Evie AT A CERTAIN point, when you’re up against a behemoth of a mortgage lender who wants to take your house from you, all you can really do is agree to go to a fundraiser with your very wealthy fake boyfriend. Right? That’s what I told myself, at least. I should have spent my Friday night researching how to save my house from foreclosure. I should have stayed home and Googled my heart out for local lawyers. But the truth was, I had been so overwhelmed every moment of that week that going to a gala seemed as good a choice as any. Maybe I’d meet a rich lawyer who enjoyed doing pro bono work whilst hobnobbing over hors d’oeuvres. I didn’t know what to expect as we walked into the art gallery. Because you know when the last time I’d walked into an art gallery had been? Never. That’s how cultured I was. I’d been to art museums, sure, but to be honest, it had never occurred to me to v isit a place where I could buy artwork that cost thousands of dollars. I didn’t have thousands of dollars. In my mind, art galleries were dry, boring places with a few stark pieces of funky modern art I’d never understand on pedestals. When we walked into Hewitt - Klein Gallery, I was surprised to find one of the swankiest atmospheres I’d ever seen. Brick - faced walls, visible ductwork, and dark
hardwood floors gave the space an industrial - chic appeal that felt more like a bar than a ritzy art gallery. Pedestals topped with artwork dotted the space, but they weren’t stark. Each pedestal had a single piece of colorful glass on it, and a single spot light shone down on each one. “Wow, this place is cool,” I said, and then realized that I sounded unrefined. When I glanced up at Rex, hoping he hadn’t heard me, he had a soft smile on his face. “It is cool,” he said. “There’s a reason everyone who’s anyone doesn’t miss this fundraiser.” He wasn’t kidding about everyone who was anyone. On the other side of the room, I spotted a man standing next to the bar. I gasped as I recognized him. He was an actor who lived in Seattle. “Oh my God,” I said, without cluing Rex in on why I said it. But he knew. Then one of Seattle’s most famous restaurant owners walked by — so famous that even I knew who he was, and I generally went out to eat at brewpubs and fast food spots. “Oh my God,” I said again. Rex laughed softly, and I didn’t even care that he was laughing at me. His laugh was — for lack of a better word — hot. It came from de ep in his throat, low and husky and a little restrained. It made me think about how his entire personality was restrained, w hich suddenly gave me a strange urge to set him free. “Would you like to get a drink?” he asked me. After that last thought I’d had, my logical brain told me I should say no to his question. If we had a drink together, then I was going to loosen up and have fun with him. I was already having thoughts I shouldn’t about him. But I wasn’t in the mood to lis ten to logic. I’d tried to do everything right, and I was still going to lose my house. “Yes, I would like a drink,” I said, noticing a woman walk by with an intriguing blue cocktail. The ambient lighting twinkled as it hit whatever was in that glass. It was the most beautiful cocktail I’d ever seen. We approached the bar on the far side of the gallery. He ordered a whiskey neat, and I ordered one of the blue cocktails. There was a little sandwich board on the counter advertising it — the Cobalt Crush, the evening’s special. “Oh, wow,” I said after I took a sip. “This is delicious. I don’t even know what I’m drinking. I need to return this or I’m going to get drunk very quickly.”
“I don’t think you can return cocktails, Evie,” he said, and I liked the sound of my name on his lips. I liked the way he raised an eyebrow at me, too. And I liked what he was wearing — a dark gray button - up shirt, with the top button undone, slacks. He look ed more casual than he did at work. “Well, then, I should probably just drink this. I don’t know what’s in it, but it’s not weak.” “You’ve seemed so serious this week. Have a couple. Have some fun.” Then he paused. “I feel bad taking your Friday night from you. Thank you for being here with me. That’s why I got you the flowers. I’m grateful for you.” “Grateful?” I asked. “For me?” There was a lot to unpack there. He was paying enough attention to me that he’d noticed my mood this week. “Yes,” he said, his voice low in a way that reached right inside of me. Oh my. I took a sip of my drink and tried not to giggle madly, which was what I wanted to do. “You’re welcome. Honestly, I don’t mind.” Because I didn’t mind. This was the nicest party I’d ever been to, and if there were more of these in my future, maybe I could forget about my problems for a little while. His eyes settled on me — a little intense, a little too focused — as I sipped my drink. I wasn’t sure what to make of his intensity, so I did the only thing I could think to do. “Are those bacon - wrapped dates?” I asked. A woman with a tray full of appetizers was circulating. As she got closer to us, I saw I was right. Bacon - wrapped dates. I took one off the tray and ate it. Rex took one, too, but held the tiny plate with a single date on it in his hand. Then the server k ept walking. The urge to follow her nearly overcame me. “Like them?” Rex asked. “Love them. My cousin is a chef and made them for me once. These are better than his. Don’t tell him.” Rex smiled. “I won’t. Promise.” I smiled back. “Did you just make a joke?” He shrugged. “You should do it more often. It suits you.” “Would you like mine as well?” he asked, and offered the tiny plate to me. I couldn’t say no to more of those if I tried. They were too delicious, so I thanked him and took it.
I heard Rex make a low grunt and looked up to see his parents had just entered the gallery. “Let’s go say hi,” he said. I dabbed my mouth with my tiny, fancy napkin to make sure I looked the part as we approached them. When I was done, Rex reached down to take my hand, which surprised me, but then I realized he’d made physical contact with me as we approached his parents be fore, too. Us appearing to be a real couple was most important in their presence. Reginald and Elizabeth stood in front of us, both of them dressed stylishly in all black. Rex gave them each a hug, and then they turned to me. Elizabeth leaned forward and gave me a hug, too, but it was brief. “It’s good to see you here,” she said, but I wasn’t convinced she meant it. I was sure she still hated me for mentioning her forbidden movie. “I’m happy to be here. It’s a lovely gallery.” Isn’t that what posh people said? That things were lovely? It had seemed right, but after I said it, I was sure lovely was what unposh people said because they thought it sounded posh. I wanted to grab the tray of bacon wrapped dates and run for the hills. I couldn’t do this. “It is,” Elizabeth said. “Have you two seen Hattie and Anya? They’re supposed to be here tonight.” Rex offered a tight smile. “Not yet.” I sipped at my drink until it was gone while they updated each other on what was going on with the latest hotel acquisition, a conversation I couldn’t add anything to in normal conditions, but especially not after that Cobalt Crush. If the bartender was ma king everyone’s drinks that strong, this party was about to get wild here soon. I leaned in close to Rex, my hand on his arm, my mouth close to his ear, like a real girlfriend might do. “Do you need another drink? I’m going to go get another one.” A smile tugged at his lips. I liked this looser Rex. “I’m fine for now, sweetheart,” he said. He was getting into the spirit of things, too. As I walked away from him, I decided this would be a fun night. Tonight, we would put on a show for his parents, whichever famous friends wandered into this event, and Anya, too, if she ever showed up. I took my time making my way to the bar. I meandered to look at the artwork. “Could I have another Cobalt Crush?” I asked the bartender.
Then I leaned against the counter while he concocted my next beverage. I hoped it would be just as strong as the first one. More people were arriving, and all of them looked like they’d just st epped out of a magazine. I was pretty sure I was the only person there who had done her own makeup and hair, and it showed. They would be onto me. They could smell an intruder in their mi dst. A tall, beautiful redhead came to the bar and stood next to me. She was gorgeous, obviously rich from the jewels on her neck and ears glittering in the ambient light. She ordered a Cosmo, and her eyes lit on me, but not for long. She could definitely smell an intruder. The bartender set my drink in front of me, and I asked him to add it to Rex’s tab. “There are no tabs, ma’am,” the bartender said. “This is an open bar.” I almost made a quippy comment about how many more of these drinks I’d be having if this was an open bar, but then I noticed the redhead’s gaze locked on me. “You know Rex Claremont?” she asked. Uh oh. I looked at Rex, but snapped my eyes back to my drink before the woman could notice that I was giving away his location. He was on the far side of the room, still with his parents, but now with another couple as well. I hid behind my drink for a sip , but then nodded. “Yes, I do. I know him very well,” I said — my very clever answer that sounded great in my head, but stupid as it came out of my mouth. “Very well?” she asked. “Yes, we’re... uh... dating.” Oh, God. I needed to stop talking. She inclined her head at me. She went on as though I hadn’t said anything, but I thought for sure she would accused me of lying. “I’ve been looking for him. I’m pretty sure he’s dodging me, but good luck to him.” She flashed me a smile that was at once so charming and so phony that I wasn’t sure what to make of it. “Do you know where he is now?” At that, I shook my head. I didn’t have a good reason, but I didn’t want this woman anywhere near Rex. She turned to me. “If you see him, tell him Anya is looking for him, all right?” Of course it was Anya. Of course she was insanely beautiful. Of course she was so tall that I couldn’t even see the top of her shoulders. I should have seen that coming, and I should have been pr epared to fend her off. I’d never
been much for fighting with other women, but I was pretty sure I was here largely to protect Rex from her. I finished my second Cobalt Crush at the bar, a little quicker than I intended to, but the drinks tasted like candy. While I drank, I watched Rex make his way around the room. I noticed him watching for Anya and r epositioning periodically to avoid her. The n I noticed him find me at the bar. By the time he came to join me, I was halfway through my third blue drink, which I ordered as an excuse to stay at the bar. I couldn’t fight the feeling that I didn’t belong in this place with these people. At least I felt like I could belong at the bar. “Did you only agree to come along for the cocktails?” he asked me. “To be fair, I didn’t know these would be here, but I think they’re my new favorite drink.” “You’re not going to get drunk and embarrass me, are you?” he asked with a grin. I giggled, which surprised me. I’m not usually a giggler. “I am most certainly going to embarrass you. Well, maybe I will. I just had the chance — I met Anya — and I totally blew it. I couldn’t think of anything clever to say. I told her we were dating, but I don’t think she believed me. She asked where you were and said she was looking for you. Don’t worry. I didn’t point you out.” I couldn’t read his expression, but guessed he was thinking he picked the wrong fake girlfriend. I should have been out there being the best fake girlfriend I could be. Instead, I was downing one cocktail after another and wallflowering at the bar. “Maybe we should mingle a little,” he said. “I might want another one of these.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “You’ve been oddly quiet all week. Now you’re trying to drown yourself in mysteriously blue drinks. What’s going on with you?” “That seems like too much of a personal question for our situation, don’t you think?” He frowned. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I felt bad for dodging him. I wanted to tell him I was actively facing foreclosure. The alcohol whispered to me that I should just tell him, so at least I wouldn’t have to pretend to be fine when I wasn’t, but I didn’t want him to know. I’d told him this j ob would save me from foreclosure. He likely assumed everything was fine. I could not say the words that I was actually losing my house to a billionaire. I just couldn’t. “Let’s do this,” I said, standing up. “Let’s mingle.”
I stumbled a little when I stood up and then started laughing at myself. Then I pulled myself together and looked up at him, hoping I wasn’t blowing this whole evening. He could always get a different fake girlfriend and just fire me instead. The stakes in this were higher for me than they were for him. “Are you okay?” he asked. “I am. I might need a trip to the bathroom before I can do this, though. I’ve had a lot of liquid.” Then I cringed at myself. Why did I say that? He nodded, and I cr ept away. I spotted a few appetizer trays circulating and made sure to bob and weave my way past them to get some carbs into my system. I hadn’t intended to get drunk. Not exactly. Although, it’s not like I didn’t know what might happen if I k ept getting more drinks. The bathroom was just as visually stunning as the rest of the gallery, with dark, shimmering tiles on the floors and walls, black stall doors, and blown - glass light fixtures on the walls. Hands down, the best bathroom I’d ever had the privilege of going to the bathroom in. Also an excellent place to hide in for a few minutes. I remained on the toilet, leaned forward, put my face in my hands, and focused on my breathing. I was going about this all wrong. Instead of getting into the game of playing the girlfriend, I was too caught up in my own problems. To be fair, they were tough problems to overcome, but I had to. I needed to be present in this situation. I needed to say the right things to Rex’s parents and Anya. This situation would not last if I k ept embarrassing him. Because then I’d lose my job. Then I’d have even more problems. So when I stood up again, I decided that the Evie coming out of that bathroom door would be ready for all of this — all the rich people and the elegance. I smoothed out my hair, touched up my makeup, held my head high, and exited the bathroom like I owned th e place. Only to find Rex cornered by Anya on the wall far on the other side of the gallery from where I stood.