Page 9 of (Not Really) Faking It With My Best Friend's Brother

I walked out of the cafeteria and found an empty room. I dropped my head into my hands. What a mess. I had to come clean to Susan before Tiffany spread the word all over town. I couldn't let Susan be blindsided like that. She'd be humiliated.

My phone suddenly felt heavy in my pocket. Hopefully, she'd forgive my temporary lapse in judgment. With a deep breath, I pulled out my phone. It was time to face the music. I scrolled to Susan's name in my contacts with a swipe of my thumb. My finger hovered over the call button as nerves twisted my stomach.

Just do it. Rip off the band-aid.

I tapped the button and brought the phone to my ear. It rang once, twice, three times as I held my breath.

"Hello?" Susan's soft voice greeted me.

"Hey Susan, it's Nate," I started, cringing at the awkwardness already seeping into my tone.

“Nate, what's up?" She sounded surprised to hear from me.

Come on, man. Just explain.

"So funny story..." I attempted to say lightly.

Okay, not a great start.

I cleared my throat. "Remember how Tiffany saw us meeting for coffee the other evening? Well, she just cornered me at the hospital, demanding to know why we were together. I might have panicked and told her that we are engaged."

Silence. My palms started to sweat. Come on, Susan, say something.

“You did what?” She finally gasped. Shock colored her voice. "Why would you say that?"

I sighed, the weight of my rash decision hitting me. "I don't know. She caught me off guard, and I just blurted it out. I'm sorry to drag you into this mess. I'll tell her the truth if you want me to."

Susan paused, and I could almost hear the gears turning in her brilliant mind.

"No, it's okay," she said slowly. "We can pretend for a little while, can't we? I would have loved to have seen the look on Tiffany’s face. Plus, it might be fun to have people think I could actually have a love life for once and be part of such a secretive, scandalous scheme." She chuckled softly.

Relief washed over me. “Well, it is definitely pretty scandalous. And I am sure the whole town will be watching us."

“Yeah. I’m not making any promises on how this is going to play out. I am awkward on a real date, much less a pretend relationship that has been going on for how long?” She let out a nervous breath.

“Three months,” I drug out the words, unsure what had caused me to say it had been that long, even though any less would have been more ridiculous than the whole thing already was. “You're sure you're okay with this?"

"I suppose so. I mean, how hard can it be to make the entire town believe that we have been secretly dating for three months, fell in love, and got engaged." I could feel her voice shaking through the phone.

“Thanks, Susan. I need to get back to work, but I’ll text you tomorrow.” We said our goodbyes and hung up.

As I put my phone back in my pocket and headed to my next appointment, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe something real could emerge from beneath the tangled web of lies.

"Who would've thought?" I mused to myself, shaking my head at this unexpected turn of events. "Susan Phillips, my fake fiancée.”

Chapter five

Susan

My hands moved with practiced ease, sorting through returned books while my thoughts strayed to Nate and the tangled web we'd inadvertently woven together.

"Tiffany must be taking a crash course in gossip journalism," I muttered under my breath, still reeling from how quickly news of our pretend relationship had spread. I knew I was going to get bombarded with questions after lunch when Frances came on shift.

"Ah, Susan! Just the person I was looking for." Grace Harper's voice cut through my thoughts like an errant sunbeam. She sashayed towards me, her colorful scarf fluttering behind her like a flag of impending meddling. "I'm in the mood for a new romance novel. Any recommendations?"

"Sure, Grace." I set down the book I was holding and selected a book from a nearby shelf. "How about something by Tara Robertson? She's always a popular choice."

"Ah, yes, Tara Robertson," she said thoughtfully, her eyes twinkling with curiosity. "Speaking of romance, I've heard some interesting news lately about you and Dr. Dreamy. Is it true?"

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