Page 29 of The Fake Dating Plan

What was that? Was I complimenting her? She looked at me as if I had stepped out of the box she put me into. But hadn’t I stepped out of my own box?

“I don’t have a dress.”

“You don’t need one. You’ll wear one of our own. To show solidarity of the brands, of course.”

“And I don’t have a plane ticket.”

“It’s company business. You’ll be using the company jet.”

“Hotel?”

“Why are you looking for excuses when we both know you want this?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you want to go?” I asked, even though I knew the reason for her hesitancy. It was the same reason I didn’t want to be here in the first place. Us. Together. Last time it didn’t work so well. And yet, I wanted to throw caution to the wind.

She looked like she was about to say something, closed her mouth, then said, “I’ll go.”

“Great. Glad we’re on the same page. I’ll send you the details and give you our designer’s contacts.” When she cocked her brow I added, “You know, for dress-fitting and to discuss which jewelry will go with which dress.”

She tilted her head to the side.

“What?”

“Why are you the benefactor of some Spanish Fashion Arts Museum?”

Sage wasn’t just some museum, but I humored her. “My family’s foundation is. Well, the Bousqets Foundation that is. My great-great-grandfather helped rebuild it after a fire and donating to it has always been part of the family legacy.”

“And here I was thinking the Reids were only a Tech name. How come you’ve never told me about that side of you?”

She had said it so casually, I might have responded in the same tone if her words didn’t pierce an old wound. “If you hadn’t cheated on me, you might have known.”

She blanched, and I wanted to slap myself for letting my guard down. How could I be so careless around her when I knew what kind of person she was? Coolness was my MO. She should see me as a cool, unaffected person and not some bitter ex.

“I’m sorry if you think I hurt you.”

Oh, no, she didn’t just say that. My food became tasteless and the intimate mood that had been created by the restaurant disappeared. I wanted to get out of her presence as fast as I could.

“You know what dinner is over. My people will be in touch.

I got up and left her with her mouth, aghast.

A few weeks after my dinner with Emilia, she was waiting for me at the hotel in Spain. She had made the trip a day earlier while I had to wait for an important meeting with one of our potential partners. I almost canceled the meeting. That was how eager I was to see her again. I hated how happy I felt when I saw her at the hotel bar. However, that happiness was short-lived when I noticed she wasn’t drinking alone but was with the people next to her. They looked like they were in deep conversation and familiar with each other. Emilia was an introvert, but given the right circumstances, it seems she didn’t have issues talking to people.

The other guy, a handsome young man in his twenties, was saying something animatedly. Emilia laughed, slapping his shoulder. He laughed too, and their heads almost bumped. An unexplained need to rush over there and separate them compelled me to make my way over to them at a faster pace than normal. Who was he? Her friend? Her lover? If she brought her boyfriend here, then she should be made aware that this was a work trip and not some tryst.

Her back was to me so she didn’t see me coming, but her companion did, and he nudged her, nodding his head towards me. She turned mid-laughter, her mouth wide with mirth. The smile went away as soon as she saw me.

“He finally makes an appearance. I was beginning to think you’ll only show up on the night of.”

“Who’s your friend?”

She tilted her head to the side, a slight frown wrinkling her brow. “Are you being deliberately obtuse or have you truly forgotten?”

When I said nothing, she added, “Dylan. You know, the man your company has been working with for the past half-year?”

How was I supposed to remember anything associated with her when she blinded my eyes to everything else?

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