Page 31 of Away With You
“Whatever it is, the article is suggesting that, in this battle, you are the loser.”
My ego smarts. I’ve always been the brother in the spotlight. The winning F1 driver whom the motor racing world adores. To have my older, some would say duller, brother seeming to win by stealing my girlfriend rubs me all kinds of the wrong way.
“So, what do you suggest I do? Date one of his ex-girlfriends?”
Rosie shudders. “Dear God, no. I would never suggest that. His exes are the worst. Almost as bad as yours. I was thinking more along the lines of what Mother said. About you moving on.”
The image of me as the wronged, scorned, sad, pathetic brother dances in front of my eyes and because of this, I don’t shut her down. In fact, I urge her to continue.
“What if”—she’s standing now, her entire body animated with her ideas—“What if you turned up to his wedding with someone new? Someone better. And you’re all in love and couldn’t care less about those two cheaters?”
I mean, that sounds great in theory. But—
“Rosie, you’re missing one minor detail. I’m not in love, and I don’t have a new girlfriend to bring to the wedding.”
She grins, a tad manically. “Mother thinks you do.”
My stomach flips. “You mean, Katie? But we’re not even dating.”
“Details, details,” she waves this away. “Wouldn’t that be amazing? You showing up with Katie at the wedding? She’s so gorgeous in a way that will have Victoria foaming at the mouth. The invited press—because we know they’ll invite the press—will be so focused on you and your new beau, they won’t pay her a lick of attention. And that’s all that she-devil ever wants. She craves the spotlight.”
“I’m not disagreeing, Rosie. But how is any of this even possible?”
She gets up and rummages through my fridge, emerging several minutes later, triumphantly holding a block of fancycheese. No wonder she has a kinship with Katie; they’re both little cheese addicts.
“You could ask Katie to go with you, as a favour.”
I ponder this. It’s not a small ask. My brother’s wedding isn’t some throwaway event. It’s a week-long festival in St. Lucia. Complete with over-water bungalows and helicopters. It’d be a big ask. Not to mention…
“I’m not sure she’s interested in dating me in any way. Even as just a favour.”
She smiles knowingly. “Somehow, I doubt this. You two had chemistry, even back at school. But even if that’s true, you could ask her to be your fake girlfriend? Sweeten the deal with an all-expenses paid trip to a tropical oasis.”
“Wait. Hold up. A fake girlfriend? Is this a thing?”
Her sigh is long-suffering. “Yes, big brother. Of course it’s a thing. There are like a million romance novels devoted to just that.”
“So, fiction? Like when Lucy pretends to date Peter inWhile You Were Sleeping?”
She gapes at me. “You watched that?”
My face heats. I’m so busted. “Maybe?”
Her giggle is delighted. “Your secret is safe with me. And no, that wasn’t fake dating. That was dating without consent. The poor man was in a coma, for goodness’s sake.”
I rub at my throbbing temple, wondering how this conversation ended up here. “Back to the fake dating. Do you think Katie would go for it?”
She pauses, staring off into the distance while she nibbles on her cheese like a little mouse. “I mean, she may do it as just a favour if you ask. She’s that kind of person. But if you’re worried she’ll get scared off by the idea of dating you, add the fake part to it, and she’ll be sweet.”
My stomach tightens at the idea of dating Katie in any way. Fake or not.
“Do you think I should do it?” I ask somewhat redundantly, given she suggested it.
“Yes, do it now before you lose the nerve.”
I look at my smartwatch. It’s 7.30 a.m. “Isn’t it too early?”
“It’s never too early to go after what you want.”
