Page 21 of Pretender

Ah, that’s his name.

“Pleasure,” Sebastian says with his infamous, little smirk.

“Nice to see you again,” Elliott says, and I return his smile, but am distracted by Aiden making a weird humming sound next to me. I glance at him and he’s tracing a thumb along his lower lip, staring into space.

“Likewise, Elliott. Nice to meet you, Sebastian,” I say and give them both a quick nod. “I’ll leave you guys to it.”

“No, wait, please,” Aiden says, holding out a hand again.

Seriously, what is happening today?

“Sorry. I need to talk to you. Guys, I’ll see you soon, okay? Just have a look around.” He turns to me, his brow knitting. “Can we go downstairs? I need a word.”

“Okay? Of course.”

Shit, is he going to fire me from the Grafton Street job? This hasn’t happened before. Fuck. I brush a hand over my hair, making sure my waves cover my ears, and walk out of the forest and through the wooden door.

Aiden stops behind me and turns to the guys. “Don’t touch anything.”

I walk down the carpeted stairwell, not sure where he wants me to go.

“Hey,” he says, stopping me with a hand on my bare upper arm. I glare at it and he removes it, muttering an apology. The heat from his skin lingers on mine, and goosebumps travel up my neck. I shake them off, focusing back on Aiden.

“What’s going on?” I ask. He’s two steps above me in the middle of the stairwell, making me crane my neck. And as if he senses the imbalance, he walks down past me, allowing me to look down on him for once.

He fidgets with his sleeves, pulling them as if they weren’t already perfectly in place. “I need a favour.”

I cock my head. It’s not what I expected.

“Okay?”

He drags a hand over his mouth and exhales. “I’m not sure how to explain this, but … I told you my mum’s been setting me up, right?”

I nod.

“Well, she tried again last night, a bit of a surprise attack. I didn’t want to go through another painful date, although she was perfectly nice…” He waves a hand while he babbles. Aiden is babbling. Gesticulating a lot more than usual.

I’ve never seen him act like this before.

Never thought him capable of anything but arrogance and confidence.

“So,” he continues, his eyes wide. “I ended up saying that I’m seeing someone to get out of it, and turns out it was a massive deal for my mum because she’s getting married and wants me to have a date.”

He’s practically breathless, letting his arms drop.

Is he okay?

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m happy for your mum, but I’m missing the point where I have anything to do with this. Pardon my bluntness.”

“Yeah. Hmm.” He turns at the sound of someone talking from the reception area below. “Sorry, I realise we don’t have a lot of time. Can you come with me to my mother’s engagement party next weekend?”

I blink at him. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Just as a favour. Please?” He sucks in his lower lip.

“But why me? You could find someone who’s a proper date. Who actually likes you—like that, I mean.”

He winces. “Ouch, Linny,” he says, clutching his heart, but the corners of his mouth twitch up. “It’s actually perfect like that. Anyone I take to my mum’s engagement party might expect more…”