Page 53 of Faking It

I raise my eyes to meet his enquiring—and amused stare. “That’s why we’re actors. It should look real, right?”

“Riiiiight…” His expression is giving ‘I don’t believe one thing you say’.

“Is there anything else you need?” I ask, before I start blushing and confirm his suspicions. Not only are Jared and Gideon close, my little pink-haired frenemy is a little gossip. I don’t want any word going back to Gideon that I’m even a teensy bit attracted to him.

Although, from that steamy kiss, he must already know.

Ugh. This is already messier than I want it to be.

“Nope. That will be all.” He turns to go, then does a double take. “You know, I get the feeling this fake relationship might do even better than I thought, after all.”

“Meaning?”

He flashes me a mysterious smile, then shrugs. “We’ll see.”

With a swing of his body, he exits. I groan. Now, I not only need to watch out for my attraction to Gideon but Jared’s matchmaking plans.

***

No, no, no. That can’t be possible. Check again, please.”

From my seat on the couch in the hotel lobby, I look over to where Jared stands, impatiently rapping his knuckles on the reception countertop. “Uh-oh,” I mutter. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“What?” Gideon glances up from his laptop, where his gaze had been locked since we got here fifteen minutes ago. He’s been so focused, not even taking a sip from his welcome drink.

“Seems like there’s trouble with the booking,” I observe. The receptionist looks flustered, which doesn’t surprise me, not with how pissed Jared looks right now.

“An issue with the booking? How? There are only two of us,” Gideon replies.

“Three of us, you mean,” I correct. Jared now folds his arms, his foot-tapping picking up pace.

Gideon shoots me a wry glance. “You know what I mean. There are only two rooms.”

Due to a comic convention this weekend, most of the hotels in this area have been fully booked, leaving Jared with the grudging task of finding accommodation for the entire crew. By some miracle, he got everyone settled, with me, him and Gideon getting the last two available rooms in this hotel. Gideon and I are booked for the same room, but he’s actually bunking with Jared for tonight. He plans to slip out and join his cousin when the coast is clear.

Well, thatwasthe plan.

Gideon stands, and so do I. Jared’s hands fly to his hips as the receptionist shakes her head.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Levine, but I’m only seeing a booking for one room.”

Oh, boy.

“Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous,” Jared curses. “I specifically booked those rooms myself!”

“I apologize—”

“I don’t need your apology, lady. I want the other room that I booked!”

She sighs, and I can tell she’s doing her damnedest to remain calm. “I regret to inform you that all the rooms are now occupied. It’s a busy weekend, Mr. Levine.”

“Ugh.” He fans her off and whips around as we approach. The receptionist goes crimson as Gideon moves toward the counter. He rests his hands on top and leans in, peering down at her.

“Hi, Lisa,” he greets.

Her eyes widen with shock, then an awareness fills her face, and she clutches her nametag, glancing down at it. “Oh! Hi.”

“Excuse my cousin’s overzealous response. We’ve come a far way, and we’re almost dead on our feet.”

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