Page 105 of The Ruse

I guess that made my search easier, at least.

The profile showed a photo of a beautiful girl my age with dark-brown hair, a heart-shaped face, and a lean, athletic build. From the vibrant look in her dark-blue eyes, I knew this girl had to be Asher’s Bailee.

Okay, not Asher’sBailee. I didn’t want him to have a Bailee.

Not that I wanted her to not be alive. I just didn’t want him to want her, because I wanted him to want me.

Wait… Did I just think that I wanted Asher to want me? Is that what just happened?

I shook my head and decided to ignore what my subconscious might be trying to tell me. I had just kissed Nash tonight and was going to the debutante ball with him.

Wanting to be with Asher right after I’d told Nash that I liked him would just make everything complicated.

I scrolled down the page to see what kinds of photos Bailee had liked enough to share with the world. There were lots of images of just herself. Her in front of the Eiffel tower with a Chloe bag over her shoulder. Pictures of her in what I guessed must be the costume she wore when she played Cosette.

Another of her sitting on the front steps of the academy in her school uniform with the caption: “Summer was a dream. Back to reality…”

And then there were the photos I was trying not to look too closely at. The ones with Asher.

My gaze stopped on a photo taken on what looked like my bed but with different bedding. His lips were pressed against her cheek, and she had a huge smile on her face.

They seemed so happy together. So playful and fun.

Next was of them at The Italian Amigos where he had his arms wrapped around her from behind and she was acting like she was going to cook something.

They had played their part so well. Even Bailee had a sparkle in her eye.

But I guess any heterosexual girl would have a hard time not swooning with arms like Asher’s wrapped around her waist.

I glared at a few more photos of the happy couple before scrolling back up to the top. The last image she’d posted was one of them dancing in the dimly lit great hall with crowns on their heads. The caption read: “So happy to be his Queen.”

I noted the way he was looking at her. The softness in his gaze. The way he held her in his arms like there was no one he’d rather be with in the world.

And I could see what everyone else had talked about. Just from these photos, I could see the electric energy they’d had together.

Asher really did look like he was head-over-heels in love with Bailee.

Which I’d guess at that point, he had been.

I closed my phone and tossed it back onto my nightstand. I didn’t need to see photos of Asher in love with another girl.

What I needed to do was pretend I wasn’t insanely envious of this girl who had gotten Asher to fall in love with her when he wasn’t supposed to. What I needed to do was get some sleep instead.

I sleptin late on Sunday, having been restless and awake until after two. When I went down for my late breakfast in the Great Hall, only a few students were left. I looked around to see if Asher might be there—if he’d slept in, too, and gotten a late start on his day—but I didn’t find his wavy dark hair among those sitting at the tables.

When I got back to my room, Ava texted me, saying that she and Mack and our dad were going to come pick me up so we could test drive some cars this afternoon.

Brendon had decided to get us cars for our Yule gifts—a hugely extravagant gift in my opinion, since I hadn’t grown up in the world of the rich and famous. But he’d told us that Mack had gotten a car for his sixteenth birthday, and insisted that, if anything, he was a year and a half late getting them for us.

So I changed into some comfortable clothes and was just adding a touch of blush to my cheeks when Scarlett knocked on my door.

“Hey,” she said, stepping inside my room. She was wearing a pink floral-printed dress and dangly earrings, like she’d just gotten back from church.

“Hi.” I let her in then shut the door behind her. I sat down on my bed to slip on my snow boots and asked, “What’s up?”

“Not much,” she said with a shrug as she looked around my room. “I was bored and thought I’d stop by to ask how your night was.”

“My night?” I asked, unzipping one of my black boots. “Um… It was good.” I shrugged, figuring she was asking about my date. “Dinner was super good and the musical was amazing.”

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