I filled her in on everything, starting with my mortifying panic attack in the server room, how Jack had found me and had somehow known exactly what to do. The conversation in his office where I’d made that stupid joke about hiring an escort.Then finally, his completely unexpected offer to pose as my boyfriend until Megan’s wedding.
When I finished, Emily stared at me over the rim of her glass, her eyes wide and unblinking. “Tell me you said yes.”
“What? Are you insane?” I spluttered, nearly choking on my wine.
Emily groaned, throwing her head back dramatically. “You turned him down?”
“No. I said I’d think about it.” I twisted a strand of hair around my finger nervously.
Emily clapped her hands together, paint flaking off her fingers onto the rug. “Great. So you’re absolutely, one hundred percent, definitely marching into work tomorrow and taking him up on this incredible offer.”
The absolute certainty in her voice made my stomach flip. I shook my head, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. “I honestly don’t think I can do that, Em.”
“If you have any love for me whatsoever, you will.” She clutched her heart like a Victorian maiden about to swoon.
That made me laugh, the tension in my shoulders loosening slightly. “Okay, now I know you’ve lost your mind.”
“No, I haven’t.” She set her glass down on the coffee table and fixed me with a look so intense I almost squirmed. “Just think of all the good it will do.”
“Like what exactly?” I challenged.
Emily held up one paint-stained finger. “First, your mom would finally shut up about finding you a date. The texts would stop. The setups would stop. The not-so-subtle comments about your dating life would stop.”
She added a second finger. “Second, imagine Megan’s face when you show up with Jack Sullivan on your arm. Your sister thinks she’s got the catch of the century with her finance bro? Ha!” Emily let out a laugh that bordered on diabolical. “Jack islike... a whole different species of man. He makes Megan’s fiancé look like a boy playing dress-up.”
I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips. The mental image was admittedly satisfying.
“Third,” Emily continued, clearly on a roll now, “this is exactly the confidence boost you need. Walking into those family events with someone like Jack beside you? You’d feel invincible.”
I took another sip of wine as her words sank in. She wasn’t entirely wrong.
“And finally,” Emily’s eyes gleamed with mischief, “can you imagine the sheer drama of it all? It would be like something straight out of a movie! The successful, gorgeous boss steps in to rescue his employee from family torment? It’s too perfect!” She clutched her hands to her chest, practically vibrating with excitement. “The story we’d tell for years!”
I drank some more wine, feeling it warm my veins and blur the edges of my caution. Emily’s enthusiasm was infectious, and as much as I wanted to dismiss her reasoning... I couldn’t. Because she was making some really valid points.
“You might be right,” I admitted hesitantly, chewing on my bottom lip.
Emily nearly spilled her wine as she bounced in her seat. “No might about it, girl. I’m definitely right! All you have to do now is go straight to his office first thing, let him know you’ll accept his gracious offer, then kiss him.”
I choked on my wine, coughing as it went down the wrong pipe. “What the fuck? Why do I have to kiss him?”
Emily rolled her eyes like I was being deliberately obtuse. “Donotpretend you don’t want to. You can’t fool me.”
Heat crept up my neck, spreading across my cheeks. “Of course I want to! I’m only human, after all! But wanting and doing are two very different things.”
“Youhaveto kiss him,” Emily insisted, leaning forward so eagerly she nearly slid off the couch. “You need to know if the chemistry is there. The whole charade will fall apart if you don’t have that, because your mom and Megan, and my mom as well, will sniff it out in the first two minutes of meeting him.”
I slumped back against the couch cushions, my mind racing. Emily wasn’t wrong. If we couldn’t sell this, it would be worse than showing up alone.
“But what if it’s... awkward?” I asked, voicing my biggest fear. “What if we kiss and there’s nothing there, and then I have to see him every day at work knowing we have the romantic chemistry of two potatoes?”
Emily snorted. “You really think that’s going to happen? I’ve seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one’s watching.”
My heart stuttered. “What are you talking about?”
“Please.” She waved dismissively. “The man’s eyes follow you around the room like you’re magnetic north and he’s a compass. There’s going to be chemistry.”
I picked at a loose thread on the couch, considering her words. The memory of Jack’s arms around me in the server room, the gentle pressure of his fingers against my neck, the warmth of his breath against my hair... none of that had felt potato-like.
