Page 85 of Fake It For Him

I laughed, swallowing down the dread that we might not, in fact, have plenty of time for those later. Even if Calan and I did break up at midnight though, this was still Freya’s wedding and she deserved to have the best night ever, so I nodded and slid out from under Polly’s arm.

She winked at me as she started swaying to the beat of the music again. Then Freya joined in and the heavy moment was over. One song bled into the next and I forced all my worries out of my head as I focused on having fun with the girls.

After jumping up and down, dancing, and even doing the Cha Cha Slide, I was sweating and in desperate need of water and some fresh air. I smiled at Polly while Freya went to coax more people to join us. “I’m going to get some air. I’ll be back in a few.”

I almost had to shout the words to be heard over the music, but she must’ve heard me because she nodded and shot me a thumbs-up before turning back to the others. Making my way through the crowd of gyrating bodies, I went back to our table and grabbed my bottle of water before heading to the exit.

It was quiet out in the tent now and I was relieved to have a minute to myself as I shut the door to the distillery behind me. As I took a deep breath, I realized that the sweet scent of cigar smoke was hovering in the air. Standing up straighter again, I looked around, seeing I wasn’t alone out here after all.

Ross was standing off to one side, having pulled away one of the tent flaps as he puffed on a cigar. He gave me a small grin and held the cigar out to me. “Puff?”

“No, thank you,” I said politely. “That stuff wreaks havoc on my sinuses the next day.”

Nodding slowly, he brought the cigar back to his own lips and took another puff, but his gaze remained on mine. “I’m surprised to see you out here without my son. You two have seemed to be glued together practically since he first brought you around.”

A little embarrassed and wondering if we overdid it, I chuckled. “He’s with Finn. I just wanted to come get some fresh air.”

Ross’s dark eyebrows rose. “They’re together?”

“At the bar,” I explained. “Jim wanted some party shots for the album. I’m sure they’d appreciate having you in one or two of those pictures as well.”

He stared at me for another beat. “In a minute. I’m glad to finally have some time alone with you, Ella. I wasn’t sure you and I would ever get the opportunity to talk without Calan.”

My heart skipped before it started racing. “Oh.”

He took another puff of his cigar and glanced out at the snow fluttering to the ground before he turned back at me, his expression thoughtful. “This may not be my place, but despite the difficulties we’ve had these last few years, Calan is still my son. I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that I hope you love him, Ella. It’s clear as day that he’s head over heels in love with you. I won’t ask you to tell me how you feel, but for all our sakes, I do hope that it’s the same as him.”

I blinked hard a few times, completely bowled over and uncertain about what to say. I could tell his dad that I loved him, because I did, but since I hadn’t told him that yet, it felt a little bit premature to be admitting it to his father.

Plus, if our relationship did end with the contract, I would be nothing but a memory to Ross as early as tomorrow morning. While I was still hoping it wouldn’t happen that way, as things stood right now, that was exactly what was about to happen.

I didn’t want to give his father hope or ammunition to use against Calan when they found out we were over. I didn’t want him to blame his son for having done something wrong simply because I said all the pretty words now.

My throat threatened to close up as emotion swirled around inside. Finally, I just gave him the best smile I could muster. “Calan is a wonderful man, Mr. Reid. I would never hurt him.”

Those eyes narrowed a touch, but then he nodded and turned back to the open flap as he blew smoke into the freezing cold outside. “It’s good to hear that. We’ll be rooting for you.”

“Thank you.” With my head spinning and desperation clawing at my soul to find Calan and tell him the truth, I flashed Ross one last smile. “I’d better go find him. Have a good night.”

“You too, darling.”

I spun around and let myself back into the reception area, looking around wildly but not seeing him anywhere. Freya, Polly, and even Davina were still on the dance floor, Jim and his friends watching them from the bar, but Finn and Calan were gone.

It felt like the walls were closing in on me now, and I definitely needed to get out of here. I needed to find him, drag him away, tell him how I felt, and then see if the world righted itself after Ross had thrown it upside down.

I’d been hoping so hard that it wasn’t my imagination that Calan loved me too, but hearing those words from his father had thrown me for a loop. It was making it impossible to think about anything else. To keep going like nothing had happened.

Still desperately searching the crowd, I wandered down one of the hallways leading away from the reception. Neither Finn nor Calan were anywhere to be seen and it stood to reason that they might’ve gone to grab a drink from one of the other bars in the building.

The trouble was that I had no idea where to even start looking. As I kept moving down the hall, I suddenly heard the faint murmur of voices and my heart leapt into my throat. Fully aware of the fact that I shouldn’t eavesdrop, I did it anyway when I realized that one of the voices belonged to Calan.

When I was finally close enough to make out what he was saying, it felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach. “I paid her to be my date.”

“What?” Finn’s voice cracked like a whip, shock and surprise dripping from it. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I found this agency called Faux’s. They set people up when they need a significant other for something, and after Dad told me that I had to bring a date, they saved my ass. Set me up with Ella so I’d have a believable girlfriend, but the contract ends tomorrow.”

Finn’s shock shifted to full blown anger. “So, like usual, you’re all bullshit, then? You brought a paid date to our baby sister’s wedding? What the hell is wrong with you?”