Page 25 of The Holiday Fakers
I’m not as small as Harper, but it’s still a fair way to the snowy ground, so I take it. A spark of electricity travels up my arm at the contact of his skin on mine.
Brody doesn’t seem to notice, releasing my hand as soon as I make it safely to the tarmac.
Buttoning my coat, I head toward the building, Brody matching my pace. He holds the door open for me, and a rush of hot air meets us as we walk in.
“I won’t be long. I just need to use the restroom.”
He leans forward, and for a wild moment, I think he’s going to kiss me.
“Say hi to Mia from me,” he says, then turns toward the mens’ room.
My face hot, I head to the ladies’ room, fully aware I need to have this conversation somewhere private. It’s empty, but I still check every stall, and place myself outside the one furthest from the door so I can see if anyone comes in.
Then I call Mia.
It doesn’t even ring once before she picks up.
“Shoot,” she says. “I’m standing by.”
“Okay. Don’t freak out.”
“What the hell, Piper! That sentence is literally designed to freak anyone out. What are you going to ask me to do next? Calm down?”
I giggle. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t know how you’ll react.”
“Just tell me then! It can’t be any worse than the thousand scenarios I’ve been running through for the last hour!”
I glance around to make sure no one’s nearby, then quickly tell her everything that’s happened since the Google Alert about Brody being caught “Loved Up” pinged on my phone.
To give Mia credit, there’s only a few seconds of silence before she’s off again.
“Okay, first up, this is freaking amazing, and it’s like your teenage fantasies are coming true?—”
“What do you?—”
“Come on, Piper, I bet you’re as hot for him now as you were when we were sixteen.”
“I’m not?—”
“Second, props to his agent for the idea. Brody needs to come back to Hideaway to see Ethan, and the longer he leaves it, the harder it’s gonna be.”
I nod, even though she can’t see me.
“Third, this solves all your problems vis-à-vis your non-existent boyfriend. I bet your mom lays an egg when she finds out it’s Brody.”
I snort. She’s not wrong.
“Fourth, you can’t tell anyone else apart from me it’s fake or someone will blab. I’ll be your wing woman and help manage the situation. Just put me in touch with this Marv dude, and I’ll coordinate your couple sightings and keep him away from you if he gets too much.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course! I’m going to have a riot. I’ll tell him I’m taking the photos. That way, I can sell themandmake sure you look hot AF. If you’re cool with that?”
“Absolutely.” Mia’s a photographer, and I know how hard it is for her to make a decent income.
She squeals down the phone so loudly that I have to hold it away from my ear. “This is gonna be so much fun!”
Having her on my side makes me feel a whole lot better, like this crazy scheme might actually work.
