Page 70 of Fake it ’Til Fall

“You thought one.”

“I think many things.”

“Tragic for all of us.”

I should say no.

Mark’s voice slides through my head.

Find someone who’ll come with you to Winterberry Cove and act happy to be there.

Daisy needs a better story.

I need proof I’m not one bad day from ruining mine.

Both of us are already going.

Both of us have mothers who should not be allowed near narrative development.

“What if it’s fake?” I ask.

Daisy frowns. “Fake?”

“The relationship.”

She stares at me for one beat.

Then two.

Then her eyes widen.

“I’m not paying an escort,” she squeaks. “Do you know how expensive they are?”

“How do you know?”

“I may have checked rates,” she confesses, then lifts both hands. “For research. Weekend research. One of Carla’s bridesmaids texted me, and somewhere between ‘it’s so brave that you’re helping’ and ‘it’s so sad that you have nobody,’ I briefly considered hiring a man named Alessandro who promised luxury companionship and owned three blazers.”

I stare at her.

“You researched fake dates?”

“I researched emotional armor with cheekbones.”

“Daisy.”

“What? I didn’t book him. I have fiscal restraint and a fear of being murdered.”

“It’s okay that you have nobody.”

Her smile fades.

“I know.”

“No,” I say. “You don’t.”

She looks at me then.

Really looks.