Page 66 of Fool Me

“He’s going to steal your heart.”

“I don’t doubt it. And how’s Holland doing? Is she still pretending he doesn’t exist?”

Her answering laugh is tired. “No, now that she’s adjusted to not being the center of attention, we are working double time to keep her from treating him like her own personal doll.”

“That’s sweet and probably exhausting.”

She snorts her agreement. “Exhaustion is our baseline at the moment.” She pauses and there’s some shuffling as I hear her hand Haze off to Xavier with a whisperedthank you. “Okay. Okay. Babies are great, but I want to hear about your interview. I’m dying to talk about something that doesn’t revolve around my boobs or poop.”

“I think we have a problem.” Smooth leather slips through my hands as I head out of town to the overlook because I’m not ready to go home yet. The buzz of the day is still too loud.

“Did it not go well?” Concern colors her voice.

The road out of town and up into the mountains stretches out in front of me as I think about her question.

“No, the interview was fine—great, even.” Canyon’s stunt only made me more focused on my goal, but I didn’t call her to talk about him. “It’s Atlas.”

“Did people find out that you two are faking it?”

“Still blissfully ignorant. But I think I like my fake boyfriend.”

“That’s not exactly a revelation. I’m thousands of miles away and I could have told you that. You talk about him all the time. And you seem happier, more at ease than I’ve seen you in years.”

“But he’s trying to build a closer connection to his parents. I’m his brother’s ex. If he wants a relationship with them, and if Canyon sticks around, doesn’t that seem like an issue? They’re going to be forced into situations where they have to spend time together. I don’t think I could deal with that.”

“Be so fucking for real right now.”

“Excuse me,” I scoff.

“Harlowe, who told me to pull my head out of my ass and talk to Xavier when I was struggling with my family?”

It was me.

“That was different. You and Xavier had been sleeping together for months by then. You were head over heels for him.”

“Maybe, but I fail to see the difference.”

“We’ve never even kissed for real—this is all a show. We’re friends, but it’s been weeks, and he’s had opportunities to make a move. Beyond that, the whole point of this was to focus on getting this job, not to snag a man. My focus needs to stay on the job, the upcoming test, and the interview process until it’s done.”

“Okay. Ambition recognizes ambition, I get that. But what about after?”

“Is it even fair to ask him to choose?”

“Not your call, babe,” she says frankly.

“Fuck, why does this have to be so complicated?”

“Because you’re fake dating your ex’s brother. It’s complicated by design.”

“You’re not helping. I should’ve called Aspen.”

Vivienne laughs, the fatigue of being a new mom slowing it down. “I think I’m helping just fine. You just don’t want to hear it because you know I’m right and you don’t want to do the hard thing.”

“Oh, I want to do the hard thing, all right.”

She sputters out another round of laughter. “Christ, you can’t say things like that to me right now. My hormones are already doing funny things and there’s no telling what innuendos will do to me. I could leak all over myself, start crying, or pee my pants from laughing. It’s a gamble.” There’s a tiny voice asking for snacks and a hush reply from Vivi.

“I take it he’s still coming to the wedding?” she asks after a moment.

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