Page 117 of The Fake Date Agreement

“And the remote. Where will that be?”

Again, I raise my eyebrow, and again, she blushes.

“Oh.” She clears her throat. “Reid and I slept together.”

If it were anyone else, I’d be jealous. Because it’s Reid, I know he would have made her feel good. I cock my head, curious what this is about.

She says nothing for so long that I think I know where this is going. “You want me to back off because?—”

“No,” she says in a rush.

Her cheeks are still pink, and her eyes don’t quite meet mine. “I mean, I’m dating all of you, right?”

Tension radiates up my spine. “And what does dating look like to you?”

She swallows hard. “I don’t know. This is…” Her voice trails off. “This was all supposed to be pretend, and…”

It’s not pretend.

It’s become the most real thing in my life.

I know exactly how you feel, Tobie Myers.

This can’t be easy for her. Fresh from a breakup with a guy she was probably anticipating marriage and kids with, to fake dating three guys. None of us could have predicted this.

“Do you want to take a rain check on this fair?” If she’s developing feelings for Reid, and I’m confusing her, that isn’t right. I want her, and I like her, but her needs have to come first.

She hands me the remote. “Here.”

I wait for her to pass me the egg.

Her fingers tighten around it, and she takes a step back. “You have to wait outside for me.”

She’s not saying what I think she’s saying. I’m misreading this situation by hoping for something that will not happen. “Why?”

She clears her throat. “I can’t put it in while you’re here.”

I steady my breathing as my pants get tight. “You trust me with this?”

“Marc made me feel like an old slipper.”

I blink at another twist in our conversation I didn’t see coming.

She continues, “Even before the cheating, I was an afterthought. I bumped into a girl on my floor once, and she didn’t even know I had a boyfriend. That’s how little he came to see me. I was always going to him. You make me feel so many things that I don’t deserve. I trust you with the remote, and I trust you with me.”

My chest is tight and rage simmers in my veins. I’m torn between two violently opposing actions—find Marc and rip him apart or yank Tobie into my arms and kiss her.

Trust is one of the most valuable things you can give a person. If I kill her ex for making her feel unworthy, I can’t take her to the fair. If I kiss her, I won’t stop.

“You’re not an old slipper,Gatinha,” I tell her softly.

She deserves someone who will treat her like she’s the center of their world. Marc was the one lucky to have her, and he did not deserve someone as sweet and beautiful as Tobie. Not for a single day.

Her smile is soft. “I think I know that now.”

But she didn’t know it before.

“We’re going to have fun tonight,” I tell her firmly.

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