Page 21 of Fake Dating Adrian Hunter
“Ugh! You are so frustrating. I’m too hung-over to deal with this.”
“Okay, nothank you. So, what’s our story?”
“What are you on about now?” I ask.
“Everyone will want to know how we got together. We need a convincing lie to tell them.”
“We’ll say we bumped into each other on the street and a spark grew.”
“We live in different countries,” he points out.
“We reconnected over video chat. This is our first week being physically together.”
“Physically?” Adrian laughs, raising his eyebrows up and down.
“You know what I mean. We’ve been talking on FaceTime for a few months and this is the first time we’ve seen each other in the flesh. Problem solved. We don’t need an epic story.”
“So boring. They’ll want details. Everyone thinks we hate each other. How did we fall in love?”
“We don’t give them details.” I pace back and forth in the bedroom, chewing on my nails. “You know what, I’m second guessing this whole fake relationship. I don’t even know how I landed in this mess. There’s no way we can keep up the lie. I have no doubt Tory is pissed at me for getting drunk last night, and nowthis. She’ll know we’re not dating and will be even more angry with me. I need to explain the misunderstanding to everyone.”
I make a beeline for the door, but Adrian races off the bed, blocking the doorway with arms outstretched.
“Get out of my way.”
“Verena, do you realize how bad this will make both of us look to Isabelle and Jake? My chances of winning her back will be zero. Plus, I saw what that jerk did to you. The whole world did. You have to admit how amazing it felt to one-up him at breakfast. The look on Isabelle’s face was priceless for me.”
“Yes, it was amazing, but Jake will figure us out and I’ll be left even more embarrassed.”
“Stop panicking and have some fun. No one will figure us out, I promise. Wouldn’t you love to show Jake how great your life is without him and that he doesn’t mean a thing to you? Kind of like what you’ve been doing to me over the last seven years?”
I give Adrian the stink eye and all he does is laugh. But his propositiondoessound tempting.
“Fine,” I sigh. “There need to be ground rules. You can hold my hand in public, but that’s it. No kissing.”
“You flatter yourself too much. I have no intention of kissing you.”
I cross my arms and scowl.
“Holding hands seems a little tame,” he says. “Isabelle knows what kind of guy I am. I couldn’t keep my hands off her when we were dating. She’ll see right through us if I’m only allowed to touch your hand.”
“All right. But if your hands go anywhere near my chest or ass, I will make sure you regret it. We don’t embarrass the other person, either. You help me look good in front of Jake and I’ll make sure Isabelle is jealous enough to want you back. No more revenge on each other.”
“I think I proved my loyalty this morning in front of Jake and Jannah.”
My lips twitch upward. I hate smiling at anything Adrian does, but that was a gold performance. And that name he’s given her is genius.
“Now that everything is settled between us,” he says, strolling around the bedroom, “I can’t believe they gave you this bungalow. It’s so much nicer than mine.” He draws the curtains back, revealing the infinity pool that overlooks the tranquil ocean, then pulls his shirt over his head and drops it to the floor.
“What are you doing?” I shield my eyes. “Just because you saw me in my underwear doesn’t mean I want to see you in yours.”
Lies. As much as I try to deny it, there’s a spark of desire in me that would very much like to see him in his underwear or even less. Iknowthe view would be amazing.
He digs through his suitcase, pulling out trunks. “I’m going for a swim. You better leave our room unless you want to see me naked.”
“This isn’tourroom!”
Adrian taunts me by unbuttoning his jeans. I have no clue whether he would really get naked in front of me, but I’m not risking myself being in that situation, and run into the living room.
