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My heart skipped a beat. The rollercoaster it was happily riding had malfunctioned at exactly the wrong time. I wasn’t supposed to be the one slipping up like that. I was supposed to be correcting him. But ever since that moment in Reed’s room, I’d been feeling less and less like his fake girlfriend and more like his real one.
The way he’d reminded me about the fake part of this relationship showed nothing had changed for him. He was still focused on our agreement. Just pretending to be with me to keep the horde of eligible bachelorettes off his back and helping me fend of my ex.
I couldn’t afford to let myself feel this way. Reed didn’t want a relationship, or any kind of serious attachment. That was the whole reason he’d signed up for this arrangement in the first place. We’d agreed not to let any feelings get in the way, and I was determined not to be the one who broke the golden rule.
“Yeah, of course,” I agreed. “That’s what I meant. Fake girlfriend.” I smiled at him but gently pulled my hand away from his and pretended to check something on my phone. “Speaking of our fake relationship, when’s our next fake date.”
He didn’t answer straightaway, and his eyes were fixed on the road ahead. Eventually, he answered with a shrug.
“Matt’s hosting a victory party on Saturday night,” he said. “There will be a ton of Ransom kids there. We should go and be seen together.”
The idea of attending a Ransom party made my chest tighten. That was like going behind enemy lines. I might not be as invested in the heated rivalry between our schools as the rest of the students, but that didn’t mean I’d be welcome at a Ransom party.
“How can you say it’s a victory party when you haven’t even won yet?” I asked.
“We’ll win,” Reed said with a confident smile. “So, you in?”
I hesitated. I wasn’t crazy about the idea, but Reed was obviously keen for the girls at his school to see more of us. He’d been helping me with Jeremy, so it was only fair I held up my side of our bargain. “Yeah, I’ll come.”
“Great.” He swallowed before he continued. “Is there anything you need from your fake boyfriend for this week?”
I considered whether we should make an appearance together somewhere. Maybe I could change my shift at work and show up at his hockey practice again or perhaps have him pick me up from school one afternoon. But as I thought more about it, I realized the main reason I wanted another meetup with Reed was nothing to do with our deal. I just wanted to spend more time with him, which was a clear sign I shouldn’t.
After tonight, I needed some time to try to regroup. The line between what was real and what was fake in our relationship had blurred a little. And I didn’t want to see Reed again until that haziness disappeared and the line became crystal clear once more.
“Nothing this week,” I replied.
“Oh.” He almost sounded disappointed.
“Yeah, I have a busy week, and I’m scheduled to work a lot. But I’ll see you at the party on the weekend?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”
I jumped from the car before either one of us had a chance to say anything else. I had far too many emotions competing for my attention, and I didn’t know what might come out of my mouth. The smartest thing I could do right now was get some distance from Reed and put him from my mind—at least for tonight.
I did my best to be quiet as I snuck inside the house and up to my room. I didn’t want to face either Mia or Luke and the interrogation I was sure awaited me. By some miracle, I managed to avoid the two of them, but I didn’t breathe easy until I was in my room with the door closed.
I started to get ready for bed, and as I changed, my phone vibrated with an alert. I’d been tagged in a picture on Instagram. I quickly opened the app, surprised to find that not only was Reed Darling now following me but he’d also tagged me in a picture. It was the one Paige had taken of the two of us at the dinner table.
It was the perfect photo. We both looked so happy, and below the picture, Reed had shared a two-word caption: “My girl.” It made my heart leap into my throat, but it immediately plummeted right back down to earth. The caption wasn’t real. Neither was the photo. It was just a reminder that the whole reason Reed invited me to dinner tonight was so we could pretend to be a couple in front of his family and show it off on social media.
Still, I stared at the photo and the boy in the center of it far longer than I should have.
19
REED
I seriously struggled not seeing Violet that week. It was a little surprising how much I missed her, but it was probably because dinner on Sunday had gone so well, and I was feeling cautiously optimistic.
Violet seemed to really enjoy spending time with me and my family, and for the first time, I’d noticed signs that maybe she could see me as more than just her fake boyfriend. She’d called herself my girlfriend, albeit by accident, but there had also been that moment in my room. I’d been sure we were going to kiss until Parker interrupted us.
Still, I wasn’t getting my hopes up. At the end of the night, Violet was very quick to remind me of our arrangement and practically fled the car when I dropped her home. I definitely still had work to do. And there was still a chance I’d lose her completely if I came on too strong.
I couldn’t wait until Saturday for our next fake date, so I racked my brains for a way to see Violet before then. I kept drafting messages to her with various reasons why we needed to meet up, but I deleted them all before I had the balls to send them. She’d made it clear she was too busy this week to see me, and I didn’t want to be the nagging fake boyfriend—nobody liked that guy.
However, by Thursday, I was getting desperate, and, after school finished, I found myself standing outside Hug in a Mug. Apparently, Parker had been right about me being a stalker.
When I walked inside, I saw Violet’s cousin, Mia, working behind the counter. She was busy serving another customer, and as the lady picked up her coffee and left, Mia turned her focus to me with a warm smile. The expression quickly vanished though when her eyes met mine and she realized who I was.
