Page 32 of Tied Up in Riches

“Didn’t you tell her you have a ticket already?”

“She’s throwing a fit about it being a two-way ticket. I’m actually surprised that Beau sprung for a round-trip.”

“Round-trip and no first class. How confusing,” Lexy says, and I’m definitely confused.

I’m too curious to bite my tongue. “What is going on?”

Brooke starts to speak, but Lexy cuts her off. “Brooke’s waste of space ex thinks he can blackmail her to come back.”

To him or to Connecticut, I wonder. “Sounds like someone with an ulterior motive.”

“Always.” Brooke groans, and I’m even more confused.

“So, you let him buy you a ticket . . . why?” I’m taken aback by my uncharacteristic nosiness. Fucking hell, I need to stay out of it.

“Trust me. It was easier this way. Plus it gets my mom off my back.”

I’m not quite following her logic, but it seems to make sense to her.

“Hopefully she’ll be satisfied once she sees you. Then let you go without a fuss because you just got here, and I’m not ready to lose you yet,” Lexy whines.

That makes two of us.

“Doubtful, but maybe. It’s so draining just thinking about going. The entire trip all she’s going to do is force me toward Beau. Or try to set me up with some other snobby rich guy from the country club.” Seriously, what does she have against rich guys?

“Ugh, I’m sorry, babe. Can’t you tell her you have a boyfriend?”

“She’ll know I’m lying. She might be awful, but she’s still my mom. She knows me that well. I’d need too good of a story.”

Lexy searches the ceiling as if it’ll give her an idea, the two of them having a conversation like I’m not here at all. She snaps her fingers. “I’ve got it.”

“I’m listening.” Brooke chuckles, but it’s sad.

“The book we picked for next week.”

“What about it?”

“It’s fake dating.”

“Yeah . . .”

“That’s the solution.”

“Ha. Yeah, let me just find some guy in the next week and ask him to pretend to be in a relationship with me on the other side of the country. No flaws at all with that idea.”

Narrowing her eyes and biting into her lip in concentration, Lexy focuses as if it’s enough to create said man out of thin air. Another snap of her fingers. “Marcus.”

“What?” I drop into the conversation.

“No. You’re the answer.”

“Excuse me?” I say at the same time Brooke laughs.

“Yes! This is perfect. You already know he’s not a creeper. He’s a great people person.”

This time I’m the one to laugh.

“Okay, well maybe you don’t like it, but you’re good at it when you have to be. And when you’re around people you’re comfortable with. And I mean, Brooke is your employee, soooooo.”

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