Page 73 of Fake Engaged to the Enemy

Grandma and Katherina are still sleeping after he’s showered. I quickly clean off, too.

Then George and I sit down to our breakfast.

“We’re going to have to tell your parents we’re back together,” I muse. “And speaking of, we probably ought to tell them the full story.”

George shakes his head. “We’ll let them in on the secret slowly.”

“Why not just be honest?” I ask, lifting an eyebrow.

“For starters, they have to apologize to you and mean it before I share anything else,” George says emphatically.

Grateful tears prick my eyes. I look down at my coffee.

“Well. I’ll be gracious when accepting their apologies anyway,” I mumble.

George puts his hand on mine. “If they ever say anything like that again, you tell me, okay? Boundaries with my parents are my responsibility. It’s not up to you to grin and bear their remarks silently.”

“Thank you.” I sniff, feeling embarrassed by my emotions. “You really need to give me my ring back, though. I still can return it to the jeweler.”

“So you don’t want that ring for your real proposal?”

My heart jumps. “Are you planning on proposing?”

“I don’t know. It should be a surprise if I am, shouldn’t it?” he teases.

His green eyes sparkle with mischief. If he does propose, what will I say? It seems impossibly early to say yes…

We have been ‘engaged’ for weeks now already, though. Does it really make that big of a difference?

My phone starts to ring. I check it quickly, gasping when I see the company name flash across the screen.

“It’s the company I interviewed with,” I say excitedly.

I answer, standing up as I do so.

“Miss Catherine Hart?”

“That’s me,” I say.

“Excellent!” The woman on the other end of the line sounds extremely pleased with herself. “I’m pleased to inform you that we would like to offer you a job.”

My heart pounds. “Thank you. I’m very grateful that you’d want to hire me.”

She starts to explain the role. It’s not the one I interviewed for.

It’s even better.

One with more prestige and a higher salary.

“Fully remote?” I squeak. “You’re going to let me work from wherever I want?”

The woman laughs. “We take care of our employees, Catherine. We don’t care where you get the work done. And looking at your record, we would love to have you.”

“I… am going to need to think about it,” I say, feeling a little light-headed.

First George declares his love and now a high-paying job is offering me employment… as a remote worker.

“Of course. I’ll send you the package details. Just let us know by the end of the month one way or the other.”

---