Page 44 of Faking It With the Small-Town Bad Boy

that. I don’t know how long I was out, but it feels like it was only a

minute or two. They said I was saying your name when I woke up

from surgery. I still don’t feel right, but I do know something.”

“What is that?”

“I saw you,” she says, poking her timid glare through me. “I saw you

standing in front of me, talking about the deal with the wedding and

how we could save face.”

“Don’t think about that now,” I plead. “It was a stupid idea.”

“I want to do it.”

My body goes numb with her words. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah,” she whispers. “I think it’s a good idea. And, if I need support,

or you need support, just to get through it, then we can do that

together, right?”

“Of course,” I breathe. “We can do this together.”

She seems at ease with that assurance, and truthfully, so do I.

NO SECRET

Leah

I lay in my hospital bed, happy that someone is here with me. It

might be Percy Elrod, and we have just agreed to pretend to date to

get through this wedding. Some time when I was laid out on the

garage floor, the idea of saving face and keeping my head up was the

best option. Even when I was out on the surgery table, I could see

Percy within reach.

Maybe it was my mind telling me to trust his idea. So, I do.

He sits in the chair by my hospital bed, and I gather my clothes in my

lap, just waiting for the nurse to come by and unhook me so I can go

home. The machine on the wall beeps softly, the sound almost

meditative while I wait for the green light to get out of this place and

get back to work.

Except, instead of a nurse coming into my room, it’s a familiar man

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