashley and said dejectedly, "Okay, we can talk." Tim felt his fake fiancée drop her hands away from him, and he glanced back to see the hurt in her eyes, so he tried offer her a smile, but the way she wrapped her arms around herself told him Lucy was upset. "Just a few minutes, baby," he murmured and took a painful step away from her. Then, he felt a hand land on his chest. Tim looked down to see Lucy's palm radiating heat through his skin and found her eyes once more.

Lucy hoped that one conversation with another woman would not spoil her chance at something with Tim. They had agreed to go on a date when they went back to L.A., and just moments ago, he was kissing her in the water. Still, just to be sure, Lucy's other hand reached up to cup Tim's chin and lowered his face. She claimed his mouth for a few seconds, leaving him breathless, then whispered right against his lips, "Don't keep me waiting too long."

He nodded dumbly and walked out of the water. Kojo barked at his owner's back, confused.

"Stay with me buddy," Lucy said to the dog and guided her favorite pet out of the ocean to dry off.

"Who is that woman?" Amy asked.

"Tim's ex," Lucy answered tightly and watched Kojo shake his wet fur.

"Why do you look worried? You don't really think he wants to get back with her now that he has YOU?"

She bit her lip and sunk down heavily into one of the beach chairs.

Amy took a seat beside her niece and took her hand. "Honey, aside from the fact that you two are engaged, Tim only has eyes for you."

Ashley's surprise visit had caused Lucy to momentarily forget the fake engagement charade and realized that despite her panic at seeing the other woman, she had to maintain her lie about her relationship with Tim, so she tried to recover by saying, "Yeah," but her voice was not convincing. Kojo came up and licked her face, making Lucy smile, and she pet the dog lovingly, appreciative for his affection. Hopefully, Tim feels the same way his dog does, but she could not be sure.

Maybe all they would have is a pretend relationship while in Carmel and Tim would choose Ashley when they returned to L.A. After all, he seemed pretty upset about their breakup. Lucy stared down the beach where they were talking and bitterly thought that they made a cute couple. Was she about to lose the man she loves before ever truly having him?