Page 19 of Fake it For Good
“Engaged?” she repeated.
“Yes. Engaged. As in, you would be pretending to be my fiancée.”
She didn’t look convinced. “Okay.”
“Really?” I asked with surprised. “Just that like.”
“You’re paying me, right?” she quipped.
“Yes, I suppose I am.”
“If I’m going to pretend to be your fiancée, I think we definitely need to get to know each other,” she said. “Maybe Della can give us each other’s profiles. We can study each other. I don’t want to show up on your arm and not know the first thing about you.”
“I think it’s easy enough to avoid any personal conversations,” I said.
I was leery of her getting too close. I didn’t let anyone get close. Not anymore.
“So, change the subject,” she said, nodding. “If someone asks what our wedding plans are?”
I shrugged. “You tell them we’re planning something small and intimate. We want to avoid the media and are keeping things quiet.”
“Fair enough,” she said. “And the Mrs. Claus thing is really just for a party?”
I had to laugh. “I probably should have saved that part for later in the conversation. I just wanted to get it all out there.”
“Oh, you definitely put it out there,” she joked.
“So, I guess my question is, will you be my fake fiancée?”
Her smile made me smile. I liked her smile. I loved how natural she was. Most women I met, I picked up on a level of fakeness. After Kelly, I was always looking for a reason not to trust a woman. I knew I had painted them all with a broad brush, but it was a defense mechanism. I had to protect myself.
“I do,” she said with a straight face before she started laughing. “Sorry, that was really cheesy. I couldn’t resist.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad you can laugh at this. I feel like this would be a good time to say I have not done this before. Ever.”
“You’ve never pretended to be engaged?” she asked with her green eyes sparkling.
“No, you?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I have neither pretended nor actually been engaged.”
I reached into my inside jacket pocket and pulled out the NDA Denton had drawn up. It was another layer of protection on top of the NDA we would both sign with Della. I wanted to make sure my ass was covered.
“All you need to do is sign this and then we can tell Della we’ve agreed to the match,” I said.
“What is that?” she asked. Her warm smile faded immediately.
“It’s an NDA,” I said. “No big deal.”
She did not look happy. I assumed she would expect to sign an NDA. The look on her face said otherwise.
8
NOELLE
Itook the paper he slid across the table. “You do know there are NDAs in place with the agency, right?”
He nodded. “I do, but this is for me.”
