Page 60 of Fake Out Hearts

The realization also stirs up a wave of self-consciousness. What if they don’t think I’m good enough for their son?

If I can’t win them over, this fake marriage might be doomed before it even starts. I don’t know exactly how the process works, but I’m sure the feds will want to talk to our families at some point, so what if Anne and John sink our ship?

“So it was a love at first sight kind of thing?” Anne asks.

“Yeah, definitely,” Theo answers quickly, smiling at me as he reaches for my hand. Our fingers link, and it seems to be all Anne needed to hear. She joins him in smiling at me, and tears form in the corner of her eyes.

“Oh, Theo. I’m so happy for you, you have no idea,” she says, and it tugs at my heart. She just wants her child to be happy, like any mother would.

Well,almostany mother.

I can already tell that I like Anne, which makes me feel awful for lying to her about what’s really going on between me and Theo. Hopefully, she won’t ever have to find out.

“That makes two of us,” John says. “We were starting to worry you’d never settle down again.”

Theo laughs. “Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

John shrugs. “We can be honest here, can’t we? I say it with love.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Theo chuckles fondly, then glances at the clock on the wall. “You know what? I’m starving. What do you say we go out and get something for breakfast? I’ve got enough time before practice.”

“That sounds great. We had a very early flight, so I didn’t have time to eat anything before we left,” Anne says and gets up like it’s settled.

John doesn’t protest, but I hesitate because I need to change my clothes but it’s not like I can wander down the hall to my room without raising any questions.

Thankfully, Theo seems to pick up on my problem.

“Well, let us get changed and take Milo out for a quick walk, then we can head out,” he says and leads me upstairs to his room. “I’msosorry,” he whispers as soon as the door closes. “I really had no idea they were coming.”

“It’s okay, I gathered that. But what am I going to do about my clothes? I don’t want them to know we’re not sharing a room.”

“Then I guess we’re just going to have to fake that for a couple of days too. Lucky for us, we already got a head start.”

He smirks a little as he says it, and I feel my cheeks flush again when I think about how we slept together last night. And what we just did in this very room.

“What if they want to stay with us?”

Theo shakes his head. “They won’t unless I insist on it. They’ve always been respectful about my space, and I’m sure they’ll be extra respectful now that you’re here.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” I say through a sigh. Theo rests his hands on my arms, just below my shoulders, fixing his eyes on mine.

“Are you sure this is okay, princess? I can tell them you’re not feeling well if you want to sit out breakfast.”

I shake my head. “No, no. I want to go with you all.”

His eyes warm. “Okay. You trust me, right?”

I give him a little smile, the rapid pounding of my heart slowing as our gazes meet. “I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t.”

“Good. I’ll go downstairs and smuggle something from your room for you to wear, then I’ll take Milo out while you get ready. Sound good?”

I nod, and he gives my shoulders a squeeze. We break apart, and I try not to watch as he quickly gets dressed. Then he strides toward the door, stopping to turn back to me with his hand resting on the handle.

“Be right back,” he promises before he disappears.

I pace the room, unable to stay still while I wait. I don’t have any reason to think things won’t be fine based on how they’ve gone so far, but I can’t help worrying.

I knew I’d have to meet his parents eventually, but I never dreamed it would be like this. I’m sure I would’ve felt pressured to win them over no matter how we met, but the pressure really feels like it’s on now. The way they showed up unannounced like this also makes me wonder if they’re already doubtful about ourrelationship. And really, who would blame them? Theo is rich and semi-famous, so he’s a perfect target for gold diggers.

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