Page 27 of Fake It True

Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked them away quickly. My heart felt as if it were clapping inside my chest. “It’s real for me too, but what does that mean?”

“I think it means if we both feel this way, we keep seeing each other. We could discuss it with Delaney and tell her the whole story,” he said, his lips twisting to the side with a half-smile.

“Let’s tell her. We might as well.”

His eyes held mine, and heat started to suffuse me while my belly felt tingly. “When I see you at the café, do I pretend we’re friends, or something else?”

Joy, anticipation, and anxiety were bubbling over inside me. “Something else.”

Maybe I didn’t even know what I meant by that, but I didn’t want to sneak around with Leo.

Chapter Twenty-One

CASEY

One month later

Luna smiled as she studied the tarot card I’d just pulled. “Just what I would expect,” she said, nodding sagely as if it made perfect sense.

I adored Luna, but I tended to feel a little flustered by how down-to-earth and simultaneously woo-woo she was. She really believed this tarot stuff, while I was skeptical of it. Of course, I was generally skeptical about life.

“Why would you expect this?” I asked, eyeing the too-on-the-nose Lovers card.

“Because I think you’re falling in love.” She was completely serious. I had just taken a sip of coffee and nearly choked, almost spitting it out on the table in front of us.

Josie was standing beside me, her hip resting against the stainless-steel table. “I agree.”

“What?!” I sputtered.

Josie patted me on the back as if I were a small child. “Oh, sugar. As you would say, bless your heart. Leo comes in every day you’re working. He’s gaga over you. He’s also nice.”

“He’s also totally hot,” Luna offered helpfully. “Not my type, but I have eyes.”

My face was on fire as I looked between my friends. I couldn’t imagine being in love, but I was afraid they might be right. It was really difficult for me to believe that a guy like Leo would be into me.

I kept telling myself to just take it one day at a time and live in the moment and all those trite phrases. I was trying to stay calm, but my internal state was so heightened that it felt impossible.

“You’ve been talking with your therapist about it. Didn’t you say last week that she feels like you could meet Dora and his parents? They know about you anyway,” Josie said.

“They do?” I yelped.

Josie waggled her brows. “Of course they do! In case you didn’t notice, this is a small town. I know Leo’s parents. His mom asked me about you, and I told her you were awesome.”

A sense of panic spun in my chest. Although this started out teasing, Josie’s gaze sobered. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. Just remember, you can take things one day at a time.”

I was busy telling myself that later that day when I walked up the stairs to my apartment and my phone chimed with an incoming text. When I glanced down and saw Nathaniel’s name flash on the screen, that sense of panic felt like a tsunami inside of me.

Nathaniel: Why the hell are you talking to the police?

My thoughts spiraled. Seeing as I hadn’t talked to the police, I had zero clue why he thought I had.

Chapter Twenty-Two

LEO

Dora stared at me, hands on her hips with her eyes narrowed. If you had tried to tell me before I was the full-time parent of a six-year-old that they could boss you around, I wouldn’t have believed it. I found it harder to hold my ground with Dora than with full-grown men who were bigger than me.

“Dora,” I began, clearing my throat. “I don’t know if we can have a dog.”

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