“Girl does not pass the vibe check.” Aurora shakes her head. “Ugh, where am I gonna get a dad?”
I watch their exchange as an innocent yet fascinated bystander until both their heads turn in my direction.
“Well, it can’t be me,” I say simply.
“He’s right.” Aurora sighs. “We just moved here. What if Westley knows one of the parents at my school? They’ll know he doesn’t have a twelve-year-old daughter, and he doesn’t seem like the kinda guy who’s not involved with his kid.” My chest fills with warmth at her quick assessment. “Besides, how long ago did he break up with this ex? Face it, Mum, your plan stinks.”
“Well, what do we do?” Maevyn throws her hands up, then crosses them over the counter, watching her daughter with puppy dog eyes. “Come on, you’re the brains in this operation. Help your mama out.”
Aurora raises one unimpressed eyebrow at her mother, but there’s a hint of amusement twitching on her mouth. “Next time you see her, just correct her and say my dad’s a lowlife junkie who bailed on us, but Westley is your partner—Don’t say boyfriend! It sounds too high school—and that he loves me like his own, and is very excited for the camp.”
That was a lot of information in one hit. Did Aurora’s dad really bail on them? How is she so chill about it? Maevyn must be a really good mum. Also, I’m meant to not only play boyfriend but doting father figure, too?
This is what I get for not going to the wedding alone and simply facing Phoebe like an adult if the situation arose.
I guess since I dragged Maevyn into my mess, the least I can do is help her. And I’m happy to help her and Aurora. I want to. But how are we going to do this?
11
I step onto the balcony after dinner, a steaming hot mocha in hand, and Westley is already leaning over his balcony waiting for me.
“Hey.” His hair is damp from a shower he must have had since he left earlier. He’s wearing grey sweats and a white T-shirt that stretches around his huge arms. Not shirtless.Shame.But still alarmingly attractive.
“Thanks for waiting until Aurora went to bed.” I cross my arms on top of the railing.
“Of course. I should have thought of that myself.”
I wave a hand in the air, dismissing any feeling of guilt. “It’s fine. She’ll need to know some of the details anyway. I just figured we should get everything decided between us first.”
“Any thoughts on how we’re going to do this?” he asks, huffing out a nervous chuckle.
This guy is something else. So big and gruff on the outside, but soft and sweet on the inside. I’m going to have to make sure whatever we do to sell this as real sticks to the deal we made.Fake.I can’t be catching feelings. I just…can’t.
“I called Liv before and let her know she’s off the hook. She hada lotof questions.”
“She’s not the only one,” I mutter. “Why don’t we start with you first? When’s the wedding?”
“Six weeks away. Your camp?”
“Four weeks. How close are you to the people going to this wedding?”
“I went to high school with a lot of them. Still see the groom on a somewhat regular basis.”
I nod to myself. “We’re going to have to sell this as fairly recent. What timeline do you think will work?”
Westley runs a hand through his hair as he thinks. I can still remember the feel of it when he gripped my waist, warm and rough. I’ve never held hands with a guy, never had time for something as sweet and simple as that. I wonder what it’s like.
“By the time the wedding rolls around, we could easily have been together for three months,” Westley says.
“Wow, and I’m already your date for a wedding. You must really like me.” I flutter my eyelashes in a tease. The low lights coming off my balcony show his barely there smile.
“Does that timing work for you?” he asks.
I take a sip of my mocha before answering. “Aurora and I moved to the city almost two months ago. But no one knows us, so that works.”
“How did we meet?”
“Keep it as close to the truth as possible,’ I say. “We have mutual friends, and our bosses are dating. We met through them.”
