Page 54 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

He rolled away from me, coolness infiltrating my body's hot spots, an unwelcome change from seconds before.

"Yeah," he answered his cell. "What is it?"

For being so into his work, Ethan was surprisingly not glued to his phone all the time, so it stunned me that he'd picked up this time,especiallythis time. It wasn't like we were just casually sitting around. We'd definitely been in the middle of something. And I had to say... it stung like hell.

It took me right back to being with Chase, always being on the back burner to him, never being first, never being his priority.

In an attempt to swallow my hurt pride, I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, intent on getting away from Ethan and escaping to the bathroom. There was a shuffling noisebehind me, and then he was next to me, one large hand clamping down on the bare skin of my thigh.

He didn't say anything, the low murmur of whoever was on the other side of the phone the only sound, although I couldn't make out any words.

I glanced at Ethan's face, and suddenly my hurt pride was forgotten. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw was clenched, and every muscle in his body was taut as a bowstring.

Leaning closer, I strained to hear whatever this person was saying. But all I got was a string of swear words from Ethan's mouth.

"Yep," he said tightly. "We'll have to figure out a way to deal with it. But thanks for letting me know, David."

David. I knew he was Ethan's assistant, someone he seemed very close to actually.

Ethan hung up and dropped his phone on the bed, the sudden silence in the room stretching out and encompassing us.

"Everything okay?" I asked, my voice strange to my own ears.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his thick hair, then turned to face me. "We have a little bit of a problem."

Something about his tone caused the nerves to take off instantly in my belly. "What? What is it?"

"So the gossip took a turn, and instead of it being about us at the event last night..." His piercing eyes met mine. "They're saying we're faking this whole thing."

A shocked gasp escaped me. "Are you joking?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not."

"But... but how? Why? Why do they even think that? What happened?"

"Someone overheard us last night or we had a lip reader amongst us. I guess one of us must have slipped and said something about it being fake."

My mind whirled as I tried to remember every conversation we'd had, every word we'd uttered, but I couldn't think of a single thing. "This is terrible. It's awful. It's so embarrassing and humiliating. It defeats the whole purpose of what we're trying to do. I'm—"

His hand squeezed my leg. "Hey. Look at me."

I did, the blue of his eyes bright with the sunshine peeking in through the curtain's edges. We didn't speak, only stared at each other, my breathing heavy with my escalating anxiety.

"Take a breath," he said slowly. "And another... and one more."

The whole time, he watched me, his gaze studying, appraising, that strong hand on my thigh like an anchor.

He leaned his head in closer to me, capturing my full attention, all my senses. "All we need is a plan. That's all. We're both smart, way smarter than any of the gossip rags. And we're fucking geniuses compared to Chase."

I snorted, the sudden laughter bubbling out of me catching me off guard.

Ethan's soft smile lightened my mood. "I think I know what to do," he said.

"What's that?" I asked, my heart pounding in anticipation.

"We need to take it up a notch."

"Oh, um, okay. What do you mean exactly?"

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