Page 35 of Miss Belief

“Long story short, I finally had my little intervention about Reid’s moping. He has this wedding where he’ll have to see his ex—it was originally to be in Boston but got moved to the islands and is this weekend. When I suggested he take a date, he asked me if I’d go. To act as his fake girlfriend.”

A smile spread across Chloe’s beautiful face. “And how is faking it with your crush?”

“Oh, you know. Torture, and a tale for when I have more time. Can you help me, Chloe Bear?”

She let out a long sigh. “I’m not exactly the type to win any Miss Manners contests, but I’ll try. Hold up. Let me get Kendall. She’s been to more fancy dinners than I have. If you’re okay with it?”

Kendall was Chloe’s previous roommate and was married to Liam, who’d been Kendall’s boss. I could bet she’d been to a fancy dinner a time or two. “Of course. I’ll take any advice I can get.”

A minute later, a beautiful brunette came into view. “Hi, Teagan, I’ve heard so much about you. Okay. So Chloe says you need help with table manners.”

“Desperately.”

“Okay. Let’s see. When you first sit down, put the napkin in your lap. Your drink is on your right, but sometimes I forget and wait until my neighbor picks up their drink.”

“What about the forks?” I had viewed a YouTube video, but it had been overwhelming.

“Start on the outside and work your way in.”

“Okay.” I was stressed.

“Don’t be too anxious, Teag. Just do the normal by sitting up straight, no elbows on the table, and chew with your mouth closed.”

“What if I have to use the restroom? What happens to the napkin?”

“Put it on your chair?” Kendall threw a questioning look toward Chloe as she answered.

Shrugging, Chloe brought out her phone to search for the answer. “Yep, Google says it goes on the chair. So it must be true. Oh, rip your bread or roll into pieces and don’t bite into it.”

It was some shit when a roll had proper etiquette.

“Honestly, I just mimic what other people do,” Chloe offered.

That’s what I’d have to do too. “Thank you both. My initial panic has eased. I’ll watch some more YouTube before we leave.”

“Have you fake kissed him yet?” Chloe asked.

My entire face heated. “Yeah. Once.”

“And?”

“And it was amazing for me and awkward for him.”

Her lips flattened. “Maybe it was awkward because he felt something?”

Leave it to Chloe to look on the bright side. “I appreciate the optimism, but I’m the Cheez Whiz to his brie.”

“That’s absurd. Don’t you dare insult yourself that way. I don’t know Reid like you do, but I’m convinced he’s not the type to stand on pretense or believe he’s better for having money.”

Maybe. But the designer clothes and my need to make up a fictitious background made it clear I wasn’t real girlfriend material. But I’d put on the act for him. I’d pretend to be better than my upbringing. “Doesn’t matter. He applied for a job in Australia, and I’ll probably move to LA in a few months.”

Chloe sighed. “Selfishly, I’ll be happy to have you here in LA. Maybe we could become roommates again.”

I kept my mouth shut, but I was thinking that if Aiden followed through with his plans, she most likely would be living with him. But I couldn’t give her any clues because there was always the chance he could mess it up. Let’s hope not as she deserved a happy ending.

As much as I hoped the words would come true for her, I wasn’t sure I believed in a happy ending. The whole concept seemed more fiction than real world. Like the family with a mother and father I used to dream about, who ate dinner together, genuinely loved and supported each other.

I wasn’t sure that sort of thing was in the cards for me. I supposed if I were to define the perfect man, it would be someone who got me. Who wasn’t intimidated by my personality and maybe thought my sarcasm and armor weren’t off-putting.

“In all the chaos, I almost forgot to mention I’m heading to LA after this trip. I’ll be there Monday.”

Chloe squealed. “Best news ever. I can’t wait to hear all about your weekend. Have fun and call me once you land. Okay?”

“Definitely.”

In the meantime, since getting over my crush hadn’t worked thus far, I was settling for a new plan of avoiding a broken heart.