I can feel his eyes trying to light me on fire.
“We’re here. I’ll see you later, darling.” I fling the door open.
Before I can climb out, Ward grabs my hand like the caveman he is. But the savage pulse I’m expecting to see in his eyes softens to a campfire.
“Just stay safe,” he urges.
Huh? Unsure what to make of that, I nod.
He hasn’t let go of my hand. “Call if you need anything. And don’t talk to any strangers.”
“O-okay,” I tell him.
It takes me a minute longer to pull my fingers out of his grip than it should. Mostly because a crazy part of me doesn’t want to be free of his warmth, his strength, his weird concern.
But Brina’s waiting, and who am I to pass up a little therapy?
I shouldn’t let him rile me up with tender glances or walls of pure temper.
This is all a show.
It’s not like it means anything.
I move away from him and head for the peace of the coffee shop.
“I’m surprised you kept the apartment.” Brina sips her cinnamon latte and steps onto the stairway outside my place.
“It’s only ninety days—less now—so I just took clothes and necessities. I might as well pay rent here for the next three months because I’ll need a place after it’s over. Also, I didn’t want to move my furniture.” I laugh. “But I’ve been here so long now this place feels like home. It hasn’t been the same since you left. All of my friends are moving on to phase two of their lives, and I’m still stuck in the apartment we rented after college. Lame, but familiar, y’know?”
At the top of the stairs, I unlock the door and push it open.
“Enjoy phase one. It’ll end when it’s supposed to. Now what did you tell your parents about your current relationship status?” Brina steps inside ahead of me.
I follow her in and make sure the door is shut before I answer. I don’t want anyone else hearing this. “They signed the same NDA as you, and I told them the truth.”
“Were they cool with it? My mom would have been clasping her hands and fawning—romance author that she is—but I don’t think my dad would respond the same way.” Brina moves to the couch and sits down.
I sit beside her and slurp my latte. “They didn’t like it. Mom said if I ever date again, I’m going to have to explain two ex-fiancés instead of one. And it’s kind of hard to bury this one when we’re internet famous. Although, I guess Austin and I technically broke up before we ever really got engaged.”
“That guy was such a jackass,” Brina spits. “I never liked him. I hated the way it happened, but I’m still glad you didn’t get in deeper. I don’t know if I’d be able to visit if you’d wound up together. He was that bad.”
I smile, unsure if I should celebrate my bosshole fiancé far surpassing the boy I dated organically.
When it was over with Austin, everyone said they were glad he was history.
But no one actually told me when I was madly in love, too afraid to burst my bubble.
“No arguments about Austin. But my parents think this is somehow worse. Dad wanted me to back out of the contract and offered to take out a loan for my studio.”
“Oh, wow. But you didn’t?”
“Nah, I’d never let him front me like that and I’d already signed the contract. You know how I get with paying my own way. I’ll leave the whole ‘let my parents take care of life’ thing to my sister.”
“It’s a lot of money, Paige. I wouldn’t have turned it down, either, except for the fact that Mag would behead anyone who offered a fake engagement now.”
We both laugh because it’s true. She married an overprotective billionaire who’s learned to treat her like gold.
“He wouldn’t let you fake it in a million years,” I agree.
“But this all sounds pretty intense for pretend,” she says. “What happened that you couldn’t tell me about at Sweeter Grind?”
I set my drink down on the coffee table, drumming my brain to figure out where to begin.
“He’s a split personality. Sometimes this seems almost real, and then the next minute he’s Mr. Wardhole again. We went to the art museum today. He was being cute, at first, attentive and sweet. They had a new box of donations for his grandma’s exhibit and he just...he freaked. He wouldn’t even tell me what the problem was. Apparently, his dad donated stuff he doesn’t want outside of the family.”
Brina blinks slowly, her eyes wide.
Yeah, I know the feeling.
“His reaction doesn’t make sense. I can get not wanting people to see all of his family’s private moments, but the way he went off...it was a little scary.”
“They must have a strained relationship. Did you ask about it?”