Page 38 of Fake It For Him

Besides, Freya was his sister, not mine. I wouldn’t have wanted to perpetuate the lie with my own siblings if I’d had any, but at the same time, I understood why she wanted to spend time with me. As the first woman Calan had ever brought home and introduced to his family as his girlfriend, it was only natural that I was a subject of interest.

It was a tightrope walk, getting them to believe the lie without taking it too far. If I’d said no, Freya would’ve gotten suspicious or thought I was just plain rude, but now that I’d said yes, I was staring down the barrel of a day of lying to a genuinely kindhearted woman.

A bright yellow Lamborghini SUV pulled up, and I wasn’t surprised when Freya stepped out of it. The girl looked like a literal million bucks, dressed sharply in designer clothes and sky-high leather boots. She was also covered in sparkly Swarovski jewelry, her ears, neck, and wrists adorned in what clearly was a favorite of hers, considering her comment at dinner about them being involved in her wedding décor.

I glanced down at my sneakers and jeans combo, instantly feeling severely underdressed. Damn it, I should’ve made an effort to glam myself up a bit.

Shifting on my feet, I forced a smile to my lips when she spotted me and grinned radiantly. Her hand came up in a wave as she ducked under the awning. “Ella! Thanks so much for coming. I was wondering if you were actually going to be here.”

Before I could even respond, she wrapped her arms around me, her soft, feminine fragrance enveloping me like an expensive hug. Groaning internally, I tried to remember if I’d even put on deodorant before I’d left.

Either way, Freya didn’t seem to mind. She hugged me warmly before she let go, then immediately linked her arm with mine, being as bubbly and charming as she had at dinner. I didn’t even know if she’d realized that I wasn’t dressed anywhere near as stylishly as she was.

As she spoke, my insecurities melted away. It didn’t look like she cared what I was wearing. She’d wanted to spend some time with her brother’s girlfriend and that seemed to be the only thing she was thinking about.

“I’m so glad we’re getting some girl time together,” she said as she squeezed my arm. “I love my brother and I know you do too, but jeez. It’s pretty hard to just chat when he’s around.”

My heart leaped in my chest. “Well, I don’t know if it’s quite at love yet, but we’re getting there. Maybe.”

In an alternate universe, I could certainly see myself falling for the guy for real. He was gorgeous, charming, funny, and a total dick in this reality, but in another? Yeah, it could’ve happened.

Freya chuckled and gave me a knowing look, tilting her head down. She peered at me through her eyelashes. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you guys hadn’t said the L-word yet. With how protective he was over you at dinner and how he was constantly touching you somehow, I guess I just assumed.”

I hadn’t even thought about any of that before, but now that she’d mentioned it, she had a point. I wasn’t the only one who’d performed well this weekend. “We’re taking it slow. I don’t want to scare him off by bringing it up too soon.”

She laughed. “He is a bit like a frightened deer when it comes to love and relationships. You need to approach him slowly, holding out your hand and letting him get a good sniff before you make any sudden movements.”

“That’s so true,” I agreed, relaxing when I realized that talking to her about him might be easier than I’d thought. “I’m okay with taking things slow, though. I’ve been burned in the past and the last thing I want is to get hurt again.”

Sympathy flickered in those dark eyes as she nodded at me. “I know the feeling. You absolutely cannot tell Calan about this, but I’ve had my heart broken too. Not badly, but it sure sucked at the time.”

“It really does.” I glanced at her as she led me into the designer store I’d been waiting in front of. I caught a glimpse of the price tag of the dress on a mannequin in the window as we passed it, and my palms broke out in a cold sweat. “Okay, so I’m just going to say this so you know. I’m so excited to get to shop with you, but I won’t be buying anything today. Don’t let it make you feel pressured to rush through your shopping trip. I’m happy to tag along, but I can’t afford these places.”

“Nonsense,” she said easily. “Today is my treat. I told Calan that. Didn’t he tell you? He tried to give me one of his credit cards for you, but I shut him down. I invited you out, which means I get to spoil you rotten, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

My mouth dried up and I swallowed hard. “I can’t allow you to do that.”

I’m not even your brother’s real girlfriend!

Freya rolled her eyes at me and grinned. “You don’t have to allow me to do anything. I’m just going to go ahead and do it anyway. My brother should’ve told you that about me.”

“Seriously, Freya,” I hedged as she approached a table with a display of gorgeous handbags on it. “You don’t have to buy me anything. I really am happy just to tag along. Don’t let me hold you back.”

She waved her free hand at me, then released my arm to pick up a brown leather purse. “You can protest as much as you want. It’s not going to change the fact I’ve planned a day of lavish shopping and that you’re going to be going home with more than a few things of your own.”

I squeezed my eyes shut when I saw the price of the item in her hand, opening them again only to realize that I hadn’t been hallucinating. “You know, I like thrift stores. Why don’t we hit up a few of those when you’re done here?”

Her eyes lit up. “I’ve never been to a thrift store, but it could be fun. Let’s make a deal. You let me spoil you today, and next time we go shopping, we’ll go wherever you want to go.”

“You’re really not going to give up on this, are you?”

She winked at me before she shrugged. “Reids are determined. We never give up. You should know that about us by now.”

“Well, I mean, I know it about Calan, but I didn’t realize it ran in the family.” Again, it wasn’t a lie. Strangely, so far it was turning out that I knew enough about him and could phrase my answers in a way that didn’t mean blatantly lying.

She giggled. “It definitely runs in the family. He hasn’t told you much about us, huh?”

As soon as the giggle had subsided, I saw a glimmer of sadness entering her eyes. I swallowed. Uh oh. I should’ve known it was going to get more difficult.