Per my rules, and Christopher's having chosen the number two, we went into the second restaurant we saw. The way he trailed into the restaurant behind me and the one raised eyebrow gave me the impression Christopher wasn't the type of guy who usually picked restaurants by random number. Still, I'm impressed with how well he's adapting to my strange habits.

I rang the bell on the desk and waited for the host to come out from the back.

"For two?" he asked, holding up two fingers.

"Yes," I replied with a smile. "And if it's possible, could we have a booth?"

The man nodded and picked up some menus as I turned around to Christopher. "I really like the benches." The poor man just nodded, clearly trying to take in the 180 I had just pulled on him.

We followed the host through the dining room until we stood in front of our table. "Will this do?"

"It's perfect. Thanks!" I slid into the booth and set my purse down beside me.

When the host had left, Christopher and I opened the menus. "It seems nice," he said as I reached the page with the hamburgers. "I like the cafe feel it has. Kinda cozy."

I gestured to the paper placemats sitting in front of us. "It seems like it might be a family place. All we're missing are some crayons!"

When the server came over to take our drink order, I told him we just got married and asked him to bring us some crayons. Christopher's face turned beet read as I spoke and he chose to bury his face in the menu.

The waiter glanced at Christopher and chuckled. "Of course, Ma'am. I'll be right back with everything."

"I can't believe you did that!" Christopher said when the waiter was finally out of range. "We are married but we barely know each other. And we aren't children." He buried his head in his hands, but I could still see the red creeping out over the tops of his fingers.

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped, but I picked up my menu to hide my face from his. As usual, the waiter was back with the drinks long before I had any idea what I wanted to eat.

"Are you ready to order or would you like a little more time?" he asked as he set the drinks down in front of us and then handed me a small pack of crayons with a smirk.

"Thank you." I took the crayons and put them on the table beside me. One look at Christopher's closed menu told me I could answer for both of us. "I think we are ready to order."

I picked the second thing on the second page. Some kind of sandwich. And Christopher ordered spaghetti. I'd have to make a note to tell Melody about this, because while she had roped me into the restaurant game many times, I had never let someone else decide what I would eat.

"Well," I said as soon as the waiter walked away. "I'm going to colour. If it isn't too cool for you, you can join me." I set the crayons down in the middle of the table and picked up a blue one.

I look up to see his mouth agape, head shaking back and forth just a little. When he notices me looking, his mouth turns up into a smile. "What's gotten into you?" he asked. "I mean, I met you and you were all shy and precise then then today..."

He shrugged and let his hands fall into his lap. "Today something's different."

I smiled back, his excitement contagious. "Well, today I decided I might as well learn to be me around you. There's no way to move forward without you knowing what you're getting into. So, this is me." I gestured to the colouring sheet partially completed in front of me. "Well, it's not really me all the time. But I do occasionally like adventures. And when I'm on an adventure, I'm usually up for trying anything once."

Christopher shook his head and laughed. "I'm impressed." He picked up a crayon and started to colour.

I scoffed as he grabbed the red crayon right out from under my hand. "I was going to use that."

"Tough." He grinned. "What's yours is mine, remember?" Plus, I just decided I'm going to join you on this adventure of yours." And then, without giving me any time to respond, he tucked his chin down and started colouring the path on his placemat. I watched him struggle with a part of the maze and caught myself giggling again as I returned to colouring my cartoon farmer.

I have to admit, I'm having fun.

* * *

By the time we left the restaurant, the sun was barely peeking out over the top of the horizon.

"How did it get so late?" I wondered aloud.

"I think it was the epic battle over the word search," Christopher answered my rhetorical question and reached his hand out for mine.

I have to keep up appearances, I reminded myself, putting my hand into his. The last thing I need right now is someone reporting our marriage as not genuine.

"Or maybe it was the free dessert I snagged us for being newly married." I smiled again remembering the decadent chocolate cake as I admired the pink and orange light dancing across the clouds in the distance.

Christopher took a few careful steps towards the corner, gently coaxing me to follow where he led. I fell into step beside him and we walked in silence for a few blocks, admiring the manicured gardens of our neighbourhood.

"It really is beautiful here," I sighed as we rounded the last corner onto our street. The corner where, not three hours ago he had caught me by the hand. "You really did pick an exquisite spot for a house."

His eyes were faraway when he smiled. "Best view in the world."

We stood on the corner of our street, holding hands and watching the final rays of sunshine disappear over the horizon. To anyone walking by, we must have looked just like any newly married couple. In some ways, I guess we were just like them. But in other ways we were not.

Like, I doubt most newlyweds are actively trying to nullify their marriage through the fine print of a legal document, I thought to myself. But for that moment, it felt like we were finally becoming friends. And I had a feeling I was going to like having him as my friend.

A couple minutes of standing on the corner was all my body could take before I started shivering from the cold brushing my arms.

"Let's get you home," he said, shrugging off his jacket and wrapping it around my shoulders. "You look like you're freezing."

"Yeah, I guess we should get inside before I freeze my pretty little fingers off." I pulled his coat tighter around my shoulders, revelling in the warmth it envelops me with.

He slid his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side as we walked back to our house. He's really putting it on for the cameras. Hopefully, I can keep this act up until Match Made releases us from their grasp.

That thought threw me back into the reality of the tasks in front of us. The first one hadn't been awful, because we'd bent the rules. And the second one would start right when we walked in the door. It wouldn't be so bad either. Especially since I got to pick the movie.

But the night was picturesque and serene. And I could see the heads of our neighbours popping out from behind their curtains and fences to see us walking past. I couldn't decide whether to drag my feet and stretch out the walk home, or run to get through the next required date. Who would have thought that faking a marriage would be full of so many tricky questions?

In the end, I didn't make a choice, allowing Christopher to set the pace of walking home.

"Here we are," he said, gesturing that I should walk through the door before him. "Would you like me to get you some tea or hot chocolate?"

I was still deciding whether it felt like a tea or chocolate kind of night when he added, "Or I could light the fire."

I unwrapped my fingers from the edges of his jacket and shrugged it off of my shoulders. "Hot chocolate, please. But I wouldn't mind the fire, too." I handed his jacket back to him.

"All right. You pick out your favourite movie and get comfortable and we'll get started as soon as I grab your drink."

I slid off my heels and walked over to the TV. Picking my favourite movie would probably be the easiest part of the whole night. And that was saying something, because I had quite a few favourite movies.