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“No.”
“Why does he think you’re going along with it then?” Caroline asked.
“He thinks I agreed so that he’d go to my dad’s wedding with me and find a way to get me out of it early.”
Mel chewed her lip. Marti could tell the wheels were spinning. If anyone was as relationship averse as Marti, it was Mel. “So a trade for a trade.”
“You could say that.”
Caroline grinned. “I can’t believe you’re actually going through with having a boyfriend.”
“Fake boyfriend,” Marti pointed out.
Caroline waved her off and stood, making her way to the counter that held a plethora of the latest makeup samples. She opened a tube of lipstick and began to apply it sans mirror, like a pro. “What’s the difference? You’re going to need to be seen out in public together, so you’ll be going on dates and spending time together. There’ll be PDA.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “And you’ll be writing all about it, just like you write about your single life now. It’ll be everywhere.”
Marti squirmed in her seat. Of course she knew all of this, but hearing it, imagining it made it seem even more real. She wasn’t even sure she could effectively fake a relationship, let alone pull it off in front of millions of prying eyes. “It’s only for two months, tops,” Marti said. “By that time, Logan will have gotten enough attention and donations for his foundation, and I’ll have lived through my dad’s wedding, and we’ll call it off.”
“What if he falls for you?” Caroline asked, her eyes shining bright.
Oh, boy. Here we go.
Caroline was a candy-hearts and flowers kind of girl. She thrived on romantic crap. Fairytales weren’t just a thing of dreams to Caroline, it was the dream, the thing to aspire to in life.
Marti shook her finger in front of her. “Not happening.”
“But it could happen.”
“No.” Marti glared.
“I don’t like it,” Mel said. “I don’t know why, but I don’t.”
Caroline rolled her eyes. “Of course you don’t like it. You two are the same. You both hate men.”
“I don’t hate men,” Marti and Mel said in unison.
Marti glowered at Mel as she shrugged and said, “I don’t hate men. I just don’t trust them.”
“Well,” Marti said, “he was pretty honest about everything. I think it’s safe to say there’s no hidden agenda.” Me on the other hand . . .
“The thing is, what if this doesn’t work?” Marti asked, verbalizing her worst fears. She picked at a loose thread on the bench.
“What do you mean? Of course it’ll work,” Caroline said, ever the optimist.
“But we don’t know that, do we? I mean, Blue was only speculating that a relationship would save my ratings. What if she was wrong? What if people are just sick of me?”
“Sick of you?” Caroline huffed. “Impossible.”
The thought sent a slice of panic through her chest. It made her heart pound and her palms sweat. Marti had defined herself by her column for so long, she wasn’t sure who she was without it. Though she had refused to think of the outcome if she failed, she had to face the fact it was a possibility. Even if she managed to keep her job, she wouldn’t be Single In the City anymore. She wouldn’t be the Queen of Single. She’d be plain old Marti McBride. She doubted there was even room for her anywhere else on the editorial team.
Mel placed a hand on Marti’s shoulder and squeezed. “Hey.” She snapped her fingers in her face, garnering her attention. “You got this. If you’re going to do it. Do it right.”
Marti’s forehead creased. “Meaning?”
Caroline locked eyes with Mel then glanced back to Marti. “You better make him fall in love with you.”
CHAPTER TEN
LOGAN
