Page 15

The next morning, Faith yawned, scrubbed her face with both hands, and reread the paragraph for the third time. She was starting to regret her decision to come into the office on her day off.

Usually, she tried to keep Saturdays free, but since Chloe was with Jon this weekend, she had decided to catch up on work.

Yet despite her best intentions, she wasn’t getting much done. Her gaze drifted over the report on her desk without her grasping what she was reading.

Her mind still swirled with memories of the previous night’s dinner with Tala—their flirty banter, Tala’s moan as she tasted the stew from the spoon Faith held out to her…all for the camera, of course. She had barely slept, and it wasn’t just because she had eaten too much lamb stew and berry crumble. Thoughts of her father’s expectations had also kept her awake. He was hell-bent on continuing their attempts to bug Tala’s apartment and search for proof of the Wrasa’s evil intents.

She knew he wouldn’t give up. If she told him she wanted out, he would only come up with an even more daring plan.

A knock at the door interrupted her worrying.

“Come in,” she called, grateful for the interruption.

Faith’s best friend, Sabina, entered her office, both hands hidden behind her back. “How much do you love me?”

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Faith asked instead of answering. “It’s the weekend!”

“I came in to check on things for that Women in Business conference tonight. What’s your excuse for being here?”

Faith gestured at the report. “Clearly, I’m a sucker for punishment.”

Sabina smirked and plopped herself down on the edge of Faith’s desk. “Well, if you’re going to suffer, you might as well have some good company. So…you didn’t answer my question. How much do you love me?”

“Depends on what you’re holding behind your back,” Faith replied. “If it’s a guest complaint, I don’t know you. If it contains caffeine, I might put you into my will.”

“You mean I’m not already in there?” Sabina produced two paper cups, one of which she held out to Faith.

“Ooh, you’re a lifesaver! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Faith snatched it from her hand and took a big gulp.

Sabina watched her with a smirk. “Long night with the Wrasa hottie?”

Faith pretended the heat trickling through her was merely a result from another sip of coffee. “What? No, that’s not—”

“So you don’t think she’s hot?”

The words of denial got stuck in Faith’s throat. With her lithe, agile body, her sharp cheekbones, and those intense golden eyes, Tala was attractive. Objectively speaking, of course. Plus Faith was supposed to make everyone think they were dating. “No, she totally is. Super hot.” She made a show of fanning herself with her free hand.

Sabina sipped her own coffee and regarded her across the paper cup. “How are things going between the two of you? Two weeks ago, you said you didn’t know where it was going. Have you figured it out?”

Shit, shit, shit! What was she supposed to say now? She hated lying to her best friend, but she couldn’t tell her the truth either. She looked away and swiped a speck of dust off her desk. “I…I think I like her.”

To her surprise, she found that it was the truth. At first, Tala had come across like a cold, arrogant, domineering shape-shifter with a Napoleon complex.

And she really could be all of that.

But during the last couple of fake dates, Faith had also started to catch glimpses of a different side—a side that was smart, had a mischievous sense of humor, and deeply grieved the aspects of Wrasa culture that had been lost.

Sabina sent her a knowing grin. “You like like her, don’t you? As in: you’re falling for her. That’s why you’ve been so secretive!”

“No!” Faith struggled not to shout it out. God, she was getting more and more tangled up in her web of lies. “It’s much too soon for anything like that. I’m just saying she’s a lot of fun to be around; that’s all for now.”

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Sabina said. “Let’s go out for drinks tonight and bring her along.”

Faith nearly dropped her coffee. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

Crap. She didn’t want to drag Sabina into this mess of a fauxmance. Her mind scrambled for an excuse. “Um, because Wrasa don’t drink.”

Sabina shrugged. “Then let’s do something else. How about dinner at The Melting Pot? They have a heavenly chocolate fondue on their dessert menu.”

“Won’t work either,” Faith said quickly. “Wrasa don’t eat chocolate.” Of course, The Melting Pot had other kinds of fondue too, but she hoped Sabina would take the hint and stop asking to meet Tala.

Sabina grabbed her chest with her free hand and widened her eyes in exaggerated disbelief. “No alcohol. No chocolate. Jesus, they live like nuns during Lent! Please tell me they do have sex!”

A flush warmed Faith’s cheeks as she remembered Tala’s comment about being ravaged by a passionate Wrasa lover all night. “Um…”

Sabina burst into laughter. “No need to answer. Your face tells me all I need to know.”

Now even Faith’s earlobes were burning—for no reason at all, which was really annoying!

“Okay, so drinks are out. Chocolate fondue is out.” Sabina drummed her nails against the paper cup. “How about…bowling?”

“Bowling?” Faith echoed.

“Isn’t that the lesbian thing to do?”

Faith flicked a paper clip in her direction. “I’m bi.”

Sabina caught it and sent it back. “Come on. It’ll be fun. I really want to meet her.”

“Tala is a very busy woman,” was the only other excuse Faith could come up with, although she had no idea what Tala did all day.

Sabina scoffed. “Too busy to meet her girlfriend’s bestie? C’mon, text her and ask if she’s free tonight. If she says no, I’ll shut up.”

Under Sabina’s watchful gaze, Faith pulled out her phone and tapped out a text to Tala, striving for a casual, familiar tone because she knew Sabina could read upside down. Hey you. How’s your day? Want to go bowling with me and my best friend Sabina tonight? She couldn’t add any kind of warning or a Please say no since Sabina was reading every word, but she did add a winking smiley face.

Tala replied within seconds. Bowling?

Sabina leaned across the desk to read the answer. “Tell her it’s where you throw a heavy ball down a lane to knock down pins.”

“I think she knows what bowling is, Sabina. The Wrasa grew up among humans. It’s not like they’re from another planet.”

Now Sabina was the one who blushed. “Right. Sorry.”

Scared to lose again? Faith typed back, and this time, she added half a dozen winking smiley faces, hoping Tala would finally notice what she was trying to tell her.

Ha! Not a chance, Tala replied. This time, I won’t go easy on you. When and where?

Sabina squealed. “Yes! She’s in! See? That wasn’t so hard, was it? Tell her I’ll reserve a lane for seven at Pin Pals.” She practically skipped from the office, whistling a cheerful tune.

When the door closed behind her, Faith slumped against the back of her chair. DAMMIT, TALA! she typed in all caps. Why didn’t you say no? I sent you like a million winking smiley faces!

Let me guess , Tala texted back . Humans don’t send winking smiley faces?

Well, they do, but… Faith groaned. Forget it. But I hope you know we’ll have to up our game now.

Don’t worry. I’m a natural when it comes to pretty much all sports.

Faith shook her head and typed quickly. I’m not talking about bowling. I’m talking about convincing my best friend we’re dating.

Are you alone? Tala asked.

Yes, Faith typed back. Why?

Instead of a text reply, her phone rang with a video call from Tala.

Sighing, Faith accepted.

“You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” Tala asked as soon as her face popped up on the small screen.

Faith hesitated. This was getting way too complicated for her liking. So far, she had managed to keep their fake relationship more or less separate from the rest of her life. But she’d been naive to think that would keep working, now that it was becoming clear Operation Make-Believe Mate wouldn’t be wrapped up within a week or two, as she had initially hoped.

Up until now, all the lying and pretending had been confined to strangers—random people who had no reason to scrutinize or question their relationship.

Tonight, she’d have to make her best friend believe she was dating Tala, and that was a whole other ball game.

Could she still back out?

Faith didn’t think so. She had already lied to Sabina, who was now looking forward to meeting her new girlfriend.

Maybe it would be better to go through with it and then, later, tell her it hadn’t worked out between them after all. Sabina would commiserate, take her out for drinks and chocolate fondue, and that would be that.

“Faith?” Tala asked when she didn’t reply. Her golden eyes drilled into her, even through the phone camera.

“I’m not backing out,” Faith finally said, already sure she would regret it. “I’m just worried. Sabina knows me well. She knows how I act when I’m dating someone. If our behavior is off, she’ll spot it.”

“How do you act when you’re dating someone, then?” Tala studied her with almost scientific curiosity. “You’d better give me a list of dos and don’ts. We can’t have Sabina catch us with our pants down…so to speak.”

Faith grimaced at Tala’s choice of words. “Hard to explain. I think it’s mostly little things. Making frequent eye contact, casual touches, laughing at each other’s jokes.”

Tala nodded confidently. “I can totally do that.”

“Don’t overdo it, though,” Faith said. “If it feels forced or over-the-top, Sabina will see right through it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be your most convincing fake girlfriend ever.” The corners of Tala’s mouth curled up into the semi-smirk that was starting to become familiar.

“You’re the only fake girlfriend I ever had,” Faith replied with a Chloe-inspired eye roll.

“Good,” Tala answered dryly. “Not much competition, then. I’ll pick you up at six thirty.”

Faith firmly shook her head. While she had reluctantly agreed to lie to her best friend, she drew the line at welcoming Tala into her home—into Chloe’s home, even though Chloe wouldn’t be there. “ I ’ll pick you up.”

Tala squinted at her. “Are you like that with other dates too? Just so I know what Sabina will expect.”

“Yes,” Faith said, and it wasn’t a lie. “No one gets through my front door until I’m ready to introduce them to Chloe.”

“And what does a date have to do to be introduced to Chloe?” Tala asked. “Not be a Wrasa?” Her voice turned sharp and laced with bitterness.

Faith stiffened. “It’s not personal, okay? But you agreed to leave Chloe out of this.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Tala muttered. “Everything about this is personal for us Wrasa. But fine. So you’ll pick me up at six thirty?”

Faith nodded. “Yes. See you tonight.” With a weak smile, she ended the call.

Great. If any of this tension crept up between them at the bowling alley, it would take Sabina all of three seconds to figure out their relationship was as fake as a steak in a vegan restaurant.

Oh God, what had she gotten herself into?

~ ~ ~