She laughs. “Same thing.”
“Just give me a latte,” I sigh. “And a Fire & Frosting. If I have to be publicly engaged to a human brick wall, I deserve sugar.”
“On the house,” she says, boxing one up. “Perks of being Copper Mountain’s Very Own Love Inferno.”
I roll my eyes. “Tessa.”
“What? It’s cute. We have Christmas couples, fall festival couples, only-home-for-the-holidays couples. We needed a blaze-born couple.”
“It’s fake,” I hiss. “F-a-k-e.”
She pops my to-go lid on, unbothered. “Uh-huh. Tell it to the Gazette. And to the ladies’ book club, because I heard they’re inviting you to couples’ trivia night.”
I freeze. “No.”
“Yes.”
“They can’t.”
“They already did.”
My phone buzzes like it heard its name. I check it.
GROUP TEXT: Mountain Mavens Book Club
– so excited to have you and Clay tonight!!
– we’re doing a Spicy Couples Halloween Trivia
– bring your fiancé
I drop my head on the counter. “I hate it here.”
Tessa pats my hair. “You love it.”
I do.
Ugh.
“Fine,” I mutter, straightening. “I will go to trivia with my fake man and we will annihilate the competition with our fully fabricated love.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Do not tell him about the cupcake.”
“Oh, I have to,” she says. “I already took a picture. He’s gonna be so grumpy. It’ll sell out.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “We’re exploiting him.”
“We exploit the people we love.”
“It’sfakelove.”
She smirks. “Tell that to the way you’re wearing his jacket.”
I look down.
Busted.
