"That's a fantastic idea!" Skylar practically applauded.
Thanks to finals week, that annoying guy from her hometown hadn't bothered her lately.
But Skylar was fully expecting him to start creeping on her again next semester.
If push came to shove, she might have to find a fake boyfriend of her own.
Weren't fake dating contracts all the rage right now?
She would totally jump on that trend if she had to!
Zara frowned. "I mean, I'd love to find one ASAP, but it's not like guys like that grow on trees."
"Let me mentally scroll through my contacts and see who'd be willing to play along."
Claire gave her a knowing smile. "I actually think I have the perfect candidate for you."
"Who? Don't tell me it's Owen!" Zara's eyes lit up.
Owen was so unfairly gorgeous he could easily be an A-list celebrity.
If Claire was genuinely offering, she would absolutely take him up on a trial run.
Claire laughed out loud. "Why would you jump straight to Owen? I'm definitely not talking about him."
"Then who is it?" Zara's enthusiasm instantly plummeted by half.
"Reid Dalton," Claire dropped the name casually.
"Reid?" Even though Zara had constantly joked about having the Daltons hand Reid over to her as compensation,
she had never actually made a real move.
Reid wasn't your average guy. She was a little intimidated by him and didn't dare cross the line.
Maybe growing up in the shadow of his overwhelming excellence made her subconsciously feel like she wasn't good enough for him.
"I mean, I know I've got a radiant complexion and stunning curves, but Reid doesn't
strike me as the superficial type."
What was she supposed to do?
Would this even work?
Claire was speechless. "How do you know he isn't?"
"Does he have 'I hate stunning curves and beautiful women' tattooed on his forehead?"
Skylar chimed in, fully on board with the idea. More importantly, Reid is one of the most prominent alumni from our university Everyone knows his name."
"With him as your shield, no one is going to dare make a move on you."
They'd all be far too intimidated.
Lex was the only one who remained completely silent.
Claire urged Zara to seriously consider her proposal.
"Don't just write him off and say you aren't into him Even if you aren't e
you could at least talk to him about being your fake boyfriend for for a bit."
"Even if it doesn't lead to anything real, it'll buy you some peace and quiet." "Honestly, I think you should just go for it. If you don't try, you'll never know."
With Claire pushing her that hard, Zara stopped overthinking it.
Claire assumed Zara would just ask Reid to play the role of her boyfriend for a little while.
She never expected Zara to go all in.
Right after final exams, Zara called Claire with a massive bombshell: she and Reid were officially getting engaged before the holidays.
"Wait, you're making it that official?" This was definitely not what Claire had in mind when she gave her advice.
She had figured Reid would just play along and do her a favor.
She didn't expect him to escalate things to an actual engagement.
They couldn't even wait for the holidays. Was he just itching to shower Zara with massive holiday gifts?
"I didn't
to to to be this intense
at it
either! My mom casually hinted to the Dalton matriarch, and the very next day, Reid showed up at
Quy
front door
"Reid said he needs a stable family environment. Apparently, settling down will let him focus entirely on his career."
"He said he's known me since we were kids, and even though I can be a bit spoiled,
I have a good heart. So he wants to lock this down early."
Claire chuckled. "So he is just thirsty for your looks and your stunning curves."
Zara tried for a weak defense. "Is it possible he actually meant all that sentimental stuff?"