Faked - Karla Sorensen Page 0,20

support each other, through thick and thin."

Adele rolled her lips over her teeth and didn't say anything.

"I need to grab my phone and keys," I told her. "Text me the details, if you wouldn't mind, and I'll see what I can do."

It took her a moment to compose her face, but when she did, she actually attempted a semblance of a smile. "Thank you, Bauer."

I looked at the exit again, figuring that by the time I got my car and made it back to her apartment, she would've had enough time to cool down. Hopefully.

"Believe me," I told her, "it will be my pleasure."

Chapter Seven

Claire

"Get off," I tugged, then tugged again for good measure. "You stupid, stupid dress."

My voice cracked, and I absolutely refused to look at my reflection in the mirror. Earlier, I loved what I saw.

A princess.

Now, I could only hear that word spoken in Bauer's stupid, deep voice next to my ear.

The zipper refused to move underneath my shaking hands, and I let them drop so I could try to regain control of myself.

My eyes welled up with the frustration building inside me. Like a bucket had filled to the brim and couldn't contain anything more than what was currently inside, that stupid effing zipper was what tipped it over.

I felt stupid.

Stupid for saying yes.

Stupid for thinking I could pull off being Lia for the night.

Stupid for being excited about time with Finn.

Bauer's face, so close to mine, flashed through my head, and I pinched my eyes shut. That especially made me feel stupid. How ridiculous he must have thought me.

He probably laughed after I left, the silly sister who tried to pull off a switch and failed. Because she wasn't fearless like her sister. That was what he'd said, right?

Oh, the irony. I wanted someone to see me for who I was on my own, and he had to choose the one word that would make me feel like the biggest fraud. She was the fearless one, and I faded into the background.

My eyes flashed up, and unwittingly, I caught my reflection in the mirror.

"You didn't fail," I said quietly. My chin lifted. "You didn't fail," I repeated.

Adele and Robert thought I was Lia.

Okay, so I scored a seventy-five percent, which ... technically, was a passing grade. But to the girl who always got A’s, a C sure felt like a failure. Especially in something like this.

My hands steadier, I wrapped my fingers around the metal of the zipper once again and finagled it past the jam, all the way down, until I could step out of the dress. By the time it pooled onto the carpeted floor of my small bedroom, I went from frustrated to pissed. At everyone.

At Bauer, for seeing through me so easily, which made zero sense.

At Lia, because where the hell was she? She should've been home by now.

And Finn. Oh, freaking Finnegan Davis.

How could Finn not warn Lia?

So fricken what if he was sick and it was Bauer's idea to step in tonight? Did he lose the ability to text? Could Adele's chicken noodle soup not fix his arms?

The ungracious thought—especially about Finn, who'd never done anything to deserve it—brought me up short.

"One night with that man," I muttered. "One night, and I'm talking crap about Finn."

Finn, with his beautiful eyes and big smile. Finn in his stupid scrubs. I laid a hand on my stomach as I thought about it, forced it into my head.

I stepped over the pile of yellow satin and yanked open the top dresser drawer with barely restrained violence. I tugged on some cotton shorts, a tank with a built-in bra and my U Dub T-shirt, worn through in spots from being washed so many times.

When I flipped on the bathroom lights, I took a second to remember, again, what I'd felt like before the night began.

Happy. Terrified. Excited. Out of my league.

Now I just felt exhausted.

A makeup remover wipe took care of my face, bringing it back to its normal state.

A brush did the trick for my hair when it was tugged high on top of my head and off my neck.

My hand was just about to flip the light switch off when the door buzzer rang.

I froze. "Nooo," I moaned because I knew. Oh, did I know who it was.

It rang again, and I swore under my breath. It was the kind of language that would've cost me a fortune in our family swear jar.

With a brick of nerves lodged in my throat,