She swigged half her wine and stood there, as if she couldn’t quite wrap her head around it all.

I was pretty much in the same boat.

Presley went to the kitchen, picked up the bottle, brought it back to the coffee table. “We’re going to need this.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

“So. You’re fake engaged to the guy you’ve had the hots for for years.”

“Fact.” I’d confessed my crush one night after too much wine—red wine. That stuff was from the devil.

“What are you going to do?”

“Eat my candy. Drink your wine.”

Presley didn’t even laugh. “And then what?”

“That’s why I’m here, Presley. What am I going to do? I can’t let Holden do this, can I?”

“Do you think Angelica believes your story?”

“I’m pretty sure she doesn’t. He insists we can bring her around.”

“Let’s go through options,” Presley said, and this was why we were friends. Our brains worked similarly. Not surprising, since I’d met her in the business school at college. We’d had multiple classes together our first year, had hit it off, and then roomed together. While I’d gone into hospitality and tourism management, she’d focused on finance. Now, she was my financial adviser as well as my BFF.

I swigged some wine, washed it down with more candy, then sat up straighter, feeling like we could figure this out if we put our brains together.

I counted the possibilities on my fingers as I listed them. “One, we could break up this weekend. Two, we could fake it until after Angelica makes her decision. Three, we could run away to Europe—”

“Shut up,” Presley said, waving off that last one. “Four, you could fake it at first and end up making the guy of your dreams fall in love with you.”

“You shut up,” I said, scowling and ignoring how very much I wanted to dwell on that one for a minute—or a week. “Let’s at least be realistic.”

“Totally realistic. But if you want to ignore that one for now… Basically you can take the story back and give up on your dream job or go all in, start planning a wedding, and do what’s not only best for you but best for Angelica’s company.”

“Basically.”

“The Chloe Abrams I know doesn’t usually roll over and give up.”

“The Chloe you know also doesn’t usually perpetuate giant lies to get ahead.”

“Well, if you actually get engaged, it’s not a lie, right?”

I narrowed my eyes at her, because it was starting to sound like she had a valid point.

“Right?” Presley repeated. “Engaged is engaged. And that is a relationship, even if it’s not based on undying love.”

The world is full of gray areas. Position them to your advantage.