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“A celibate monk who needs a girlfriend. And clearly, Carl can’t stand the idea of you and me being together, because now he wants to meet up for ‘closure,’” I said, making air quotes around the last word.
Closure, my ass.
The man was jealous, and I was here for it. We’d been together so long that we’d lost all the excitement. That was part of the reason that I’d wanted to take this job in London. Life had grown stale and boring, but that didn’t mean I still didn’t want to marry him and have a family. Maybe this time apart would actually be good for us in the long run.
Aside from the fact that he really was dating someone else, and my relationship was fake.
“So, you want to use me?”
“Totally,” I said over a fit of laughter. Hell, this was the best I’d felt in days. Finn’s showing up had lifted my spirits, and now I actually felt hopeful. “You said you haven’t felt like going out anyway. You asked me to move in with you, so outside appearances will look like we’re a real couple. Everyone’s always suspected it back home anyway. Let’s go with it.”
“You really think that we can pull it off, Miney?” He raised a brow in question.
“You’re the best actor I know. People will eat this up. Childhood besties-turned-lovers!” I squealed as I fell back on the bed. “Hell, your cousin Ashlan could sell this story, and it would be a bestseller. Carl is going to shit himself and beg me to take him back.” Honestly, I still hadn’t gotten over how quickly he’d replaced me, and withher, of all people. So, I wouldn’t mind making him sweat a little bit if, in the end, we found our way back to one another.
“And what do I get out of it?” he asked as he fell back next to me on the mattress, and we both rolled on our sides to face one another.
“An image makeover. You’ll look like the swooning boyfriend. It’ll be great for your career. All mentions of Jessica will fade to black.”
“Fade to black? That’s a bit dramatic, yeah?”
“Hey, my best friend is an acting genius. It must be rubbing off on me.” I couldn’t hide the smile spreading across my face. “Come on. It’s a great plan.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “What about our mothers, who are going to freak out? Are we really going to lie to them? They’ve always wanted this, and it will break their hearts when it all comes to an end, and you go back to marrying Dr. Prickdick.”
This was a fair point. I thought it over.
“Reynolds-Murphy code of silence. We call a family meeting. Get everyone on board.”
He groaned. “You’re pulling the code of silence card? You know that’s only for emergencies.”
When Cage had gotten full custody of Gracie, we’d all taken a code of silence, and not one of us had ever shared who her mother was. She’d signed over her rights to Gracie, and as far as everyone in Cottonwood Cove knew, she was just a woman he’d had a one-night stand with. No one knew that she was one of the biggest fashion models of our generation.
Code of silence was a real thing.
“My future husband is dating another woman. That’s an emergency.”
“Fuck, Miney. There’s so much wrong with that statement, but I think we’re playing with fire. What if Carl doesn’t care when it’s all said and done?” I knew he was saying it to protect me. He didn’t want me to get my hopes up if it really was over between us. And for some reason, it didn’t hurt as much as it did a few days ago.
I wasn’t alone. Finn’s presence had healed a lot of my hurt already.
“Then you and I are just doing what we always do. We were going to live together anyway. We’ll have an amicable breakup when the time is right, and we’ll just continue on like normal.Besties for the resties.”
“You don’t want to try dating other people for real?” he asked.
“I don’t. I’m not ready to date. Even if this doesn’t work out with Carl, I don’t want to date anyone else yet. I need to figure out who I am. Carl and I have been together for so long that I think I’ve lost a bit of myself. Besides, I’d just be spending my time with you anyway.” I cleared my throat as the thought entered my mind. “Oh. You probably want to date, right? Or at least hook up with someone?”
“Nah. I’m taking a break from all of that anyway. I’ll be fine.”
“So, we’re really doing this. We’re going to be fake lovers.” I pushed up as excitement coursed my veins. “I want to really pour it on. You know, all sorts of public PDA, and we’ll act like we’re both all sexed up all the time.” A maniacal laugh escaped my throat.
Clearly, I was ready to throw some salt in Carl’s wounds as he’d had no problem being with a woman in front of everyone that I knew back home. The awful, obnoxious person I tried my best to avoid at all costs—really, how could he?
Well, if there was one thing that I was certain of about my ex-fiancé…
He was jealous as hell.
He couldn’t stand the thought of me with anyone else, any more than I could stand the thought of him with someone else.
