Page 29 of Caught in a Bad Fauxmance
Wait. Liam?
Before I can grab my family and get the hell out of here, an arm wraps around my waist.
“Hey, Devin,” Julian says with a Jokeresque grin.
“If you keep sneaking up on me, you’re going to kill me,” I snap at him, pressing my hand against my chest. “Or I’ll kill you, whichever comes first.”
Julian laughs loud enough to attract an uncomfortable amount of attention. “You’re so funny.”
“What’re you doing?” I hiss.
“Liam’s right there,” he whispers back. As if on cue, Liam catches sight of Julian, waving to him with a devious smile. “We can’t just stand around and act like we don’t know each other.”
Of course we can’t, because that would be too easy. “Why couldn’t they just send a disgruntled teenage employee like any other theme park?”
We watch Liam stall in his tracks to hand an elderly woman a bright red slip of paper. She seems more enamored with him than the discount, making sure to rest her hand on the breast pocket of his puffer vest before begrudgingly letting him leave. Old Bob glowers at Liam, abandoning his post at the table to trail behind him at a careful distance. Gotta give it to Liam—showing up here was a ballsy move. Old Bob is feisty. I wouldn’t put it past him to take a swing at Liam with his cane if push comes to shove.
“Hello, lovebirds,” Liam says once he finally reaches us. “Signing up for the games?”
“We are,” Julian replies, holding me tight against his side. Sweat trickles down my temples as I attempt to discreetly survey the dissipating crowd for any sign of my family. Dad and Isabel are still caught up in conversation, but they won’t be for long. We need to send Liam packing before Dad can find me in any compromising positions with the enemy.
“Fun. I’ll see you there.” Instead of walking away, Liam shifts his attention to me. His steel-blue eyes are piercing even when they’re narrowed to slits. “I thought your name sounded familiar.”
I rack my brain for a time when Liam and I would’ve met before the cocktail party. It’d be hard to forget meeting someone whose dad owns a water park. Besides the Seo-Cookes, the most interesting person I’ve met is the guy who broke the world record for eating the most peanut butter cups in one minute.
“You’re from that neighbor family,” Liam supplies before turning to Julian. “The one Henry said you guys can’t stand.”
“That’s me,” I reply with a nervous laugh.
“We started texting after we ran into each other at the Tallahassee airport.” Julian lets go of my waist to turn and face me, smiling like I’m his sun and stars. “Turns out we had more in common than we thought.” He punctuates the sentiment with a kiss to my knuckles.
He’s laying it on a little too thick if you ask me….
“Cute.” There’s a hint of a sneer on Liam’s lips. “Your dad mentioned you’re going on a hiking trip next week.”
Julian nods warily. “We are…Why?”
“He said you have room for one more.” His eyes flicker over to me for a moment, his confident façade cracking when I don’t wither under his gaze. “Unless Devin’s coming along.”
“He is,” Julian replies before I’m given the option. “We’ve been looking forward to it.”
I’d rather eat glass than go hiking with the Seo-Cookes. Julian hasn’t delivered on his end of our deal—he can’t just pencil me in for extra fake boyfriend shifts when I haven’t gotten within five feet of his house yet.
Julian lovingly runs his hand along my back. His palm against the small of my back makes me want to recoil, but I force myself to relax into his touch, leaning my headagainst his shoulder. The sooner we can get Liam to leave, the better.
Liam lets out a dark, humorless laugh. “Funny, your dad didn’t seem to think Devin was coming.”
“I guess you missed the memo,” I reply with a smile as sharp as my tone.
Julian’s calm expression falters for a second as he blinks over at me in surprise. What? Spite is a powerful motivator, something Julian and I know all too well.
If the shock of my response gets to Liam, he doesn’t let it show. Instead, he holds out one of the coupons. Any desire I had to visit Allegheny Park went down the drain the day I met him, but I accept the coupon anyway. Liam stalks off after I’ve thanked him for the generous gift, giving Julian a cheeky wink before returning to soliciting the last of the crowd.
“Your ex is the worst,” I whisper to Julian once Liam is out of earshot.
Julian sags, letting out the breath he seemed to be holding since Liam walked away, his hand going limp in mine. “I know.”
My romantic exploits aren’t wide or varied. Just an ill-advised hookup sophomore year with my lab partner, Briana, and a horrendous double date with Maya and another pair of twins—which was as weird as it sounds. Still, I know having an ex like Liam would drive me up a wall. Maybe even make me desperate enough to spend time with the enemy next door.
