Page 24 of The Match Faker

‘Don’t start obsessing over my manhood just yet, sweetheart. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf by not putting out on the first date, but if you play your cards right, I might make an exception.’ I grinned.

‘Ugh!’ Mia grimaced. ‘I’d rather lick vomit off a dirty pavement than go anywhere near your communal cock. You’re such an arrogant twat!’

‘Is that any way to talk to the man you want to save your bacon? If you want me to help you out, you’ll need to be a bit nicer.’

‘But it’s not just you who’ll be doing the favour,’ Trudy said calmly. Relief washed over Mia’s face and she sat back down.

‘Meaning?’ I cocked my head to the side.

‘Mia can help you too. Face it, Liam. Your reputation’s in the toilet. You want to move away from the clichéd action films, right? But no one’s taking you seriously because you keep falling out of nightclubs with different women. And you just fucked one of the most powerful men in Hollywood’s daughter, who posted pics of your love stick all over the internet…’

I froze. How the hell did she know about all that?

Okay, the whole world knew about the nightclubs and women, but how did she know Sunrise was behind the photos, or that I wanted to try different roles? That wasn’t public knowledge.

‘Go on.’ I swallowed hard and readjusted myself in the seat, trying to keep my cool.

‘So I’m saying it can’t hurt you to be seen to be in a serious relationship for a change. Having a beautiful British businesswoman on your arm for a couple of months could do you some good.’

‘I appreciate you thinking of me, but I’m not exactly short of offers. If I wanted a fake girlfriend, there’s a million other women I could choose. If I was desperate enough to hire a fake girlfriend, I’d pick someone who actually liked me.’

Geena had called again earlier to say she and Annalise had another prospect to set me up with that they thought would be a much better fit and would get back to me soon with more info. Just the thought of it made me want to vomit.

‘You reckon?’ Trudy said calmly. ‘If you picked someone who liked you, they’d end up falling in love or getting clingy, and let’s face it, you’re not a relationship kind of guy. That would get messy. And when you ended things, chances are they wouldn’t take it well. Imagine the headlines when they went to the press and dished the dirt on your arrangement?’

‘That’s what NDAs are for,’ I said quickly. If Annalise set me up with an actress, surely she and my legal team would sort that shit out.

‘They can only cover so much. There’s other ways you could get screwed over and you know it. With Mia, you know you can trust her. She’d have just as much to lose as you have.’

‘And the fact that we can’t stand each other is a bonus,’ Mia added. ‘I can categorically say that there’s zero chance of me ever liking you. It’d be business. Pure and simple. We date whilst you’re in London. Then once the competition’s over, we’d break up and you’d go back to LA. We can say the distance put a strain on our relationship or some crap like that.’

I took a second to mull it over. On the surface it was a terrible idea. It meant being tied to Mia for two long months. A prison stretch sounded more appealing. But they’d made some good points.

As much as Mia didn’t like me, I knew I could trust her. Probably more than some actress I didn’t know.

Being seen with Mia might not be such a bad thing. Despite her judgemental personality, she was smart and sensible. A world away from the women I normally dated, which could be beneficial. The fact that she was attractive didn’t hurt.

And if I was supposed to be with her, I’d definitely need to keep my dick in my pants. Dating different women was one thing. But a cheater? No way. Given my family history, being unfaithful, even in a fake relationship, was something I’d never do.

Plus it’d stop Geena and Annalise setting me up with whatever disgraced or wannabe actress they were in talks with.

Hmmm.

‘I’ll think about it.’ I picked up my drink, downed it in one, then stood up. ‘Gotta run, but feel free to stay and put your drinks on my tab. I’ll be in touch.’

Whilst Trudy smiled, Mia’s eyes bored into me.

But I didn’t care.

As I strolled out of the lounge, a smile touched my lips.

I’d told them I’d think about it, but I’d already made up my mind.

11

Mia

Itossed my door keys down on the hallway table, yanked off my heels and shook off my jacket.

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