Page 50 of How To Fake A Fiancé

“If you call getting on each other’s nerves ‘fun,’ then yeah. There wasn’t a day we went without trying to beat the crap out of each other just for kicks. The number of pranks we played on each other was endless.”

“I get that. My sister and I would fight over things as stupid as clothes. She’d always drive me crazy.”

A few minutes later, after Kami and I have swapped some sibling stories, the waiter comes back with two stem glasses and pours the white wine for both of us.

“Can I ask you a question?” She picks up her glass.

I nod. “Sure.”

“I know you were taking care of your mom, but you never thought to settle down?”

It’s not that I didn’t. “I wanted to. I planned to, but things changed, and the woman I was with couldn’t wait for me anymore.”

She nods in understanding. “Because you were the only one who could take care of your mom after your dad died.”

I nod.

“So…no one has caught your eye since?”

“Until recently.” I wink.

She hesitates. “Do you think life would have been different if your dad was still here?”

I realize how sobering this conversation is getting. Sure, I’d be a different person and no doubt already be married. But that doesn’t bring him back. Doesn’t change the reality I live in now. “Maybe, but I try not to dwell on that. It’s the past.”

“I’m sorry.”

I shake my head. “Don’t be.”

“I am. I’m asking you some pretty intense questions. I don’t mean to. I’m just—”

“Curious?” I finish her sentence. It’s healthy to be curious. I asked about her mom and sister, so it’s only fair. “I understand. I admit our conversation is a bit morbid, but I like this.” I gesture to the table and the restaurant around us. “I like spending time with you.”

“But why me? Why are you choosing me?”

I cock my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Why do you think you want me?”

It’s not about what I think.

I don’t know how else I can say how I feel, but I’m going to keep saying it however many times it takes for her to realize I’m here to stay. “It’s not just a choice for me if that’s what you’re thinking. I can’t explain it other than to say that, with you, everything feels right.”

Before I met Kami, I never understood why Matt, after only meeting his wife once, had said she was the one. But now that Kami has entered, voluntarily or not, into my life, I finally understand that feeling. It’s something inexplicable. I can say it’s almost like a very powerful gut feeling. She’s the one. I don’t know how I know; I just do.

“So you’re pursuing me based on a…feeling? You do realize we haven’t spent much time together, right? Not enough for you to know who I am as a person.”

“That may be true, but what I know about you so far intrigues me.”

“I may seem intriguing to you, but what else?”

“I don’t know many women who have the same attitude and mindset as you do. Why do you think I chased after you that morning in the hotel? What other reason would I have for posing as your boyfriend? Believe me when I say I want you, I mean every part of you, inside and out. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I want it all.”

There’s a short moment of silence between us as Kami seems to be thinking about what to say next.

“Thanks for letting me meet your mom. She’s a very sweet woman.”

“I’m sure she shared with you all the embarrassing things about me,” I joke. I want to delve deeper, but not now.

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