Page 64 of Boss's Baby: A Fake Fiance Romance

Walter went for the bar. “Let’s have a round on the way there. Jonas’s parties can be a tad on the stuffy side.” He turned his attention to me. “Cassidy? What’ll you have?”

“Um, I’ll take a club soda.” Alcohol was still sounding gross, but as soon as I’d said my request I regretted it.

“Didn’t know you were a teetotaler,” Sam said before taking a sip of his drink.

I had no idea how my not drinking would’ve looked bad, but it seemed like he was adding it to the evidence. Maybe he figured I wanted a clear head to make sure my lies were straight?

“I know for a fact she’s not,” said Josh. But he stopped himself there, as if realizing that the conclusion of that sentence was “because we got drunk and hooked up.”

“Actually, throw a little bit of vodka in there,” I said.

Walter smiled. “Atta girl. You’ll be glad you did after the thirtieth time you have to talk about how you two met.”

“Very cute story, by the way,” said Sam.

It made me even more nervous. I’d never been that great at telling lies before, and I was beginning to remember why—it was so hard to keep all the details straight. I made a mental note to keep Josh’s advice in mind about using the truth and merely twisting it a little bit.

Not to mention the idea of him being by my side through the party made me feel a lot better. We’d have to be a team through this. And he’d been a pretty great teammate so far.

The rest of the drive went without incident, Walter giving me the rundown on what to expect in the evening ahead. So many rich people. Sure, I’d met my fair share in New York working in my field, but these weren’t just any rich people—they were the ones I’d grown up with. Kind of.

I imagined seeing all the kids from the private school there, the ones who’d teased me right along with Josh. Would they still look at me the same way? Or would they see me in the same way Sam did, as some outsider who’d broken into a scene where she didn’t belong?

And, of course, I didn’t even have the ability to lose myself in booze. Getting drunk to deal with problems was never my thing, but Walter was probably right in that a cocktail or two would almost certainly help take the edge off. But it was the same story—I could barely stomach the stuff. I sipped my drink as we drove, only having enough to not look suspicious.

After fifteen minutes or so, we pulled up to the ginormous estate of Jonas Victor. Another night of lying, another night of keeping it together.

All I could think about was if and when it would finally be too much to take.

Chapter 28

JOSH

The first hour at the party went by in a blur. Cass and I zipped around the place, shaking hands and accepting congratulations. The conversations melded into one big blur of smiling faces and hugs, along with more than a little gawking at the ring.

The party was as glitzy an affair as I’d come to expect from Victor. His house had an enormous ballroom, the place decorated with Christmas cheer, a huge tree dominating in the center. A band played lively jazz covers of holiday tunes. There had to be hundreds of people there, all decked out in gowns and tuxes.

After a time, I took Cass aside and did a check-in.

“OK, let me know how you’re feeling.” I placed my hands on her arms, squeezing them gently. It was hard as hell to stay focused on the matter at hand with how damn good she looked.

“I feel like I want to sneak off into the coat room and hide.”

“That bad?”

She appeared conflicted. “No, I’m being dramatic. I’ve just never been around so many rich people in my life. Making me feel—”

“Like the girl you were back then.”

“Like the girl I was back then. It’s so stupid, I know. But I can’t help but wonder how many of them are thinking the same thing your brother does.”

“That you’re a gold digger?”

“Maybe that. Or maybe that I don’t belong and everyone knows it.”

I offered her an easy smile, hoping to calm her nerves. “Well, the good news about that is you only have to deal with it for a little while longer. Once the holidays are over, we’re free and clear.”

“Yeah, I know. But I can manage. Thanks for dealing with my hang-ups about the whole thing.”

Before I could say a word, Cass’s eyes flashed. Her hands went for her clutch, and seconds later her phone was in her hands.

“Oh shit.”

“Oh shit?”

“Message from Katie. Says ‘you’re famous’ with the bug-eye emoji.”

I knew what that meant. Cass swiped and typed on her phone. “Wow, that was fast. Let me see.”

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