Page 12 of Fake It True

I smiled down at her with my heart twisting sharply in my chest. “I’ll be okay, I promise. Since you have plans, I’ll call my friends and we’ll do something for dinner.”

“Okay,” she said solemnly, just as there was a light knock on the door.

My mom knew Dora loved answering the door, so she humored her by making a show of it. Dora put her hand on the doorknob, calling through, “Who is it?” in a singsong voice.

“It’s Grammy!”

Dora flung the door open, giggling. My mom lifted her, spinning her in a circle before giving her a hug and setting her back on the floor. “Are we ready to go?”

“Yes!” Dora exclaimed even though she didn’t have any shoes on yet.

My mom looked around and then out on the porch, asking, “Do you need shoes for your walk?”

Dora giggled again and hurried to put them on. Moments later, they were walking down the stairs hand in hand.

“Have you been here before?” Casey asked as she leaned back in her chair before looking around the small café in the local art gallery.

“I’ve gotten takeout from here, but I haven’t actually sat down here.”

“Same. I think it’s so cool that they rotate their menu. This month is an Indian cuisine theme, and I’m so excited! They have a buffet and everything.” She paused, her eyes twinkling. “Can we just get the buffet? I love a buffet.”

I chuckled. “Sounds good to me. Were you worried I wouldn’t want that?”

Her cheeks turned a little pink. “I didn’t know. And, I should ask now, are we splitting the check? I don’t want that to be awkward.”

“Since I asked you out to dinner, I presumed I would be paying. But I don’t really know the rules for dating these days. I haven’t gone on a dinner date in… Well, a while.”

Casey was quiet as she held my gaze. She began nibbling her bottom lip with her teeth. I didn’t think she was intending to be sexy and cute, but pretty much everything Casey did was sexy and cute, so I had to try to stay focused while lust revved its engine.

“I don’t know what the rules are either. You’re welcome to cover dinner. I guess if we go on another dinner date, I’ll get it,” she finally said.

“It doesn’t have to be even. Life isn’t really like that.”

“I know.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I was just offering.”

A sense of nervousness slid through me, and I rested my elbows on the table.

“Neither one of us has dated in a little while,” she pointed out.

“Seems to be the case,” I replied. “What’s your reason?”

Casey blinked, an intense pain flashing through her eyes that sent a jolt of protectiveness through me. She glanced away quickly to unroll the silverware from its napkin.

A moment later, a waiter arrived. Beyond each of us choosing water to drink, he delivered plates for the buffet. We loaded up before returning to our table to sit down. I was wondering if Casey was going to let the topic of dating drop, and I didn’t want to pressure her. I knew there was a story, if only because she needed someone to pretend to be engaged to her.

After a few bites, she glanced over. “I guess maybe you might want an explanation for why I dragged you into a therapy session as my fake fiancé.”

I cocked my head to the side. “You don’t owe me an explanation, but I’m definitely curious.”

Her lips quirked in a sad smile. “To make a complicated story simple, my parents would like me to fall in love with the son of their best friends. I was trying to be vague, but I ended up telling my mom I was engaged because the guy in question is a total asshole. I want nothing to do with him. Ever. But it’s awkward because…” She circled her hand in the air.

“Close family friend, and all that,” I offered.

She looked sheepish when she shrugged. “Pretty much. My mom somehow got this therapist’s name and wanted me to go to therapy with, well, my fiancé, just to make sure we knew it was the right thing. I saw you in the waiting room, one thing led to the next and now we’re having dinner.”

I nodded slowly as we stared at each other. It felt like the air before a storm, weighted with electricity humming.

I wanted to ask who hurt her, what lay behind the pain I saw in her eyes. My gut told me that maybe pushing her on that tonight wasn’t wise.

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