Trouble with the Fake Boyfriend (Rock Bottom #3) - Holly Renee Page 0,54
my shoulders. I had faked my way through far worse situations than this one. I just had to be the doting girlfriend for one more day then I could go home where no one else could see me, and I would let myself fall apart.
Walking back into the reception, my eyes immediately sought out Liam. He was sitting at our table next to his parents and some other people he introduced me to but I couldn’t remember their names. His dad was talking to him, but Liam looked stressed.
He looked up at me as soon as I came in view, and I smiled at his parents so they wouldn’t know that anything was wrong. They were what I was here for, and no matter how much I hated lying to them, especially his mom, I only had one more day of this left.
“Brooke,” Liam said my name like he wanted to talk, but this wasn’t the place or the time.
I pushed up onto my tiptoes and kissed his cheek before taking a seat next to his mom. He was still staring at me, and I didn’t know what he wanted from me. I didn’t know what he expected.
If I just didn’t care then everything would be easier. If I didn’t care then everything would have gone just like it was supposed to.
“Everything okay?” His mom put her hand over mine.
“Of course.” I smiled at her but I didn’t think she believed it. I didn’t believe it.
She ran her fingers over my skin, and she gave me a sad smile. It almost broke me.
I could deal with me getting hurt, but I didn’t know how I was going to handle it when she did.
Not when I was the one to cause it.
The two of us had the best day today. We got our nails done and our hair styled, and I laughed so hard with her that my stomach hurt. It made me wish that she was mine. My mother was nothing like his, and I hated that I had to give her up.
Things wouldn’t just be going back to normal with me and Liam when we left. There would be no more Sarah. No more Jim.
They were his.
And I wasn’t.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome the bride and groom to the dance floor for the final dance.” The DJ’s voice rang through the speakers and dread filled me.
I wasn’t ready to go back to Liam’s parents’ house.
I wasn’t ready to be alone with him. I didn’t want to talk about what happened tonight. I didn’t want to explain why I was affected at all.
“Do you want to dance?” Liam was at my side and he was looking at me like he would give anything for me to say yes, but I couldn’t.
“I’m really tired.” I avoided his eyes as I said the words. It wasn’t a lie. I felt like I could sleep for a week and still be exhausted.
“Okay.” He nodded in understanding, but he didn’t. “Let’s go.” He reached for my hand and I let him take it as he pulled me to my feet.
We told his parents we’d see them at the house then we walked out to the car in complete silence. Still hand in hand.
I could tell he was thinking about what to say to me, but he just kept stewing. I was thankful. If we could just avoid this conversation altogether, I would be happy.
We didn’t need to hash this out. It would only make things more complicated, and that was the last thing we needed.
I stared out the car window as he drove us home, and I could practically feel the tension buzzing between us. I just wanted to get back to the house, take off this dress, and bury my head in my pillow.
He cut off the engine and took a loud breath. “I don’t know what you think you saw back there, but Katie means nothing to me.”
I looked down at my lap. “It’s fine, Liam.” I tried to change the subject. “Are you going to tell me how much the building cost? I know I probably can’t contribute half, but I should be contributing something.”
“The damn building isn’t important.” He sounded frustrated with me, but I was frustrated with him.
I opened the car door and took a deep breath of the fresh air. I felt like everything was closing in on me. “Yes. It is. It’s the only thing that matters.”