Page 30 of The Fake Date Deal

She smiled. “Yeah, it was. But it was my sister’s idea. She said I should try it to get my feet wet, find some little place no one would know me. She meant more like an improv group or community theater, but when I picture myself acting, it’s always something funny. So a comedy club— Oh, shit. What’s that?”

I squinted up ahead, where she was looking. Around the next curve, the road arrowed south, a long, straight shot stretching for miles. A haze shimmered over the southern horizon, reflecting the backs of a line of parked cars.

Eve swore. “An accident.”

“Can you see it?”

“No, but why else would they be backed up this way?”

She pulled up at the end of the long traffic jam, and seeing people out of their cars, we got out as well. Eve called to a woman two cars up from ours.

“Hey, you know what’s happening?”

The woman glanced over. “Yeah, it’s a wreck. Two trucks in the road, one on top of the other. We’re not going anywhere till they’re cleared out.”

I rose up on tiptoes, trying to see. “We can’t get around?”

“There’s trees in the way. Well, trees on one side and rocks on the other. There’s no room to pass them. You’ll have to wait.”

I looked at Eve and saw she was smiling. I nudged her.

“Something funny?”

“Not funny, no.” She looked out at the fields and the forest beyond them, the rolling green country and the summer-blue sky. “It’s a nice day,” she said. “I brought food. Lemonade. I can think of worse things than an impromptu picnic. Let’s walk up a bit and see the situation, then we’ll come back here and have a bite.”

Seeing her smile, my frustration melted. We walked hand in hand up the line of parked cars. Some of the drivers were on their phones, others out waving theirs, looking for signals. One man was yelling into his headset, pacing up and down the shoulder, red in the face. He scowled when he saw us, and I steered us around him. A few cars beyond his, Eve stopped in her tracks. I stopped as well. I’d seen what she’d seen.

“Not good,” she said.

One truck had skidded and landed on its side, with its long trailer stretched across the road. The other had slammed into it, and its back had burst open. Couches and tables had come spilling out and tumbled everywhere. One of the drivers was trying to right them, fixing their plastic sheeting, checking for damage. The other was slumped with his head in his hands, shoulders hunched up, the picture of despair.

“At least they’re not hurt,” I said. “I should call my agent. I’m supposed to meet him today, but I don’t think I’ll make it.”

Eve’s lips went tight as I pulled out my phone. She turned away to hide it, and I felt guilty. Technically, I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I still felt… unworthy. Like she’d glimpsed my real self, and he’d let her down. I’d known from the start she’d never want me long-term, but now I kept thinking, what if she was right? What if women like her didn’t snub me for my background, or for my lack of royal pedigree? What if it was simpler? If it was just me? She deserved a real grown-up, someone smooth. Dignified. Someone whose past wouldn’t invite itself to dinner.

My agent didn’t answer, so I left him a message. By the time I got through, Eve was on her phone, letting our hotel know we were still coming. I’d never have thought of that. Immature, that was me. That was Rafael, too, the way he’d run off. I was no better than he was, at least not for Eve.

She frowned. “You okay?”

I jumped a little. I’d got so lost in thought I hadn’t seen her hang up. “Yeah, fine,” I said. And, yeah. I was. I’d never set out to be with Eve long-term. I was just tired. Tired and hungry. I needed some food in me, and I’d be fine.

We headed back to our car and Eve unpacked our picnic, laying out a long raincoat to serve as a blanket. She’d packed us thick sandwiches and tarts for dessert, and bottles of lemonade cold from the cooler.

“I know it’s been weird,” she said, as I bit into my sandwich.

I chewed and swallowed. “How do you mean?”

“Since the whole, y’know, Boobgate.” She nodded at my phone. “I want you to know, it’s not you. It’s me. The whole thing with Rafael, the way he left…”

Relief swept through me, and new understanding. “You thought he had someone else?”

Eve made a pained face. “It did cross my mind. I thought maybe the racing was just an excuse, and in a week, maybe two, he’d ‘meet’ someone ‘new.’” She made one-handed air quotes, still holding her sandwich. “I don’t think that’s it now, but the truth’s not much different.”

“How do you mean?”

“He didn’t leave me for someone else, but he left for something else. Something he valued more than me.” She grabbed her lemonade and twisted the cap off, a rough, angry gesture. Then, she let out a sigh. “We weren’t in love. He never knew me that well. But I still get that feeling, like I’m not good enough.”

I winced — hadn’t I just been thinking the same thing? I hated hearing her say it, knowing she felt it, someone like her, who deserved the whole world. She didn’t deserve to feel how I’d felt, all low and grubby and unworthy of love.

---