The Art of Falling in Love with Your Fake Fiancé: A small town closed door romantic comedy (Sweetkis

16. Georgie

SIXTEEN

“Do you have anything on the Roman Empire?”

Tilting my head to the side, I purse my lips and put on my thinking face. Or at least my best impression of what I think one looks like. “So it’s true that men think about the Roman Empire at least once a day, huh?”

The cute customer, who has been keeping me busy for the last ten minutes looking for books that I swear do not exist, smiles at me. It’s a great smile, perfect actually. Like he could be in a commercial for toothpaste and wouldn’t have to even get his teeth whitened for it; they’re that on point. I swear he’s flirting with me, but I honestly can’t be sure. I don’t even know what flirting is anymore; I only know what making out with Levi feels like and it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to heaven.

“I probably think about it twice a day,” he says, placing both hands on the counter as he treats me further to his lopsided grin. “I’ve got history classes at Appalachian State.”

Ah, young and cute. And a student. He’s also the man standing in between me and an afternoon of trying on bridal dresses.

“So it’s required reading?” I ask, and he shakes his head no.

“I’m a professor,” he says with a little flair as the front door of the shop opens. The professor doesn’t bother turning around to see who’s entered the room; he only keeps his eyes trained on me. Yep, he’s definitely flirting.

When I pull my eyes from his to greet my new customer, I’m a little shocked when I discover Levi standing at the door, the handle still in his grasp as he stares at the man in front of me. I watch as his other hand flexes, opening and closing into a fist, and it makes me a little…happy? Younger Georgie would be telling Future Georgie to stay away from a man who seems to have a temper, but in this case, I know this man and he’s showing me something I didn’t think he had in him—jealousy.

Green is so not his color, but I can’t help but dig it. Just a little. A huge grin immediately washes across my features; I can feel my cheeks swelling.

“Hey!” I wave. “Wasn’t expecting to see you.”

In a matter of seconds, Levi is behind the counter and placing an arm around me, brushing his lips against my cheek. “Wanted to surprise you, sweetie.”

I watch as Levi’s eyes slide over to the professor and he holds out his hand. He goes to introduce himself, but the professor is already in his own state of shock and awe.

“You’re Levi Porter!” He takes Levi’s hand and pumps it furiously. “Dude. Your Super Bowl game this year was epic! It’s so cool to meet you.”

Levi’s energy shifts almost instantaneously as they pair chat away, the whole standoff ending with Levi scribbling an autograph on a piece of paper and the professor buying two books from the “TikTok Made Me Buy It” table at the front.

“What are you doing here?” I ask as the customer leaves. “I was about to close up for the day and meet Bex.”

“Duncan’s got therapy, so I’m killing time.” He cocks his head to one side. “What are you and Bex doing?”

Do I tell him that I’m trying on wedding dresses so I can get a free drink and a gift card for a mani pedi? No.

“We’re going…shopping.” Technically, not a lie.

His eyes narrow. “You’re closing up early to go shopping?”

Grabbing my bag, I point to the clock. “Only an hour early, and it’s a Friday. I’ve had a busy week.”

He follows me to the door and out onto the sidewalk while I lock up. When I turn around, he’s standing right behind me. So close I can basically taste his breath.

“We need to find time, me and you, to talk.” A lone finger begins tracing its way across the back of my hand. “We didn’t quite get a chance to finish our conversation, thanks to little ears.”

“Did you have to explain anything about fake engagements?”

Levi shakes his head. “Your cover that we were talking about some plot point for a movie worked, but he still wanted to know why people would do it.”

I wince, but only slightly. “Well, we need to be extra careful with him around.”

“I’m not going to argue with you since the hearing is in a few weeks. There’s still time for him to find out that we’re being, shall we say, devious. Call me crazy, but as his role model, I don’t want that to happen.”

“Noted,” I say, laughing. As I do, I realize his eyes are fully focused on my mouth. He is staring at my lips, hard, and I pat myself on the back for exfoliating them this morning. A girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Not to let the moment pass, I test the waters and lick them, his sigh evidence that I did catch him in the act. One of his fingers twirls through the belt loop on my jeans as he pulls me close.

Everything inside of me hitches and seizes as he slowly and tenderly places his lips on top of mine, right here, out in front of Pages and Prose. Right here on Magnolia Lane for all the world, and Mr. Altman, to see. Right here, across the street from Lorna.

I stop and pull away, but Levi’s hand stays on the small of my back.

“Lorna’s over there,” he manages with a grumble.

“I know,” I retort. “With a group of her friends.”

He leans back in so we’re cheek to cheek. “Just stay put for a moment longer, okay?”

I know it’s silly and I shouldn’t think this way, especially after the man was telling me at his family’s dining room table just the other night how he wanted to kiss me again, but…a little bit of the fire that’s been flaming during this moment gets extinguished when I see it’s all for show.

But I have to keep my part of our bargain. I have a place to stay and he has a stable bride-to-be. Stable being the operative word, obviously. So, I lean into it and make a show of things right back. I press my lips harder against his and let my hands come to the side of his face, my left hand cupping his cheek before I pull away.

“How’s that?” I ask, not wanting to look and see if Lorna’s still there.

Levi’s eyes flick across the road. “Good. And she’s gone, so I’m sure we made our point.”

I tuck that comment away, choosing to ignore it and the feelings I’m having right now. I need to meet Bex.

After what felt like hours, but in reality was only about ninety minutes, I walk out of Sweet Serenity Bridal with my arm looped through Bex’s, laughing. We’d managed to have about two glasses more champagne than I’m used to, but it made the fashion show we just endured that much sweeter.

“So, we learned today that a ball gown is not your thing, you’re not a Cinderella type, and that you rock a tea-length dress.” Bex giggles. “Also, lace is not your friend.”

“No, it’s not. The texture makes me crazy.” I cringe. “Always has and always will, I guess.”

“I’m hungry.” Bex taps her stomach. “I did not foresee having so much to drink. Want to grab some food?”

The thought of a bowl of fries in my mouth right now is amazing. “Yes, please.”

As we make our way down the street arm and arm, reminiscing about the vintage number Bex tried on (which would be a great bridesmaid dress if I was really getting married), my phone beeps. Ignoring it, we press on, heading for the nearest cafe.

But my phone has other ideas. It beeps again, and again. Then once more. Then it beeps again. Finally, Bex stops in her tracks, pulling me to a sudden halt alongside her.

“Will you look at your phone? Someone is obviously trying their hardest to get ahold of you.”

Rolling my eyes, I grab it from my purse and am shocked at the amount of notifications I have. I’m not sure what to check first, so I start with the texts telling me that packages are being delivered to my house.

Quickly I scroll through them, wondering what these items are that are showing up, only to have a pang of fear shoot through me.

“Oh no,” I whisper-shriek as I open my email, cross-checking the items with a little list I had flagged in my saved emails. “That registry page was supposed to stay private!”

Bex’s head almost spins off her neck. “Did you end up making a registry?”

“Yes.” I wince. “I just wanted to try it out, maybe laugh about it with you and Riley, but I thought I kept the page private.” I turn my phone around to show her, via my security camera app, the small pile of boxes at the back door of the bookstore. “Looks like someone got me some of the smaller home items that I had on the list?”

Bex’s hand barely makes it to her mouth to cover it before she barks out a laugh. Good for you, Bex. You can laugh for both of us because I’m horrified.

“This is not good.” That’s all I can manage as I head for a nearby bench to sit down. I need a second to think, and those two extra glasses of bubbly are not helping me. I close my phone and sit quietly, wondering how I’m going to explain this side of me and what I’ve done to Levi. The side that’s a little nutty, the one that wanted to know what it felt like to just let it all ride and get some presents.

“It’s fine,” Bex says, sitting beside me. “We’ll go by the store, get the boxes, and take them back to…where did you get them from?”

“Altman’s.”

Bex smacks my arm. “You went through a local business? I’ve not been here that long and I know that you don’t do that. It’s Small Town 101.”

Grimacing, I look her way. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That the whole town probably knows you have a registry.” She shakes her head as she attempts to swallow back her laughter. “Girl. What have you done?”

I’m still trying to find an answer when my phone dings again. Glancing down, I’m reminded there’s some social media posts I’ve been tagged in that I need to look at. Tapping open the app for that, for the second time in five minutes my jaw slams on the sidewalk.

“Now what?” Bex asks, taking the phone from me, only to have her jaw mimic mine as she sees the photo.

There I am, in front of the bookstore with Levi, in a full clutch. His lips on mine, my hands in his hair. Someone’s posted two photos: one of us embracing and the other a close-up of my left hand, with a bright circle around my ring finger.

“Ooof,” Bex acknowledges.

“What is this?” I ask no one in particular, forgetting that I am sitting with an ex-celebrity personal assistant.

“It’s a gossip account,” she says with full confidence. “Seen this one before. People send them pictures so they post them on their behalf. Like Gossip Girl but with more visuals.”

“So I’m the gossip.”

“Yes and no,” she says as she reads the caption accompanying the picture. “Looks like whoever took this photo also hunted around and found your bridal registry, so the cat is out of the proverbial bag.”

Groaning, I fold over, putting my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. “Oh, not good. Duncan is going to find out.”

“Duncan? Everyone is going to find out. And”—she points to the photo—“the people want to know where your ring is.”

Things you don’t think about when planning your quickie fake engagement. “Maybe I don’t wear it because it’s so expensive.”

“If you had one,” Bex reminds me with a chuckle.

“Yes. There’s that, too.” Taking the phone from her, I scroll through the comments, reading them. Not sure why I thought that would be a good idea, but for Future Georgie, I need someone to tell me to never do this again.

“What is this?” I point to the comments. “This person says, ‘What? She’s not even wearing makeup?’ And this one: ‘She’s not as pretty as I thought his fiancée would be.’ What is that about?”

“Ignore it,” Bex says with authority. “Keyboard warriors trying to get a rise out of you.” She takes the phone from me. “You’re not allowed to read any more, not until you talk to Levi. I’ve been down this road so many times with Spencer and Amelia. The way the fans used to treat her when they got together was horrible. I bet you could talk to Riley about what she’s dealt with being married to one of the AHL’s most famous hockey players. It’s not for the faint of heart.”

I know she’s right, but I don’t want to deal with any of it right now. Or ever, for that matter. I sigh as my phone dings. Again.

“You just got another present delivered. Looks like a giant metal bird. An ostrich maybe?” Bex mutters as I kick my foot out. Why did I have to add that ostrich to my gift registry?

“How come no one explains to you that this is par for the course? The part where people think they know you and can talk about you like that?” Still with my head in my hands, I keep my eyes on the sidewalk as I talk. “No one told me that being a fake fiancée was going to be so mentally taxing.”

“So, it’s fake, huh?” a voice that is not Bex’s bellows.

Slowly, I raise my head, my stomach turning a million somersaults, finding Lorna standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. Of course she would be here. I saw her just two hours ago on this very street, so the likelihood of her still being in the area is…well, odds are good ‘cause she’s standing in front of me, isn’t she?

“I asked you a question,” she says, crossing her arms as she stares at me with vengeance and anger in her eyes. “Is your engagement to Levi fake?”

I start to nod but then shake my head. In the end, I choose to shrug. I feel like this could become my signature move. I”ll call it the “yeah-nah-maybe.” “It’s complicated.”

“Is it, though?” she snaps.

“If she’s saying it is—” Bex begins, but I pat her knee to call her off.

I stand up, clasping my hands together in front of me. “I really don’t think we should have this conversation right now, Lorna.”

“Then when can we have it?” She unravels her arms, agitated, and puts her hands back on her hips. “If you and Levi are lying to make him look good, this won’t go down well with the judge. I can tell you that much. And what kind of example are you setting for Duncan?”

Things I’ve asked myself Lorna, but I won’t dare to say this part out loud.

I hold my hands in front of me to hold off her verbal assault. “Please. I think you should talk to Levi about this.”

“Why do that when you’re here now?” She stays where she’s planted herself, holding herself more rigidly.

I can’t do it. It’s not that I’m done, but I’m crumbling. Duncan, the social media post, the comments, the feelings for Levi and the kisses, the presents showing up and me going absolutely bonkers for all the discounts, and now this. I’m at a breaking point with this whole thing. I’m just not made for it, I guess.

We may be busted, but at least I can still stick up for my best friend. Could my words be slightly fueled by champers? Yup.

“Lorna, have you ever stopped to think that he might not be faking anything if you would just simply comply with the wishes of your son and his wife?” My voice is pleading but stern. Even as amped-up as I am on the inside, I can keep my empathy at the forefront. “Levi wants to do what’s best for Duncan, and he wants to honor Tom and Katie’s wishes. Why can’t you see that?”

“Does he think that faking his marriage is what is best for an impressionable young man?” She huffs, shaking her head. “Nope, this is ridiculous. That child needs to live with me.”

“You just want to win, don’t you?”

She nods as I stare at her. Unbelievable.

I try to keep my tone steady, but it’s incredulous. “Lorna, I think you need to look deep into your heart of hearts and ask yourself one question. Can you do that for me?”

She rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t speak.

“What would your son want?” When she drops her gaze to the ground, I push on, but I’m a little riled up and wagging my finger now, too. “We both know because he’s already stated it. Levi is Duncan’s godfather and he’s going to make a great guardian. Fantastic one, really. You know when I was little, all I wanted was to have a family. A solid one that loved me for me and was there to support me and hang out for holidays, to show up when I was in the school play or got an award. To be at the talent show the year I got in for playing the flute. I was a foster kid and, unfortunately for me, I was one of the ones who never got to know what it’s like to grow up in a home like you probably created for your son, that Mary has made for the Porter boys, and like the home, fake fiancé or not, that Levi is going to give to Duncan.”

I stay in my place for a moment to see if she’s going to react. When she keeps her stare focused on the ground, I take it as my cue to go.

Turning around, I flick a hand in the air at Bex.

“You ready?”

Bex nods, and Lorna raises her head, a new fire of determination igniting behind her eyes.

“That was a nice try, but…” She reaches in her bag and pulls out her phone. “Between the alcohol I smell on your breath and that whole display you just treated me to, I’m having more doubts about where my grandchild will end up. I need to call my lawyer.”

Lorna then pivots on her heel and flounces away as Bex’s arm snakes around my shoulder and she pulls me close. A feeling of sheer horror ripples through me.

What have I just done?