Page 90 of Pretend for Me

“I might be reaching here,” Sarina says, cutting into what will definitely become an argument between me and Nisha, “but maybe you’re the one overthinking it, Piper.”

“Overthinking what?”

We turn toward the deep voice to see Dev walking toward us.

He stalls mid-step when Rome rushes to him, and in a scene I couldn’t have predicted, Dev scoops him up, placing a kiss on his cheek, before setting him back on his feet. Taking out a small object the size of a remote from his pocket, he hands it to Rome.

“Whoa!” Rome exclaims, wide-eyed. “What is it?”

“It’s a new handheld projection device my company is developing. This one displays the solar system in detail.”

“Are you saying I can have it?” Rome asks, oscillating between shock and awe.

“It’s all yours, little man.”

The expression on Rome’s face is indescribable. Even behind his glasses, I can see his eyes glisten.

Dev ruffles his hair. “Go try it out, buddy. I’ll meet you in a few. Let me say hi to your mom and your aunts.”

Rome runs off while Sarina yells at him to say thank you before we all greet Dev. Sarina pulls him into a hug, while Nisha opts for a handshake. Both of my friends have met him during his photo shoot at the salon, but never in a casual setting like this.

After exchanging pleasantries, Dev takes a seat beside me. His warm brown eyes caress my face before he leans over, pressing a kiss on my lips.

It’s brief and chaste, but it has my toes curling under the table.

“What were you overthinking?” he repeats, reaching over to take my glass from my hands before taking a long sip.

Both my friends watch with rapt attention, and I know what they’re thinking—that this is real; that neither Dev nor I could be such good actors.

And perhaps that’s true. But that doesn’t change the fact that love—lasting love—is rarer than finding a four-leaf clover under twelve feet of snow.

Is there a part of me that wants to follow my heart and jump head-first into whatever is developing between us?

Yes! Abso-fucking-lutely, there is!

But there’s also that other part—the rather loud and pesky one—-that screams at me to hold back, reminding me that jumping head-first will not only lead to a cracked skull, but also a cracked heart.

“She was talking about the cake,” Sarina blurts. “She’s overthinking the design and flavors.”

Devplaces his arm on the back of my chair before running his fingers through strands of my hair. “You know there’s no rule saying we have to settle on one cake or flavor.”

I hold back a smile. “I wasn’t aware of that, actually. Are you saying if I like ten different cakes and twenty different flavors, we can get them all?”

He shrugs. “I don’t see why not. How many times are we going to get married?”

His words hit me like a bucket of ice water. How many times? Once. Justthisonce. At least that is the case for me, because I wouldn’t do this again unless it was for love. And since the whole love thing terrifies me, I wouldn’t do it at all.

But is he implying he wouldn’t do it again, either? And if so . . .why? In the time I’ve known him, he definitely doesn’t seem to have the same aversion to love as I do. So, why wouldn’t he do it again for real the next time?

I open my mouth, questions burning on my tongue when I meet his eyes. Soft, warm, and full of a tenderness that’s become familiar lately. They urge me to lean in, to trust, to . . . hope?

But the words die on my tongue. Because at this point, I’m completely confused. Confused about what this is, what this was supposed to be, and now my own feelings about it.

Maybe Sarina is right. Maybe I am the one overthinking it.

thirty-one

piper

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