Page 75 of The Guy Who Fake Dated Me

She did, but I didn’t trust it. “There’s no need. It’s been a long time, and frankly, I think you did me a favor.”

A small smile flickered across her lips, then it was gone. “How’s Big Bear?”

Courtney had come home with me exactly once. I hadn’t told anyone anything about her except that we were dating. She’d oohed and ahhed over my hometown and had exclaimed that it was the cutest, quaintest place on Earth at least a dozen times.

Like everything else, all of that had been lies.

“Big Bear is fine,” I said.

“You’re running the diner, bar, and another restaurant?”

“That’s right.”

“Congratulations.”

Her words were as hollow as the day we’d parted, and I let out a snort. “What do you want, Courtney?”

Her gaze met mine, and even though I could only see one side of her face because of her mask, I could tell she was upset.

What could she be upset about?

“I wanted to ask you if you’ve told Victoria that she’s going to have to move to Alaska for you.”

“What business of that is yours?”

“She should understand that early. It’s one of the things that forced me away from you.”

I gritted my teeth. Courtney and Ihadtalked about living in Alaska. I’d also offered to come to New York for her. At the time, I’d thought we were looking at options. Trying to see what would fit us best. Back then, I hadn’t had any financial ties to Big Bear and had been willing to leave.

Apparently, she’d made her mind up about me and our relationship a month after we’d met. While I’d spent years falling in love, she’d spent years leading me on.

I should have known there was a problem when she’d never once said she loved me. She’d inferred it. She’d kissed me after I’d said it. She’d even nodded and smiled at me when I’d said it enough for the two of us and then some, but I’d never caught on to her real feelings.

In the months that followed our breakup, I’d had to come to terms with the fact that everything she’d ever told me had likely been a lie.

“Well?” Courtney asked.

I had no reason to answer her question about Big Bear but decided to tell her the truth. “We haven’t gotten that far in our relationship.”

“She needs to know it’s a dealbreaker.”

It wasn’t when I loved you.

That thought hurt, and I used the way Victoria had laughed at my lame jokes earlier as a way to shove it aside. “We’ll have the conversation when the time comes.” If I had my way, we’d be talking about it in less than five minutes.

My gaze drifted to Victoria and William. She was laughing at something, and he seemed to be smiling. Victoria could make almost anyone smile, and I suddenly missed her like we’d been apart for a year.

“Sooner is better. For your sake.”

I glared. “What are you talking about?”

“You have a fragile heart, Logan. I wouldn’t want to see it broken again.”

“You didn’t have a problem breaking it the first time.”

“It was for your own good. You wouldn’t have liked my life.”

“That’s something you should have let me decide,” I said.

---