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“I really don’t see how this is really necessary,” Avery argued.
“You would if you saw the online gossip explosions,” Alisa said very seriously.
“The ones you refuse to let me see?”
“Yes, those ones.” Alisa either didn’t catch on to the irony in Avery’s tone or willfully chose to ignore it.
“Look, I understand that we have to ‘control the narrative,’ but aren’t there other ways to do it?” Avery said desperately. “Like, what if I drastically change my sense of fashion? Dye my hair?”
“That kind of gossip won’t create enough waves to drown out what people are saying now,” Alisa assured her.
“Which is?”
“Nothing you should worry yourself with.”
The truth was, there was no absurd gossip, and Alisa couldn’t be bothered to come up with any. While she knew her true role in Avery’s life was to be her lawyer, she had taken it upon herself to, for the time being, assume the role of matchmaker. So, for “publicity purposes” and “controlling the narrative,” she instructed that Avery absolutely must accept her next invitation (it was about time the girl stopped dodging galas like they were plague, anyway) and ask one of the Hawthorne brothers to “pretend” to be her date for the night.
Aware that Nash was too old for her and that her feelings regarding both Grayson and Jameson were far too complicated, Avery automatically chose the one Hawthorne brother she was sure would make it the least weird it possibly could be.
“Xander—”
“It was not me.”
Avery raised an eyebrow. “I was going to ask you for a favor, but do tell me what it is that you didn’t do.”
“Nothing. Because I didn’t do it.” The grin Xander flashed made Avery think this must be what it’s like to have a brother. “How about we get off the topic of the small fire I did not set in the bowling alley and instead this favor you want to ask of me.”
“You set fire to the bowling alley?”
“Small fire! And no, I didn’t. But whoever did, barely anything important actually burned,” Xander assured her. “Anyway. This favor?”
Avery chose to let this subject go— for now. She loved that bowling alley. “Alisa is making me attend another stupid rich person gala to give people something new to talk about,” Avery said quickly. “For publicity reasons.”
“Ah, to distract from those awful rumors.” Xander nodded his head seriously. “Very important.”
Avery slumped at the confirmation that there were, in fact, horrible rumors that Alisa was not making up. “And she’s also forcing me to take a Hawthorne brother as a date. So, will you please be my fake date?”
See, Xander had already been informed that this might happen. Alisa had let him in on the scheme, fully aware that Avery would go for the safest option. “Hey, you know how much I love fake dating schemes. But I’m actually busy with an international robotics competition that weekend, so you’re gonna have to find a different Hawthorne. Should be fine, of course,” he said with a wink. “There are three others.”
Avery was too anxious over the thought of having to ask Jameson or Grayson to be her pretend date to realize she’d never actually told Xander what weekend the gala was.
—
Avery paced back and forth in her own room, deliberately avoiding doing what she knew needed to be done. She wished literally anyone in this house would allow her access to an electronic device instead of “protecting” her from whatever heinous gossip was on the internet. She would be suspicious if it was only Xander’s word. But even Libby had agreed with Alisa, saying that Avery really didn’t want to know, and Libby would never lie to her.
(In truth, Libby was more than willing to lie to her if it meant getting her to finally choose a boy and go on a date with him!)
Seeing as Nash was, as previously mentioned, way too old for her, her choices were obviously Jameson and Grayson. And her feelings were… complicated about them both. Not in the sense that she was in love with both of them or anything, but…
The truth was, Avery hadn’t actually admitted anything to herself about either of them. She didn’t know how to define what it was to… “like” someone, or want to be with them. She couldn’t be sure if that was what she felt. She knew that both of them were outrageously attractive and that she occasionally had a difficult time not staring, but that didn’t really mean anything about her actual feelings towards either of them.
She didn’t know what those feelings felt like. Sure, she cared deeply about them both, but she also cared deeply about Libby. And Max.
So she couldn’t make the decision based on which one of them she didn’t have actual feelings for (if she had feelings for either of them). She considered in her head the scenarios of asking both Grayson and Jameson. Jameson would probably find the situation amusing and go along with it. Actually, he’d probably really commit to it. And lean in to whisper teasing comments about it quietly into her ear every now and then, both selling the pretense and making her blush.
Grayson would probably spontaneously combust.
Grayson had more than enough on his plate without worrying about being her fake date for a day. Besides, Jameson would be absolutely in his element, having an excuse to flirt with her randomly and tease her quietly. The thought made her giggle—it was just so him. And it didn’t have to be weird unless she made it weird.
Jameson wouldn’t make it awkward. He might tease her relentlessly about it, or simply make fun of the situation every time he got the chance, but they were close enough that it would only make her laugh.
—
“You’re kidding.”
“The whole thing is Alisa’s idea. She won’t even let me look up what’s going on,” Avery complained. Then a spark lit up in her eyes. “Wait, will you look it up for me?”
Jameson considered it, but shook his head with a grin. “No, I think it’s funnier with you guessing.”
“Jameson!”
He smirked. “Well, this is quite the situation you find yourself in, Heiress. In need of a fake boyfriend who must be a Hawthorne.” He stepped closer to her, a sign that he absolutely knew the direction this conversation was headed. “I wonder who you’ll ask,” he said mischievously, his low tone almost making her shiver.
Avery blinked hard to clear her head. “Actually, I was thinking of asking you.”
Jameson’s smirk grew. Oh, he’d anticipated that all right. “Well, I’m all too happy to oblige.”
—
Avery tried not to feel uncomfortable about the looks they were attracting as they danced. After all, that was the point, wasn’t it? Create new gossip to get rid of the old. Still, it felt at some times as if a crowd of people were intruding on her private moment, and at other times like she and Jameson had placed themselves in a far too public space. Even though she knew logically that she would likely hyperventilate even more if they were alone together, at least they wouldn’t have to be on a fake date then.
Jameson leaned in close, which wasn’t difficult considering how close they were to each other. Their bodies moved in sync to the music as he whispered, “We’re doing great, Heiress. We look the part of a perfect couple.” He flashed her a cocky grin before leaning in once again. “But there’s lots of people dancing. Given how bad those rumors are, we’re going to need something big that will light the presses on fire.”
Avery’s breath caught in her throat, both at the implications of his words and the fact that she was as close to him as she was. “Any suggestions?” She was going to regret phrasing it like that, wasn’t she?
“Yes, actually.”
Avery had known Jameson was probably about to kiss her, but what really did her in was the way he leaned in close and looked up into her eyes, as though he was asking for confirmation. It was that show of warmth and respect that made her lean in and touch her lips to his.
They stayed in the kiss just long enough to create a buzz throughout the room, parting when they were sure someone with a pen had gotten the message. But in the meantime, Avery’s nerves were on fire.
It wasn’t fireworks, exactly—in fact, none of the metaphors she’d read about in romances quite described what it felt like to kiss Jameson. Fireworks was when she and Jameson made eye contact when they’d both figured out the answer to a puzzle. Fireworks was when Jameson jumped off the climbing wall and landed on his feet, practically transferring his adrenaline to her through his signature cocky grin. The feeling she got kissing Jameson… that was an explosion of an entirely different kind.
The explosion destroyed a lot of things, too. Things like her uncertainty over her feelings for Jameson, or her doubt over whether or not she really knew what it was like to have feelings for someone beyond shallow attraction. While she was sure no words could describe the experience of the kiss, it felt fitting considering her and Jameson’s relationship to describe it as a key: a perfectly molded key to her heart, unlocking an abundance of thrilling possibilities for their future.
Even once they’d parted and it came back to her that everything they were doing that night was pretend, those feelings stayed unlocked. A different uncertainty entered her mind—an uncertainty about Jameson’s feelings. Sure, he loved to flirt with her and make her blush, but she was now certain her feelings ran deeper than that. How was she supposed to gauge how he felt based only on his actions here, where they were supposed to be putting on a performance?
While she was trying to figure out how to ask that question, Jameson leaned in to speak to her again. “You know, Heiress,” he murmured, “I did look up those rumors you mentioned. The ones Alisa said you needed to get rid of by coming here with me tonight.”
“It’s okay. If you don’t think I should know—”
“There aren’t any.”
While Avery kept physically dancing with Jameson, internally she froze. “...What?”
Jameson smirked. “I think Alisa might have lied to you. I can’t imagine what her purposes could have possibly been,” he said teasingly.
Avery turned to look at Libby, the traitor who had convinced her this was real, and saw her still squealing and celebrating over their kiss. “They knew I’d ask you,” Avery realized.
“Yeah, me. Or Grayson.” His smile almost didn’t falter— almost. “Guess they wanted you to stop dancing around what you want… and dance with me instead.”
“So convinced that I want you, are we?”
“Tell me, Heiress… what were you thinking when we kissed just now?”
Avery could have lied to protect herself, but whatever had kept her so guarded around him in the past was one of the things the explosion of the kiss had destroyed—or perhaps something that was hidden behind the barrier the key had unlocked. “That it felt like that exhilarating moment when we just solved a theoretically impossible puzzle… only better.”
“Who could have known you’re such a master with words?” Jameson wondered, uncharacteristically thoughtful. “That’s such a perfect way to describe the way I was feeling, too.” Then something steeled in his eyes—nearly imperceptibly, but enough that Avery saw it. “And did you consider asking Grayson, as well?”
“I thought it was fake, for publicity only. I tried to ask Xander, actually,” Avery said with a weak laugh. “To keep feelings from getting involved. And… I was just told it had to be a Hawthorne brother, so sure I considered Grayson. But I chose you, didn’t I?”
“Yeah.” But Jameson’s guard didn’t fall back down.
“I thought it was pretend,” Avery reiterated. “But now that I know this whole thing was a setup to get me on a real date… I’m glad I asked you, Jameson. I can’t imagine anyone else in the world could make me feel the way you made me feel when you kissed me.” Avery took a deep breath. “And now that I’ve said it, please just believe me, because I’m not the greatest when it comes to talking about my feelings and I’m not sure how many more romantic-sounding things I can come up with to say.”
Jameson cracked a smile—a real one. A rare, genuine Jameson smile, a natural hint of his smirk without the boldness he often wore as armor. “Then don’t use words.” Avery took the invitation for what it was and leaned back in to kiss him.
Well, this was sure to generate a lot of gossip.