Page 13 of Lessons in Faking
In a magical turn of events, he wasn’t the last person I wanted to see. He was exactly who Ineeded, sent not out of spite, but as my one-way ticket to Revengeville. And if it meant I had my brother’s attention for a little while longer, who’d complain? Certainly not me.
“That seems dangerous.” His words drew my gaze back to him, only noticing the sly smile on my lips when McCarthy pointed it out. Literally. His finger circled my grin a safe distance away when he added, “I’ve never seen you smile like that, Pressley. It’s terrifying.”
“Good.” I turned toward him, considering all my options carefully. The entire plan was still forming in my head, and once the words were out, I couldn’t take them back. “I have a proposition.”
“I’m listening.” McCarthy’s brow rose with interest. “What has thatmarvelousbrain of yours produced this time?”
My body deflated with a groan, gleaming eyes narrowing into a glare. “If that’s a reference to my statistics skills—”
He cut me off with a snort, his head tilting slightly. “Skills?”
It was easy to forget how infuriating the guy opposite me was. With his thick, dark hair and the hint of a dimple working its way into his cheek, it was almost like that was the point.
“You know what—” I was close to dropping the whole thing, but his hands shot up in mocked defeat.
“All right, all right.” Amusement still played in his features. “I’ll admit it, I’m interested to know what’s going on in that little—” He cut himself off at my reinforced glare, clearing his throat “—in thatverybig brain of yours. Spill.”
Despite the urge to abandon my plan, I saw it through.
“I know you deeply despise my brother,” I began, still not quite sure how to go about my proposal.
No way back now.
McCarthy huffed. “Masterful deduction.”
“Well, I present you: The one thing that’ll show him just how much you really do.”
Chapter 7
I regretted asking as soon as his lips had split into a wide, victorious grin.
“If you wanted to take me out this badly, you could’ve just asked, Pressley.”
“Can you...not?” I muttered, suppressing a groan. “If I wanted to go out with you, I’d be going out with you.”
A challenging smile deepened the dimple in his cheek. Despite the self-assured grin, his mouth remained closed, just how I liked it. Though, in this situation, some feedback would’ve been appreciated.
“So.” Still awaiting an answer, I brought us back on track. “What do you—?”
“Yes.” It was almost like he couldn’t get the words out fast enough now. The amusement on his face disappeared, leaving the hint of a grin behind.
“Yes?” My brow creased, anxious at the gunshot of an answer.
He simply repeated himself. “Yes.”
I’d expected to do some groveling to strike a deal with him. AYou’ll do this for me and I’ll do that for youkind of thing. What I didn’t expect was a yes. Quick and precise, no bullshit. I wasn’t used to it from McCarthy.
I studied him. With his head turned to me, arms propped on the backrest of the bench and both brows raised as he waited for my next words, it was hard to believe I’d just asked him to be my boyfriend.
A fake one, yes. But a boyfriend nonetheless.
The breeze had his brown hair in constant motion and indifference laced every part of him. Ayawnescaped his lips.
This was too easy.
“What?” His head tilted slightly. “I said yes.”
“I heard that.” I snickered half-heartedly. I was focused on finding something in his demeanor that revealed the lie. Stalling for time until he’d break into a fit of laughter because I’d actually believed him. Neither happened. “Why?”
