Page 12 of The Love Trick

Shoving my phone into my dress pocket, I storm up the steps to my townhouse, a cute Manhattan-style home smack dab in the middle of Atlanta. I punch the keycode into the door and then step inside, breathing in the sweet, homey scent.

“I have to figure this out,” I say aloud as I hang my backpack on the hook and slide out of my sandals. Slowly but surely, I pad across the hardwood floors to the staircase. I’m still stuck in the soiled red dress—a pitiful reminder of what put me in this predicament in the first place.

I’ve got to get out of this thing.

Five minutes later, I’m in an oversized black T-shirt and running shorts, lying flat on my back on my fluffy white duvet. My phone is right beside me, and I know I have to do something to fix this…

I could just say we broke up…

But then everyone will know I was lying.

I could post an ad and offer a free vacation in exchange for someone posing as my boyfriend…

But that might draw in somerealweirdos.

“Ugh,” I mumble, running my hands over my face. I pick up my phone and scroll to Blaze’s number, hesitating before clicking the call button.

As much as I love him, I don’t think he’d understand the dire aspect of my situation.

So, I call Penny instead.

“Girl, it’s been three days since I’ve heard your voice,” Penny chimes in my ear. She’s the closest thing I have to achildhoodfriend, and I met her at a rich-kid summer program in Europe when I was sixteen. “How are you?”

“Not good. In fact, I’mreallystressed right now.” I sigh. “I just put myself in the worst predicament.”

“Ooh,” she hums. “Do tell. This sounds way more exciting than all the diapers I’ve been changing today.”

I furrow my brow. “I thought you had a nanny?”

“Yeah, I let her go. She had some other dreams she wanted to chase. So here I am, doing it myself.” She laughs. “I’m actually having the time of my life, really. But I don’t want to make you feel bad.”

I giggle, imagining the stately redheaded friend of mine elbow-deep in baby mess. “I’m not jealous of changing your twins’ dirty diapers, Penny, but thank you for your concern.”

“You’re welcome,” she chimes. “Now, onto yourpredicament.I’m dying to know what trouble you could’ve possibly gotten yourself into.”

“Well, you know Aurora is getting married in Hawaii, right?”

“Yes. And I thought it was supposed to be a small wedding, but I got an invitation. I’m not going, of course, because Sam and I can’t find a babysitter. That’s neither here nor there, though. Continue.”

I sigh, dreading the next part. “You also know that my family constantly reminds me how terrible it is that I don’t have a boyfriend or husband. They love to drone on and on about how I’m running out of time to find the right guy.”

“Mmm, yes.” She sounds like she’s frowning. “I, unfortunately, have witnessed this plenty of times when sitting in your circle.”

I nearly laugh at how proper she sounds—it’s just how she talks, having been raised all over the world and in a variety of cultures.

“Addy, just tell me what happened…”

“I lied and said I had a boyfriend to go with me to the wedding to shut them up,” I blurt out, facepalming myself as I admit the truth. “I’m literally going to look like such an idiot when I show up alone.”

“Wow,” Penny says. She falls into silence for a few moments.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. It’s not like I can find a boyfriend in a week.”

She lets out a sigh. “You can either own up to your lie—or cover and say you broke up with the guy or vice versa or…”

“Or I have to find anactualboyfriend.”

“Exactly. I mean, it couldn’t bethathard. You’d be essentially offering up a free trip to Hawaii. I bet tons of men would jump on that, especially with a pretty woman like yourself.”

---