Page 20 of Lessons in Faking
I only vaguely noticed the recognition on Henry’s face when I sneaked a peek behind the heavenly smile in frontof me. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one surprised to hear that laugh.
“You do that often?” I wondered, eyes shifting back to McCarthy.
He winked, and it was a shame Henry stood behind him. “Only with you.”
“You should know your girlfriend isincrediblyfunny. There’s no need for fake laughs.” My eyes narrowed, and I leaned across the small table to emphasize my point. To make sure Henry couldn’t interpret this any other way.
McCarthy gasped in surprise, laughed, and then shook his head. All in all, he was playing the part as if his life depended on it. And I was unironically thankful for it.
“How come my fake laugh is so well-practiced, then?” The accusatory tone in his voice made me crack a smile as he leaned on the table as well.
“Your other girlfriends must’ve been tools.” I shrugged, making sure to break eye contact only for a second, and only because I knew the ringing of the bell above the door had announced Henry’s departure, even before I saw him walk off through the window. No coffee cup in hand, aggravation lacing his steps.
My gaze fell back to McCarthy, a sense of accomplishment radiating through me. His brown eyes were close enough for me to make out their different shades. His face, close enough to notice the minty scent of his gum lingering in the little air left between us.
He wasclose. And he must’ve realized at the same time.
“What are your favorite flowers?” As he asked thequestion, he sat back. The unbothered, well-rehearsed look on his face was back on full display, and I was sure he knew Henry had left without so much as a glance over his shoulder.
“Why?”
“As your boyfriend, I feel I should know.”
“What makes you think I have favorite flowers?” I asked, relaxing into my chair.
“Come on,” he teased, as if it was obvious. He gestured me up and down once. “You’re abillionaire’s daughter. You simply must have favorite flowers.” The concept seemed amusing to him.
“And you’re a millionaire’s son,” I challenged. “What areyourfavorite flowers?”
McCarthy shrugged. “My mother’s are lilies.” I took that to mean his were too.
I looked at Daisy’s bouquets across my shoulder for inspiration. Roses, sunflowers, peonies, daisies, orchids. Eventually, I sighed as I turned back. “Tulips, I guess.”
He pondered my answer. One look, and he probably spotted the bouquet of pale pink tulips, just like I had. “Least favorite?” His gaze shifted to me again. “Which should’ve been my first question, actually.”
“Nowthat’san answer I can give you.” Because picking favorites was... hard. Figuring out the pros and cons of so many good things, only to find thebest. Knowing what you disliked, however, was as easy as falling asleep after pulling an all-nighter. It came naturally. Quick, like an instinct you followed. “Red roses.”
Chapter 10
Henry skipped our Accounting lecture, which I thought was childish. Then again, it meant the plan was working. As a result, I had a bounce in my step and a smile on my face for most of the day. Even if I wasn’t speaking to my brother, at least I knew he was thinking about me. I hadn’t been this certain about that since our parents died.
I could tell by the look that washed over him when he spotted me in the hall. The way his head whipped in the opposite direction before I even really looked at him. He was on his way home, I was on my way to McCarthy’s tutorial, and that fact probably wasn’t lost on him.
Divine intervention or a simple coincidence? When McCarthy’s head popped out of his TA office before I even reached it, I said a silentThank you.
The hallway was long, though the door to McCarthy’s office was barely ten feet from where my and Henry’s paths would cross. The light-beige walls were peppered with doors to my left and windows to my right. Between everywindow, the bust of some historically important person was placed on a slim, wooden podium, and I thought Henry might walk into President Abraham Lincoln himself, with the way he eagerly avoided my gaze.
“Pressley!”
I wasn’t used to my arrangement with McCarthy just yet, and the friendliness of his tone caught me off guard. As Henry’s gaze shot toward him, it seemed he wasn’t familiar with the sound either. Though, when someone called your name, it was second nature; you’d check, right?
The look that passed between the two could’ve frozen lava.
McCarthy raised his hand and gave me a lazy smile. One that hopefully said,Oh, my girlfriend, I’m so glad to see you.
“Would you look at that,” I muttered, as I sidled past him into the tiny office. “You can actually sound like a decent human being when you try.” He shut the door behind me with a thud, gesturing to the uncomfortable chair.
“You’d be surprised how kind and generous I can be when you’re not around.”
