Page 44 of The Match Faker

I grabbed the washcloth and swiped it off. This cleanser was good.

‘All gone!’ I declared triumphantly as I returned to the office.

‘Cool. Feel better now?’

‘Much. Thanks again.’ I sat back on the sofa.

‘It was nothing.’ He waved his hand dismissively. ‘What made you… you know, get that done?’

My throat went dry. This was awkward.

‘I… I wanted to look nice. I didn’t want to get papped again looking like shit.’

‘What? You never look shit. In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve always looked’—he paused, his eyes meeting mine—‘good.’

Liam Stone thought I looked good? That was a revelation.

‘Come on.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘Even with my awful thick black glasses?’ For a couple of years in my teens I used to wear glasses and I hated them because they were so ugly. But it was all my mum and dad could afford.

‘Even with your adorable black glasses.’

Liam held my gaze.

‘Oh,’ was the only word I could muster.

I was still trying to process what he’d said. Had he liked me back then? Before, I would’ve said that was a hard no. But now, now I was questioning everything I thought I knew about him.

‘So.’ He broke the silence. ‘Rain check on dinner?’

‘Okay.’

My heart sank. Surprisingly, the last hour or however long it’d been with Liam hadn’t been horrible.

Plus I hated that he’d got dressed up and I’d wasted his time.

Maybe a rain check was for the best. I was tired, so wouldn’t be great company, and I wasn’t even sure if my dress would fit over my head.

‘You free Monday night?’

‘Yeah,’ I said a little too quickly.

‘Great.’ Liam stood up to leave. ‘It’s a date.’

18

Liam

Irubbed my eyes. I hadn’t slept well since Friday night. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mia.

Not in a sexual way. Yeah, she was pretty, but like I’d said from the start, I was never gonna go there. I just felt bad, that was all.

Ever since we’d agreed to this fake-dating thing, I hadn’t given enough thought to the impact this could have on her.

Sure, I’d warned her about the paps, but I hadn’t been explicit about the toll it could take on you mentally if you weren’t fully prepared.

I was used to the scrutiny, and most of the time I didn’t give a fuck what they said.

They didn’t really comment negatively on my appearance. When they objectified me, I just took it in my stride. But the press weren’t so kind to the women I was papped with. They always had something to say about their clothes, hair and make-up. And when you weren’tused to that scrutiny, it could screw with your self-esteem. So seeing Mia’s face covered in make-up and her hair like that worried me.

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