Page 59 of Pretend To Be Mine

I stared at her. “There’s no emergency?”

“The emergency is you were about to lose it.” She pushed off the barrier and moved closer. “I could see it happening. You were three seconds from saying something you’d regret.”

“I wasn’t—” I stopped, because she was absolutely right. “Okay, maybe I was close. But I can handle it.”

“I know you can. But you shouldn’t have to handle everything alone. Especially not when half those questions had already been answered and people just weren’t listening.”

The observation made me laugh despite myself, some of the remaining tension draining away. “You noticed that too?”

“It was hard to miss. The lighting guy literally asked you the same question twice in thirty seconds.” She moved to a section of the roof where it appeared someone had set up Chinese food.

“What is all this?” I asked, following her.

“Your break.” She gestured to the spread laid out on a clean section of the roof. There were paper containers of food, plastic utensils, two bottles of water and two fortune cookies. “I figured you’d need sustenance eventually. And turns out, using your name got them to deliver in half the time.”

The smell hit me and my stomach growled audibly.

“When did you last eat?” Elizabeth asked, already opening containers.

“I had coffee this morning.”

“Coffee isn’t food.” She handed me a container and chopsticks. “Eat. That’s an order.”

I took the container, some kind of chicken dish, and took a bite. The moan that escaped me was embarrassing, but God, it was delicious. Or maybe I was just starving. Either way, it tasted like the best thing I’d ever eaten.

“Good?” Elizabeth asked, amusement in her voice.

“Amazing.” I took another bite, then another, barely tasting it in my eagerness to eat. “How did you know I’d need this?”

“Because I’ve been watching you all day. You’ve been going nonstop, making sure every detail is perfect.” She opened her container of fried rice. “Someone needed to take care of you for a change.”

The simple kindness of it was so unexpected. When was the last time someone had just taken care of me? Not because I asked, not because it was their job, but just because they wanted to?

Well, not counting my mom, and that had been a while. Intentionally. I didn’t want anyone to think I needed taking care of.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “Really. This is…”

“Cheap takeout on a roof?”

“Perfect.” I set down my food and reached for her hand. “This is perfect. You’re definitely fiancée of the year.”

She laughed. “I’ll add that to my resume. Fake Fiancée of the Year has a nice ring to it.”

“The fake fiancée category is very competitive. You’re really dominating.”

“Well, I had a good fake fiancé to work with.” She squeezed my hand, then released it to grab one of the water bottles. “How are you really doing? With all this?”

I considered deflecting, giving her the easy answer about being fine and having everything under control. That’s what I told everyone that asked. Of course, I was fine. No one was actually expecting me to say otherwise. Sitting here under the stars with Chinese food and Elizabeth, pretending seemed pointless.

“I’m terrified,” I admitted. “Tomorrow night is everything. If we pull this off, we prove that Blackwell Couture is in good hands. That Dad’s legacy is secure. I want to prove his final vision came to life the way he wanted.”

“And if you don’t pull it off?”

“Then I’ve failed him. Failed my brothers. Failed everyone who believed in us.” I picked up the food again, needing something to do with my hands. “The whole point of Fashion of Love Week was to honor Dad. Show the world that what he built survives and will continue to thrive. But putting on this event and trying to work with his notes is a lot.”

“It’s bringing up all the grief,” Elizabeth said softly.

“Yeah.” The admission felt like releasing a pressure valve. “It’s been a year since he died, and I thought I had processed it. I really believed I had moved forward. But being here and doing this, it’s like losing him all over again. I keep wanting to ask him questions, run ideas by him, get his approval. I keep looking for the guy in charge. And then I remember that’s me. I don’t have him around. I don’t feel like I learned enough from him. I wished I had paid more attention.”