“I intend on keeping my distance, but my ex-wife is a loose cannon.”
“That woman is off her rocker.” Harley pinches her lips together. “How are you going to deal with this? Her presence there shouldn’t prevent you from participating in such an incredible evening.”
“I won’t allow her to dictate my life,” I say. “There’s a way to distract the press and have them talk about something other than an imminent World War III.”
“What’s the plan?”
I open my mouth, but hesitate.
It was a solid plan when I thought about it when I woke up this morning and when I told Erik about it, but what if my request is so far out, she refuses?
“Kaz, let me know if there’s any way I can help.” Expectant eyes stare up at me.
“Will you accompany me as my fake girlfriend?”
Chapter 16
You won’t know what hits you
Harley
If I wasn’t sitting, I would’ve stumbled back and landed on my ass.
Kaz wants me to be his fake girlfriend?
In what parallel universe did I step into?
“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Kaz says. “My publicist has been pushing me to consider that as an option, but I’ve always turned her down because the idea of spending the evening with a model, actress, singer, socialite, or God forbid, an influencer is as attractive as swimming through a swamp infested with piranhas.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Why would you say that? There isn’t anything more natural in the world than the pairing of an All-Star athlete and one of the attractive women you’ve listed.”Women who are poised, educated, sophisticated, glamorous, successful, rich… the polar opposite to me.
“If it’s a genuine pairing, I agree.”
“Models, actresses, and singers ooze with talent,” I say. “Socialites come from money. I have nothing to bring to the table. Unlike those women who can afford to buy the mostcoveted pieces straight from this season’s runway fashion—or designers send them clothes for free publicity—basement bargain shopping is all I can afford. And by that, I mean shopping on the discounted racks of discounted stores.” I twist my fingers together.
“Since I’m inviting you to the event, it’s only fair I pay for an outfit for the evening.”
“Kaz—”
“Yesterday, thanks to Devlyn, I made the gossip news. Again. I don’t want to walk the red carpet at the event fielding the press’s questions about my ex-wife’s appalling behavior.” He rakes a hand through his thick brown hair and lets out a frustrated breath. “Harley, you’d be doing me a huge favor. Not only in regard to shifting the attention away from my unhinged ex-wife, but… you’d be helping me craft a new image that would help me get the foot in the door of a brewery owned by a Montana-based owner that’s struggling. I have it on good authority, they’re looking to sell. I want to buy them out, but I can’t get a call back from the owner to save my life. I suspect it’s because every time my name appears in the press, it’s connected to drama.”
My eyes lower to the kitchen island’s striking countertop.
He twists the empty jar on the counter—left, then right.
He does that a few times.
“How does fake dating your ex-stepson’s ex-girlfriend supposed to help your image?” I arch a brow. “Won’t the gossip rags crucify you?”
“You didn’t date him that long and you weren’t photographed together in the press.”
Chett didn’t even take any photos of us together on his birthday for his socials. “True, but his friends and teammates who were at his party know. Same for the women who accompanied them.”
“I’m not trying to come off like a saint.” He rubs a hand over his face. “I just need the spotlight pointed away from the bullshit my ex might be spewing next.”
I bite the inside of my cheek.
“Alina can handle the fallout.”
