Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Jules gave me a hard time when I told her the guys know she’s not my real fiancée. I get that it feels inequitable because I’ve asked her not to tell her friends or family. The difference is, this fake engagement was their idea. And I have more than enough secrets of theirs to ensure they definitely won’t tell a soul—in particular, Fisher, who has to do everything I tell him, now that I have that shot on my phone of him with the two cucumbers.
I haven’t hosted a Monday night since Nadia, and I feel a little weird about it. Luckily, Jules doesn’t feel weird at all. She even helped me pick out the snacks we ordered.
“This is basically our engagement party,” she says, uncovering a plate of roasted vegetables. “And I get to wear sweats because I’m not trying to impress anyone, because they all know it’s fake.”
She doesn’t need to try to impress anyone. She always looks gorgeous, no matter what she’s wearing.
“I don’t mean to be a pedant, but you’re not wearing sweats,” I say.
“Good observation,” she says. “The point is, I could if I wanted to.”
I chuckle because I can’t follow her logic. “You look great,” I say. Her hair is down and it hits her waist. I’ve learned Jules’ hair is a barometer for how comfortable she feels. When it’s down, she’s her most authentic self.
“You okay?” she asks, catching me staring at her.
“I pay you a compliment and you ask me if I’m okay?”
She laughs. “I mean, you seem a little tense.”
“I am a little tense.”
She takes the cover off another platter. “Why? Aren’t these people your best friends?” She pauses, turning to face me. “Are you worried about me being here? I can head down to the gym if that would be easier.”
I shake my head. “No, that’s not it. It’s just…”
“What?” she asks. “You can tell me anything. It’s not like I’m your actual fiancée who will hold it against you for the rest of our marriage.”
Now isn’t the time to unpack that grim view of marriage, but I’ve heard the stories about her dad, so I get it. “It’s a boring story, and it will pass. I’m just a little freaked out.”
“I live for a boring story,” she says. “I want every detail. Tell me everything.” She continues to organize the food and arrange plates and cutlery. I should help, but watching her has induced me into some kind of trance. I can’t take my eyes off her.
“Over the summer, I spent a little time with someone. She was kinda pushy about being in my space, but I was more relaxed about it than I’d normally be. She told me she was leaving New York at the end of the summer, so I figured we had a natural end date and she wasn’t expecting anything from me, so I just went with it.”
“Riiight,” Jules says. “You went along with her being pushy. What does that mean exactly?”
“She wanted to spend a lot of time here. At my place. And then she wanted to meet my friends. Hang out. Looking back, she was very blatant about it.”
“Blatant about what? Wanting to spend time with you?” Her tone has an irritated edge to it.
I sigh. She clearly thinks I was being a dick. I still feel like such a fool for taking Nadia at face value. “Turns out, it wasn’t me she wanted to get to know. She was trying to hack into Bennett’s IT system.”
“I don’t follow.” She sets down the last piece of cutlery and looks at me.
“She targeted me as a way to get to Bennett. He owns an IT company doing really cutting-edge stuff. She was a hacker—possibly representing a foreign government—using me to get physically close enough to Bennett to access his systems.”
“Wow,” she says, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter. “That officially sucks. Did you really like her?”
A tricky question that’s impossible to answer truthfully, now that I know what she was trying to do. “I don’t know. I think she was, deliberately, very easy company.”
“Well, that’s how you know you can trust me. No one’s ever accused me of being easy company.”
I chuckle and don’t say, I like you a lot better.
The buzzer goes. Jules straightens and turns back to the counter. “What about drinks? Should I have made cocktails? I have no idea what I’m doing as a fake fiancée. Will someone please write a book on that?”
I head to the door and meet Worth coming toward me.
“You need to get better about your security,” he says, pulling me into a hug.
“I left it open for you.” Probably not the best idea in New York City.
“This is Jules,” I say.
She’s a little stiff and awkward, but why do I find it low-key adorable? It’s like she’s my actual girlfriend meeting my friends for the first time.