Page 39 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

Were they recording us?

Chase noticed too. "I, uh, have to get home to, uh..."

He whirled on his heels and left abruptly, something about his quick motion sending a little breeze of Chase my way. And holy heck, if it wasn't the smell of chicken broth invading my nostrils.

I nearly lost it right then, phone cameras still recording me. I could just see the accompanying headline...

Aria Stratton Breaks Down in Hysterical Laughter on the Sidewalk and Clearly Needs Psychiatric Help

Trying my best to hold it together, I rushed away, attempting to blend into the moving crowd of people. Head down, smile hidden, I remembered my phone call and held my cell back up to my ear.

"Annalise? Are you still there?"

"Hell yes, I am. Was that Chase?" she screeched.

"It was! Can you believe that?"

Her fit of laughter was so loud, I had to pull the phone away from my ear. Looking up, I spotted the coffee shop. Thank goodness. I was more than ready to go inside and get out of this craziness. Although realistically, I was stepping from one bit of crazy to another.

"Hey, I'm here," I told Annalise. "I'll call you later."

"You better."

I fought yet another swarm of people heading in and out of the popular morning destination, looking around wildly for any sign of Ethan amongst this bustle of mayhem. I was in desperate need of just a moment of calm, something to ground me. Not that Ethan was that for me. He wasn't in the slightest.

Something compelled me to glance to my right and there he was, slowly standing up, that smug Ethan smile on his face. Something in my chest lurched at the mere sight of him. That wasn't good. Not good at all.

As I walked toward him, he pulled out a chair from the small table, gesturing for me to take it.

"Hi," I said, my voice coming out breathless for some reason. Maybe it was the rush to get here. That had to be it of course.

That little smile turned into a full-on grin that made it even more difficult to breathe. "Hey. Good morning."

Ignoring my oddly elevated heart rate, I scooted my chair in, taking in our crowded surroundings, every single table full, a mob of people standing at the counter waiting to order and pick up drinks.

"How on earth did you get a table?" I asked him, finally meeting his eyes. Gosh, were they always this bright and blue? It was positively captivating, almost difficult to look at him, as if he could see straight through me to my soul.

He shrugged. "I got here early."

"Oh, thank you. And... and..." I lost my train of thought as I spied all the goodies filling up the table. "What? You already ordered?"

"I did." He pushed a drink toward me. "Iced vanilla almond milk latte."

Sensing my mouth gaping open, I swiftly closed it, probably resembling a fish at this moment. "But how—how did you know what I would want?"

He chuckled. "It took two minutes of research to figure out your coffee order."

I did the fish thing again, unsure how to reply to that. After all that time with Chase, the man still thought I liked soy milk and cappuccinos. And Ethan got it right without even talking to me about it?

"I'm not sure if that's creepy or cool," I joked, resorting to laughter to disguise my unease.

Ethan laughed. "Let's go for cool. Always."

Someone stopped at our table, casting a shadow over me, and I looked up to see a server setting a plate down in front of me. "Pain au chocolat, warmed."

There went my gaping jaw again. "W-why thank you," I managed to say, wide eyes going to Ethan. "Creepy," I whispered to his laughter.

"Again," he said, "very small amount of research to find an interview you did last year."

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