Page 47 of Empty Net

I want to say:Having lunch with you is the last thing I want to do.Or:The thought of sitting in a restaurant with you, pretending to be a loving mother-daughter duo, sounds like literal torture.Or even:Do you even really want to have lunch when you’re having your assistant reach out to coordinate instead of doing it yourself?

But I keep those private thoughts just that.

Instead, I nod. “Okay.”

A grin that could rival any supervillain spreads across her lips as she clasps her hands together. “Perfect. I will see you then.”

She spins on her heel and walks away without another word. No goodbye. No small talk about her and my father leaving. Nothing. She just goes, leaving me to stare after her, trying to figure out what Fox and I have gotten ourselves into, and howexactly I will tell my fake fiancé we’re having lunch with the devil herself.

“Can I ask you something?”

“We’re engaged now, Lilah.” Fox tosses me a wink as we wait for the valet to pull his car around after finally escaping the party. We stayed far too long if you ask me, and I’m glad to be out of there. “You can ask me anything.”

My lips twitch. He’s so casual about it, making me even more curious.

“Why are you in the Serpents Singles Club? I mean, none of those other guys would have stepped in to help me like you did if that meant pretending to be in a relationship.”

“I like to think they would have. They talk a big game about hating love and all that stuff, but I don’t think they really do.”

“Do you?”

“Not at all.”

“Then why’d you join the club?”

He shrugs. “Because it was something to do.”

“Come on.” I bump my shoulder against him. “It has to be more than that.”

“It’s really not. I believe in love. After seeing my parents married and still in love after so long, I kind of have to, right? I just… I don’t know. It was an easy excuse to focus on my game and nothing else.”

“And now?”

“Now…” He exhales heavily. “I think I actually need to focuslesson my game.”

“How does that work out?”

He runs a hand through his hair. “A lot of being a goalie is a mental game. Yes, I have to be good enough to make saves consistently, but it’s possible to betoointo the game. Sometimes, you just have to go out there and have fun, you know. Be loose.”

“And that’s what you’re struggling with? Being loose?”

He nods. “Yeah, I think so. At least, I hope that’s what it is and that I’m not just washed up.”

He chuckles, trying to play it off as a joke, but there’s a hint of honesty behind his words. He actually thinks he’s playing badly, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. But he has to be the one to believe it, not me.

“Well, what do you usually do to relax?”

His back snaps straight, and he looks at everything but me. It takes all of three seconds to realize why.

“Let me guess—sex?” His cheeks turn a deep red, and I know I’m right. “Then have some.”

He coughs out a laugh. “Are you offering,fiancée?”

Images of Fox and me sweaty and out of breath beneath my pink sheets filter through my mind, and my nipples pebble beneath my silky dress. It has nothing to do with how cold it is out here. I’m perfectly warm under Fox’s jacket because of course he gave it to me again.

I clear my throat. “Speaking of that…” His brows shoot up. “Get your mind out of the gutter. I meant speaking of us being ‘engaged.’”

“You don’t have to use air quotes, Lilah. We both know this is fake.”

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