Page 59 of The Match Faker

‘Yes, I am,’ I said as calmly as I could. ‘I’m sure he’d love to be there. I’d just need to check his diary.’

‘We can change the time to suit him or come at the weekend?’

She seemed more interested in meeting Liam than interviewing me. That had to work in my favour, though, right? Having a high-profile ‘boyfriend’ on top of my matchmaking record hopefully meant I had a good chance.

‘I’ll ask him and get back to you ASAP.’

‘Great! We really feel it’s beneficial to conduct these interviews with the nominee’s partner present, so we can get a feel for your relationship and values. A great matchmaker isn’t just someone who brings other people together. They know how to build a strong relationship within their own lives too. After all, you wouldn’t trust a plumber to fix your sink if he had a leaking tap in his own house!’ She laughed loudly.

I disagreed. You could still be a great matchmaker and be single. But the objective wasn’t to be besties with Susie. It was to win the competition.

‘I understand,’ I said diplomatically. ‘Leave it with me.’

‘Great! Look forward to hearing from you.’

‘Speak soon.’ I hung up.

I blew out a breath. If they wanted to meet next Monday, I needed to check Liam was free, then double down on the preparation.

There was no going back now.

We needed to ace this interview.

My future depended on it.

22

Liam

‘Congrats!’ Geena chirped. ‘You’ve been papped with the same woman twice!’

‘Very funny,’ I groaned as I sat on the shitty sofa.

‘At least this time she didn’t have her hand up her butt and you looked respectable. Well, you looked like you were ready to take her to bed, but what’s the deal with this Mia chick? Annalise needs to know if she’s gonna have to deal with another kiss-and-tell while she’s trying to negotiate this set-up for you. Being seen with another woman isn’t helping.’

‘No. I told you: she’s an old friend. I trust her. We have’—I almost said we had an agreement. Then I reminded myself that I wasn’t going to tell Geena or Annalise anything about our fake relationship—‘a connection.’

‘Is that what you’re calling sex these days?’

‘We haven’t slept together.’

‘You’re joking, right? When I saw that photo, I expected a follow-up story to drop with you two banging on the sidewalk. You two do not look like people who are not about to get busy.’

‘So anyway, I don’t need Annalise to set me up with anyone. Mia and I… we’re… together.’

Silence.

‘For real?’

‘Like I said, we’re dating. This isn’t a one-night thing. It’s more serious than that.’ At least all of that was true.

‘Well, shit!’ Geena laughed. ‘Never thought I’d see the day! Okay, honey. I’ll speak to Annalise.’

‘Any news on that role?’

‘I told you: I’ll let you know if I do. How’s training going?’

‘Good. I’m ready for the shoot.’

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