Page 16 of Fake It For Him

Kara just blinked a few times and Mikey wrenched his head up, the sleepiness suddenly having disappeared as he frowned at me. “What? How did you make it big? You haven’t even been back in town for twenty-four hours.”

“I know. It’s amazing,” I gushed. “A miracle really, but I found this agency online when I was in Portugal and I signed up. The owner just called me a few minutes ago and told me the good news.”

“What’s it for?” Kara asked. “Is it another freelance travel writing gig?”

“No, it’s not, but this will buy me the freedom to look for another one of those. This is huge, guys. It means I’ll be out of your hair sooner than we expected.”

Mikey was still frowning and even Kara seemed less than enthusiastic. Maybe it was just that their level of excitement didn’t match my own in their hungover states, but it looked like it was more than that.

She glanced at him and they shared a long look before she turned back to me. “It’s not that we’re not happy for you, babe. We are. We know you want this, but we’re disappointed that you’ll be gone again so soon.”

My heart flip-flopped as I stared into her bloodshot blue eyes. “It’s not that soon, and besides, the plan was never for me to stay. You guys can always come visit me once I’m settled over there.”

“We know that, but…” Mikey trailed off, glancing at Kara again before he dragged in a big breath. “Do you really think running back to Europe is going to solve any of your problems here? When you leave again, will you ever come back, and also, how are we supposed to come visit you? Kara is a freelance makeup artist and part-time barista, and I’m a part-time server who does some web developer programming some weeknights and on Saturdays. We wouldn’t even have been able to afford this apartment if my parents weren’t helping.”

A dull ache started up deep in my soul. He wasn’t wrong. I was sure they would be able to come visit me someday, but it probably wouldn’t be soon. I also definitely wouldn’t be here again soon, either. It was no wonder they were less than enthusiastic.

With that perspective, I was feeling a little less excited myself, but ultimately, their lives were here and mine wasn’t. Not anymore.

“Look, we’ll do lots of video calls again and we will see each other again as well, okay? I promise, but I need to do this. I’m not running back to Europe. My life just isn’t here anymore. That’s all. After everything that happened after Spencer and I broke up, it became perfectly clear that I just don’t belong here anymore. I need to go back to where I do belong.”

Which was far, far away from my ex and the devastating consequences I’d caused for the both of us after our breakup. Kara and Mikey still looked kind of bummed, but they’d been fine while I was gone before, and they would be again.

So would I.

Faux’s was giving me a gift, and I was damn well going to take it and start over. It was all I’d been trying to do all along, and now, this time, I might actually just be able to do it.

9

CALAN

Della worked fast. I had to give her that. For all her leopard print and eccentricities, she had gotten the job done in record time.

Barely twenty-four hours after I’d left her office, I was sitting in the enclosed patio of a café, waiting for my fake girlfriend to arrive and hoping that Della had picked someone agreeable.

All I needed was for this girl to smile and act nice around my family, someone who would help me prove that I wasn’t the homewrecker they still thought I was, and then we’d all be able to move on with our lives come January.

Freya could have a drama-free wedding, and everyone would win. I sighed as I sipped my espresso, watching as pedestrians passed by with their black umbrellas. Thankfully, there were heaters overhead on the patio, so it was nice and toasty in here.

Despite the comfortable temperature though, I was very much uncomfortable. I wasn’t quite nervous—it would take a lot more than this to get me there—but I wasn’t sure about the idea of paying a woman half a million dollars to let me parade her around for almost two months.

I’d never paid a girl for her services, and while this wasn’t quite that, it still wasn’t in my character. For Freya’s sake, I was sucking it up, but I was skeptical about this and whether it would work.

As I sipped my coffee and watched the drizzling rain outside, I felt a presence next to my table just a moment before I heard a soft, feminine voice. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Wait a second. I know that voice. I snapped my head around and looked up, and I sucked in a sharp breath. It was followed by a burst of dry laughter shooting out of me. Because yep, I knew that voice, alright.

Standing next to my table was none other than my Edinburgh girl. Ella stared down at me, her pretty face scrunched up as she checked a piece of paper in her hand.

It was then that it struck me. This wasn’t just another coincidence like the other night at my club. She was here for me. This girl, the one who had acted like she hated me the last time we’d run into each other, was supposed to be my fake girlfriend.

No way. No. Fucking. Way.

Her green eyes burned into mine, and she scoffed, turned on the heels of her black boots, and walked away.

My eyebrows swept up. I wonder if that money I’ve already paid is refundable.

I watched her walk away though, unable to tear my eyes away from her round, full butt, perfectly framed by a fitted black coat. It swayed a little as she stomped to the door, but then, her footsteps started slowing.