Page 73 of Fake It For Him

My sister turned her gaze to mine. “I’m also sorry for what I said to you. I only remember snippets, but it must’ve been pretty bad if you grabbed him and hopped on a plane right away.”

Ella’s side pressed up against mine. One of her thighs hooked almost over my knee. Her hand in mine, her shoulders were so close I could feel every breath she took.

Freya shook her head. “You did me a favor, Ella. Those assholes are out of my wedding, and if you’d do me the honor, I’d love for you to stand up there with me instead.”

Holy shit. I hung onto her a little bit tighter. I definitely didn’t see this coming.

After she’d almost run out on me because of a gift, I couldn’t imagine how she was going to react to this. Only now, I still couldn’t let her go. But the reasons had changed. Or maybe they had been the same last weekend. I just hadn’t confronted them yet.

Either way, I was in love with this girl and I couldn’t let her go. Not even if Freya seemed to have made it her personal fucking mission to get so close to her that she was almost surely going to try to run again.

38

ELLA

After the whirlwind bachelorette weekend, I was back home, sitting cross-legged on my favorite mustard yellow sofa. I’d just finished catching Kara and Mikey up on all the drama, and as they stared at me with wide eyes, I finally confessed the worst—and best—part. “Freya wants me to be in the wedding party. She said it would be an honor if I’d stand up there with her.”

Kara spun around, nearly dropping the decoration she’d been about to hang on their Charlie Brown style Christmas tree. The bright red bauble started slipping from her hand, but she managed to tighten her grip just in time.

“Are you serious? That’s amazing. What did you say? Are you going to do it?” Kara had been completely engaged in the story ever since I’d started telling it, but Mikey was uncharacteristically quiet.

Turning to her, I shrugged but I couldn’t stop the tiny smile. “Would it be so awful if I say yes? I told her I’d think about it, but I want to do it. I honestly can’t believe she asked and I know I’m not even Calan’s real girlfriend, but she thinks I am. Plus, she’s becoming a real friend to me, so I’d love to be there for her on the big day.”

Kara hung the bauble on the sparse tree, her tongue sticking out between her lips as she thought it over. “Wellllll, I mean, you’re going to be in their wedding pictures for the rest of their lives, so there’s that, but if you want to do it, I say go for it. Freya would’ve been standing up there with a bunch of phonies if you hadn’t intervened, and your heart is in the right place. At least you’re not using her.”

Mikey scoffed and shook his head but didn’t say anything. I turned to him, arching an eyebrow as I waited him out. He looked back at me, his chest rising and falling, but his jaw hardened. Clearly, he was determined to keep his mouth shut.

“What?” I asked finally, exasperated and confused by his attitude. “Just say it, Mikey. What are you thinking? Will I be a horrible person if I say yes?”

He kept staring at me, his posture tense. He breathed in deep once more. “You honestly want to know what I think?”

“Yes,” I said emphatically. “Please! I know you’re not a fan of my arrangement with Calan, but things are different between us now and this is about Freya anyway. Not about him. You’re sitting here like you’re about to explode. Please just tell me what you think.”

“Fine. I wouldn’t have been able to hold my tongue for much longer anyway.” He straightened up to his full height, arms crossing over his chest. “If you really want to know what I think, then here it is. I’m worried about you, Ella. Like, really worried about you.”

I frowned. “What? Why? There’s nothing to be worried about.”

He snorted loudly and shook his head hard and fast. “The fact that you think that is even more reason to be worried. You had really bad judgment when it came to all things Spencer and I think it’s happening all over again.”

My heart started throbbing in my chest and pain shot through me. “That’s not true. It’s not happening again.”

“It’s not?” He kept his gaze steady on mine. “Five minutes ago, you were telling us how you knew it was none of your business, but you got involved anyway. And fine, Freya had a right to know that these women weren’t really her friends, but you should’ve spoken to her about it sober and in private.”

“I know the way it happened wasn’t ideal, but it all worked out okay.”

He gave me a long, hard look. “Did it? Freya was going to stand up with phonies, and if you stand up with her, she still will be. Let her fiancé’s sister handle it, Ella. That’s the right thing to do.”

“But Calan⁠—”

Mikey’s eyes rolled and he gripped his arms so tightly to his chest now, his biceps were bulging. “Calan. It always comes back to that fucking guy. You said this wasn’t about him, but it is. It always is.”

“Well, it is his sister,” Kara tried reasoning, but Mikey shut her down.

“That’s exactly my point. It’s his sister. His family. His fucking problem. Ella was supposed to be his date to the wedding and nothing more, but that’s not what’s happening, is it?”

“I was always going to have to be there for a few extra events to make his family believe our relationship is real,” I argued, but Mikey scoffed again, his head starting to shake once more.

“Sure. A few extra events. You know as well as I do that this has gone way beyond the provisions of your contract, which were fucked up to begin with. You just spent an extended weekend in Maui with the guy, Ella. For fuck’s sake, open your damn eyes.”