Page 44 of The Charade

The please must have done the trick because the twin in the red top glanced back at her sister and Cambrielle. With a shrug, she said, "I guess I'll see you down there."

Once Ava reached me, I gestured for her to come into my room, but she stopped just at the threshold. With an eyebrow arched, she asked, "You're not trying to finish what you started earlier, are you?"

And the memory of standing in this very spot with her back pressed against the wall, with only a few inches between us, jumped to the forefront of my mind.

I still couldn't believe I'd flirted with her like that. I never did that kind of thing. Especially not with girls I barely knew.

So to put Ava at ease, I said, "Sorry to get your hopes up, but I just need to talk this time."

"Good answer." She shot me a half-smile before stepping inside my room.

I shut the door behind her and gestured for her to sit on the loveseat while I pulled over the chair at my desk for myself.

"Do you remember that little scheme you came up with earlier this week? You know, the one where you help me make Sofia think I've moved on and no one knows we're just doing math homework."

"I remember," she said.

"Okay, so I'm going to have to ask you a huge favor."

She crossed her arms and leaned back against the cushion. "I'm listening."

"So…" I licked my lips, feeling jittery with nerves for some reason. "Nash came up here a few minutes ago to tell me that Sofia came to the party with Simon."

"Simon Bailey?" Ava asked, her mouth falling open. "As in, the ‘Simon Bailey who has his afternoon tea with the queen’ Simon Bailey?"

"That would be the guy. He's here with Sofia."

"Wow, Simon Bailey is downstairs right now." Ava stood up quickly as if ready to head down this very minute to check him out. "My friends in Ridgewater are never going to believe this. Theyadorehim." She patted her back pocket as if checking to make sure her phone was there. "Do you think he'll let me take a selfie with him?"

"What?" I asked, rushing to the door before she could disappear and take my chances of saving face with her. She was just reaching for the knob when I slid into the small space between her and the door. "You said you were going to help me."

"But I need to get a photo with the prince before he leaves," she said.

"He's a viscount. Not a prince."

"Same difference," she said. "Can I go now? I just want to see if he's as hot in person as he is in photos."

Seriously?

Was this really how all girls reacted to Simon Bailey?

I folded my arms across my chest. "I'll let you go down in a minute. But first we need to talk about our little arrangement."

"Okay, yeah." She took a step back, as if only now remembering what I'd been talking about before she'd gotten sidetracked by Simon's name. "So, what were you saying before?"

"I was asking if you'd be fine playing into the little arrangement of ours a little more tonight. Instead of just flirting, I was wondering if you could pretend you're actually my girlfriend," I said. But then, since my ego seemed to require that while I didn't have an English title to my name, I wasn't exactly Freddy Krueger either, I added, "I mean, I just wanted to give you first dibs on being my arm candy for tonight."

"Ohhh." She drew the word out as she gave me an understanding nod. "So let me get this straight. Pretending to be your actual girlfriend and making Sofia think I'm hopelessly infatuated with you would actually be your way of doingmea favor?" She gave me an unimpressed look. "Is that what you're trying to say?"

I tilted my head to the side. "Yes?"

"Well, if that's the case, then I think I'll pass." She shrugged. "I mean, I'm sure you have dozens of girls dying to play the part for real downstairs, so who am I to steal such an amazing opportunity from them?"

She made a move to open the door again, and I knew I was about to lose my ticket to an easy night.

"Okay, fine." I grabbed her forearm. "So maybe you'd be doing me the huge favor."

"And?" She looked up at me with her liquid-gold eyes, as if waiting for me to grovel a little more.

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