Page 45 of I Think He Knows
“Oh.” I blink. “Damn.”
“‘Oh damn’ is right.” Lana shakes her head. “I tried to set Mona straight, but she was going on and on, being such a jerk about everything. And then you turned up and I just… went with the story I’d seen online.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Well, Mona was clearly very shocked, so the story worked.”
“It did. And now, I’m going to have to figure out what to tell her…”
“Or I could just go. With Legs. To the campout.”
Lana frowns. “Oh, no. I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“I’d be happy to. I’d do anything for her, you know that.”
And for you. I wish you knew that, too.
“Plus, I’m under strict instructions from Elena to stay here in Atlanta for awhile,” I continue. “So for the first time in forever, I actually have a clear schedule.”
“That’s exciting that you’re going to be here for a bit.” She smiles a cute little smile, eyes sparkly, then tilts her head. “But I don’t know about this whole campout thing. I’m scared that she might actually start believing that you’re going to be her new daddy and then be disappointed. She’s been really fixated on this ‘new dad’ thing lately, as you discovered this morning…” As she talks, her smile fades, and her thumbnail scratches more insistently at her beer label. I can tell she’s stressed, and I don’t want to make that stress worse for her.
I try to keep my expression neutral. Nonplussed. But before I can find an appropriate way to address the accidental sleepover we have not talked about yet, Allegra appears, bonnet askew. “I won’t be disappointed. I know we were lying to Mona the Moaner.”
I can’t help but crack a smile at that, and when I look at Lana Mae, I see that she can’t, either. Until her mothering instincts kick in and she purses her lips. “It’s not nice to call someone names, sweetie,” she tells her daughter, her face reddening slightly, and I know she’s mentally chastising herself for being a hypocrite right now.
“Sorry, Mom.”
“And—” Lana starts, but before she can deliver any kind of lecture on lying, Allegra waves an airy hand in her mom’s direction, cutting her off.
“Yeah yeah yeah, I know lying is wrong and we shouldn’t ever do it. But please, Mom, can Carter come with me to the campout? Even ifIknow he’s not really going to be my new daddy, nobody else will know. I don’t want to be the only one there without a daddy...”
Lana’s expression crumples and her fingers tense on her beer bottle. “Legs, can you get me a plate from the kitchen, please? I think the steaks are about done.”
“Okay, but think about it. Please.”
“I will.” As Allegra runs off, Lana turns to me and looks me dead in the eye, suddenly all business. “Okay, CJ. What if you help me and I help you?”
“How so?”
“If I pretend to be your fiancée, Elena’s reputation-fixing plan is still on the table and you still have a shot at theIf Onlyrole.” She looks at me for confirmation and I give her a nod. “In return, Allegra can bring you to the daddy daughter campout and have her daddy moment.”
I sit still, absorbing this. “Lan, I can go to the campout with Legs without you having to pretend for me.”
But Lana’s face is resolute. Staunch. “No. We can help each other here, and I want to do this for you. Friendship is a two-way street, so if we’re doing this, I’m playing the part of the fiancée.”
A million strange feelings are flooding through me, each as jumbled and indecipherable as the next. “So you’re saying… let’s get fake engaged for real?”
Lana leans over and clinks her beer bottle against mine. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Callahan.”
15
LANA MAE
What on God’s green earth am I saying right now?
Seriously. My voice is steady. Confident. Casual, even.
But the words that just came out of my mouth are enough to freaking unravel me. Because I just told Carter James Callahan I’d be his fiancée.
Fake fiancée, to be exact. But details have never been my strong suit.