Page 59 of Fake It For Him

I shook my head and pointed my fork at the work of art on my plate. “Not on your life. This is incredible. Where I come from, mousse doesn’t look like this.”

Seriously, the entire dessert was gorgeous, and while the bite I’d just taken had been chocolate mousse, there were so many other elements that I didn’t even know where to begin. The whole thing was an elaborately crafted masterpiece.

With a cookie base, a ball of chocolate acted like a dish, holding the strawberries, raspberries, and some kind of crumble. A hardened chocolate shell with golden powder sprinkled on it rested on the side of the ball and a variety of gels, mousses, and foams decorated the plate around it.

I took a mental picture and then decided on the real thing, pulling out my phone and snapping a quick photo so I’d be able to show Kara later.

Calan chuckled. “If you come to the guest house with me, I’ll show you something just as good.”

I wrinkled my nose and stuck only the tip of my tongue out at him. “Nah. I’ve had that already. Firsts are always more sexy.”

“You thinking of leaving me for that dessert?” he teased.

Bringing my eyes to his, I swept my gaze purposely over his chiseled, clean-shaven features and shrugged. “Yeah, I think I might.”

His shoulders shook with laughter as he turned to his own plate. “Okay, but just so you know, I’m a lot more fun to hang out with than chocolate.”

“Blasphemy,” I said playfully, glad his mood was finally improving.

He wasn’t wrong, though. He really was more fun to hang out with than chocolate—except for when he suddenly flipped to Dark Mode. Thankfully, that seemed to be over for tonight and we ate together while Freya and Jim went around thanking people for their gifts.

At the end of the night, people slowly starting filing out and Freya hurried over to me, her deep brown eyes wide and happy. “I’m so glad I caught you. I have something for you.”

“You do? Why?”

She chuckled. “I saw it and it made me think of you.”

Jim handed over a small gift box from his pocket. Hesitantly, I took it, opened it, and gasped when I saw what was inside. Calan was right next to me, his hand heavy and comforting at the small of my back.

“Freya, this is…” I didn’t even know what to say.

Nestled in a bed of velvet inside the box was a pair of stunning Swarovski earrings glittering next to a bracelet with my initials on it. I blinked hard, my hands shaking. I wondered how not to accept something that would be difficult to give to someone else, considering the engraving. “It’s too much.”

Freya shook her head enthusiastically, her eyes glimmering with tears as she watched me gape at the jewelry. “It’s just a little welcome to the family gift. I’d love it if you wore them to the wedding.”

Overwhelmed, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

Calan stepped in and saved me when he realized I’d been rendered speechless. He chuckled and reached out to hug his sister. “You always know how to get someone right in the heart strings. Thanks, sis. They’re beautiful.”

“You’re welcome,” she said as she melted into him and hugged him back. “You guys are staying over tonight, right?”

“Yep,” he said. “Mom insisted. We’re in the same guest house where we were last time, if you want to come grab a drink with us once you’re done here.”

“We might, but I doubt it.” She stepped away from him and took Jim’s hand. “Today has been exhausting, but we might see you in the morning.”

Calan nodded. “Alright then. The offer stands, but if we don’t see you later, sleep well.”

She smiled at us and I thanked her again, giving her a long, hard hug as words mostly continued to evade me. Once we’d said goodnight to his parents as well, he led me across the grounds to the guest house, and I put the gift box down on the kitchen counter.

“I’m a terrible person,” I finally moaned as I covered my face in my hands, feeling like my heart was shattering into hundreds of little pieces. “I can’t accept this, Calan. How are we going to fix it?”

31

CALAN

What the hell is she talking about? She’s not a terrible person. She’s one of the best people I’ve ever met.

These last couple of weeks, every now and again, I lost myself a bit with her, dropping the bravado and slipping into a protective caretaker role I had no idea how to play. She’d triggered it when she’d told me about her ex, and now, whenever she got even the slightest bit upset, I did everything I could to help make her feel better.