Page 105 of The Girlfriend Clause
I knew it was all fake, but some small part of me wondered if this was how it would feel to have someone really take care of you.
“Actually, Andrea, we do need to get a few more visible events under our belt before we go, if that’s still all right with you.”
Back to business, then. It was what I’d agreed to, after all.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Bonnie suggested we host Hugo and Miranda for dinner. It’ll create the right sort of impression—stability—without drawing any external attention.”
“You mean host… athome?”
Liam turned the steering wheel to the right. “He’d prefer to avoid meeting publicly for the time being.”
Of course. Hugo was some sort of politician. It probably wouldn’t look good for him to be seen out on the town with an infamous playboy. Even if he did have hisstablepretend girlfriend on his arm.
I snuck a glance at him, but Liam’s face was expressionless.
“All you have to do is be there, Andrea.”
“Fine with me,” I said. “I reckon we could get all four of us around the coffee table at mine as long as you’re okay without side plates?”
Liam chuckled. “Very generous of you, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“So we’re having this at yours then, are we?” God. Entertaining with Liam. At hisplace. Although at least he wouldn’t expect me to cook.
“That would be the plan. I’ll take care of everything. Although Bonnie also thinks we should give the impression that you might actually… ah… live there.”
“Withyou? Me andyou, living together?”
“Horrifying idea, isn’t it?” The side of his mouth twisted into half a smile. “But thanks to your Comic Con fiction, they think we’ve been involved for nine months. It doesn’t really look committed if you haven’t moved in.”
“Well, I just mean… I can’t see how we could… I… I live with my sister and my cat. Won’t it seem a bit… um…”
“I don’t think it should be too hard.”
“But I haven’t even seen your place. How can we… make it look like I actually… like we…” I couldn’t imagine stepping foot inside his place, let alone convincing anyone I lived in it.
“I know it’ll take more than a toothbrush in the bathroom, Andrea.”
Crap. This was a lot. It almost felt intrusive. But I had to admit, the idea of seeing a little bit more of the real Liam—what he kept in his fridge, what books he had on his shelves—piqued my interest.
“Hugo has a cancellation in his schedule on Wednesday. Would that work for you?”
I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. “I guess so.”
“Great. I’ll have Bonnie lock it in. She’ll come too, and Ben as well, if he’s free.”
Brilliant. Dinner with Bonnie. I barely knew the woman, but I already knew I didn’t like her.
“Can my sister come?” If ever I needed backup, it was hosting a dinner party at a billionaire’s flat. Especially with all his mates in attendance.
“Oh. Right. Eliza.” He thought for a minute. “Sure. It might make things more convincing. Assuming you trust her not to let anything slip?”
“I trust her.”Did I?Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. We had time to prepare, though. Wednesday was still four days away.
“In terms of seeing the place in advance, I agree,” he added. “We’ll need to give it your touch. We can pop in now if you like—it’s only three minutes away. Give some thought to how we could pull this off.”
“I—okay. If you like.”
