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“What about him?”

“He’s wonderful,” she declared as if it was fact and not opinion.

“He has his moments.”

“He’s handsome,” she added, as if it would be news to me.

“I’ve been informed. Mostly by him.”

She chuckled. “And he’s funny.”

“Debatable.”

“He’s clearly crazy about you.”

That one was harder to dismiss. Because Damon had been acting like a man who was crazy about me. Not just when people were watching. Not just when my ex was nearby. Not just when he was playing the part I'd hired him to play. He'd been doing it when no one else was around.

Bringing me coffee in the morning, exactly the way I liked it. Bringing me snacks when he knew I’d skipped a meal. Remembering things I'd mentioned in passing two years ago. Making me laugh when I was so stressed I could barely breathe. Kissing me like he had nowhere else in the world he'd rather be.

And looking at me...The way that man looked at me. Like I was the only woman he could see. Like I was something precious. Like I was his.

Which was ridiculous. Because I wasn't. I was his temporary girlfriend. A four-day arrangement with a very clear expiration date.

And somehow, in the process of pretending to be in a relationship with Damon Lockhart, I'd managed to develop actual feelings for him.

Big ones. Strong ones. The kind of feelings that made objectively intelligent women do stupid things. I always told myself I’d never be one of those women…I was wrong. As evidenced by our lack of contraception the night before.

Who was I?

“Mikayla?”

I blinked and found my mother studying me.

“What?” I snipped, suddenly feeling very exposed and defensive.

“I asked what the plan was.”

“The plan?”

“With Damon. After the weekend.”

Oh. That plan. The one where I flew home, returned to my regularly scheduled life, and pretended my heart hadn't been run over by a charming cowboy with dimples and an alarming disregard for personal boundaries.

That plan.

“My flight is Monday morning.”

My mother waved a dismissive hand. “I know about your flight. I'm asking about the two of you.”

“There are phones. FaceTime. Airplanes. Modern technology is really quite remarkable.”

“So you're going to do long-distance?”

“I didn't say that.”

“Is he coming to visit you?” She was like a dog with a bone and refused to drop the subject.

“I don't know.”