Page 61 of Pretend Girlfriend

Everyone cheered as I spiked the phone on the ground like a football. That explains how I cracked it.

I handed Austin back his phone. “See? You made me do it!”

“You are a strong adult woman who can make her own decisions. All I did was give you a little friendly encouragement,” he replied smoothly.

“You dared a drunk girl at a wedding. That’s basically like shoving a toddler into traffic.”

Austin chuckled. “No, it’s not.”

I gave his shoulder a shove. “I was drunk and you fucked up my life!”

He shook his head slowly. “The way I see it, I did you a favor.”

“Excuse me?”

“You said it yourself: you wanted to quit that job, even if you didn’t have the DefTec position lined up. You knew what you needed to do, but didn’t have the guts to do it. So I gave you a little push. Not a push into traffic, but a push in the right direction. Just like you gave me a push before the wedding when I was acting like a fool.”

I let out an annoyed noise. This guy thought he was actually helping me?

“Look on the bright side: now you get to go to Jamaica!” Austin added.

“I don’t want to go to Jamaica! That means keeping up the charade for another week! Around the clock!”

Austin shrugged. “Then tell Mrs. Cozart you can’t go. I don’t care.” He pointed a finger at me. “But you’ll see that quitting your job was the right thing. Eventually, you’ll thank me.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“About most stuff? You’re right. But I’m not wrong about this.” He sniffed the air. “Say, did they have pancakes in there? There’s a hole in my stomach about a mile deep.”

“I’m going to bribe the chef to spit in your food.”

Austin chuckled as I walked away. “A little spit’s not going to stop me, sweetheart.”

When I got back to our table in the dining room, my plate was gone. “What happened? I didn’t eat anything!”

“They must have taken it away while I was getting seconds,” Landon said. “I’m sorry.”

I leaned forward until my head was resting on the table. “I quit my job last night.”

“Oh, shit. Seriously?”

“Austin dared me to do it. It’s all on video.”

“Can you call your boss and explain it was a mistake?” Landon asked.

“Considering I told him to suck my dick? Probably not.” I groaned. “I need someone to waterboard me with coffee.”

“That’s still here!” Landon said, pushing my coffee mug across the table. “Here. I’ll get you another plate of food.”

I gave him a grateful smile. “Have we said the L-word yet? Because if not, I would definitely say I love you right now.”

“We’ve only been fake-dating two months,” he whispered. “I usually don’t drop the L-bomb until three months into the fake relationship.”

I sipped my coffee as he went back up to the buffet. Landon was a funny guy when he wasn’t taking himself so seriously. And when he wasn’t blackmailing me.

“It’s all settled,” Danicka said, suddenly at my side again. “Your ticket is booked. You have to come, now!”

“I don’t know…” I said.

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