Page 67 of Fake Engaged to the Enemy

And now… now there’s a man I love in a place I love.

This is all such a rush.

A rush that vanishes when I pull up to his house.

Who’s there but his parents? They are putting a letter through the mail slot, but when they spy me their expressions darken.

I get out of the car. “Jason. Edwina. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

Edwina folds her arms. “And after you broke our boy’s heart, we didn’t expect to see you.”

Surprise ripples through me. “Excus—”

“You gave him back the ring,” Jason interrupts. “You don’t think that will break his heart?”

I close my mouth and an unexpected pang in my chest. We’d agreed on a timeline for our breakup. Why had George jumped the gun on this one?

“You should go,” Edwina says. “I should have known better than to think anything good about June Hart’s daughter.”

Anything I could say in my own defense disappears.

My heart throbs in my ears.

“That’s not fair,” I whimper.

Edwina’s eyes widen but I don’t let her say another word.

I throw myself back in the car and rip out of there. Only after I’m back on the road do I fumble and put my seatbelt on.

Hot tears scorch my eyes as I drive to Grandma’s house.

Maybe George loves me.

But if we are together, what sort of life am I setting him up for?

Will I forever be a chasm between him and his parents?

Tears course down my cheeks. But before I reach Grandma’s house, I pull over.

I let myself have a cry, then stop myself.

I’m used to shoving my emotions down. This is no different—I’m not going to make trouble for Grandma by causing a feud between her and the Callahans.

It takes me a while to get myself under control, and longer to pat the redness from my eyes.

By the time I arrive home, it doesn’t look like I’ve been crying at all.

Surprise, surprise.

My day is about to get even worse.

If I was on a game show and they gave me three guesses, I’d only need one.

Of course, my mother has chosen today to come to Sandburrow.

“Catherine, Darling!” June cries.

She’s wearing the exact same outfit that I wore when Donny took pictures of me and George.

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