Barbie looked at her phone, which must have been the cue to leave because Eliana reached for her bag.
“Well, Kane, it was very nice to meet you.” I wanted to snarl as she extended her hand in a limp-wristed shake. She looked at her daughter. “Perhaps we can take care of the other purpose of our tête-à-tête later. The mail, perhaps?”
Their tête-à-what?
Eliana stiffened and thrust her hand into her bag, pulling out a matching Prada wallet and turning to the checkbook section, yanking a pen from its holder. People still wrote checks? “No, let’s take care of that now.”
As I watched, she scribbled out “One thousand dollars.” She noted “September rent” on the bottom and signed her name with a flourish before ripping it off and sliding the small slip of paper across the table, drawing her hand back quickly as Alize reached for it, looking embarrassed.
Eliana has to pay rent to her mother?
“Thank you, darling.” She cleared her throat. “So, I shall see you at the gala? Remember your appointments and be sure to pick out your gown with plenty of time for alterations.”
I was still stunned by what I’d witnessed. “Will Eliana be paying for those things or is all of this a gift from you?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
Barbie blushed and took a sip of her water. “No, no. This is a gift for my darling Eliana. I’ll have Carlos send you an email with instructions on how to prep for the waxing and other treatments.”
Eliana opened her mouth then snapped it shut, crossing her arms over her chest in a look of pure mutiny.
I wiggled my eyebrows at her. “Brazilian? Excellent choice.”
She blushed a bright adorable red, but a smile played at the corners of her mouth, easing the tension.
I realized I enjoyed making her blush. I enjoyed making her laugh.
I’d do that through the gala, then… let her go.
Why did I feel like someone just punched me in the gut?
“I’ll leave you young people alone,” Barbie said, then waited. Was she waiting for one of us to tell her she was young too? What a vamp.
“We’ll see you at the gala,” I said and tossed my Am Ex Black on the table. “My treat.”
Her eyes gleamed as she looked at the card. “Thank you.” She slid from the booth and waved her fingers. “Ta ta.”
I waved my fingers back and turned to Eliana, ignoring Barbie completely. The tap tap of her heels told me she was finally leaving.
Eliana just looked up at me until the door closed, then she laughed, a beautiful sound that made me smile. She flung herself at me, her arms wrapping around my waist. “Thank you so much! That was awesome! Incredible!” She laughed again. “Absolutely perfect. Thank you, really.”
I twirled a loose strand of hair that had fallen out of her tight bun around my finger. “You were a champ, recovering so quickly after I jumped in on you like that. Well played.”
She preened, batting her long lashes, making me laugh again.
“Seriously, you were brilliant,” I told her. “And I was serious when I said I’d take you to the gala. It’s an off day for me, and my grandmother has been begging me to go. I won’t have any trouble getting tickets.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? What you just did was enough. I could tell Alize that we had a fight and broke up. Or I could just pretend I’m sick and dodge the entire bullet.”
I leaned closer. “Or you could go with me. You could enjoy your spa day and new dress on your mom’s tab. It would be fun. I’ll dote on you all night. We’ll dance and eat expensive food, and if we’re lucky, you’ll get to watch me break that Winston guy’s face.”
Her eyes clouded, and I felt like a shit for bringing up his name.
“Sorry that happened to you. It happened to one of my sisters too; it haunts her to this day. And when your mother blew it off like that, it just…” I shook my head, my teeth grinding together. “I couldn’t sit there any longer.”
She laid her hand on mine and our fingers automatically linked together, as if we’d been holding hands for ages. “Thank you. It really was perfect. I appreciate you being my white knight.”
I laughed. “I’m no hero, and I have a confession.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”
“I followed you here. We bumped into each other at that alley, and I…”
“Followed me. Why?”
She really doesn’t know how beautiful she is.
“I don’t know. Why do flowers turn to the sun?”
Holy fucking shit. Why did I just say that?
“And your ass in those jeans,” I said quickly to cover my embarrassment. “You have a fine ass, Eliana.” She blushed. “Besides, I was fascinated that you were feeding the homeless and taking care of the dogs. I guess I just wanted to see what you’d do next.”
Her thumb traced a circle on the back of my hand. “So here you are.”
“Yeah. Here I am. And I’ll pick you up next Saturday at seven. Type your contact information into my phone.” I unlocked it and handed it over, regretting doing so when she unlinked our fingers to add her info. She handed the phone back, and I sent her a text. Her phone pinged. “There, now you have mine.”
She slid her finger across her screen and added me as a contact. Tapping on the camera icon, she held her phone out and leaned closer to me. “Smile.”
I did, and she snapped our selfie. It was cute. We looked good together. She added the picture to my contact. “There, you’re my official fake boyfriend now.”
Why did the fake part feel wrong?
Looking back up at me, she licked her lips, and my cock responded to the action. “I better go,” she said in a low voice. “I need to get to work soon.”
“Where do you work?”
Her face brightened. “Right now, I’m working for a woman who has a dog grooming business. It’s only part-time, but I love working with animals. My dream is to become a veterinarian, and I was going to start vet school this fall, but…” She swallowed hard and looked down at her fingers.
“But something happened with your mother?” I guessed.
She nodded.
“Is that why you have to pay your mother, who is clearly very rich, rent?”
She nodded again, still looking down.
“What happened?” I asked gently, unable to stop myself. I hadn’t even known this girl an hour, but I wanted to know everything about her. The good and the bad.
“You’re being nosy,” she said with a grin.
“Hey, I’m your fake boyfriend, I’m allowed to be nosy.”
She nudged me with her shoulder. “Okay, fake boyfriend. I’ll tell you why. Alize hated the idea of me being in the ‘working class’ as she calls it. She says it’s embarrassing.”
I laughed. “And doctors of veterinary medicine are considered working class in her world?”
She finally looked up and smiled. “Yes. In her world, only models and actors, artists, can work without being disgraced. Everyone else needs to be socialites with family money. That’s what she wanted me to be. A mini-me of her. A little girl she could flaunt to society and preen over. She wanted me to be a model, but I wasn’t pretty enough for that. An actress, but I hate being in the spotlight.” She shrugged and took a long drink of her tea.