Page 20 of Fake it With Me

“How sweet.” Sasha’s eyes narrowed on our joined hands. “And what do you do, Liza?”

“I’m a PhD candidate. Marine biology.”

“Oh, how academic.” The way she said it made it sound like an insult.

I smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Sasha. Some of us chase degrees and others chase men who pay for the plastic I want to keep out of the ocean.”

The woman’s mouth dropped open. I heard Darek choke. Grant glared at me.

“I can recommend my esthetician,” Sasha replied. “You could use a little help around the eyes. You really shouldn’t squint so much. Premature wrinkling.”

“Sweet tip. Though if I wanted advice from someone held together with glue and a prayer, I’d visit a craft fair.”

Grant cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Well, this has been nice, but we should⁠—”

I felt my face heat with embarrassment and anger. I didn’t want any part of this drama. This was exactly the kind of petty, mean-girl bullshit I’d spent my entire life trying to avoid. I was too old to get into a pissing contest with his ex-wife.

I pushed my chair back, needing to be literally anywhere else. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”

I stood up too quickly, already turning away from the table, not watching where I was going. I bumped into something solid, heard a crash, and suddenly the world exploded in champagne and broken glass.

I had walked directly into a waiter carrying a full tray of champagne flutes and sent the whole damn thing flying.

The champagne hit an elderly woman, drenching her cream-colored dress and making her gasp with shock. Glass shattered on the floor around us.

The entire room went silent.

Every single person turned to stare at me, the woman who’d just dumped champagne all over Mrs. Someone-Important in the middle of the yacht club’s cocktail party.

“Oh my god.” I rushed toward the woman, pulling napkins from a nearby table. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see him.”

“It’s quite all right, dear,” the woman said.

It wasn’t okay. Her dress was absolutely ruined.

Staff appeared from everywhere, cleaning up glass, offering towels, ushering the woman away to somewhere she could get cleaned up. I stood in the middle of it all, mortified beyond the capacity for rational thought.

I had embarrassed myself. Worse, I had embarrassed Darek in front of all his friends and customers and his awful ex-wife, who was loving every second of my disaster.

So much for being the charming girlfriend.

Darek appeared at my side, his hand on my elbow. “Come on. Let’s get you some air.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Not here. Outside.”

I was so getting fired.

But at least I had rice and beans in my pantry. I dared him to come and try to take the food.

8

DAREK

The drive back to the estate was quiet except for Liza’s apologetic murmuring from the passenger seat. She had been apologizing for the last twenty minutes. She vacillated between apologizing for the champagne incident to insulting Sasha in such a “low-class” and “undignified” way. Those were her words. Not mine. I thought it was funny as hell. My little nerd had claws.

“I’m really sorry,” she said again, staring out the window at the dark coastline passing by. “I know tonight was important and I completely screwed it up.”