Page 67 of Fake It For Him

“He does?” Her pretty face scrunched up, her nose wrinkling. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

I laughed again, but it was softer this time. The thing was that the more I talked about him, the more I realized that I truly believed the things I was saying. Our relationship might’ve been fake, but I knew who he really was. Perhaps better than anyone else here.

I wasn’t making stuff up to get him into Polly’s good graces. What I was saying was the truth and he deserved to have someone who would be staying in his life know it. “You don’t have to take my word for it. I’m sure you’ll be getting to know him better as the years pass and you’ll see for yourself eventually.”

My heart ached a little bit at the thought that I wouldn’t be around when that happened, but I didn’t let it show. “At his core, he’s a lot softer than you think. Calan Reid is sweet deep down inside. Caring. Emotional.”

Her jaw dropped and she shook her head. “No way.”

“Yes way,” I assured her, thinking back to all the times he’d dropped those sky-high walls around the center of his being and let me see who he really was. “I know he’s made his mistakes, but he’s also paid the price.”

Just like I have.

“Right now,” I continued thoughtfully, “he’s doing everything in his power to do right by his baby sister. I think that’s admirable.”

Polly took a long sip of her Mai Tai as she mulled it over, only releasing her straw from between her teeth when she’d drunk almost half of it in one go. “I don’t think you’re lying, but I do find it kind of hard to believe. Just tell me one thing?”

“Sure. Anything.”

“Does he treat you well?” she asked. “Does he take care of you? He’s always struck me as one of those alpha assholes who growl shit at their women and expect them to drop to their knees.”

Well, he does get growly but… “Strangely, Calan treats me better than any man ever has. He cares about what I think, what I want, and how I feel, and he goes out of his way to make sure I get what I need.”

Even when that means convincing me to stay when all I want is to go. I smiled at Polly, then added a wink just in case the smile was too sad. “His edges are rough and he’s definitely not going to make me a cup of tea and let me cry on his shoulder, but he’s got his ways of taking care of me.”

Her cheeks went beet red and she pretended to fan herself, and I laughed again, more freely now. “Not just like that!”

She arched a brow at me. “But like that too, right?”

Blushing beet red myself, I shrugged and mimed zipping my lips. “A lady never tells, but let’s just say that Calan and I understand each other. Inside and outside of the bedroom.”

Polly chuckled and sat back on her lounger again, facing the view once more. She shook her head. “Well, it’s good to know he makes you happy. I’m glad. You deserve it.”

The words hit me like sledgehammers to the chest, but it was because they were true. Calan did make me happy. Him and all his rough edges, tender moments, and unexpected ways of taking care of me. But he wasn’t mine. We were happy together, but we wouldn’t be that way for long.

That’s fucked up actually.

I was happy when Polly distracted me by starting to tell me more about each of the girls who were on the trip with us. My mood had plummeted, but I managed to get through the day and have some fun despite the dull ache in my heart.

After the day at the pool, we got ready to go dancing for the night. I wore the dress Freya had bought me specifically for this occasion and I knew I looked good. With all the alcohol flowing through my system after a day of cocktails in the sun, I wished Calan could see me in it.

I was debating whether it was appropriate to send a fake boyfriend a selfie of me in a sexy dress, but Polly saved me from myself when she came up behind me. “Let’s go, gorgeous. Our chariot awaits.” She grinned. “And by chariot, I mean the hotel shuttle taking us club-hopping.”

I nodded and followed her out without sending him the picture, but that didn’t mean I stopped thinking about him. All night, we drank, and we danced, and I imagined him surprising me here, wrapping his arms around me from behind while I swayed on the dance floor.

When I realized that my own idle fantasies were turning me on in public, I headed to the bar to order a water. I’d had way too much to drink, and if I was starting to picture Calan bending me over the bar right here in front of everyone, it was about time I had something other than alcohol.

When I got to the bar, I recognized two of the girls in front of me. I didn’t know their names, but they were Freya’s friends, and I couldn’t believe what I was overhearing them say about her.

“I can’t believe she’s still treating us to shit like this when she’s not even our real friend,” one said with a laugh.

The other joined in. “I know, right? Freya is such a sucker, though. I think she thinks that if she just keeps paying for our mani-pedis and taking us on shopping trips that eventually she’ll be our friend.”

The first girl rolled her eyes. “As if. All the free flights and vacations over the years would’ve bought and paid for our friendship by now if it was for sale. She’s just stupid. Or maybe she’s naïve. I don’t know. But as long as she keeps paying, I’ll keep showing up. That’s for sure.”

I doubted they’d noticed me standing there yet, but these women were supposed to be some of Freya’s closest friends. Reeling over what I’d heard, I considered walking away. This was none of my business.

Don’t stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong, Ella. Just. Don’t.