Page 64 of Joey

“Right. Kind of the same thing though. And you were hired to help us run this con so I can get my daughter back.”

“Which is fine,” she snaps. “But…”

“But what?”

“Never mind.” She plops her head back on the pillow, once again not facing me. Then she turns to me again, obviously not ready to put it to rest. “I’m not falling for you, or them.”

“OK.”

“Just know that. Because… when this is over, it’s over. Fuck all those memories, and all those good times, and all those posts on social media. OK?”

“OK.”

“Good.”

We go silent after that.

But I know she’s not asleep. So I say, “But you’re lying.”

“You’re lying.”

“What am I lying about?”

“Liking me.”

“Oh, fuck.” I laugh.

“You like me. And you know what?”

“What?”

“I don’t like you anymore. I don’t like any of you. You’re all a bunch of creepy liars.”

“You’re the one who proclaimed yourself to be a professional liar.”

She flips over again. She’s done that so many times now, she’s got to be getting dizzy. “Exactly. I’m a professional. I don’t play around with people’s feelings.”

I stare at her open-mouthed. “You have feelings for me.”

“No.”

“Brooke.” I sigh. “I like you. You’re right.”

“But this is all fake.”

“You know it’s fake,” I say, kinda getting annoyed now. “That’s the whole point. You’re pretending to be my girlfriend so the Kane family will let me see my daughter.”

She points her finger in my face. “I’m not going ring-shopping with you.”

“Why not?”

“I have to draw the line somewhere, buddy.” She nods her head. “And that’s my line. I will not be your fiancée.”

“You have to. That’s part of the deal.”

“Nope. Not gonna do it. I will not go ring-shopping with you. And…” She breathes heavy in her silence, eyes darting back and forth, searching mine. “I’m sleeping with Huck tomorrow. We all might be liars, but at least he’s honest with me.”

“I’m honest with you,” I say. “Name one thing I’ve lied about with you.”