Page 18 of Between Here and There

“Of course I don’t have a date!” I groan, slumping further down. “I panicked, okay? Now I’m screwed because I have to either come up with a fake date or admit I lied. I mean, should I hire someone? Pretend they’re my boyfriend?” My mind plays an infinite loop of possible scenarios that might occur if I bring a stranger to Bon’s wedding. My friends are gonna ask me a lot of questions. They’re gonna wonder where I met him and why I didn’t tell them about it. Not good. I can’t lie myself out of that one. Should I just let them in on the secret? Probably not. Bon will most likely tell Ryan. And then he (or Haley) will probably tell Richard. Then Richard will tell Rob. It’s a small village. The trail of lies will come to light.

Joshua’s quiet for a second, and then a smirk pulls at his lips. “Icould do it.”

I blink at him, unsure if I heard him right. “You? You’ll pretend to be my date?”

“I’ll pretend to be your damn husband if you ask me to.” His hands freeze on the steering wheel, like he didn’t mean to say what he did. I guess the thought of commitment still makes this guy squirm. He brushes it off effortlessly with a smile.

“Why?” I can’t help but ask.

He shrugs, then says, “Because it’s just pretend.”

Before I can respond, his phone rings. It’s connected to the car Bluetooth so I see immediately that it’s his mom. He answers her on loudspeaker.

“Hey, Josh. Where are you? Will you be here by dinner?” Tita Evie, their mom, asks.

“Yup. I’ll be there by then,” he says.

“Great. There’s this girl I’d love for you to meet. Her name is Leana. She is a wonderful lady, and…” his mom rambles on about how great this potential girl is but Josh is simply rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

“Ma, no. I don’t need another one of your matchmaking games.” He groans.

“The only time I will stop my matchmaking games is when you manage to make a match for yourself. Until then, you’re going to have to bear with me,” his mom says playfully, but we both know she’s serious. “If you don’t like Leana, at least just go on one dinner with her. Then we can find other girls to introduce you to.”

“No, don’t,” Josh says.

“I told you, Josh. Unless you already have a girlfriend–”

“I do,” he cuts her off.

I freeze. Hold on. He has a girlfriend? Well, I guess with looks, financial independence, and a sense of humor, it’s impossible for him not to have one. I don’t know why but I feel something dip in my stomach at the revelation.

But wait. Did he have a girlfriend when we kissed in front of my apartment? Oh my god, am I theother woman? I can’t believe this is happening. Why in the world would he offer to fake-date me if he had an actual girlfriend? Is he just like every terrible man I know?

“Oh that’s wonderful!” Tita Evie cuts through my mental crisis. “Why haven’t you introduced her? And is your girlfriend not attending your own sister’s wedding?” she continues. “Tell her to fly here, we’ll add her to the guest list.”

Fly here. I scoff. Rich people really just summon people from across oceans like they’re Doordash orders.

Joshua rubs his temples and stays silent for a few seconds, as if thinking about what to say next. I get it, Filipino moms are a lot to take in. Tell them the wrong thing and it will be used against you for all eternity. What I don’t get, though, is why he looks at me, then looks out the road, and says, “No need. She’s already here.”

I sneak a glance at the backseat. Nope. No girlfriend hiding back there like a ninja. Did he mean that she was also in the Philippines? I guess not all long-distance relationships are doomed to fail. Maybe it’s why he’s so confident to kiss me two weeks ago. Because his girlfriend won’t find out. This is terrible, I need to come clean.

It’s Bon who replies, apparently Joshua is also on loudspeaker. “Wait, wait, wait. So you’re bringing your new girlfriend to my wedding and you didn’t bother to tell me? The bride?” She’s freaking out.

Joshua takes a deep breath. “I didn’t think I needed to. She’s already on the guest list,” Joshua says. Now I’m even more confused. How can she be on the guest list if they haven’t met her? And I guess I’m not the only one confused because Bon says the exact same thing as I was thinking it.

“Actually…” Josh pauses. His eyes dart to me for a split second, and I swear I see a flicker of desperation. “You already know her.”

Bon’s voice becomes suspicious. “Who?”

He holds my confused gaze as he says, “She’s your very own maid of honor.”

Sorry, what? I’m Bon’s maid of honor. How can he say that his girlfriend was—wait. He’s looking at me now. He’s mouthing the word ‘please’. Everything goes woozy and I feel my mouth fall open as realization strikes me. Oh no.

“It’s Emily,” he says in a final breath.

Me. He’s talking about me.

I’m the girlfriend.

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