Page 31 of The Fake Dating Plan

“About the Gala?”

“Heron will probably be there.”

She straightened her back. She sat up straight whenever she felt a threat or was afraid. Once I realized it, I also developed an instinctive reaction to want to protect her. One I was feeling now. It made me act in ways that surprised me, surprised others, and sometimes it made me blurt things I shouldn’t. Like, “We should say we’re dating.”

She gulped her drink so fast I thought she would choke. “So the world will think I slept my way to the top? No thanks.”

“They already think that.”

“And your solution is to confirm those rumors?”

“No one besides Heron will know about it.”

“Is this your solution to everything?”

“No. But since we’re fooling my family, why not add one more person to the mix.”

“Who said we’re dating? I never agreed to the ridiculous suggestion.”

“Is that a no?”

“It’s a I’m still thinking about it.”

“I know he likes you.”

“You’ve been digging.”

“And I know how much it would pain him to see the two of us together.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to play with fire.”

“Why not? Don’t you want to get under his skin? Think of how much he would hate it.”

“And then I will endure the brunt of his anger.”

“I’ll protect you.” I didn’t intend for my voice to lower, but it did. Her eyes flared at the hidden implications of my statement and her mouth formed a small oh. I had to get out of this bar before I dragged her back to my room. I gulped down the rest of my drink, got up, and said.

“Think about it.”

8

Iwas still thinking about Ax’s proposal even on the day of the Gala, as my dress was being fitted. My suite was enormous, but it felt small considering the number of people who were there to make sure I looked my absolute best. From the makeup artist and her assistants to the designer and his assistants, I felt like Cinderella, but with a dozen fairy godmothers.

All the surrounding commotion made me tune out of the present and go to my previous chat with Ax and what he had meant. Faking it with him would only make me wonder what could have been, and I didn’t want to go down that path. I’m sure he wanted to do it to piss Heron off, use me as his pawn, and once he was done, who knew what Heron would do to me. But then he had said he would protect me. I almost scoffed out loud. I didn’t believe that at all.

“Wow,” I heard Dylan say as he walked in. The wonder on his face was hard not to miss. His hold on the box in his hands became loose as he stared at me.

I looked down at the dress. It was a beautiful white gown with tiny little gold threads that went down the seams. It hugged my curves from top to the knees where it flared into a wide train. The designer was good; I had to admit. His name was Marco Clies, and he himself was the one making sure all the finishing touches were good. Marco and I had spent some time discussing which jewelry went with which dress design, both of us aware that one shouldn’t outshine the other. Looking in the mirror, I had to admit that the result was amazing.

“She does look gorgeous, doesn’t she,” Marco said as he got up from adjusting the hem and stepped back a few feet. “He’s going to eat you alive; I just know it.”

“Who’she?” I said.

He waved off my question. “Please. Anyone with eyes can see how that man looks at you whenever you enter the room.” He turned to Dylan. “Am I wrong?”

“Uh-uh.” Dylan unfroze and marched towards me, opening the jewelry box. A gold necklace rested at the center, with two gold earrings on each side.

“Are you sure about this?” he said as he placed the necklace on me.

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