Page 47 of The Charade

I really shouldn't have come down to this stupid party.

I was just trying to figure out how to get myself out of eating my meal beside a girl who probably hated my guts now when I saw that Ava was no longer alone at our table.

Sofia and Simon had joined her.

Man, this night was just getting better and better.

18

Carter

"Thanks for gettingthat chicken for me, babe," Ava said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek when I reached the table and handed her the plate of food. "You're the best."

"Y-you’re welcome," I said stiffly, caught off guard by the kiss on the cheek and term of endearment since last I'd checked, she'd rather die than sit at the table with me after how badly I'd botched our earlier interaction.

But when she turned to my ex-girlfriend and the guy I'd been replaced with and said, "Carter saw me drooling over his plate and was so sweet to get me some of that amazing chicken his chef grilled," I knew that even though she was probably still annoyed at me, she was putting it aside for the moment to continue with the fake boyfriend/girlfriend plan we'd agreed to before coming down here.

Ava had said that her sister was the one who was going out for the school's next theater production, but based on the past few seconds, I couldn't help but feel she had yet another calling in life: a career on the stage.

Apparently, Ava was a girl with a plethora of hidden talents.

"Marie's chicken is my favorite," Sofia said, a broad smile on her lips as she spoke to Ava. "I've tried to copy her recipe so many times, but it never turns out as good. I even tried to get Carter to sneak into Marie's recipe box when she wasn't around, but he never found it."

"I'm ninety-percent sure she burned all the copies of that recipe and just relies on her memory now, so no one can ever steal it," I found myself saying as I sat back down in the chair beside Ava.

"You're probably right," Sofia said, her eyes lighting up. "She knows how addicted your family is to the stuff. She probably keeps the secret locked down tight so that your family has to keep her on forever."

"Marie is crafty like that," I said with a smile.

I glanced back at Ava and noticed a look of surprise on her face. It took me three full seconds to realize why.

I'd just talked to Sofia like we were friends.

So, not wanting to give anyone the wrong impression, I cleared my throat and quickly removed the friendly smile from my face, replacing it with my usual neutral expression.

Sofia must have noticed the shift in my demeanor because her smile disappeared as well.

"Anyway…" Sofia cleared her throat awkwardly. "The reason why I wanted to stop at your table was to introduce Simon to you." She gestured at the tall guy beside her who had short brown hair that curled slightly at the ends, green eyes framed by dark-rim glasses, and a neatly trimmed beard that I knew Sofia must be in love with from how many times she'd tried to get me to grow out my facial hair in just the same way.

"I'm Simon Bailey," Simon said on cue in his British accent, holding his hand out for me to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I considered ignoring the friendly gesture, but since I didn't want to look like the petty and jealous ex, I introduced myself as well and gave his hand a firm shake—squeezing slightly harder than necessary to prove—what? I didn't know exactly. That I had strong hands?

After giving me a weird look, he shook Ava's hand. "And what's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Ava," she answered, a slight flush filling her cheeks. "Ava Cohen." From her blush and what she'd said in my room earlier, I almost expected her to ask if he'd take a selfie with her right then and there. But she surprised me by returning her hands back to her lap and simply adding, "It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness."

Simon chuckled for a moment before saying, "You can just call me Simon."

"Okay, it's nice to meet you, Simon." Ava giggled, and from the way she ogled him, I got the feeling that if she stayed in his royal highness's presence for much longer, I may not only lose my ex-girlfriend to the dude but also my fake girlfriend.

"So, what brings you all the way over here from London?" I asked Simon in as conversational a tone as I could manage. "Do you have business in the states?"

"I'm not here on business." Simon shook his head and glanced over at Sofia. "I missed seeing my girl, and so I came here as a surprise this weekend."

"That's so sweet," Ava said, her voice slightly higher than usual.

"It is." Sofia looked down at her hands with a slight smile on her full lips, like she was both happy about Simon's thoughtfulness but also uncomfortable that I was witnessing it. "Simon’s always surprising me with things like this."

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