Page 56 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
“I get it. You’re flying up there, right?” I asked.
“Yes. I’ll be there by lunch. I’ll be back tonight, but not until late. I could come by.”
He was still in the main room, with me in the bathroom. As much as I wanted to jump at the chance to have him come by, I wasn’t going to let him know how good that sounded. “Yeah, maybe,” I said.
He walked to the bathroom door and leaned against it. “Claire.”
“What?”
“Claire, would you look at me, please?” he asked.
I turned. “What?”
“I’d like to see you when I get back tonight,” he said.
“Maybe you should clear that with your parents,” I snapped.
He put a hand on my cheek. “Claire, stop. I didn’t mean it like that.”
I couldn’t be mad at him. This was an arrangement. Period. I didn’t get to be hurt. “Fine. Have a safe flight.”
I turned back to finish washing my face. I could feel him watching me. I refused to look at him.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he said and walked out.
I didn’t know if I would see him tonight. It probably wasn’t a good idea. I had to keep reminding myself this was not real. This was just an arrangement. I didn’t know how many times I had said that to myself. I felt like I had to because every time I closed my eyes, I thought about the kiss. I thought about him touching me. The day we had yesterday had been all G-rated and perfect. We had so much fun together. It was crazy to discover how well we got along. We never used to. But then again, I had never given him a chance.
With my plans canceled, I brushed out my hair and grabbed the book from the nightstand. I had brought three with me in anticipation of spending a lot of time alone. Norah had other people to keep her occupied. She would be spending time with Tony. I was actually kind of looking forward to reading on the beach.
I grabbed my beach bag, stuffed it with the essentials, and headed out for a quiet day. Alone. I found myself staring up at the sky instead of staring at the words of my book. I knew it was unlikely I would actually be able to see his plane, but I could imagine him high above, soaring overhead. I pushed away the thought and focused on the smut book. I rarely had the time to lie around and read naughty romance books.
“There you are!” Norah called out.
I lowered my book and was relieved to see it was just her. Earlier, she’d been with a few of the girls from the Mean Girls’ Club. I wasn’t interested in hanging out with them. I was a little ashamed to admit I had hid from them. “What’s up?” I asked innocently.
“I was looking for you,” she said. She stretched out in the chair next to mine. “I heard Ryan went back to New York.”
“Yes, family business,” I answered nonchalantly.
“Bummer, I thought you guys were going to be hanging out today.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said. “We were going to go out on a boat.”
“You sound disappointed,” she said.
“Maybe I am.”
“So, I guess that kiss at the club was more than just a show for your audience,” she teased.
“I honestly don’t know what I’m doing,” I said. “This thing was not the best idea.”
“Why did he go back to New York?” she asked.
“Because his parents found out about the engagement and he had to explain why he would be associated with Claire Sullivan. The way he said it, well, it sucked.”
“How so?” she asked.
“I know his family knows about my dad,” I said. “They probably shit their pants when they found out he was engaged to me. That’s why he’s running to New York. He’s doing damage control. I don’t think it’s just the engagement that has them freaked out. They’re freaked out about it being me he’s engaged to.”
