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He laughs, leaning over and placing a kiss on the very corner of my mouth.
“I can’t wait to take you to the ball, New Girl.”
In a daze, I nod and wave and trip down the driveway to my house. I’m living my fairy tale, and just like freaking Cinderella, my Prince Charming has agreed to take me to the ball.
If this is a dream, I hope I never have to wake up.
CHAPTER 14
Deep breaths, Natalie. Don’t panic!
My internal voice has an edge to it that sounds a lot like panic, but I’m doing my best to listen to the words. To listen to the sentiment.
It’s not working!
“Nat? Are you OK?”
I blink up at Amy, who’s peering down at me, a worried look on her face.
“Not really.” I thrust the magazine article I’d just finished reading towards her and bury my face in my hands. This is so bad.
“It’s not that bad.”
“You’re a good friend for lying to me, but come on Ames, it’s pretty awful.”
She looks down at the offending article and bites her lip. “It’s so mean.”
Amy is referring to the front page spread of the popular tabloid magazine that graces the waiting room of every hospital and doctor’s clinic in the city. In which someone has taken the time to compare me (little old me) with every girl that Matthew has dated in the past. And have concluded that I don’t ‘measure up.’
“Can we sue them for libel or something?”
“It’s only libel if it’s not true.”
I take the glossy pages from her and point to the supermodel that Matthew dated before me. “Her legs are as long as my entire body. And her hair has never seen a split end. Of course they’re going to be confused about why Matthew is with me.”
Amy sits next to me, slinging her arm around my shoulders. “Nat, it’s just a stupid magazine trying to sell copies. No one reads them. It’s all a bunch of nothing.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, images of Matthew’s past love interests dancing behind my eyelids. Why do they all have to be such perfect specimens? I’ve looked at each one of them closely and they are literally flawless, not a pore or pimple in sight.
“How can I continue dating Matthew if this is what I’m up against?” I point to a side-by-side image of me wearing my shapeless navy-blue scrubs, and Chantal, Matthew’s last girlfriend and Australia’s princess of pop, who’s so perfectly put together I want to scream. And also date her. She’s that gorgeous.
“You’re not up against anything,” she scoffs at me. “If Matthew wanted to be with Chantal or any of these other women, then he’d be with them. But he wants to be with you.”
My pained gaze avoids Amy’s worried eyes. If only what she was saying was true. But she doesn’t know that this is all fake. That Matthew’s being forced to pretend to be with me. Even though nothing about it really feels fake anymore…
“You don’t know that,” I mumble. “He’s a playboy, remember? Pretty soon he’ll be bored with—what did they call me? The girl next door. And then he’ll go back to the glamourous women who belong by his side.”
Amy paces back and forth in front of me for a few minutes, continuing to flip through the magazine. Suddenly she stops. “Nat, look at this!” She triumphantly pushes it at me gesturing wildly at the page. “See this?”
I look at the photo she’s pointing to. It’s a picture of Matthew guiding me from the car to the TV studio. In it, he’s towering over the back of me, his expression one of fierce protectiveness. It makes me melt inside, just a little.
“Yes.” I heave out a breath.
“That expression isn’t on his face when he’s with any of the other women he’s dated. It’s just for you. You have to see that.”
And I do. In my quiet moments, I know Matthew feels something for me. Something beyond our fake dating status. It’s just so hard to hold onto it when the world is screaming that I’m not good enough for him.
“I get it.” I give her a weak smile. “Matthew is fond of me. Perhaps he’s always been, from our time together in high school. But that will not be enough in his world.”
