Page 20 of Matched with Her Fake Fiance

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got something for you to wear.”

I nearly choke on that idea. A guy bringing me clothing I could wear to a dinner. Unheard of.

“You do realize I’m not a stick figure, right? Like, things don’t always fit when I go to the store.” A wave of embarrassment courses through me. Why did I call attention to my curves? Now he’ll take note of them.

Without hesitation, Miles says, “It’s fine. Sonia knows what she’s doing.”

I pause, trying to place the name again. Right, the personal shopper.

“Okay, I’ll see you this afternoon then.”

“I’m outside your house. At least I think I am.” That’s when my foot catches onto the silky material of a shirt and all my momentum takes me backward. I don’t even have time to try and catch myself before I’m on the ground seeing stars.

“Are you okay?” I hear from my phone lying next to me.

I grab for it and manage to ask, “Bright yellow door?” I might as well test to see if he is outside.

“Uh-huh. And a whole bunch of flamingos in the front lawn.”

I’d forgotten about those. They’d been a prank between Evie and our next-door neighbor. She’d accidentally started a prank war a few weeks ago and it’s funny to see how it’s escalated. Especially with how much she mothers us, seeing her let go a bit has been amazing.

“That would be us. I’ll come meet you at the door.”

I run downstairs, still in casual pants and my hair just barely dry.

“Where are you heading so fast?” Kenzie asks, glancing up from the computer in the front room of the house.

“To see a guy about an outfit.” I don’t stick around to see her face.

I’m on the porch as Miles gets out of his sleek black car. He looks just as good as the machine.

And that’s when I have to do a mental block of all feelings related to Miles. There would never be an “us,” so I don’t allow myself even a sliver of hope there.

He’s carrying a black bag. Ten bucks whatever’s inside there is the wrong size.

When he sees me, he smiles. That’s better than what Clay had done at the end of our relationship. I’d been an obligation, until Amber destroyed that. And for a moment, I wonder what she’ll think of me dating Miles. Fake dating, but she won’t have to know that.

“Looks like you’re ready to go,” he says, pointing to my taco-loving pants.

I smile drily. “Yeah, if we want to go to a Mexican restaurant, I’m all in. Tacos for life.”

“As much as I’d like that, we’re eating at Top Shelf tonight.”

It takes a few moments for me to realize that my mouth is hanging open. Top Shelf is one of those restaurants you hear people going to, but you never have a hope that you’ll be there. It’s owned by one of the Boston Breeze hockey players but since I didn’t know any famous athletes or people like Miles before this past week, I’ve never been.

And now I’m terrified about how I’m supposed to look. I take the bag, surprised that the brush of our fingers could create so much electricity buzzing through me. It’s probably static electricity or something from his car. Right?

My mind is a fuzzy mess and I take a step back, trying to regain my balance.

“What time do you have to be to work?” Miles asks.

I glance down at my watch and see I’ve got a total of five minutes to get dressed and head out before I miss my bus. “In thirty-five minutes.” I groan. So much for looking cute.

“Why don’t you get ready and I can drop you off on my way to the office?”

I might have to reboot my brain because everything is coming in slow and fuzzy. A guy willing to move his schedule a bit to accommodate me? “You want to give me a ride to work?”

He shrugs. “Yeah, I mean, you seemed distressed about being late and I have to drive by there anyway.”

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