Page 17

“True,” I say, laughing. “What else do you think needs to be on our list?”

“PDA. Public display of affection. Only when necessary.” Dani is bent over her phone taking notes on an app.

I try not to smile when I say, “So, no kissing at the doorstep when I drop you off?”

Her head snaps up and her cheeks go a dark shade of red before she nods. “Yes, that’s probably not a good idea. We have to sell this relationship, but extra kissing makes things confusing.” Her gaze is distant, and I want to know what she’s thinking. Maybe her lost opportunities with her ex-boyfriend?

Instead, I say, “Yeah, that works. We’ll hug at appropriate times.” I swallow hard and turn away from her face when I say, “And kiss if necessary, but in public.”

Again, why am I pushing the kissing?

Her laughter is like the sound of a bomb going off and I jump, surprised by how loud it is. “Yes, kissing only when necessary.”

“I can’t imagine too many people thinking we need to kiss.”

“Then you don’t know my family,” Dani says. I don’t know why but she looks a little disappointed. Is it from my comment or hers?

“I’m sure that would be an adventure. Anything else?”

She shrugs, glancing over the notes on her phone again. “Let me think about it some more. I mean, you just sprung this on me.”

“True,” I say, swallowing hard. I’m so relieved she’s actually said yes that I’m rushing things.

“We’ll end things on August fifteenth.” She finishes typing and glances up. “Are we going to need to do a public breakup? Or is this one of those things you send a statement into the media that says, ‘Please give us the space we need at this time’?”

Her face is so serious that I can’t help but laugh. “I’m sure we can do whatever you want to do.”

“This is your arena. I’m just the guest of honor.” Dani smiles and I relax a bit.

“How about we figure that out when we get to it?”

She sticks out her hand to seal the deal, and all I can think about is that this fake thing might not be too hard. But then again, there’s the danger of falling for her. The woman is drawing me in like an oasis in the desert.

I just hope this time won’t be as hard as my last relationship when things turn out to be a mirage.

CHAPTER7

Dani

Iwent to the meeting with Miles thinking I’d have to do some hard-hitting negotiation just to get the guy to agree to my weird plan. Instead, he comes at me with something I’ll rate an eleven on the strange scale.

The idea of Dani Higgins going to high society events as a girlfriend of one of the wealthiest bachelors in Boston is laughable. I can dress up for a night out with the girls, and I’m an expert at the comfy attire known as yoga pants and a t-shirt. But I’d probably have to wear some formal gowns to these things. I didn’t even get to do that more than once in high school.

Add that to the list of things I regret about my past relationship with Clay. The guy couldn’t understand why I would want to go to school dances when we were already dating. “Those are for the people who don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend.” Then he’d turn around and go back to his video game.

Gosh, what did I even see in him?

I guess that’s what can happen with a first love.

Once I get home from one of the strangest yet fun afternoons I’ve had in a while, I find Kenzie holed up in her room, and I can’t help but relay the whole story. Having her on my side will help keep my sanity throughout this adventure.

“You’re going to fake date him?” she asks with disbelief in her expression. So maybe I overestimated her willingness to help me out.

It’s not until then that I realize I’ve broken the first rule. Crap, this is going to be harder than I thought.

“Yeah, I mean, I’ll probably get eaten alive at some of these events, but at least we’ll both get what we need, right? Just make sure you don’t tell anyone, pretty please?” But her question makes me wonder if this is going to be worth it just for him to come to my event.

She puts her forefinger and thumb together next to the side of her lips and pulls them across, as if zipping them together.