Page 61 of The Holiday Fakers
“Let’s go grab a coffee and go through them,” Marv says. “Where do you recommend, Erica?”
“Love at First Sip,” she replies. “It’s run by Eileen, one of my best friends, and the coffee is, dare I say it, even better than mine.”
“Sounds great.”
There’s a ping from a phone, but it isn’t mine.
Simultaneously, Piper, Cara, and Marv each pull out their phones and swipe them open.
Then three sets of eyes swivel to look at me.
This can’t be good.
Piper’s face flushes, and she jams her phone back in her pocket as if I weren’t meant to see it.
Cara’s looking at Marv now, waiting for his lead.
He looks stunned; I can’t read him further than that.
“Brody …” he begins, shaking his head. “You’ve done it now.”
CHAPTER 12
PIPER
Why, ohwhy, did I take out my phone? Now BrodyknowsI’ve been stalking him.
Of course, his agent would have a Google Alert for him. And so would Cara.
However, I doubt anyone thoughtIwould have one, and Brody certainly wouldn’t have pegged me as one of his biggest fans.
A muscle twitches in his jaw as he faces Marv. “What? What have I done?”
Marv grabs his cheeks like he’s a little boy, not a strapping man who’s a whole head taller than him. “You did it, man! All on your own!”
Brody shakes him off. “What?”
“Some good fucking—” he pulls a face at my mom. “Sorry, Erica. Freaking publicity for once! Some guy just posted this crazy-long post on his socials about how the sun shines out your butt. And there are photos. Look!”
He shows us the screen and Mom reads aloud.
“Brody King has to be the kindest guy in the world. He gave us his room and paid for it when the hotel lost our reservation.” She gazes at Brody. “You’re such a good man.”
His cheeks darken.
“And look at those lovely pictures!” Mom continues, before turning to me. “My beautiful daughter.”
“This is what I’m talking about!” Marv says, swiveling the phone back toward him to look at the photos again. “Christmas spirit, family values, cute kids, a fu—goddamnbaby, and a wholesome, small-town girlfriend.” He looks at me. “If only we’d brought you in sooner.”
“Brought her in?” Mom repeats, and my stomach drops.
Marv’s face freezes for a moment as he realizes he’s put his foot in his mouth. Then he recovers. “Brody wanted to protect Piper from all the BS that comes with being famous, so he’s never mentioned she’s his girlfriend before.”
“But now he needs this special job,” Mom says. “So, we need to bring in my special girl.”
“Exactly. Your daughter is our other secret weapon. After you, of course.”
Mom places a hand over her heart, thrilled to be part of this subterfuge she doesn’t know the half of.
