I let out a sigh. “It’s still wrong.”
“No different than what we’re doing with your family.”
My jaw flexes. “You know what?” I throw my hands in the air. “Maybe I should just leave.” When I try to brush past her, she grabs my arm.
“You can’t leave, Brendan. We need to prove to him we’re together. He’s the one who doubts it.”
I slowly turn back. “How do you know that?”
She releases my arm. “He hinted at it the other night, said he thought it was interesting that you don’t take me on regular dates or just hang out like a normal couple.”
Which was exactly what I was hoping tonight would be—an evening with Scarlett, alone. So far, the only time we’ve spent together has been in front of other people. And strangely enough, Eli is the only one who’s brought that up.
“Why would I want to hang out here, with a tuba soloist and a potential drug dealer?” I say with a straight face.
“Because you want to prove something to my brother.” She takes a step toward me. “That you’re in love with me.”
She has no idea how close to the truth she is.
I exhale. Eli is literally the last person I want to spend this evening with. But if he exposes our charade before the wedding, it won’t only upset my family—it’ll destroy Scarlett’s chance at the vendor contract.
“At least stay for dinner? Please?” Her dark eyes plead with me.
“Give me one good reason.”
“I’m doing the same favor for you. Yourentirefamily thinks I’m dating you. It kills me to imagine how they’ll look at me after the wedding.”
When I asked her to do this, I never stopped to think about what it would cost her when it was over.
She gazes up at me through her dark lashes. “And even if I can’t fix things between you and Eli, it would meaneverything to me if we went into this wedding at least knowing you two don’t hate each other.”
“I’ll do it,” I mutter.
Her eyebrows rise slowly. “You’ll really stay?”
“I can’t promise that we’ll end up as friends,” I grumble, turning to the door. “So let’s get this over with before I change my mind.”
“Brendan—” she says, grabbing my jacket sleeve, “thank you.”
When we step back inside, she picks up the bouquet on the table. “What are these for?”
“They’re for you.” I shove my hands in my pockets, remembering the reason I bought them. I feel slightly ridiculous, understanding now that it had never been a date, but a setup for Eli and me.
She takes the blush-pink roses and buries her nose in them. “I love these! Pink roses are my favorite.”
“I know. That’s why I bought them.”
Her brow knits. “You remembered I like roses?”
I shrug. “You mentioned it once. I used to steal them from my mother’s flower arrangements for you, remember?”
“I didn’t know you took them from your mother.”
“I figured she had so many flowers, she wouldn’t miss a few. And you’d appreciate them more.”
She stares at me, inhaling the scent again. “But what’s the occasion?”
It feels absurd admitting this now. “I thought…we were going on a date.”