Page 71 of The Perils of Pretending
“Yep.”
“How long have you two been dating?”
It takes me a minute to remember the story we came up with on the plane and then to calculate how old Amelia is and how long Sadie and I have supposedly been dating. “Eight months.”
Robbie whistles. “That’s serious territory. Have you said I love you yet?”
I raise a brow, eyeing Robbie. “That’s between me and Sadie.” And hopefully he never asks Sadie. I’m not sure if we want to lie about that or not.
He holds his hands out defensively. “I respect that. Do you see a future with her?”
“I do.” Not that Sadie imagines the same thing, but I can picture it: me pushing her buttons, Sadie’s constant eye rolls and amused smiles. Kisses like the one from yesterday. Exploring nature, playing on the ice, discovering new food together.
“Good.” He clears his throat. “Not going to lie, I thought it would be funny to see Alice try and set Sadie up, but the guy is Alice’s puppet, and after hearing about him going into the women’s restroom to get to Sadie and then the comments about your kiss yesterday, instead of being entertained, I’m over it. How can I help you two with Alice?”
I didn’t expect him to offer his help. My guard comes down. “If you see Dorian approaching us, distract him.”
“Consider it done. Anything else?”
I smirk. “Yeah, tell everyone else in the family how amazing I am.”
Robbie laughs. “You got it, man.”
Sadie leaves her mom in the front of the pack, coming back to where Robbie and I are.
“What are you two laughing about?”
“Nothing.” Robbie shakes his head. “But I like your boyfriend. He’s funny.”
Sadie grins. “He’s all right. Most of the time.”
Robbie laughs more.
“Hey!” I act offended. “I’m awesomeallof the time.”
Sadie takes my hand in hers. “I stand by my statement. I, on the other hand, am perfect one hundred percent of the time.”
Sadie’s near perfection, but there’s a few minor things and one major red flag when it comes to my fake girlfriend. “Does Robbie know about your snoring habits?”
Sadie smacks my arm. “I have no control over my breathing when I sleep!”
“Which is a shame, really. How was the couch the other night?” I probably shouldn’t tease her about this since I do feel bad that she slept on the couch because of it.
Robbie’s eyes go wide. “You kicked her out of the bed?”
Sadie’s fingers tighten around my palm. “He totally did. Isn’t he rude?”
“I’m impressed he has the guts to do so. If I kicked my girl out, I don’t know if she’d ever come back.”
“Sounds to me like you’re dating the wrong person then.” Granted, Sadie slept on the couch of her own accord, and if we were ever together for real, we would have to figure out a solution to her snoring. But since this is fake, it doesn’t really matter what we say or how we spin the situation. Sadie won’t break up with me until we’re back in Utah.
Sadie nods. “I agree. You need someone who embraces all of you.”
“I appreciate the advice,” Robbie says. “When I’m looking for ‘the one’ I’ll keep it in mind. For now, I’m dating for fun. I’m in no hurry to tie the knot.”
To be young and carefree again. Actually, I take that back. I enjoyed dating in my twenties and had a lot of fun with no regrets, but now that I’m in my early thirties, whoever I date is a candidate for my future wife. “You’ve got plenty of time to find who you’re looking for.”
“What is it you’re looking for?” Robbie asks. “There might be things I want in my future spouse that I’m not thinking of right now.”
