Page 64 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

"Then why don't you?"

"I have trust issues. Okay?"

"I know. Of course you do after what Chase did to you. But don't let that asshole affect how you viewme. Have I ever done anything to make you distrust me?"

His question hung in the air between us as I racked my whirling brain. Before I could even think though, my phone rang and I looked down to see it was my dad.

Oh, great. The worst timing ever.

My sisters and I always picked up for my parents. It was like a family rule.

With a resigned sigh, I accepted the call, bracing myself for whatever awaited me on the other end.

"Hey, Dad," I said, doing my best to sound like a capable adult despite the pounding ache in my head.

"Aria." His voice was strong, stern, tinged with disappointment. "I've seen the pictures of you and Ethan, including the ones from last night."

My heart sank as I wondered what exactly he'd seen.Please, oh, please, let them not be the worst possible ones. "Um, right." How on earth did I tackle this?

"So you really are with Ethan now?"

"I am." The lie felt heavy in my gut. I didn't like lying to my parents. I hated it in fact, and I hadn't done it since I was a teenager fibbing about stupid stuff like boys, drinking, and partying. And here I was again doing pretty much the same thing.

"Your mother thought you were justhanging out," he said, emphasizing the last bit. "But obviously, after last night's pictures, it's more than that."

Last night's pictures?I was going to be sick.

"He's trouble, Aria. You can't trust him."

"How do you know that?" I questioned him, daring to hope we were just talking about the Eiffel Tower kissing pics.

"His business is fishy. He treats his employees poorly. He has a terrible reputation."

I glanced over at Ethan, who was back to staring out the window. He couldn't hear what my dad was saying, only my endof the conversation. But still. He had to know it was about him. About us. Well, fake us.

So how did one go about defending their fake boyfriend and his bad image?

"Do you have any proof of all that?" I asked. "Or is it just rumors and conjecture?"

"Don't try to lawyer a lawyer. It's well established that Ethan Locke is bad news."

"Well, it was well established that Chase Harrington was good news. And look how that turned out."

There was a brief pause before he responded. "One argument does not negate the other."

I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes against the throbbing behind my temples. "Dad, can we pick this up when I get home? I'm tired. I'm jet-lagged. I might be interfering with the plane's signals by being on the phone."

"You're fine," he said. But his tone was definitely softer. "And yes, we'll discuss this at a later point. Just be careful, Aria."

After we hung up, his warning reverberated in my mind, his words weighing heavily on me. Trying to shake it off, I leaned back against the seat, keeping my eyes shut in a lame attempt to block out the world.

"Let me guess..." Ethan's low voice reached my ears. "Your dad hates that we're together."

Without moving, I answered him. "Yep."

"And he thinks I'm sketchy."

"Bingo."

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