Page 217 of Daddy, Take Me Away
Fakers
By Kara Kelley
Chapter One
Zoë
“Zoë Wayz is a determined, adventurous, badass, but you made her up. The real Zoë Wayz is basic, and nothing but a fake. And I started to think maybe I was fake too. So yeah, Mark Wanted More. I think I’ll trademark that.”
Those words run on a loop in my head as I give the man who looks too much like my ex-fiancé, a bleary-eyed blink. Having been up since 4 am, I am beyond travel-weary. And since this trip is actually supposed to be my honeymoon, I suppose it’s only natural that my ex-fiancé haunts me a little.
“Zoë? What are you doing here?”
My jaw tightens as I realize I’m not hallucinating. My ex is standing in front of me and seeing as I’m standing in the lobby of a resort five-thousand miles from my hometown, he definitely shouldn’t be.
Flattening my mouth as Mark’s hand touches my elbow, I move away from his reach.
“You’re not a hallucination, are you?” It’s not really a question, but I’m annoyed when he ignores it and keeps talking anyway.
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
Of course he didn’t, because I’m basic. Zoë, The Fake. And the fact that I’d been talking excitedly about coming to this resort since well before I even knew him must be fake as well.
This is supposed to be my fresh start. How can I start fresh if the person I’m trying to escape follows me?
“You didn’t think I’d come?” I repeat. It’s technically another question, but just like the one before, it doesn’t require an answer.
My ex scratches a patch of way-too-sporadic hair on his pointy chin and I narrow my eyes.
Can chin hair look like it’s trying too hard? And why does he look so awkward? I’m the one that should be uncomfortable. I didn’t dump his ass in front of his family.
“Yeah, uh, I really didn’t think you’d want to…” He pauses, looking around. “After everything.” He shrugs, as if the motion can shake off what he did. “If I thought you were going to actually be here…”
I look at my watch. It’s barely 10 am and that’s too early for this shit. Hell, 10 pm would be too early for it.
“We discussed this, Mark. You got the wedding, I got the honeymoon. So the correct question is, why are you here?” My words are hushed, betraying the quickly rising alarm inside me.
My fresh start includes a meeting with the owner of this resort, who I’ve been emailing and video chatting with for several months to make this happen. And getting an in-person meeting with Amadeo Pellegrino is like winning the lottery, so I cannot screw it up. Or rather Mark cannot screw it up for me.
“Well, I know we agreed to that, but…” Mark’s words trail off, or maybe I don’t hear the rest because I’m swept away by my imagination.
My brows shoot up. Could he have come all this way to beg for forgiveness? Was he here to grovel for me to take him back?
As satisfying, and vindicating, as that would be, there is no way in hell. Not even showing up on our honeymoon in some grand gesture will get me back. That bridge didn’t just burn, it exploded, incinerated to ash, and blew to another galaxy.
“I’m not taking you?—”
“Fiona’s here too.”
Record scratch. What?
Fiona walks up, looping her arms around Mark’s waist. “This place is amaze-balls.” Her eyes land on me. “Oh, Zo! You’re here!”
My heart pounds, blood rushing so loudly through me, it’s like the roar of a river and all I can hear. The edges of my vision are fading… blackness is closing in. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic, but seriously, how am I supposed to escape them when they follow me?
“I was a little worried when you didn’t answer my calls. I thought maybe you’d changed your plans.”
“I blocked your number for a reason, Fiona. And I’ve had this planned forever, long before it was going to be a honeymoon.”
