Page 74 of My Secret Snowflake
I need to take it slow.
Iris said she’s not sure she’s ready to date yet.
I need to show her she can trust me.
I pull my hand back before it gets a mind of its own.
“My parents’ friends are mostly in the library,” I say as we pass by the open doors, revealing a room filled with well-dressed gray-haired New Yorkers, and enter the living room. A quartet plays Bach’s “Air on the G String” in the corner next to a Christmas tree decorated in green and red. The violin chords rise up in hope. “We cleared all the furniture to the side to allow for dancing later. There’s a bar in the library and another in the dining room. And plenty of appetizers.”
“This apartment is huge,” Iris says.
“That’s why my father wants me to go into finance,” I say. “But he also bought this a long time ago. What can I get you at the bar?”
“A white wine is good,” she says.
Smiling at each other, we stand there, making no move to join the line at the bar.
An older woman’s voice interrupts us. “Hello.”
Mrs. Potikwouldbe the first to approach us.
“I was so surprised when your mom told me,” Mrs. Potik says. “You said ‘my wife’ so convincingly, Sebastian.”
“Who’d you call your wife?” Melody asks.
Melody too? I just want Iris to myself for a second, but fine. This is good.
“Iris. This is Melody. Melody, Iris,” I say. “We pretended to be fake married as an extracurricular company-related activity.” That’s sort of true because it was for the Secret Snowflake gift exchange. And hopefully Melody won’t ask any questions.
Melody’s brow furrows. She is clearly trying to figure out how being fake married couldeverbe an extra-curricular work activity. Rightly so.
“I had no idea that so much research went into movie companies creating fake dating or contract marriage plots,” Mrs. Potik says. “What kind of questions did they ask on the survey afterwards?”
I am lost. Iris smirks. I’m never going to hear the end of this. I should have been the one studying up.
Iris says, “Did we feel like a couple because we were fake married? Did we think a contract marriage could lead to deeper feelings? What situations threw us?”
Not bad. Has Iris actually given thought to fake dating?
“And what did you answer?” Mrs. Potik turns to me.
“I answered yes, yes, and meeting someone we knew, like you, Mrs. Potik, definitely threw us.” That’s all true. I liked calling Iris “my wife.”
“Are you a screenwriter?” Melody asks Iris.
“No,” Iris says. “I’m in cybersecurity, but Sebastian and I met through friends, so we agreed to pair up for this.”
“Iris is friends with Lily, Rupert’s girlfriend,” I say.
“Oh, Rupert. I haven’t seen him in ages. And I haven’t even met Lily.” A shadow passes over Melody’s face.
We used to hang out all the time together, but that changed when Melody started dating Wim. I’d call her to invite her to a dinner, but she’d say she and Wim already had plans. And honestly, I don’t like Wim. Not just because he’s Melody’s fiancé. He’s not fun. It makes me sad that Melody will marry him. Even if she doesn’t want me, she should marry someone fun and warm—someone who fits in with our friend group.
“Rupert and Lily should be here soon,” Iris says.
“Did you take the survey separately?” Mrs. Potik asked. She’s not going to let this go, is she?
“Yes. I had the same answers as Sebastian, though,” Iris says. “It was pretty fascinating. One of my close friends writes romantic comedies. We once spent a night debating whether fake dating would actually work.”
