Page 57 of How To Fake A Fiancé

A half hour—and second and third helpings of food—later, Mia and I finish up washing the dishes while Kiera and Jonathan help to put them away.

I hold my stomach as though it were about to burst. “I’m having a major food baby right now.”

“Join the club,” Mia chimes.

“Same. I don’t know how much more food I can eat,” Kiera agrees.

“What a shame.” Jonathan pretends to sound disappointed.

“What’s a shame?” Mia asks, suspicious as to what her older brother could mean.

“I guess you won’t have any room for—”

“Hold up. No one said we didn’t want any dessert,” Kiera says without hesitation.

“I know. Just messing with you.” He laughs, then pecks a kiss to Kiera’s cheek as they continue.

After dessert, the men are watching the last of the basketball game on TV while us three girls are in the bathroom trying on the latest makeup Kiera bought.

I’m applying a pink gloss to my lips, Mia’s typing away on her phone, and Kiera is sitting on the counter beside me when she says something I don’t expect. “You’re falling for him.”

I’m taken aback by her statement at first before deciding to play coy. “If by him you mean this lipstick, then yes. The color is gorgeous.”

“You know who I’m talking about. And we both know playing dumb isn’t your style.”

Through the mirror, I watch Mia look up from her phone to us.

She notices me staring at her a second later and raises her hands in defense. “Hey, I’m just listening.”

I turn my attention back to Kiera. “What makes you think I’m playing dumb?”

“You didn’t answer my question from before.”

I sigh. “Our relationship is built on a lie. We’re friends at best.”

“Okay, if you’re just friends, when was the last time you had sex?”

Shit, how long has it been?

I try to remember the last time I had an orgasm that wasn’t induced by a battery-operated boyfriend. Oh, god, the last time was with Ian—back in September. The night I met him. I’ve been so distracted by Ian’s attention on me that I didn’t even notice my sex life going down to zilch. Even before I saw him again in September, the sex was so spine-meltingly good, no one else seemed capable of meeting my now-high expectations.

I try to hide my panic. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Let me guess, Ian?” Mia challenges.

Help a girl out, don’t leave her to the wolves.

“Please don’t say that’s how long it’s been.” Kiera’s face fills with concern.

When did this become an interrogation? “Why does it matter?”

“It matters because that means you’re more invested in him than you let on.”

“Even if I was, again, there’s nothing I can do about it. You know I’m not the commitment type.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Love is fleeting.” Not just that, but it’s also filled with pain and suffering.

---