Page 11 of Falling for your Fake Boyfriend

“So, I’ll trade off breathing for looking great.”

“Women do it all the time. What do you say?” She turned me back around with equal velocity, and I looked at myself in the mirror. My breasts were close to spilling out the top of the lowcut dress. The sleeves were merely off-the-shoulder bands of blue lace. The bodice cut in at such a deep angle, it was hard to believe the rest of me was inside the dress. It almost looked like an optical illusion. The skirt flared out, and the hem came to a few inches above the knee. Ella was right. The dress was gorgeous.

“Aria has the perfect gold choker to go with it.” Ella’s starry, romance-filled gaze peered past me into the mirror. “You look amazing, Issie.” She rested her chin on my shoulder, and I dropped my head to touch hers. We stayed that way, staring into the mirror, and in an instant, we were taken back to those dreamy teenage years when we talked about nothing but boys and fashion and music. “Maybe Lucas Greyson is your prince,” Ella’s tone was soft, wistful. “Maybe this whole charade will end in love.”

Her comment broke us free from our daydreams. “I suggested that to him, and he literally laughed. No, this is a business deal. It’s for the bakery.” The dress became more tolerable as I wore it. I glanced at the rack that now held a half dozen dresses that looked far better on the hanger than on me. “I guess this is the dress then. I just won’t be able to breathe, and instead of indulging in all the expensive food and drinks I’ve been dreaming about, I’ll have to chew on celery stalks and sip sparkling water.”

I turned back to the mirror, and I liked the reflection staring back at me. The woman in the mirror looked confident. Nonna always told us true beauty came from within and knowing who you are. I was the woman standing in the incredibly gorgeous dress and wearing it pretty darn well. Then the thought of standing in a household of complete strangers, people who lived in a completely different world than me and my sisters and our crooked little beach house, wiped away the moment of joy.

“Oh, Ella, what have I gotten myself into? How am I possibly going to do this? They’re never going to believe our act. They’re going to see right through this pretty dress to the faded T-shirts and jeans. I’m going to be the center of all their gossip. I can hear it now. ‘Has Lucas lost his mind?’” I said with a snooty tone. “‘Surely he’s not thinking of marrying this girl!’” I continued.

Ella threw her arms around me for a hug. “They’re going to be dazzled, Issie, ’cuz you are everything amazing.”

I wasn’t convinced, but I hugged her back for a long time.

ChapterSix

Luke

Google Maps led me through a small town that looked as if it came straight out of a 1950s television show. I half expected a goofy, trigger-happy deputy to pull me over for driving a space-age electric vehicle through town. Oddly enough, I found the whole place cool. I’d never lived in a small town, but it was easy to see the appeal. The lady in the phone sharply commanded me to turn right, and who was I to argue?

My tires crunched down a gravelly, winding path that led toward the ocean. The closer I got to the destination, the clearer that view became. By the time the map voice told me I’d arrived, I had an incredible panoramic view of a teal blue cove surrounded by toffee-colored cliffs. The farthest cliff, a jutting slab of speckled granite, provided a stage for a lighthouse with a quintessential, red-striped tower, a black pointed cap and a big glass eye. As I got out of the car, three massive grey pelicans flew in formation over the cove.

“Did you change your mind?” a voice asked from the front door of the small cottage. Isla was wearing gray shorts and a pale orange tank top. I hadn’t imagined it. She was something else.

“No, I was just admiring the view. All that’s missing are dolphins frolicking in the waves.”

“Actually, we do get dolphins, seals and the occasional shark. In fact, we have a name for the shark—Eek. It’s the sound we make whenever we’re out on the sand, and Eek floats by.” She reached me. The sunlight dripping through the trees highlighted the spray of freckles on her nose.

“We’re still doing this?” she asked.

“Yeah, unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“Nope. Let me get my bags.”

Two more women, each uniquely pretty, came out on the porch.

“Luke, these are two of my sisters, Layla and Ella,” she said. She whispered something to them and sidled past them into the cottage.

Layla had incredible copper hair and brown eyes. She squinted one eye as she looked me up and down. “Have you ever worn mutton chops?” she asked.

I chuckled. “I have not. I’ve heard they get in the way of a good breakfast burrito.”

She laughed, but the other sister, Ella, had a stern, teacherly look on her face. “Exactly what are your intentions, Mr. Greyson?”

Layla elbowed her. “Stop that. You’ll have to excuse her. She thrives on being a nerd.”

“My intentions are entirely honorable.” I bowed to her.

“That works.” Ella fanned herself as she turned back to her sister.

“This is a beautiful location,” I said. “And this cottage—” I paused and angled my head to the side. “Am I imaging it, or is it slightly tilted to the right?”

“That’s why it’s the best cottage on Whisper Cove,” Layla said confidently and without further reasoning.

“Right. It’s very cool.”

Isla stepped out onto the brick stoop. I hurried over to take her bags. One was a suitcase, slightly battered and covered in stickers. The other was a dress bag. She shrugged as I took the suitcase from her hand. “Sorry, I loaned out my Louis Vuitton.”

---