Page 76 of Love You Truly

“It didn’t matter. Even if there was a chance of us becoming closer friends, I wasn’t interested. I didn’t trust any of the girls in my class after enough of them said things behind my back that couldn’t have been farther from the truth.”

“I’m sorry,” he says.

It’s kind, but I don’t want him to feel sorry for me.

“I played my part in it. Especially after high school. I just let people think what they wanted to and eventually figured out how to make it work to my advantage.”

His brows quirk upward, and his eyes take on a new level of sparkle. “What do you mean.”

I bite my lip, unsure whether I want to let him in on what I’ve started to think of as my superpower.

Turning to assess what Dash seems to think of me after what I’ve confessed, I see only sympathy in his eyes. And curiosity. Not judgment.

“Sometimes…it’s useful to flirt and let men think that if they discuss business with me or let me ask some questions, they’ll get something out of it—sexually.”

“And you give them nothing.”

Again, no judgment.

I shake my head.

Dash nods. “Fucking brilliant. I wish I could flirt my way to business success.”

I want to tell him that he damn near has. That I wouldn’t be here right now posing as his fake wife if he wasn’t so good at what he does. Only in his case, he’s not a tease. He’s just a really good-looking guy who happens to be offering something I need.

“So there you have it. High school was pretty forgettable, if you can imagine. But I guess it got me where I am today, so I can’t really complain.”

I feel finished with the conversation, but I can see the wheels turning in Dash’s head. He has more questions I don’t feel like answering, not after I just feel like I exposed my poker hand and don’t have another ace in the hole.

So I turn the tables. “How about you? Tell me about high school Dash.”

His eyes float upward as though he can see a video playback on the ceiling. I’m tempted to look there as well, but it’s too much fun to look at his face instead. He nods and smiles.

“Like I said, I had a good time.”

I watch as he tries to suppress a bigger smile and roll my eyes. “Of course you did. What were you, captain of the football team, dating the head cheerleader. And all her friends? At the same time?” I watch as his guilty smile tells me I’m spot-on.

“I had a good time,” he says quietly, which makes me laugh.

“Yeah, I can imagine.”

“It was high school.”

“And from what I heard, many years long after that.” I’m saying what we both know to be true. At least, I think so.

I expect him to smile and laugh along with me since we’re in agreement about his shenanigans. It’s public knowledge around this town, and we’ve both lived here since high school. No secrets anywhere.

Instead, his smile fades and his eyes lose some of their sparkle. It’s like the bright midday sun foiled by a fast-moving cloud. Maybe it will clear just as quickly as it came. I wait. The sun doesn’t return.

“Everything okay?” Sitting up now, I swivel to look at him more squarely.

He nods.

“Liar.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Oh, now we’re really back in high school. Or more like grade school.”

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