He doesn’t look convinced, but luckily, Flynn joins us with a rant about the nightmare tenants in a building he’s renovating, and the moment passes.

Because I am fine. Great. My genius plan worked, didn’t it? I convinced Zelda to release my trust and had a ball doing it. And just because I’m back in the real world, and it feels weird to be away from Callie after such an intense stretch of time together, that doesn’t mean anything.

I was doing just fine before I met her, and I will be again in no time. She’s just a distraction. She’s—

Here?!

“Callie?” I blurt, shooting to my feet. She’s making her way through the busy bar, looking around. Her hair is twisted up in a messy bun, and dressed in a yellow sundress with tiny straps, she’s like a ray of sunshine in the dim bar.

Gorgeous.

“Uh, hey,” I say, suddenly feeling flustered. “What are you doing here? I mean, hi, of course you’re welcome.”

I catch a smirk from Austin but ignore it.

“You left your kit in my bag,” Callie says, holding out my toiletry bag.

“Oh. Thanks. These are the guys,” I continue quickly, trying to cool the hell down. “Guys, this is Callie.”

“The fake girlfriend!” Charlie grins. “Pleasure to meet you. You really saved his ass.”

Her cheeks turn pink as she approaches. “Really, it was nothing. I basically got a free mini-vacation.”

“Aw, come on, don’t sell yourself short. We all know how tough it must have been, pretending to be in love with this clown.” Charlie slaps me on the shoulder.

I flip him off while keeping my attention locked on Callie, searching her expression for even the tiniest hint as to how she might be feeling. But it’s impossible to tell, as she jokes along with the guys.

“Well, his music taste was kind of hard to take,” she teases. “And those baby pics… Wow, was he an ugly kid.”

Austin snorts with laughter. “That’s our Dash, a total eyesore.”

“Right?” Callie grins. “It was tough going there, pretending to swoon for him. Clearly, I missed my calling as an actress. But I’d say I could head straight to Broadway now, don’t you think?”

She directs that last question to me, and I nod, smiling, even though everything she’s saying makes me feel like shit.

She can’t have been just acting. Nobody fakes it that good.

“But I was brave, and suffered through the whole weekend of fine dining and fancy parties,” Callie adds dramatically. “Somehow, we pulled it off.”

“You should ask for a bonus,” Charlie grins. “Zelda is intimidating as hell.”

“Plus, I bet he subjected you to his shitty taste in music,” Flynn adds.

“My taste is not shitty!” I protest, but brace myself for the playlist tell-all.

But instead, Callie just laughs. “I can neither confirm nor deny,” she says with a wink. “Non-disclosure agreement. My lips are sealed.”

“Discreet, too?” Austin whistles. “Maybe I should hire you to be my fake date, help woo these investors of mine.”