Page 54 of The Roommate Lie

My brilliant plan hasplot holes.

I’m pretty sure Lydia can see them too. Her face is a roller coaster of emotions, her expression shifting from excitement to disappointment to confusion. “You want to trick the Victorian? By fake dating Charlie?”

Now it sounds even worse. Like I have some kind of ulterior motive. As if maybe I was the rake all along.

“It’s just so he doesn’t lose out on that job he wants. The Victorian is waiting for him to do something scandalous, so we’re going to give her a love story instead. Something wholesome and sweet.”

Explaining it more doesn’t help. I can’t believe this was my idea. It feels paper thin. If I put it in a book, my readers would tear it apart.

I can’t tell what Lydia’s thinking. Her face is unreadable until a tiny smile teases her lips. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

“You do?”

She nods. “Fake dating Charlie is going to work like a charm. What could go wrong?”

Everything. But I keep those doubts to myself. “You really don’t mind? You aren’t…Charlie’s not your type either?”

Lydia shakes her head and tells me the same thing he’s been saying this entire time. About how they’re like family and there’s never been anything more between them.

“Fake date your hearts out,” she says. “It’s totally fine.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. Lydia pulls her dark blonde hair into a ponytail and sits down on the couch with Cookie. I should probably let her relax after her long day at work, but one last question is bothering me, at least when it comes to Charlie.

“What’s the deal with his reputation? Why do so many people dislike Charlie?”

I’ve seen the looks he gets, especially from the women at book club. How can so many people not realize how great he is?

Lydia exhales as she tousles her dog’s long floppy ears, hesitating. “He was a pretty wild teenager,” she admits, “and his family life was a mess. His mom sent him to rehab right after he turned sixteen, but before that, he made his fair share of trouble around town—and kissed more than his fair share of farmers’ daughters. Some people can’t let it go.”

That idea is so foreign to me. Growing up in the military, I’ve never lived in one place long enough for anyone to hold my past against me. I can’t imagine what it would be like if my entire town knew the worst version of me and never let anyone forget it.

“But Charlie’s a great guy.” Lydia gives me a hopeful smile. “Are you sure he isn’t your type? Because I’ve been trying to set him up with someone nice since I got here, and you two would be perfect together.”

A blush warms my cheeks. Before I can answer, footsteps thump up the stairs, and something slides under the guest room door: a special invitation just for me. The second I see it, I know it’s from Charlie. I’m just not sure how he made something so perfect that fast.

The invitation is white with purple lettering, and there’s an image of a mask at the top. The kind you’d find at Mardi Gras or a masquerade ball. Underneath is the title of the event, and I run my finger over the words.

The Primrose Manor New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball

We came up with that at dinner, the perfect name for the masked ball in my book, and seeing it typed out makes me smile. Though the stuff underneath, the things Charlie came up with himself, make me smile harder.

Where:Alice’s laptop

When:Now

Time:Until Constance Bright meets someone interesting

I gaze down at his invitation, and the kindness of that gesture makes the most beautiful warmth spread through me. There’s even a ticket stub at one end. Which isn’t even close to being historically accurate for a Regency invitation, but it makes me happy anyway.

Nice work, Blythe.

I open the door to thank him, but Charlie’s already gone. Lydia gets up to see the invitation for herself, and then she leaves too. Gracing me with one last friendly smile as she lets me have the room to myself.

“That invitation looks pretty official. Guess you’d better get to work.”

It doesn’t take Constance long to meet someone interesting at her aunt’s masquerade ball. She barely makes it to the lemonade table before she crosses paths with her first suitor.

Yet it’s the last man she meets that night, the one she bumps into right after midnight, who really catches her eye. A man with dark hair and an easy grin who’s never been a grump a day in his life.

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