Page 98 of Resorting to Romance

Mila

The hardest part of parenting is trying to be fake mad

when your kid does something bad but hilarious.

~ Unknown

Finally, Kai and I found a day when we can both get away at the same time. Noah’s in the main room waiting for his ride to pick him up. Chloe’s sitting with her legs tucked up under her on my bed, and I’m randomly throwing items of clothes out onto the mattress to see if they’re what I want to wear.

“Chloe, you should have seen him. He was so … just sotherefor me.”

I’m rehashing the night Kai showed up to serve me ice cream while I melted down over Brad meeting Noah.

I haven’t told Chloe about the hardware store kiss for obvious reasons.

“I’ve been watching, Mila. Kai’salwaysthere for you. Remind me why you’re so dead set on resisting this man.”

“I can’t talk about that right now. He’ll be here in an hour. Let’s put a pin in that.”

“Okay. Consider it pinned. And consider me the woman you’ve always known me to be.”

“You’re not dropping it.” I set another blouse on the bed, hold the last one up to me and raise my eyebrows, silently asking Chloe her opinion.

“Too formal. Isn’t he just taking you to the beach? And why are you stressing about what to wear if you two are so fake?”

“I’m just … I don’t know. That’s part of the pinned conversation too. Okay?”

“Not by a long shot. We’re having tea one night after Noah’s in bed—soon. And by tea, I mean tea. The tea you’ll be spilling. All. The. Tea, Mila.”

“Okay. It’s a deal. But now can you help me pick out an outfit? I just need to get dressed.”

Chloe purses her lips and raises her brows as if I’m transparent—as if there’s more to this time I’m about to spend with Kai than us figuring out our stories so we can convince his family we’re real during Kalaine and Bodhi’s wedding. And also so we can continue to convince Brad we’re real. All of those reasons seem misty and vague right now. Meaningless and trite. This fake romance has taken on a life of its own like a runaway horse pulling a carriage across a dirt road full of ruts. I can’t get my bearings anymore and I’m being jostled so hard I’m no longer sure if I’ll be upended or survive the ride.

“Anyway, as I was saying, Kai needs a fake date for the wedding. So I’m it. His parents already think I’m his girlfriend.”

Chloe laughs. “You’re so used to this now. It’s like pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes but mine is no big deal to you anymore. Are you the same girl who tattled on Jeremy Stein for copying one answer on our math test in sixth grade?”

I am that girl.

“I don’t know, Chloe. You’re right. It’s become too easy to pretend—to deceive people. It’s so complicated. How did I even get here? And now …”

“Now you went and caught real feelings,” she finishesfor me.

“Yes-ish. Sort of. That’s under the pin too.”

“This pin is getting pretty darn overloaded. Do I need to rent a yurt on the backside of the island and steal you away for a weekend so you can bring me up to speed?”

“Can’t. It’s the beginning of high season. I barely managed to take this afternoon off, as you know.”

I hold up another shirt and Chloe stands, marching over to my closet and thumbing through a few things. “Here,” she says, handing me a gauzy blouse that’s not too formal, but isn’t schleppy either.

“Kai saved me, Chloe. He saved me on more than one occasion. When you think of it, he’s been saving me for years in small ways.”

“Yep. Bonafide mouth to mouth.” Chloe wags her eyebrows suggestively and then cracks up at her own joke.

“Stahhhhp.” I scold her while my mind unhelpfully recalls the actual mouth to mouth episode from last week. “All I’m saying is he deserves me to be the best fake girlfriend ever at the wedding. And I will be.”

“Pin,” Chloe says. “So, so much under that pin.”

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