Page 85 of Fauxmance

"Oh yeah, big fan."

Again, I held back a shiver as his eyes met mine. They were filled with warmth.

"Where'd you get that dress?" he asked.

I swallowed. "My mom made it for me."

"Remind me to thank her later."

If he was trying to distract me while also upping my confidence, he was doing one heck of a job.

"And if anyone discovers us"—he said softly—"you better believe I won't let any of the fallout come down on you. I'll take full responsibility. But like I said, they won't find out."

Taking a deep breath, I nodded. "Okay. I think I'm ready now."

"All right," he said. "And Maggie?"

"Hmm?"

When I looked up, Hayden was still staring at me. "There's no need to keep adding the fake part. Whenever you're talking about us, I notice you do that."

Yeah, I thought, for my own sake. To remind myself of the truth.

"We're in this together. For the next few weeks, I'm just your boyfriend," he said. "And you're my girlfriend."

My breath got caught somewhere inside my chest, and I couldn't seem to let it out.

"Sound good?"

It sounded amazing.

But that was something I definitely couldn't say out loud.

"Sounds good," I repeated. I looked around and realized we were the only two people left on the red carpet. "So? Are you going to introduce me to your family?"

Hayden grinned. "Absolutely."

As we walked inside the building, there were signs, and ushers indicated where we should go. The wedding would take place in the diamond ballroom. It definitely lived up to its name. Everywhere I looked, the room and the people in it shimmered. The decorations were beautiful.Black and gold, a ton of glitz and glamour with a 20's flair. The theme was clearlyThe Great Gatsby. Fitting, I thought. The Davenports were said to be society's elite, and it definitely showed here. Row after row of golden chairs sat on either side of the center aisle. Tall flower arrangements of white orchids crowned the end of each row. There had to be at least 300 guests—and it looked like Hayden and I were the last to arrive.

We must've been talking far longer than I'd thought.

Nearly all of the seats were taken, so we grabbed two chairs in the back.

"Phew," I said softly, "glad we got here before it started."

He grunted in response.

"These seats are so comfortable, and you can see everything from back here."

"At least we didn't have to sit with the family," he said.

I shrugged. "I wouldn't have minded. Where are they?"

He lifted his chin, gesturing to the front of the room. "First two rows."

I could only see their backs, but even that screamed high society.

"I've never seen so many people with such good posture," I commented.

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