Page 44 of Fake It For Him

Freya chuckled, twirling her car keys around her finger, and she winked at me when my gaze met hers. “Not half, but I think we made a decent dent. I won’t overstay my welcome. I know you have dinner together tonight and I don’t want to intrude. I just thought I’d deliver her back to you safe and sound before you started getting worried.”

As she said it, she started back toward the door and paused when she reached Ella. “Thanks for today. We’ll see each other again soon?”

“So soon,” Ella promised, letting go of me to wrap her arms around my sister. “Text me when you get back to your home upstate, okay? Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a coffee before you get on the road?”

Freya smiled but shook her head. “I’d better not. I know he’ll want you all to himself now and Jim is probably waiting for me. He never relaxes until I’m home. Good night, guys.”

“Good night,” Ella called after her as she marched to the door.

She glanced back at me over her shoulder and winked. “You have a real catch there, Cal. Hang onto her, okay?”

“Yeah, uh, I’ll do my best.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders again and held her close until Freya had shut the door behind her.

I looked down at Ella, who stepped out of my hold as soon as Freya was gone. “Don’t look at me like that. You told me to play my part, so I told her you were cooking me dinner tonight.” She batted her lashes and pretended to swoon for me before she rolled her eyes. “My Romeo.”

I ignored the eye roll, reminding myself once again that I’d resolved to be better to her. “Did Freya fall for it? She really believed I was cooking you dinner?”

“Hook, line, and sinker.” Ella grinned and turned to look at the interior of my house. Her eyes widened as she took in the massive space, impressive regardless of the fact that we were still in the foyer. “Holy crap. Just how rich are you?”

Without waiting for me to invite her to do it, she took off, wandering from the foyer, to the expansive living room, to the dining room, and then the kitchen. She drank in every last detail. “How grand is this place? Are you sure you even really live here?”

“Pretty sure,” I said. “Why?”

“Well, it’s stunning, but it’s a little…” She trailed off, still looking around before she shrugged. “It’s just a little bleak, I guess. Why is it so dark? Dark walls, dark floors, dark furniture, and where’s all your décor?”

I frowned, blinking as I looked around. I didn’t think it was bleak at all. My floors were a dark gray, polished concrete and my walls had been painted a rich shade of navy with my last redesign. All my furniture was masculine, brown leather or stained wood.

“The designer said this would work for a bachelor pad,” I said. “What décor do I need? Not everyone needs creature comforts, you know.”

Ella looked around for another beat, glancing at the fireplace, the TV, the rugs, and the tumbler of whiskey I’d left on the coffee table before I’d gone to get the door, and then she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “If you say so. I guess it just feels a little unlived in, but that could just be me. It’s nice, though. Next time you see your interior designer, tell him or her I said it’s a great bachelor pad. Very modern and masculine.”

I frowned at her phone when I heard the click of it unlocking as she tapped at her screen. “Are you going to take pictures or something? My family can be quite intrusive, but they’re not going to check the gallery on your phone.”

She tucked her black hair behind her ear with one hand and tapped at the screen once more before she looked back up at me. “I’m ordering a ride. Don’t worry. I won’t take pictures of your man cave.”

For the first time since she’d arrived, I realized she seemed pretty happy and relaxed for a woman who’d just spent the day with her fake boyfriend’s sister. There was something about the softness of her features when she was like this that made me unable to stop fucking looking at her.

In a pair of jeans and worn black sneakers, with her hair loose and virtually no makeup, she was nowhere near as dressed up as my sister had been. Yet she was so damn beautiful. It felt like I had that thought every time I saw her, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.

“Why don’t you stay for a while instead of getting a cab immediately?” I hadn’t intended to invite her to stay and I saw the surprise flashing in her eyes when it registered that I’d meant it.

“Seriously? You don’t want me out of your hair as soon as humanly possible?”

“Nah.” I grinned at her. “You promised my sister I was cooking you dinner, didn’t you? Let’s not make a liar out of you.”

She snorted. “After today, you’re a bit late with the whole not turning me into a liar thing, but sure. I guess I can stay for a bit. This is because you’re curious about how it went, isn’t it?”

I shrugged. “Can’t I be? Come on, let me get you a drink before I grill you.”

When she followed me into the kitchen, I poured a glass of red wine from a bottle that probably cost as much as her rent in that tiny little apartment, but I didn’t mention it. I simply handed over the glass and gestured for her to make herself comfortable at the island.

Once she sat down, I headed into my pantry and grabbed some pasta, bringing it back out and setting it down next to the stove. As I filled a pot with water, Ella finally seemed to realize that I’d been serious about cooking her dinner for real and her jaw practically dropped.

“Wait. You’re preparing dinner?”

“Of course, I am. I just told you that I wasn’t going to make a liar out of you. Not again, anyway. In fact, I may owe you an apology for making you into a liar to begin with.”

“You may?” Skepticism darkened her eyes. She brought the glass to her lips and took a tiny sip before letting out a low moan. “Wow. This is good. Great, actually. Can I help with anything?”