Page 17 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

"Spencer? What's going on?"

He shook his head. "I don't know yet. Last night after I came home, I had been here for a while. I had just got done taking a shower, and then, when I came back out, an envelope had been slipped beneath the door. It had a picture of Penny from a couple of hours earlier going into her apartment and a picture of us when I was holding you in front of your apartment. You know, after the skater incident."

"Yeah, yeah, right," I confirmed, trying not to let the worry overtake me. “So, what exactly did your note say?”

"Basically, that we all need to watch our asses." He sighed, rubbing a frustrated hand over his face. "Look, Ava, I want you to understand something. I would've never asked you to be my fake fiancée if I thought this situation was going to escalate to this magnitude. Please, tell me you believe that."

My gut said he was telling the truth while my street smarts had some questions, but considering how upset he was, I just nodded. "Yeah, I know that. I know you don't fool around with danger getting close to Penny."

He shook his head. "I wouldn't let anyone get hurt. Not if I can help it, despite what some people think," he groused. "But the fact of the matter is that you are part of the situation now."

"Yeah, well, that’s putting it mildly," I said under my breath.

"I had all these guidelines and expectations for what we needed to do to make this fake fiancée thing work lined up for this morning, but those notes showing up just blew that plan to hell."

"How do you mean?" I asked, confused. "I mean, we can still fake it for the cameras, no big deal. Apparently, people have already seen me with you, so we would just go from there, right?"

"I'm not talking about that, Ava. Being attached to somebody like me makes you a bigger target now. I can't in good conscience put you in more danger, not without the proper security measures."

Oh, I really didn't like where he was going now. "If you're about to suggest that I need to get some goon as a security guard to follow me around 24/7, then you've got another thing coming," I informed him.

"Oh, I plan on going one step further. We're about to take this fake fiancée relationship to the next level. I'm moving you in here for the time being until this mess gets settled."

I looked at him stunned, with my mouth hanging open for a moment longer than I had intended. Finally, I snapped it shut, and then, I let loose. "No way. No fucking way. Are you kidding me?"

He shook his head. "You know enough about me by now to know that I don't really kid," he said as he rose from the couch and walked towards a spacious kitchen.

"Well," I stuttered, at a loss for words, "I don't agree with that. I like my apartment, and I'm not going anywhere."

He looked at me sharply. "You don't really have a choice, Ava."

I could feel anger and fire rushing through me. "Excuse me? The hell I don't. You can't just command that I come here with you and stay for God knows how long. I agreed to be your fake fiancée, but I'm not upending my whole entire life for you."

He listened to me with a mock, exaggerated expression of patience on his face and then said, "Well, guess what, it's already been upended. And you're not safe in that apartment building where you're at now. The entrances are too easy to infiltrate, and it needs better security."

"We are a close-knit group of neighbors, we look out for each other," I insisted, but he was not having it.

"Ava, listen to me. Moving in with me is not an option. You are not safe at your apartment. I've already had to deploy extra security to watch Penny. You're going to need it, too, because these people think you're my fiancée now. People are going to be all too eager to come after you. You need to be someplace where I can keep an eye on you and make sure you're safe because God forbid if something happens to you…" he trailed off, swallowing hard, but his eyes held onto mine, and for a brief moment, I could see the genuine panic surging through him. If I didn't know better, I'd think that the man actually cared about me and my well-being. He cleared his throat forcefully. "Penny would never forgive me if something happened to you."

I wasn’t sure why that last statement stung so much, but it did. "Right," I said quietly. "Penny would be pretty upset." But as I stood there, watching him leaning over his kitchen sink now, not meeting my eyes, I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief. "This whole thing is insane, Spencer. Are you sure you're not overdramatizing the situation? I mean, I'm not trying to offend, but you do have a lot going on, so maybe—"

Before I could finish my sentence, he handed me the two pictures he'd been talking about.

Somehow, just hearing about them versus seeing them was entirely different. It felt all too real now. That picture of Penny got to me because she looked so unaware. Tired and just ready to go home for the evening. I recognized that look. And of course, the picture of me and Spencer, well, we looked pretty cozy, and I could feel my cheeks burning as I glanced at the picture.

I tore my eyes away from it, as if I was looking at something pornographic. He watched me intensely.

"Do you think I'm overdramatizing now?"

I didn't answer for a long moment before I finally sucked in a deep breath. I met his eyes, hoping to God that the reaction I had to the picture wasn't showing in my gaze. "I just think that that maybe we need to take a breather and not come to any rash decisions."

I saw his jaw harden, and a thrill of excitement raced through me, though I wasn't exactly sure why. "I don't make rash decisions, either. I make informed ones, which is why I can tell you confidently that we don't have a choice in this situation," he said steadily, then added in a lower tone, "You're moving in here. I'll go with you to collect some things, but as of today, you are the newest resident here."

Despite all of the chaos going on, I couldn't help but want to fight back. The fact that he didn't think we needed to talk about the issue any further was infuriating, but before I could respond, there was a knock at the door. Spencer gave me a look as if to say, "Case closed," and I narrowed my eyes on him in warning that this conversation was not over.

He turned on his heel and stalked towards the door, where an older gentleman who I had seen once or twice before was waiting on the other side.

"Spencer, I'm afraid we have a problem—" the man stopped short when he noticed me, giving me a tense smile. "Oh. Hello. I didn't realize you had company, Spencer. I do apologize for barging in."

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