Page 34 of Away With You
“How is that possible?”
He pulls his lower lip in between his teeth, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. “It gets worse, because what the public doesn’t know—yet—is that my brother and Victoria are engaged.”
“Shut. Up.”
His responding smile is small but bright. “And they’re getting married on New Year's Eve.”
Tears prick at my eyelids. I’m an angry crier, and right now, I’m ready to shed a bucket load of tears on his behalf.
“Gosh, they are the literal worst.”
He nods. “So, you see, I’m in a predicament. Once the press release the engagement story, the world will be back to viewing me as the bitter, scorned brother/ex-boyfriend, and I’m not sure I want to deal with that.”
That makes sense. The whole sordid affair is awful. Add this to the fact that Nathan is clearly not over Victoria, and it’s a recipe for disaster.
“And you shouldn’t have to,” I spit out. “How your brother thinks this is okay is beyond me. And don’t get me started on that ex of yours. She’s worse than a rat. She’s the bacteria that feasts on the fleas that live on rats.”
Restless now, I stand up and shake my fists out, wishing I had something to punch. I’m not normally a violent person, or even a person with big emotions, but seeing Nathan as he is now, vulnerable and in pain, makes me want to go to war for him.
“So, how can I help? You said something about a favour?”
He’s back to squirming in his chair. “Well, you see, now, my sister Rosie. You remember Rosie?”
“Yes, we’re Instagram friends now.”
He grins. “Yes, well, this morning we were talking about all this stuff and she mentioned that if I had a girlfriend, then people would think I’ve moved on, and all the pity and scorn and everything else being launched my way, would go away. And after I thought about it, I agreed. A girlfriend would help sell my narrative, and I can be left alone.”
“But you don’t have a girlfriend, do you?” I trail off, comprehension dawning on me.I need you to be my girlfriend.It wasn’t part of my dream.
His smile is pleading now. “I don’t. That’s the problem. I’ve been too busy getting over my last relationship to even think about it. So, Rosie suggested I ask a friend. Or even ask someoneto pose as my girlfriend—a fake girlfriend—until this all blows over.”
“Me?” I squeak.He’s asking me to be his—fake—girlfriend?
“Yes, you. You’d be perfect.”
How?
“How?”
He waves his hand around my face as I sit back down in front of him in a hard plonk. “You’re perfect.”
I raise a brow.Perhaps he’s a little drunk?
“I mean,” he hastens to add. “You’re the perfect person to ask. We’ve just reconnected, so we can sell the story that we’re old friends who developed feelings for each other. We can spend a few evenings together like we did last night, which I have to say was a lot of fun, and then when it all dies down, we can slip back to being friends.”
My insides twist at his description of our pretend relationship. Especially the part where we have to pretend to break up.
“I don’t know, Nathan. It seems like an enormous risk. If I’m out with you, I’ll be in the media spotlight. Remember how it was for Cherry? It looked brutal. It would be worse for me.”
He shakes his head, his lips in a firm line. “No. Absolutely not. In the off-season, there’s a lot less interest in what we’re doing. The fans don’t care what we’re up to as long as we show up the next season ready to win. I’ve seen lots of other drivers launch their relationship during this time for this exact reason; the media don’t care as much about harassing us in the downtime.”
“But won’t that defeat the point? If they’re not focusing on you, then they’re not reporting on your relationship. Fake or not.”
“That just means we control the story. We get a few friendly journalists to write a couple of puff pieces about us, and thenwe’re golden. We won’t even post on our socials, just keep it vague enough so that I seem to be loved up, and am no longer the sad, pitiful man who got discarded for his older brother.”
His voice is strained, and I can sense how much this is all weighing on him. How heartbroken he must be to see the woman he hasn’t moved on from, marrying his brother. He must be desperate to even float the idea to me, so the least I can do is consider it.
“How would this work? Would it only be for a couple of dates?”
