Page 53 of Fake It For Him

“Next time?” For a second, I thought she was going to lash out at me again, but instead, she smiled. “Anything that has caramel in it.”

“Sold.” I grinned back at her, mentally adding her caramel ice cream to my shopping list. I didn’t know why I was doing it, but I did it anyway. I tended to listen to my gut, and right now, it was telling me to buy the damn ice cream. “So, apart from Edinburgh, where else have you been?”

While she told me all about her travels, which had covered an impressive amount of countries in Europe and the greater part of the United Kingdom, we finished the wine and made a healthy dent in the ice cream.

By the time it was starting to melt, Ella smiled and started looking around again. “I should go. Do you know where I put my purse? I need my phone.”

“Uh, I think it’s in the foyer, but you’re welcome to spend the night.” I smirked at her. “I’m sure I can think of some ways to wake you up that will be a lot more fun than an alarm.”

She laughed and nodded but got up anyway. “Thanks, but I really should get home. I promised my roommates I’d help them with some DIY home renovation tomorrow.”

Disappointment surged through me. I never really did sleepovers, but part of me had been hoping she would stay. Since it was clear she wasn’t going to, I stood up too and stashed the rest of the ice cream back in the freezer before walking with her to the foyer.

“DIY home renovation? That sounds pretty dangerous.”

She giggled. “Nah. We’re just going to be painting their kitchen cabinets. Mikey told me that Kara needs to do it every six months or else the color starts getting on her nerves. Besides, they’ve already got enough to say about this arrangement of ours and I don’t want to give them more ammo.”

“Mikey, huh?”

“Yeah, why?” She glanced at me as she scanned the space for her purse, finding it on the side table above all the shopping bags. “Out of everything I just said, he’s what you’re concerned about?”

I shrugged. “Yep. He’s a good friend. He’s got your back. You’re lucky to have him.”

Ella seemed a little caught off guard by the comment, but she nodded anyway. As she did, I spotted my own phone in the living room and held up my hand. “Let me get you an Uber. I’d have driven you myself, but I’ve had too much wine. It’s the least I can do, though.”

Her dark green eyes hooked on mine and she didn’t argue, but she did give me a questioning look. “You’re really not as much of an asshole as you want people to believe.”

“Sure, I am. I just happen to be nice to a select few people I consider friends.” I grabbed my phone and quickly pulled up the Uber app.

When I looked back at her, she was frowning at me. “So we’re friends now?”

Something intangible passed between us, but whatever it was felt pretty damn real to me. It was sweet and heavy at the same time, tinged with surprise but also maybe just a little bit of disappointment.

“Whatever else we are, Ella, from now on, I do consider you a friend.”

It took a while, but a few seconds later, a smile spread her lips. “Friends, huh? Well, I think I like the sound of that. It’s definitely going to beat the alternative. Okay, friend Calan. I guess I should get dressed now. Thanks for calling the ride, and thank you for letting me crash your dinner.”

“Any time,” I said, and I meant it too. “It was great having you here. Let me help you find your stuff before the driver gets a show he’s not expecting.”

She laughed and followed me back to the kitchen. Once we were dressed, I walked her to the curb and even kissed her good night, wondering why it felt like so much had changed since I’d spoken to her just last night.

28

ELLA

My friends and I were neck deep in our kitchen improvement project. The scent of paint with a hint of chalkiness to it hung in the air and I was pretty sure I had turquoise paint in my hair.

I ran the brush along the edge of the cabinet I was painting, squinting my eyes as I tried not to get the paint anywhere it wasn’t supposed to go. Kara and I were under strict instructions from Mikey to do this the right way.

Apparently, there had been an incident some time ago that had involved Kara simply running a paintbrush from one cabinet to the next, line after line. Obviously, it hadn’t gone well—or looked good. Since she’d already decided that the cabinets needed to be turquoise this time, much to his disappointment, I felt like the least I could do was a proper job.

“Stop scowling at the paint,” she chided him, and I held my brush still to glance at her for a moment. Just in time to see her roll her eyes. “We needed to add a pop of color to the unit. White or light gray would not have achieved that.”

“No, but we didn’t need to add another pop of color.” He took a pointed look at the mustard yellow sofa and the painted walls. “White or light gray would’ve given the place back a touch of class.”

She snorted. “Class? The only class we’ve got are the classes we attend after work. Now get to it. I won fair and square. There’s no use bitching about it or scowling at the paint.”

He sighed heavily, but she wasn’t wrong. After an intense round of rock, paper, scissors, Kara had come out on top three times out of five, which meant she had won. Mikey would have to make his argument for white or light gray again in another six months and live with the turquoise for now.