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“We let people think we are in a relationship.” He watches my face closely, slowly moving from behind the chair toward me. “You can plan romantic posts for the social media accounts, dates we can be sure paparazzi will photograph, and…” he pauses with a smile on his face, “you get to tell people you are dating one of London’s most eligible bachelors.”
Arrogant asshole.
“What more could a girl want…” I take a few steps away from him and move to the window.
Do I really want to be known as Henry Brooks’s girlfriend until he fake dumps me, and then I have to go back to my normal life?
Could this affect my job?
How would I explain this to my mom, or worse, my friends? But more than that, I can’t help but think back to how I felt this morning. When my day started out so crummy, I did the same thing I’ve done for years, put on comfortable clothes and watched my favorite Jane Austen adaptation. Within minutes, I began to feel better, and Henry had a hand in that.
“It was a joke, Lucy. Well, the last part. I know this is a selfish request. What can I do for you? How can I get you to agree?”
“I want time to think through all of this before I answer.”
“Of course. Thank you for even entertaining the idea. I know I’m not the most tolerable person to be around, but you’ll only have to pretend to date me for small amounts of time. The rest of the time, you can go back to barely enduring my presence.” He smiles at me as he moves to the door. “Thank you again.”
“Sure.” That is all I can say as he closes the door behind him.
Fourteen
LUCY
The awningin front of the restaurant does little to protect me from the rain. Everyone warned me about the ever-persistent precipitation when I decided to move to London, but I don’t mind it at all. I’ve even found umbrellas that match my coats and accessories.
Standing on either side of two puddles that look dangerously close to meeting in the middle and drowning my shoes, I still can’t find myself upset at Mia for suggesting a weekly girls’ night—just for the three of us.“Mondays are such a drag. I think we need to change that, and what better way to do so than to look forward to a night out with the girls?”Like always, Mia is correct. I’ve spent most of this dreary day looking forward to their company.
As I pull out my phone to text Mia, Hannah approaches, clutching her umbrella tight and rushing over to me and the awning. She’s going to be discouraged when she discovers it offers barely any coverage. We stand close together and line up our umbrellas above us to double the barrier from the rain.
“How was work at the publishing house today? Any new books I should keep an eye out for?” Hannah’s job sounds like a dream come true. However I don’t think I would make a good publisher, I love almost every book I read and struggle to be critical with them.
“Very well, thank you.” It’s so refreshing to me when I come across people who truly enjoy their professions. It’s far less common than we are made to believe as children. “Yes, in fact, I think you would be very interested to hear about a new trend popping up in our contemporary romance genre.”
“Oh, do tell?—”
“Ladies!” Mia yells from her taxi window as the car pulls to a slow stop in front of the café to not splash us with the puddles. She jumps out of the car, and the three of us quickly make our way into the café.
Once we take our seats and order, Mia announces our next destination for the evening. “I have decided what we will do after, we’re going shopping!”
“Isn’t this weather a little difficult for shopping?” Hannah asks.
“Yes, I do believe this calls for a rain check on our shopping plans.”
“Before you cancel our plans, let’s see what it’s like when we leave,” Mia pleads.
Hannah and I both agree. Our dinners are delicious. It’s a small café with a long menu of sandwiches and coffees that ended up being too much for us to decide. We order four different sandwiches—a turkey club, sausage sandwich, chicken salad, and classic cheese, and then cut them up so we are able to try each of them.
“Hannah, you were just about to tell me about the new books you are reading at work,” I remind her.
“Yes, we are finding an increase in modern-day retellings of Jane Austen’s books,” Hannah explains. “I’ll be sure to recommend those authors, I believe a couple already have books that are published.”
“Speaking of romance…” She turns in my direction. “How are you doing with the response to the photo of you and Henry from the weekend?”
“What response?”
Has Henry spoken with her or perhaps Finn about his manager’s prediction?
“It was all over the Internet and each of my feeds, but maybe that is because I search the Brooks name regularly for anything on Finn and Oliver.”
