Confusion furrowed his brows. “In four months together, they’ve never seen a picture of this guy?” he asked incredulously. “Or do I look like him?”
“Ahhh, no, to both questions,” she said, and explained. “He’s a social worker and doesn’t have any social media accounts, and I never sent a picture of him to my parents. But you do share the same first name. I figured you both being an Eric would make me less likely to mess up your name in front of my family.”
“Is that why you chose me?” he asked curiously, his gaze holding hers, warm and too damn tempting. “Because our names are the same?”
“Initially, that’s what made me click on your profile.” She didn’t mention that his gorgeous face had been part of what had influenced her decision because that seemed so superficial. “Then I read your bio, and it was quirky and funny and made me laugh, and trust me when I say I need a guy who doesn’t take things too seriously, because my parents are a little over-the-top and you’re going to need to roll with the punches when it comes to them.” And to also deal with her disingenuous, two-faced cousin and her underhanded remarks.
“Can’t wait to hear more about them,” he said, grinning as he took another drink of his Americano, giving her a moment to appreciate his long fingers and neatly trimmed nails. “So, are you trying to please your parents by bringing a boyfriend to the reunion? Are they the type who are anxious for you to settle down so they can have grandbabies and you don’t want to deal with the whole when are you getting married spiel?”
She laughed and shook her head. “No, they’ve honestly never pressured me.”
Turning more serious, Evie absently rubbed her palms along her thighs beneath the table, knowing she needed to clue him in to why she was hiring him so he’d be on his game while interacting with her family, but hating the embarrassing reality of the situation. “The truth is, I don’t want to show up at the reunion and have to explain to everyone that I’m no longer with Eric . . . the other Eric. They’ll want to know what happened, and I’ll have to explain the degrading story of being duped and cheated on, and everyone is going to feel sorry for me the entire time I’m there and treat me with kid gloves because they’ll think I’m depressed over the breakup.”
“Are you? Depressed over how things ended?” he asked.
She shook her head, and since he seemed genuinely interested in her answer, she replied candidly. “No. I’m more angry that I didn’t see it coming, and that I dismissed red flags I should have paid more attention to because I didn’t want to be one of those paranoid girlfriends who didn’t trust their boyfriend. In hindsight, I should have listened to my gut, and now I find it a little hard to trust my own judgment when it comes to . . .” Realizing the direction the conversation was heading, she abruptly stopped talking. The last thing she wanted to do was bare her insecurities to a guy she’d just met or have him feel sorry for her.
“When it comes to men?” He finished the sentence anyway. His low voice, threaded with understanding, prompted her to be honest.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “That’s why a pretend boyfriend works for me. I’ll get through the reunion without being the focus of everyone’s attention and I won’t look like that pathetic girl who can’t keep a guy.” Ugh, she was revealing way too much again. “Anyway, by hiring you, I know exactly what to expect, without the complications of an actual boyfriend. We’ll play the happy couple for a few days, and when we get back, the transaction is done and we can go our separate ways.”
“A few days?” His brows rose in surprise. “So, this is more than a one-day gig?”
She absently bit her bottom lip. “Yes, it’s over the Fourth of July holiday weekend next week. Leaving on Friday and returning on Monday. I’m more than willing to pay whatever your fee is, along with all your travel expenses.”
It was probably going to cost her a small fortune, but now that she’d spilled her guts to Eric about her situation, she really didn’t want to go through the interview process again. And she really did like him. He was easy to be around, and there was no awkward tension between them that relatives would notice or question. The fact that there seemed to be a mutual attraction was a nice bonus, even if it was all a very believable act on his part.
“I’ll need to make sure it doesn’t interfere with my day job, which I don’t think it will since it’s a holiday weekend.” He finished his coffee and set his paper cup on the table, his gaze meeting hers. “So, tell me what kind of family reunion this is and where we’re going for four days.”