Page 31 of Her Fake Mate

She’d give them hell. They probably wouldn’t like her at first. But eventually, they would. Mia operates like that.

In a way, the fact that it’s their advice that turned the narrative around her in my head is them meeting her. My parents said that when I met my mate, I would know.

I didn’t know right away, for sure. But I definitely know now.

I park the truck, and I’m about to unload some of the timber when I pause.

Something seems… off.

I wish Mia had a phone. I make a mental note to get one for her, then I hear the screen door slam closed and the creak of someone on their little cabin porch.

I round the truck, hoping that it’s Mia, but I pause once I see who is standing there.

It’s Josh.

“Hey, man. Is your sister around?”

“No.”

Oh, boy. This is how we’re going to do this? “Okay. Do you know where she went?”

“What did you do to her?”

Shit. How does he know? I sigh and walk away from the truck. “Listen, Josh, I… I really care about your sister.”

I love her so much that it feels weird. Like I wasn’t living a full life before I met her. Like loving her is some kind of rock, and my whole world now revolves around it.

He’s unmoved. He glares at me, his eyes flashing yellow. “So?”

“So, I’d like to know where she went because I want to talk to her about something.”

“No.”

This is getting annoying. However, I remember being his age. I remember how it felt to have a chip on my shoulder so big, it felt like the whole world was just sitting there, weighing me down.

Instead of snarling at him and ordering him to tell me where Mia is, I take a deep breath.

“Can you tell me why you’re just saying no, instead of being helpful?”

“Because I don’t want you to know where she is,” he says plainly.

I have to give it to him. Honesty seems to really be working for him here. I nod, respecting the choice. “That’s fair.”

“Good. So leave, then.”

“Not gonna do that, Josh.”

“Why?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “This argument is getting circular. I care about Mia. You care about Mia. Why don’t we work on the same team here, and I can help you, and you can help me. We’ll both be honest about where she is and go from there. How does that sound?”

Josh shuffles on his feet.

The hair on the back of my neck stands up. Something’s wrong. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why?”

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