Page 53 of Things We Fake
“If Susanne’s parents are in New York, they’d better start checking out venues,” Carley said.
I swallowed hard. “Yeah. You’re sure Britt said we were engaged?”
“Damn straight,” Craig said. “So when’s the wedding? Got a ring?”
My eyes flicked to Sue’s finger and her grandmother’s ring.Shit.
I cleared my throat loudly. “Sure I got her a ring. It’s gorgeous, just like she is. We haven’t set a date yet. Let us enjoy the newness of it, will you?”
Craig relented. “Okay, okay, we’ll stop being nosy. For now. But after that article, keeping it private won’t work. Call Mom and Becky, by the way. They’re foaming at the mouth.”
“Will do. How was Japan?”
“Exhausting. I can’t wait to spend some family time and sleep for two days straight.”
I grinned. “I’ll leave you to it. Take care, both of you.”
“And congrats, Susanne,” Carley added warmly. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks,” Sue said in a choked whisper.
I ended the call and turned to her. All the blood had drained from her face. Even her lips were pale.
I reached for her hand. “Well, I didn’t expect Britt to tell everyone we’re engaged, but I feel we’re one step ahead of her. It was only a matter of time.”
She groaned. “Yeah, but talking to your family makes this fake engagement… real.”
I chuckled.
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. Next thing, Britt will tell everyone I’m pregnant, and my dad will break your kneecaps.”
I stood up and pulled her into my arms. Her hair smelled of strawberry shampoo and I buried my face in it. Her scent, her warmth were like a drug I never wanted to quit.
“Then you’ll have to take care of me and give me sponge baths,” I whispered.
The weird thing was, I wouldn’t mindthat one bit.
Chapter Seventeen
Sue
God, he smelled good! The warmth of his body and the feel of his hard muscles under my fingers sent my libido into overdrive. How could I keep my hands off him, my head clear and my story straight when his presence made my brain stutter?
“We’ll talk to your parents together this afternoon,” he said, his tone soft but sure. “We’ll get our story straight and tell them we’ve been dating for a while. I’m madly in love with you, I proposed last night, and they’ll believe it. Of course they will.”
A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I wasn’t sure what unnerved me more—how easily he spun the lie or how badly I wanted it to be true. I tried to dodge the implication. “I don’t know how we’ll pull this off so soon. And please tell me you weren’t serious about dinner with your brother and his wife. I’m not ready for that kind of performance yet.”
Cam leaned back just enough to look at me, his hands still warm against my arms. “Are you telling me that Fearless Sue who faced down a roomful of drunk Neanderthals watching porn is afraid of an engineer, awoman on crutches, a twelve-year-old, and a Boston terrier?”
I giggled. “Do any of them bite?”
“Only when provoked. But let’s not borrow trouble.”
I nodded and pulled out of his arms, reaching for my beer once more. He was right. We had to take things one day at a time.
“Looks like we’ve got to work on our story.” Cam started emptying the grocery bags for me to put away. “We should stick as close to the truth as possible—hence I was mostly honest about how we met. I stayed at Sebastian’s back at the beginning of December, so we could say that’s when it happened. I actually did see you that weekend. You came home with a guy. Arms full of gift bags. You were laughing about something he’d said. He thanked me for holding the door.”
“That was Phil, my cousin.” I stared at him, trying to picture the moment. “He and his wife came down for the Rockettes. That was before I got laser surgery on my eyes—I had my old glasses on, and they fogged up the second I walked in the door. I probably didn’t even see you.”
