“Stella was just about to tell me who her mystery man is.” Jules ripped off a piece of blueberry muffin and popped it into her mouth. Ava’s face lit up. “I bet he’s hot,” she said. “You can tell by the watch.” “That’s what I said!” Jules beamed. “Great minds think alike.” The banana muffin turned sour in my mouth as they stared at me expectantly. It was one thing to lie on social media; it was another to lie to my friends’ faces. I didn’t tell them everything about my life—they
thought I had a great relationship with my family, and they didn’t know about Maura. Being the
“perfect” family was so important to my parents that sharing anything that didn’t align with that felt more difficult than it should have.
Ava and Jules were my best friends, yet I still kept so much of my life to myself. But could I stand here and tell them Christian and I were dating when we weren’t? Not really, anyway. One step at a time. They’d only asked for his name, not the details of our relationship. I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. “He’s—” I was interrupted yet again, this time by the insistent ring of my phone. I didn’t have to check caller ID to know who was calling, and a quick glance at the incoming FaceTime proved me right. “Hi, Bridget.” I rubbed my face again. I would kill for some yoga right now. I never felt right when I started the day without it. “I assume you’re calling to join the inquisition?” “Funny.” Bridget raised an elegant blonde brow. “But since you mention it, yes.
This is the second time I’ve been kept out of the loop regarding your love lives. I don’t appreciate it.” Last summer, Jules shocked us all when she announced she was dating Ava’s brother Josh. Josh and Jules had hated each other since the day they met, and a romantic relationship between them had seemed as likely as snowfall in Miami. However, they were still going strong after they made things official seven months ago, so I guess the old adage was true. There really was a thin line between love and hate. Despite the nerves coiled in my stomach, I had to fight a laugh at Bridget’s uncharacteristic grumbling. “I’m sure you have more things to worry about than our love lives, Your Majesty,” I teased. She’d been a princess during our college days, but she became queen after her older brother abdicated and her grandfather stepped down due to health reasons. It still boggled my mind that I was best friends with a literal queen, but Bridget was so down to earth I forgot she was royalty half the time. She wrinkled her nose. “More things? Yes. More interesting things? Debatable.” “Guys, please. Let’s get things back on track,” Jules said. “Who have you been hiding from us, Stel? Give us a name. Picture.
Anything. Please, I need to know before I die from curiosity.” She flopped onto the couch in a dramatic heap.
I shook my head. If I looked up drama queen in the dictionary, I’d find Jules Ambrose’s face next to it, but I loved her anyway. At least she was into fun drama and not the nasty, backstabbing kind. “Fine. I’ll tell you, but don’t freak out.” I drew my bottom lip between my teeth. “It’s Christian Harper.” Three blank stares greeted my confession. I couldn’t remember the last time my friends had been this speechless. They usually talked more than a daytime talk show host.
The taste of copper filled my mouth from how hard I was biting my lip. “Rhys’s old boss?”
Bridget’s brow creased with confusion. Her husband Rhys used to work for Harper Security.
That was actually how they met. He’d been assigned to her after her previous bodyguard returned home to Eldorra for paternity leave. “Yes.”“What does he have to do with this?” Jules looked equally confused. “He’s my boyfriend.” Still nothing. I might as well be talking to the Madame Tussaud’s wax versions of my friends for all the reaction they showed. “Who’s your boyfriend?” Ava asked. Oh, for goodness’ sake. “Christian Harper.” I threw my hands up. “He’s the guy in the photo I posted last night! We’re dating. Well, fake dating, but that’s another story.”
Silence stretched for a long, stunned second before chaos erupted. “Christian Harper?” “What do you mean, fake dating?” “He’s dangerous—” “How long has this been going on—” “Is he forcing you into this, because I saw the way he looked at you—” “Stop.” I pinched the bridge of
my nose. This was why I didn’t share things about my life often. Not because I didn’t want accountability, but because of other people’s reactions and expectations, whatever they may be.
I forced a calming breath through my nose before I addressed my friends’ points one by one.
“Yes, Christian is my fake boyfriend. Like I said, it’s a long story. He is not dangerous—I mean, he’s a little intense, but he runs a security company. His job is literally to protect people’s lives.
Plus, he’s friends with Rhys, so he can’t be that bad. Last night was our first fake date, and no, he is not forcing me into this.” The last part was definitely true. The rest was debatable, but I kept that to myself. “I wouldn’t say he’s best friends with Rhys. They have…” Bridget paused,
“an interesting relationship.” “Forget Rhys,” Jules said. “No offense, Bridge. He’s great and all, but I want to know about the boyfriend part. Stel, you don’t even want a real relationship. Why on earth are you in a fake one? Are you in trouble?” Concern dimmed some of the sparkle in her eyes. Guilt flared to life in my chest. I hated burdening people with my problems, but I should’ve anticipated their worry. Any romantic relationship was out of the norm for me. I wasn’t opposed to dating, I just…wasn’t interested. I liked the idea of it. When I read a romance book, watched a romantic scene, or saw cute couples at dinner, a yearning for something similar tugged at my gut. But once the book or movie was over and I reentered the bright light of reality, the yearning disappeared. Romanticizing love was easy. Falling in love was harder, especially when my previous relationships had all lacked…something. Some sort of emotional connection that would make the risk of falling worth it. Plus, I’d gotten used to being single, and I doubted the reality of love could live up to my fantasies of it, so I didn’t even try. “I’m not in trouble. I promise,” I said when I noticed Jules’s skeptical expression. “I just…” Need more social media followers so I can make more money. My skin heated at how shallow that sounded. The truth was more complicated, but I couldn’t dig into it without telling my friends about Maura, and that was a conversation I wasn’t prepared to have at eight-thirty in the morning. “I’m in the running for a huge brand deal, but I don’t have as many followers as some of the other girls. I figured I could improve my chances if I hit the million mark.” Bridget’s frown deepened. “How does that tie in with getting a boyfriend?” I reluctantly explained the rest of my plan.
It sounded even more ridiculous when I said it out loud to people who weren’t familiar with the influencer world, but there was no point in holding back. When I finished, the silence was a thousand times heavier than the one before. “Wow,” Ava finally said. “That’s…wow.”“Is sex part of the deal? If it’s not, it should be. Christian looks like he would be a beast in bed.” As expected, Jules was the first to get over her shock and jump straight to the dirty part. “No offense, but you could use a little lovin’ in your life. As much as we adore you, there are some things we can’t provide.” “No, it isn’t, and it never will be,” I said firmly. I’d made it clear to Christian that our arrangement wouldn’t encompass any physical displays of affection unless they were necessary to sell our public image as a couple. Sex didn’t factor into the equation. At all. No matter how gorgeous he was or how good he might be in bed. My skin heated at a mental image of a naked— Don’t go there. This was what happened when I missed my morning routine. My brain freaked out and started picturing things it had no business picturing. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d fantasized about sex, let alone had it. “Are you sure everything’s okay?” Ava’s concern was palpable. “You’ve never cared that much about your follower count before.” I hadn’t obsessed over it the way other bloggers did, but saying I didn’t