Page 43 of It's About Time
“Look, you don’t have to agree with this, but I just need you to support me.”
She reaches across the couch for my hand, stroking my skin with her thumb. “You know I support you, no matter what. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I am Dilynne Marie Clark. Even if I don’t know, I can fake it. It’s one of my strengths. And if Elliot and I can help each other create a buffer from our exes, then it’s a win-win.”
Then why are you still thinking about what it’s going to be like to kiss him, Dilynne? Because it should be the last thing on your mind.
***
“I’m sorry, you want me to writewhaton this cheesecake?” Carolina has the frosting bag poised over her signature cheesecake, but I’ve clearly caught her off guard with my request.
“You’re in all of my inappropriate thoughts,” I repeat, actually tickled with the way she’s staring at me like I just sprouted a third boob right in front of her.
“And this is for Elliot?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “It is.”
She shakes her head and then begins writing on the cheesecake. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Yes. Elliot and I are engaged.”
Carolina drops the frosting bag right on the top of the cheesecake, effectively ruining everything she just did. Choking back her shock, she says, “I’m sorry. You two are what now?”
I spend the next few minutes bringing Carolina up to speed on our ruse, and by the end of my story, she has the same worried face that Laney did when I told her last night.
“Look, I know you have your reservations about this, but I have it under control.”
Carolina finishes the words on the new cheesecake and sets the bag of frosting down on the table before turning to me and planting a hand on her hip. “If there’s anyone I think can pull off a fake relationship, it’s you.”
“Aw, that’s one of the nicest compliments anyone has ever given me.”
She sticks her tongue out at me. “What I mean is, you’re good at separating your feelings from logic. But what about Elliot?”
My brows draw together. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, is he going to be okay pretending that he’s in love with you?” she asks as she pulls a cardboard box from under the stainless-steel table and begins folding it together.
“Trust me, I think it’s going to be a lot harder to pretend he likes me than he realizes, but…”
Carolina raises her eyebrows. “I’m not so sure it’s going to be that difficult for him.”
“What do you mean?”
She flicks her eyes over to me for a brief second and then goes back to what she was doing. “I don’t know, but part of me always wondered if the boy had a thing for you.”
I nearly fall over laughing. “Oh, that’s hilarious. You should consider being a comedian if the bakery ever goes under.” Her eyes meet mine,but she’s not laughing. My smile instantly falls. “You can’t be serious…”
“I know what I’ve seen. Perhaps you should get your eyes checked since you’re obviously oblivious to it.” She shrugs and then closes the cardboard box and slides the cheesecake across the table to me. I stop it with my hand. “Hope he likes the cheesecake.”
Now that my mind has been completely fucked with, I walk out of the bakery and head across the street to Elliot’s office, wondering why the hell Carolina thinks that.
Elliotactuallyliking me? That idea is more far-fetched than the notion that we’re engaged to each other after he was left by his ex-fiancée.
Or wait. Is it?
I don’t have time to dwell on it too much, though, because the second I walk through the front doors to Thorne Family Law Group, I’m met with Tori’s ugly face, serving as a reminder of why I’m going through with this.
The truth is, Tori Michaels is anything but ugly, on the outside, at least. She’s tall, blonde, and has a body most men gravitate toward. But I know who she is on the inside—insecure, petty, and untrustworthy—and that’s exactly why I can’t let her invade Elliot’s life again, or anyone else in our friend group for that matter.
