Page 32 of Accidental Wedding Crasher
“Hey!” Luka protested. “We’ve been together for three years, not a few months, like these two. Plus, who saysI’mthe one who needs to step it up?Youcould be the romantic in the family.”
“Nah.” Sarah popped a grape into her mouth and winked at Luka. “I’ll leave that to you.” Then she turned to Mia and Evan. “How long have you been together, anyway?”
“Eight months,” Mia said, at the same time as Evan said, “Almost a year.” They exchanged a glance, and Evan’s stomach flipped, but Luka and Sarah didn’t seem to notice.
“Cute.” Sarah reached for a cube of cheese.
“And Mia, tell me, howdoyou put up with Evan here?” Luka asked, grinning.
“It’s a struggle sometimes,” Mia joked. “But seriously, he’s a great guy. He makes me laugh. He’s smart, but not in a way that makes anyone else feel stupid. And he’s always ready to help people, whether that’s me or even a stranger he just met.”
Evan’s chest clenched at her words. Of course, she was putting on a show, too, but it felt nice to hear himself described like that. Usually, the news mentioned him as a business-oriented and sometimes distant or even ruthless CEO. His family thought of him as a distant workaholic. He liked that Mia saw another side of him, even if she was saying it because of their fake-dating plan.
“Wow.” Luka looked back and forth between Mia and Evan, his eyebrows raised. “What about his love of work, though?”
“Maybe you haven’t given him the right motivation to step away from work,” Mia said with a wink. Sarah and Luka crowed, and she blushed. “I mean, by reminding him that other things can be fun!” They crowed again, and Mia shook her head, putting up her hands. “You know what I mean.”
“And how exactly do you put up with Luka?” Evan asked Sarah, hoping to steer the conversation away from his and Mia’s “relationship.”
“That’s easy,” Sarah said. “I avoid challenging him to any games or competitions, and things are pretty smooth.”
“I’m notthatcompetitive,” Luka protested.
“Yesterday, I saw you argue for almost ten minutes that your tomato sauce was the best one,” Mia pointed out.
“And when we were kids, you would throw the Uno cards if you lost,” Evan added.
“Once, he tried to start an argument with me over who was the better kisser,” Sarah confided. Luka threw up his hands, shaking his head, and the conversation moved on to general teasing and chatting. Every few moments, Evan found himself looking at Mia. She fit in so well with his family, easily teasing Luka and joking with Sarah.
And it really was impressive that, because of her, he hadn’t thought about work since they’d left the villa.
On the next riding segment, Evan and Mia ended up riding together near the back of the group. The hills stretched out as far as the eye could see, and the blue sky above was so expansive it was almost hard to believe. The fragrance of fresh, growing things permeated the air around them.
“So,” Mia said, “feedback time. How are my fake-girlfriend skills?”
“Excellent,” Evan told her honestly. “My family completely believes that we’re dating, although I think they feel you’re a little out of my league.”
“I’m not going to argue with that,” Mia said with a wink.
“I’m offended, but I can’t argue, either. And how are my fake-boyfriend skills?” Evan asked.
“Pretty good,” Mia said. “I’d rate your skills asmyfake boyfriend as eight out of ten. But I’d rate your skills asReign’sboyfriend as ten out of ten.”
Evan winced. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine; I’m teasing you. It isn’t like we’re really dating.” Mia smiled, though there was a flicker of something real behind her eyes.
Her words struck Evan. He’d been enjoying pretending that Mia was his girlfriend today, but this was a reminder that they could never have a real relationship. Mia would expect him to completely put aside his work, because that was what all girlfriends and wives expected. Evan had seen Tyler reduce his hours, and Luka do the same after they got serious relationships, and their work had suffered. Even now, when he and Mia weren’t really dating, she’d successfully pulled him away from work more than once.
Rule One. No serious relationships.
“Right.” Evan turned his head away. “Come on. Let’s have another race.”
“Nowyou’re talking!” Mia stood on her pedals, putting on a burst of speed. “Let’s go!”
As Evan raced off after her, he couldn’t quite get the heavy feeling out of his heart. It wasn’t like hewanteda real relationship with Mia, not really, but some part of him did wish that it were at least possible.
CHAPTER 14
