Page 25 of Falling for My Billionaire Fake Date

She tightens her fingers around my hand harder when I try to talk, the pain promptly shutting me up.

“Sure, darling. We’ll be here,” mom replies, with a gentle smile on her face. Bella looks up and smiles, the last bit of her now cold pancakes in her mouth, her cheeks puffing up adorably.

Aurora laughs at the sight, the first real smile I’ve ever seen on her face. “I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your breakfast hot and uninterrupted. I could get you another round,” she says, with a sweet smile on her face, and flags over Noah, who is currently manning the cash register.

“Oh no! Aurora, it’s fine. We’ll make do with this one. The pancakes are very delicious by the way, and the coffee is a delight.”

It looks as if Aurora is going to argue with mom, but she shakes her head with a kind smile. Noah reaches the booth, the smile still on his face.Do his cheeks never hurt?

Aurora stands and stumbles a little, so I quickly grab her arms to support her. “Are you okay?” I ask, but she doesn’t reply. Bella ‘awwws’at the act and proceeds to make kissy faces.

Aurora nods at my family, accompanying it with a slight grin at Bella’s antics, and she adds a wink also, shocking me. She leads me away from the booth, almost dragging me with her, Bella’s hearty laughter ringing out.

“May I clear your table now, ma’am?” I hear Noah ask, as Aurora leads me to what I assume is her office.

It is moderately sized: not big, not small. There’s a table and an office chair behind it. Files and stationery are neatly arranged on top. The office also has a shelf where files are in neat rows and columns, a mini fridge, and a couch in the shape of a doughnut. I have to raise my brows at that!

Aurora shuts the door and the moment we get inside she glares at me, her usually expressive eyes giving away nothing. I say nothing, the fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time dumbing up my tongue.

“Well?” she asks.

“Well, what?” I counter, raising my brows.

Her eyes shoot out sparks of fire at my reply and I realize I like it better when her eyes give something away, so I can read her expression or prepare myself for what to say next. I simply do not like the blank look in her eyes.

Beautiful, expressive green eyes, I wonder what you mean, says the sarcastic voice in my head.

She drags me to the couch, and I realize we’re still holding hands, and I don’t think Aurora notices it. I sit on the couch as she sits too, making no move to release our joint hands.

“How about you start from the beginning? What did your mom mean when she said they specifically came to meet me in Birchwood? Why did they assume I am your girlfriend?” she fires in rapid succession, not giving me a chance to reply before moving on to the next question.

At the next question, I realize that her voice drops down a notch and her shoulderssag tiredly.

“Do you know Alex? And Sophia is your ex-girlfriend, isn’t she?” she asks, wearily, and suddenly I feel guilty, because she is now involved with the situation, whether she likes it or not.

Today has taken an absolutely terrible turn and nothing seems to make sense right now. I sigh and lean back on the couch, turning to face Aurora. Our eyes fully collide, and I see a strange emotion pass through hers. She looks away before I can decipher what I’ve seen there.

I stare at her beautiful side profile, her rich chestnut hair covering the side of her face—probably on purpose—and I resist the urge to tuck her hair behind her ear.

I don’t want her shielding her face from me for reasons I definitely don’t understand. We have a situation bigger than me wanting to stare at Aurora’s side profile. I clench my fist to stop myself from doing what I wouldn’t have an explanation for. Killing the itch to tuck her hair, I feel something funny happen in my stomach.Probably because I missed breakfast.

I sigh blearily, the complication of the situation weighing down on me. Not to sound cliché, but our joined hands fit perfectly. Her slim, beautiful fingers artistically wrap around my big hands. I look up to see Aurora also staring at our hands, her hair still framing her face, making it difficult to see her expression or guess what is running through her mind.

But a fact sticks out—she doesn’t let go of my hand, and I tighten mine on hers.

I understand that we both need this moment of companionship, not saying it out loud, but we both know our pasts have come crashing into our lives this morning, and the least wecan do now is to comfort each other, waving a white flag at our mutual dislike.

I open my mouth to answer her questions, but she grips my hand tighter, seeming to prefer the silence for now and the comfort we’re currently offering each other. She leans back on the couch again, staring into nothingness, probably trying to make sense of the curve ball we both were thrown this morning.

I’m not a big fan of coincidences. I think events happen mostly as a result of planned efforts by someone, somewhere.

Sophia’s visit is not a coincidence. It is a result of her malicious wish to see for herself if I’ve truly moved on. What she plans to gain by it, I do not know.

But one thing I do know is that her coming down here means she plans to ruin the chances I have at happiness, even though the girlfriend part of it is not true. I know what she is capable of, and I fear what she might do to Aurora. I vow silently that I will do everything in my power to keep her safe from Sophia.

Aurora leans her head on my shoulder and it brings me out of my reverie. I rub soothing circles on her shoulder with my free hand. She seems to be out of it again, no doubt lost beneath murky waters of bad memories. I try not to think about my past with Sophia. I know I will not be able to escape the rush of memories that will come flooding back later, but right now, I want to focus on being there for the girl I have inadvertently dragged into this mess.

And if I’m being honest with myself, I need the comfort too.

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