Page 13 of From Fake Dates to Forever Goals

“What about my father?” she asks, her hesitation lingering. “Or have you forgotten that he’s your coach?”

“I’ll handle that,” I assure her confidently.

Her expression remains uncertain, but I can tell she’s thinking it over. The pieces are starting to fall into place.

I’ve known Coach Harrison for years. He’s the reason my career skyrocketed, pushing me harder than anyone else ever dared to. We’ve had our rough patches, but I know how tohandle him. He knows his daughter better than anyone, and surely, he’d respect her decision to be with me—at least temporarily—if he believed she saw something good in me.

By the time I secure my inheritance, Ava and I would stage a breakup. She’d say I was too focused on my career, and we’d go our separate ways. It would be clean, simple, and effective.

“My father won’t be happy to hear that you dumped his daughter,” Ava says, her voice low as the music fades and the crowd around us begins to settle.

She’s right. Coach Harrison wouldn’t take kindly to me breaking his daughter’s heart. He’d likely refuse to train me again if he thought I caused her any pain.

“You dumped me,” I reply smoothly.

Ava smirks, lowering her gaze.

“Is that a yes?” I ask, stepping closer.

She hesitates for a moment before nodding.

“I need you to say it,” I insist.

“It’s a yes,” she finally says, her voice steady.

Unexpectedly, my chest tightens with a strange flicker of joy.

I move closer, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Thank you,” I whisper.

Her eyes meet mine, wide and uncertain, and I can feel her nervousness as I linger near her.

“Don’t worry,” I murmur into her ear. “I’ll make it worth it.”

Ava is undeniably beautiful, but this is nothing more than a mutually beneficial arrangement. For both our sakes, we’ll need to stay focused—keep our minds in the game and our hearts out of it.

Still, I can’t deny the thought that maybe, just maybe, there’s no harm in enjoying ourselves a little along the way.

five

Ava

I’m not sure I made the right decision. Quite frankly, I wonder if I thought it through at all. Here I am, in a sticky situation, agreeing to be Sebastian’s fake girlfriend.

“I’ll make it worth it?” Where does he get off? But also, what was I thinking? I chastise myself for letting that one statement get to me so much.

The best thing to do is just call him and tell him I can’t do it. I know he said he would handle my father, but it won’t be easy getting him to okay me “dating” Sebastian. It won’t end well for either of us.

I pick up my phone and notice I have a message from Annie. Upon clicking on it, I see my face plastered on a news clip. The paparazzi had taken a picture of Sebastian planting a kiss on my cheek.

Of course. Why am I even surprised?

My phone begins to ring. It is Annie.

“You need to turn on Channel 8 now,” she says. I can hear the urgency in her voice.

Without questioning her, I turn on my TV to see my Facebook profile picture with the caption “Sebastian’s New Score.”

I can’t believe my eyes. My stomach sinks as my heart pounds in my chest.

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