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“Excited or shocked. But that’s exactly the reaction we want, right?”
“Right,” she agrees, though her expression turns thoughtful. “I just hope we’re ready for all the attention this is going to bring.”
“Trust me, Lily.” I meet her eyes with a confident smile. “We can more than handle it. This won’t be like what happened with Rick.”
She looks away, and I can tell I’ve touched a sore spot.
I wish I knew what to say to make it better, but it’s probably best if I just close my mouth. Better that than put my foot in it again.
As we drive away from the rental house, I take one last look at our surroundings — the sparkling bay, the lush greenery, the promise of a fresh start. It feels like a fitting metaphor for our journey together, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.
“Here’s to new beginnings,” I say softly.
“New beginnings.” Lily casts me a sidelong glance filled with hope and resolve.
I grip the steering wheel tighter, feeling the power of our joint decision course through me. This is what I want, what we both want, and I’m finally in control of my destiny.
From this point onward, it feels like nothing could possibly go wrong.
CHAPTER 11
LILY
The sun glints off the windshield as we head out of the neighborhood where the rental house is located. Felix grips the steering wheel, a boyish grin on his face.
“I really like that place,” he says, and I find myself smiling too.
“Me too. And it’s only about a ten-minute drive from my house.” I glance at the side mirror, watching the houses disappear behind us.
That thought both excites and terrifies me. It’ll be perfect for our plan, allowing us to easily keep up appearances for our fake relationship. But the idea of seeing Felix so often sends a flutter through my chest that I’m not sure is entirely due to the scheme. I don’t mention any of this to him, though, instead focusing on the road ahead.
As we continue driving, I pull out my phone and scroll through the recent articles published about us. The rumors are swirling, and I feel some unease over people talking about my life like this. After what happened with Rick, some days I would prefer to just crawl into a cave and disappear from public view forever.
“Listen to this one.” I read it aloud. “‘Lily and Felix: A Love Story for the Ages?’ They’re speculating that we’ve been secretly dating since the day after my failed wedding.”
“What else?”
“That we’re madly in love,” I read. “And that we have a lot in common.”
Felix chuckles, shaking his head. “Well, at least they’re saying positive things about us. Could be worse, right?”
“True,” I agree, though my heart clenches at the reminder of the humiliation I endured.
Most of the articles paint a picture of love conquering all, and I wish it were true. But really, our relationship is nothing more than a carefully crafted lie.
We make our way through the tree-lined streets, and I think about how our lives are about to change. I can only hope that we’ll be able to navigate the tricky path ahead without losing ourselves in the process.
For now, I focus on Felix’s laughter as he listens to me read more articles. At least we have things like this: just the two of us, enjoying the simple moment of being together.
As we pull up to my house, the sun casts a warm glow on the red brick facade and high windows. Sitting in Felix’s car, I take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his cologne mixed with the fresh air coming through the open window.
“Here we are.” He gazes at me with those soulful brown eyes of his. He clears his throat. “Lily…”
I unbuckle but don’t move. “Yes?”
“Before we go any further, I just want to make sure you’re still on board with this. It’s not too late to turn back. If we stop now, everyone will just say that we had a fling. Nothing more needs to come of it.”
“Of course I’m still on board,” I answer without hesitation, but my heart trembles with uncertainty.
