Page 41 of Things We Fake
“I’m so sorry. If I’d known she’d be here…” He exhaled, jaw still tense. “Are you okay?”
I drained the last of my wine in one go, set the glass down carefully, and leaned back in my chair. “Well, you did say this evening would be entertaining.”
His brows shot up. Maybe he’d expected tears, or a scene. Or me running out and flagging a cab with one shoe in hand.
I gave him a crooked smile. “I’m fine, Cam. Honestly. She’s a Rorschach test in lipstick.”
Cam burst out laughing, scrubbing a hand over his face. “You really are something else.” He exhaled slowly. “As you probably guessed, she’s… well, I’m not proud to say it now, but that was my ex-fiancée.”
“No kidding. I figured it out when my gag reflex kicked in.”
“How do you know her?”
I smirked. “Her parents had a summer place in Warwick. She spent a few teenage years gracing us with her royal presence.” I sipped my wine. “I was maybe fourteen the first time I met her. I caught her kissing my boyfriend once. I dumped the guy and put her on my eternal enemies list.”
Cam winced. “I don’t blame you. She’s… not very likeable.”
“So what exactly did you see in her?”
He leaned back, expression sheepish. “You know how people always say not to judge a book by its cover? Yeah, I did the opposite. Back then, she was charming, sweet—even generous. She had this way of making you feel like the center of the universe. But then her dad passed away, the money started drying up, and something just snapped. Greed took over. And once she realized I couldn’t bankroll the princess lifestyle she wanted, the magic wore off real quick. Now she loves things more than she could ever love people.”
I tilted my head. “So you’re not tempted to let her... show you around New York?”
His face twisted like he’d bitten into something sour. “Hell no. I meant what I said. That chapter of my life is closed, locked, and set on fire.”
“She really hurt you, didn’t she?”
He looked away for a moment. “Yeah. Enough that I stopped trusting what I felt. Took a long time to crawl out of that.”
I wanted to ask how long, exactly. Still crawling? Already healed? Just starting to peek out of the hole? But I didn’t. Pressure was the last thing this man needed.
Instead, I leaned into humor. “Well, for what it’s worth, you make a fantastic fake boyfriend. I mean, you nearly upgraded us to engaged. Very convincing.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “A guy will fake his own death to get away from a crazy ex. This was nothing.”
The waiter interrupted our laughter as he arrived with the next course.
“Thank you,” I said, inhaling the rich aroma. “This looks amazing.”
As the waiter glided away, I leaned across the table, voice low. “You really went all in with that declaration of love. I’m impressed.”
He shrugged modestly. “It felt right.”
“You nearly had us engaged by dessert,” I teased, lifting my wineglass. “But I appreciate your gallantry. It’s still a thing, you know—single women over thirty are required to justify their unmarried status to the court of public opinion.”
“Which is stupidly sexist.”
“Agreed.” I glanced around and lowered my voice even further. After Britt’s scene, the diners around us were still paying too much attention to us. “Some of these eavesdroppers might be friends of The Red Witch, so it’s best we talk about this later.”
He nearly choked on his wine. “The Red Witch?”
“I couldn’t think of anything more creative on short notice,” I whispered. “But let’s be honest—it fits. She’s like one of those evil characters in movies, the ones that you keep on killing and they never die. I doubt that will be her last foray into the battle, but we won this round, so let’s celebrate.”
Cam squeezed my hand. “I’m so sorry you got dragged into all that. I wasn’t expecting a showdown with my ex tonight. Are you sure you want to stay? We can get the rest of the food to go.”
I frowned. “No way. She’s not going to ruin the best meal I’ve ever had and watch us leaving with our foil swans and our tails tucked between our legs.”
His expression warmed, a soft smile curving his lips. “Is it really the best meal you’ve ever had?”
