Page 76 of Man Seeking Woman

Chapter Eighteen

Ella

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There's everythingto be worried about!

What the hell are you doing, Ella?!

My nerves were going wild, filling my stomach like a giant ball of thorns as the elevator brought us higher into the sky.

August was right, I shouldn't be nervous, because it didn't really matter what his mother ended up thinking about me. This was all fake, a twisted business opportunity for both of us to get what we wanted.

I just couldn't stop what was happening inside. My emotions were in charge. I shouldn't be a lot of things; I shouldn't be there, I shouldn't be accepting money in exchange for a child, and I absolutely shouldn't be falling for this man. But all of this was starting to feel comfortable, normal, very real on a certain level.

Nope, not real. Not a couple, not in a relationship. This is only business.

What his mother thought was irrelevant, she could think anything she wanted. If I could just get my head to hold onto that idea, and keep it in the forefront of everything, the woman could curse me to hell and I'd be fine.

And yet, as we stood hip to hip in the elevator, a small voice inside was praying that August's mother and I would somehow hit it off. That she would smile at me with a smile she hadn't used on any another girl he brought home to her. That we would share this small, but important, connection that only we would understand.

But these were all just silly hopes, immature ideas that young girls have about boys they like. Because this was going to be difficult, we had to pull off the magic trick of a lifetime and convince his mother that we had somehow met and fallen in love before she knew I existed.

I can do this. I can play the part.

His hand was on my back, rubbing up and down between my shoulder blades. “You doing okay? You look a little pale.”

“Me? I feel fine. This is just a walk in the park.”

Liar! You're terrified!

“We can always leave, tell her we need to cancel,” he said, his eyes full of concern. I knew he could sense how I was feeling. It was probably written all over my face.

Waving him off, I shook my head. “No, no, I'm fine. Your mother is expecting us, we can't ditch her now.”

“Yes we can,” August said, no hint of teasing in his voice. “I'm only doing this because I'll never hear the end of it if I don't.”

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