Page 66 of Not That Into You

“It’s also my father.”

I scrunch my nose in confusion and distaste.

“He doesn’t take me seriously. And if you run off...” Cameron shakes his head. “He’ll assume it’s my fault. It’ll just be further evidence I’m a fickle playboy. Unreliable.”

I sigh heavily. “Cameron...”

“You agreed to be my fake girlfriend for the entire weekend, Monica. I’m paying you for the whole weekend.”

My nostrils flare. “I know.”

“So cut the crap.” He crosses his arms. “What’s really going on here?”

“You want to continue doing this? Us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to show my parents I’m serious. That I can commit.”

“We can tell them I had to leave because I had a work crisis.”

“No.”

I growl with frustration. Why is he being so stubborn? “You want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

I study his determined expression, then cross my arms and raise my brows. “Then pull your head out of your ass.”

His eyes go wide. “What?”

“Maybe this is how you treat women you date, but it’s not cool.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You have to respect me.”

He throws up his hands. “Are you kidding? I respect you. How have I not respected you?”

“Cameron, come on. Our relationship may be fake, but as far as everyone here knows, we’re dating. I’m your girlfriend. Yet you flirted with Vanessa in front of everybody last night, and now you’re having a cozy breakfast, just the two of you. How do you think that looks? Your mother would like nothing more than to see you dump me for Vanessa, and you’re feeding that fantasy. You’re making me look foolish.”

“Monica . . .” He looks away with a frown and then looks back. “I’m not pursuing Vanessa.”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is it looks like you are, and that’s disrespectful to me.”

He sighs heavily and runs a hand through his hair, frowning. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair of me. I just...” He takes a deep breath. “It’s complicated.”

My stomach drops. I knew there was something going on. “Seems pretty simple to me.”

He huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, okay. It’s not that complicated.” He frowns. “I have been paying extra attention to Vanessa, and yeah, maybe I’ve been laying on the charm. But not for the reasons you think.”

I snort, ignoring the queasiness rising in my stomach.

He holds up his hands. “Promise. I’m not trying to get in her pants. But last night she mentioned her mother is Kathryn Levitan.”

“Not Threadstone?”

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