Page 42 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

"It's making something unclear."

"I thought the word was obfuscation, but I can't say that I don't disagree with you."

"I see what you did there." Glaring at him, I pushed my now empty plate away. "Thanks for the pain au chocolat. It was delicious, almost as good as my favorite bakery in Paris, the most amazing place on earth."

He sat back, eyes appraising. "Paris, huh?"

"Why do you say it like that?"

There was a long pause while we both ignored someone not so slyly filming us outside the window. He finally shrugged. "I don't know. No reason really."

I was just beginning to really know Ethan, but something about his tone was suspicious, although I had no idea why.

His phone buzzed and he glanced at it for the first time since I'd sat down, an absolute miracle compared to anyone else in my life.

"Work shit," he said with a sigh. "I should really get going."

"Another meeting?" I teased.

"Fucking always."

He quickly compiled our trash, then put a bunch of the small paper bags I hadn't even opened into a larger bag, handing it to me. "These were all for you."

"For me? Really?" I inspected a few to find a chocolate chip cookie, brownies, and a lemon loaf, even more of my favorites. "Thank you. That was really sweet of you."

He smiled at me, and I wondered for a moment if this was all for the cameras and surrounding on-lookers. But duh. Of course it was. This was fake, after all, even if I kept forgetting it. Ethan was putting on a show, and he was surprisingly good at it.

Once we cleared up our stuff, we stood up to go, Ethan being a total gentleman and helping me up from the chair, pushing it back in, then leading the way to the exit amongst the murmurs.

Outside, there were a few paparazzi waiting for us, just like we'd wanted. "Aria! Aria! Over here!" one called before snapping a photo.

Another one who was closer took a picture, then asked, "Are you two together?"

I had no idea what to say, but once more, Ethan came to the rescue. "We're just friends. Really," he said, turning to me with a wink. "See ya later, babe."

Giddy with laughter, I walked away, my cheeks pink and my heart lighter than it'd been in a long time. But then, I remembered that this was all fake, and we'd done an awesome job, so that was why I was so happy.

Fourteen

Aria

"Mom, it's fine. I swear. It's not a big deal. Ethan and I are just friends. We keep running into each other and we're just talking."

"But you don't know anything about him."

"Well, I knew a lot about Chase and look how that turned out."

She had no response to that, and I wondered if that would be the end of it. But I should have known better because she just kept going, this time changing her angle.

"Your father says that Ethan has a bad reputation, that his business practices are questionable."

My dad was one to talk, a lawyer-slash-founding-partner who did whatever it took to win. I loved my dad with all my heart, but something about him saying bad shit about Ethan ruffled my feathers.

"Please, Mom. Can you just trust me?" I hated having to keep this secret from my own mother, and part of me wished I could confide in her like I had my sisters, but I also knew she'd think the whole idea was insanity and would do everything in her power to stop me.

She sighed. "Of course I trust you. I just want the best for you. For all of you. I worry about you. That's all."

"I know. And I appreciate it." I stood up as high as possible on the stepladder to cut in the very tippy corner of my living room wall with the lavender paint on the end of my brush.

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