Not Fake for Long by Weston Parker

17

HARRISON

Keira’s apartment was located in one of the better buildings in her neighborhood. When I arrived to pick her up, she buzzed me in and I climbed the four flights of stairs to her place.

She opened the door just as I reached the landing on her floor, and my heart did a double-tap in my chest at the sight of her. Keira had been beautiful in her casual clothes and barely there makeup out on the farm, but dressed up, she was in another league altogether.

I took her in from head to toe. My gaze started at the soft brown waves hanging to her waist, tracking past the deep green dress that hugged her in all the right places, and then going all the way down to the low-heeled boots on her feet. Delicate golden chains hung from her neck, the longest one ending between her chest and her belly button.

Her makeup was still lighter than most women I saw out on the town whenever I ventured out, but she’d given her eyes a smoky look and her lips shone with gloss. When she smiled, I swore the whole corridor between me and her door lit up.

“Hey,” she said. “Sorry about the stairs. The elevator’s been out of order since I moved in. Do you want to come inside for a minute? I’m nearly ready to go, but I figure you might like a glass of water after that anyway.”

“I’m okay on the water, but I’ll come in,” I said. “I’m used to taking the stairs. If I’m being honest, I prefer them to elevators.”

“Freak of nature,” she said, but I saw the humor flashing in her eyes. “Okay, then. Come on in. I’ll give you a tour of my humble abode. It would’ve been a mansion, but the taxes in this city are just outrageous.”

I laughed, remembering how much I’d liked her sense of humor right from the very beginning. “Mansions are overrated anyway. Do you even know how long it would take to clean one of those?”

“I’ve never really thought about it, but I suppose if you can afford the mansion, you can afford the staff to clean up after you.” She smiled as she took a step back and waved me in. “Luckily, none of that is a problem for us. It takes me less than an hour to whip this place into shape.”

“The way I see it, that’s a win.” I bent down to brush a soft kiss against her cheek when I reached her. “It’s good to see you again. You look breathtaking by the way.”

“Breathtaking?” There was a small crease of uncertainty between her brows when she glanced up at me. “I don’t know if that’s the word I would use to describe me, but you look pretty good yourself. Who’d have guessed you owned shirts with buttons on them?”

I laughed. “Unfortunately, I have quite a few button-downs. I’d live in T-shirts if I could, but I suppose those are the breaks.”

As I stepped into her apartment, I understood why it would take under an hour for one person to clean it. There was a small entrance hall with a kitchen off to one side, a short hallway with two doors off it leading past it, and the living area on the other side. A round four-seater dining table stood near the window in her living area. The rest of the space was taken up by two couches, a stand with her television on it, a coffee table, and that was it.

The place was warm and cozy, though. She’d incorporated a ton of color in cushions, pictures on the walls, and other decorations. Brightly colored flowers sat in a vase on a table in her entrance hall, and the perfume of them gave that unique, floral scent to the entire open part of her apartment.

I assumed the two doors in the hallway led to a bathroom and a bedroom, and my suspicions were confirmed when she pointed in that direction. Once we were back in the entrance hall, she spread her arms out to her sides and smiled. “That’s it. Are you ready to go?”

“I am.”

We headed downstairs, and I offered her my arm when we hit the sidewalk outside, and she blinked up at me with surprise before taking it.

“So, where to?” I asked. “You said you had an idea for cheap and nasty.”

“I do.” She grinned, waggling her eyebrows at me. “The place is called Lucky’s. It’s a retro, hole in the wall kind of place, but they serve the best burgers in the city, and it’s not too far to walk.”

I knew Lucky’s well, but I didn’t say so. She seemed to be enjoying the prospect of showing me something new. Almost all the way there, she told me about the neighborhood the restaurant was in and how it had been rejuvenated by hipsters in the last few years.

A neon sign above the door was the only clue that there was an eatery in the alley, and she took a deep breath before she opened it. “If this place is too dark or dingy for you, just tell me. There are plenty of other places around here that are great.”

I knew that, too. But I smiled and nudged her forward. “Hamburgers, hot dogs, and beer sounds like a winning trifecta to me.”

Lucky’s had mismatched tables, chairs, and lights inside, and it smelled like grilling meat, garlic, and cheese. The patrons were loud and boisterous, sucking down shots or clinking their drinks together so hard that liquid spilled over the sides.

Alternative rock played over the speakers, and the servers mouthed along to the songs as they danced their way from table to table. We snagged a booth in the back, sipping on our craft beers while we waited for our food.

“How’s Hailey?” I asked once we’d finished with the small talk about our weeks. “I’m assuming she’s not dying to have another country experience.”

Keira laughed and gave a one-shouldered shrug. “No, I don’t think she is. She’s good, though. I know I’ve already told you that it was a crazy busy week, but it was made even crazier by all the emails I’ve gotten about the wedding.”

“Why are you getting emails about the wedding?” I frowned. “You’re not the bride.”

“No, I’m not, but she’s determined to have the day running like a well-oiled machine. I’ve received everyone’s itineraries for the day, reminders about what will be expected from me at the rehearsal dinner, and a ton of other stuff I haven’t even had the time to open.”

“Being a maid-of-honor is hard work, huh?” I took another sip of my beer, watching as she nodded and drank down a long sip of hers before she replied.

“Yep, I guess so. I’m not sure if every bride is as detail-oriented and keen to get everything in its place so far in advance, but my sister is desperate to show all of Nick’s friends that she can cut it in their world.”

“Their world?” I lowered my chin, looking right into her eyes. “What does that mean?”

“I’m sure I told you over the weekend that Nick is pretty well off,” she said, sighing softly as she tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m not looking forward to being around all his rich prick friends, even just for the wedding, but Hailey’s already looking beyond that. Their wives and girlfriends are all involved in fundraisers and benefits and who even knows what else. She seems to think the wedding is the perfect opportunity to show them that she’s good at organizing and coordinating events.”

Although she hadn’t said it in so many words, her dislike of Nick, his friends, and their lifestyle was clear in the way her nose wriggled and her brow puckered. I’d been planning on telling her the truth about who I was tonight, to clear up the incorrect assumptions they’d made last weekend, and to come clean about the fact that I lived in the city during the week, but now I wasn’t so sure.

The last thing I wanted was to ruin my chances with her because of her obvious dislike of rich people. I wasn’t anything like what it sounded like they were like, but it wouldn’t have taken a rocket scientist to figure out that they’d definitely left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“It won’t be so bad,” I said. “At least if I’m with you, you’ll have one person to talk to who won’t be obsessed with their social standing or status around there.”

“True.” She sucked both her lips into her mouth, a contemplative look in her eyes before she released them. “Are you sure you’re really up for pretending to be my fiancé, though? My mom is a sweetheart, but she’d give the Spanish a run for their money when it comes to inquisitions. If she’d become a lawyer, she’d have been the best cross-examiner the profession has ever seen.”

“I’m sure I’m up for it,” I said. “I don’t scare easily and I can handle myself in the face of an interrogation.”

Her rich brown eyes moved from one of mine to the other, and I sensed that her hesitation over accepting my offer was still there. “You’re going to have a tough enough time with all your duties before and on the day. You don’t need your mother all over you in addition to everything else.”

A slow smile spread across her lips. “Where did you even come from? I didn’t know guys like you, who actually care about girls they just met, existed.”

“We’ve hardly just met anymore,” I said. “Sure, we haven’t known each other very long, but we’ve spent much more time together than people usually have when they’ve only known each other for a week.”

“I suppose that’s true,” she agreed. “I think I’ve spent more hours with you so far than I have with the last three guys I tried dating.”

“Tried dating?” I chuckled and raised my brows in question. “How does that work?”

“Well, you know.” She waved a hand, but her cheeks flushed slightly. “It never got so far as actual dating with the last few guys I’ve been out on dates with. Therefore, I think of it as having tried to date them. We went out, but it never went any further than that. How about you?”

“The last woman I’ve been out with?” I asked, then sipped my beer as she nodded. “I don’t mean to sound cavalier or like a player or something, even though I know that’s exactly what I’m going to sound like, but I haven’t really dated much recently. My last few relationships have been purely physical.”

“I see.” She shot me a curious glance, then averted her gaze to study the bubbles rising in her beer. “Is this a date? We’ve gotten physical too, so I guess it’s only fair to ask.”

“This is definitely a date.” I reached across the table to cover her hand in mine, tapping at one of her fingers with one of my own until she looked back into my eyes. “I don’t break out the button-down shirts for just anyone.”

A quiet laugh slipped out of her, but she still looked curious. “Why me then? I’m not asking because I’m fishing for compliments, but if you haven’t dated for so long, why are we on a date right now?”

“Because I like you,” I said simply. “You’re someone I want to get to know better and who I feel wants to get to know me better too. That’s the point of dating, or at least trying to date someone. Isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is.” She turned her hand over underneath mine and threaded our fingers together. “I like you too. I’m really glad we’re doing this tonight.”

“So am I.” I held her gaze before raising my glass with my free hand. “Here’s to being fake engaged before we even had to try dating.”

It was strange how much I was looking forward to doing this with her. Maybe it was the idea of being tied to her in some more concrete way, but I liked it.

A part of me was even starting to wish it was just a little bit real.