Page 25 of A Flighty Fake Boyfriend
“Are you saying you’re not normally lucky?” I followed him outside, where we sat at a wrought iron table for two with a glass top.
“No. I am." He frowned down at the cheese board he was crafting. "But when we started this adventure, I thought we were just two guys off on a lark.”
I lifted his chin. “And now?”
“Now, I don’t know how to act. Not around a guy who pals around with A-listers and stays in places where they give you caviar and wine.”
“I’m pretty sure the gift basket is from Laurie.”
“OMG. You call him Laurie?” He made a little heart throbbing gesture. “That is so adorable.”
I helped spread out our little picnic. “You know I work for an NGO, right? Laurie and I became friends because, not only does he support the work we do, he believes in it. I know a lot of so-called A-listers who give us money but would step over a half-dead Uber driver to get another ride. Laurie’s not that guy. He’s decent. I don’t know what he was thinking, doing all this for me of all people.”
Epic’s steady blue eyes met mine. “You mean because this level of luxury becomes complicated if you think about the armies of unseen hands who make it happen.”
“Yes.”I breathed the word. For a single, wonderful moment, it seemed as if someone truly saw me. “Thank you.”
Epic, the boy with the absurd name, had hidden depths.
He picked up a cracker and a little spade-shaped cheese knife. "I spent the summer before college working with a group that makes no-cost home repairs for low-income households in Appalachia. After that, my grandma wanted to meet me near Raleigh to celebrate. We stayed at the Umpstead, I think? We had a suite on the spa level. It was nothing like this, but I still got whiplash.”
“You spent a summer doing free building repairs,andyou have an MFE?”
He smirked. “See? Not just a pretty face.”
“But it is.” I’d had too much wine to keep that in. “Pretty, I mean.”
“Thank you.” He flushed. “How do you make it all work inside your brain? Doing what you do and taking advantage of this kind of luxury at the same time?”
“I try to patronize businesses that value their staff. I get nosy sometimes. I look up anything I can find in the media. Dig into the finances of a business if I think it has shady employment practices.”
“What about this one?” He gestured past the patio to the masterfully detailed gardens beyond.
“I didn’t want to know this time.” I hadn’t really looked beyond making the reservation and getting a date. "Don't get me wrong, I would have looked into it if I’d been the one using it as a wedding venue. Too many beautiful things hold ugliness inside."
Not Epic, though. Despite only knowing him for a day, I’d have bet on Epic being lovely all the way through. I took another swallow of my wine. We chatted while we ate our charcuterie picnic and finished off the wine. The warmth of the sun and the meal made me so sleepy, I gave Epic his key and told him he was free to explore.
“You look beat.” He started packing up what was left of the food. “I’ll just clean up here, then take a look around.”
“Maybe make a dinner reservation? There are several restaurants on site.”
“What time do you think you want to eat?”
I checked my watch. It was only two. “Seven, maybe? We’ll get the sunset.”
“I’ll see what they have available.” I could tell by the coltish way Epic moved that he was tipsy.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“I’ll be fine. Just need some fresh air.”
“Have fun.”
He turned back at the door. “I thought you said I shouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t do?”
Very funny. Just because I didn’t love mini-golf… “Get out.”
He smiled, winked, and left me with the impression I was in way over my head. I had asked a goofy waiter with a silly name to be my plus-one for this event. I’d seen him as arm candy. A bit of fluff. A diversion.
