Page 27 of Manhattan Bossholes

Maya leaned down to give him a kiss on either cheek, which he accepted with a quickly hidden grimace. “Good to see you.”

She scanned our table. “Well, well, look at that, dessert! How charming. Calories clearly don’t matter to you, do they, Piper? Looks like you’ve had more than your share.”

She pointed at the plate in front of me that held the remnants of my dessert.

What the…?

I opened my mouth to answer her, but once again, Vincent spoke up first.

“The benefit of an active lifestyle is that calories aren’t a sole focus, Maya.” His tone was clipped. “Food can be a source of joy, but I don’t think that’s your experience, is it? At least I can’t recall you ever enjoying a meal.”

The blow hit the bullseye, but Maya played it off. “When the way you look doesn’t matter, I guess it’s is okay to eat whatever you like. How lucky for you, Piper, that Vincent no longer cares about his partner’s size. How inclusive of him.”

She smiled sweetly at me.

I briefly considered accidentally knocking over my glass of wine on her. A little red stain to match that smug smile.

Vincent reached over to take my hand in his and raised it to his lips. My pulse quickened as he brushed against our joined fingers. “No, I’m the lucky one. In so many ways.”

He stared into my eyes, and I had to force myself not to look away. I kept reminding myself it was all for show, but damn it, when he looked at me with that searing intensity, my heart picked up speed. When I’d entered into the arrangement, I’d had no idea he was such a great actor. Even I was starting to believe him.

“It was nice seeing you, Maya, so sorry you have to be going,” Richard said pointedly.

Maya looked like she was considering another insult but wisely turned on her heel and left in a huff.

“What a bitch,” Richard mumbled as he watched her walk away. “I never liked her.”

My heart warmed at his excellent taste.

“Huh,” Vincent said. “You did a great job of hiding it.”

Richard frowned as he shook his head. “I didn’t have much of a choice. I want you to be happy, so I was willing to play along.” He turned to me. “This time I don’t have to! Piper is a much-needed breath of fresh air. Charming, funny, and she doesn’t take any of your bullshit, Vincent.”

I giggled.

“And such a natural beauty!” Richard continued. “You’re the total package, my dear. My son was right about being one lucky man.”

I glanced over at my fake boyfriend and was shocked by his soft expression. I expected he’d have a comeback ready to go, but Vincent looked like he believed everything his father was saying.

“I am,” he agreed.

He said it with such conviction that I almost bought it.

A quiet settled over the table until Richard broke the awkward silence and reached over to pluck the strawberry from his dessert plate.

“Talk about a natural beauty! There’s nothing I love more than fresh berries.” He took a bite of it.

“Is that a fact?” I asked. “You should come to the Broad Street Farmers’ Market with me some day. I’m there every Saturday morning the minute they open. They have the best local farm produce, and croissants to die for.” I paused. “Which, since calories don’t matter to me, as Maya so kindly pointed out, I enjoy without hesitation.”

The two men laughed, and I chuckled along with them. I wasn’t about to let a snotty supermodel ruin my night.

The bill came out, and Vincent and his father bickered over who was picking it up. Vincent only backed down when Richard challenged him to arm wrestle over it. I made a mental note that the elder Forde didn’t have a problem with having fun and making a scene. Did Vincent have that side to him too? I couldn’t say one way or the other—but it seemed possible now, even though I never would have believed it before.

Twenty minutes later, Vincent and I were headed back to my apartment in a different tiny sportscar, no doubt because the other one was still in traction. Thanks to me.

I couldn’t help overthinking every single detail of our meal as he expertly maneuvered the car through traffic. There was a ton to process. The relationship between the two men, the tension over Vincent’s mother, the Maya ridiculousness.

The way Vincent kept staring at me.