The Charade: A Billionaire/Fake Relationship Romance (Eden Falls Academy)
The Charade: Chapter 22

WE SEARCHED the rest of the yearbooks from the years that our parents were at the academy, and by the time we were done, Elyse and I figured out that Mack’s mom and our mom had been best friends all four years at the academy. Our mom and Carter’s dad didn’t show up in any photos together until the play Romeo and Juliet . And then after that play, which had happened during their junior year, photos of Mom and Carter’s dad popped up here and there, and in most of them they stood close enough that I figured it was safe to assume that they had indeed dated—or at the very least had been very close friends.

‘That’s kind of cute that your parents dated in high school and now you two have your own thing going on,’ Scarlett gushed as we stood to put the yearbooks back on the shelves where they belonged.

I peeked over at Carter, curious how he felt about the possibility.

Was it weird for him?

Or did he not think much of it since we weren’t actually dating?

He picked up a stack of yearbooks from the table and started walking around the table with them, ignoring Scarlett’s comment.

So I just smiled at her and said, ‘Apparently, the Cohen women have a thing for tall guys with blue eyes.’

‘Is that true for you, too?’ Scarlett eyed Elyse. ‘Do you go after the same type?’

Elyse grimaced, like she wasn’t exactly comfortable talking about who she may or may not like. But after tucking some hair behind her ear, she shrugged and said, ‘Blue eyes are nice. But I don’t really have a preference. I, um…’ Her cheeks colored. ‘I guess it’s more the inside that counts.’

Scarlett smiled. ‘That’s probably a more mature way to go about things.’

Elyse shrugged. ‘And what about you? Do you have a type?’ she asked Scarlett.

It was Scarlett’s turn to look uncomfortable—her eyes widened briefly and her cheeks got slightly rosier than usual. When she gave Hunter a sideways glance, I remembered what she’d said about things with him being complicated. From what I’d gathered so far, they’d been best friends since their sophomore year and had kept things platonic for most of that time, but then last year they dated for a couple of weeks—only to realize later that they were better off as friends.

They were basically tied at the hip when she wasn’t doing volleyball or house-captain stuff, so it seemed like they’d been able to maintain their friendship well enough after everything was said and done. But from the way they glanced at each other at Elyse’s question, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there were still feelings brewing deep down inside.

Scarlett cleared her throat before saying, ‘I don’t have a type. I, um, I don’t have time to date right now, anyway.’

She busied herself with picking up the stack of photos that she’d copied for the project she was working on. Hunter, looking equally uncomfortable, offered to take the last stack of yearbooks to wherever Carter had disappeared to.

Elyse and I eyed each other briefly, and I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was. That dating at this private school was probably way more complicated than we’d assumed.

A moment later, Carter returned from the library stacks. After seeing that everything had been cleared from the table, he said, ‘I guess I should probably head home for dinner.’ Then glancing at our spectators, he seemed to make a split-second decision and quickly pulled me into his arms. After kissing me briefly on the top of my head, he said, ‘I’ll see you at school tomorrow.’

And even though it was such a little thing, I kind of loved that he did that because it was such a boyfriend thing to do.

When he pulled away from the hug and ran his thumb across my cheek, I didn’t want to let him go because it just felt so nice to be close to him.

But since he wasn’t my real boyfriend, I let my hands drop from his waist and said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.’

He said goodbye to Scarlett and Elyse, and then nodded at Hunter. Then he left us.

As I watched his back get farther and farther away from me, I couldn’t help but think that based on everything he’d done for this charade of ours this past week, he’d probably make an amazing real-life boyfriend.

And I might just need to find a way to make him my real boyfriend.

THE NEXT WEEKS PASSED QUICKLY. Now that we were settled into the new school year, the teachers must have all gotten together and decided it was time for them to take their classes to the next level and start assigning more homework.

So. Much. Homework.

At my last school, I probably would have slacked off and only put in the minimal amount of effort to get a passing grade. But since I was at a prestigious private school where apparently everyone but me was a genius, I had to step up my game if I was going to keep up the grades it would take to play basketball.

But it wasn’t so bad. I had Carter helping me with math for our one-on-one tutoring sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. And then in the evenings, Scarlett and Hunter and whoever else decided to stick around at the school after hours got together to study.

It was kind of nice, actually. I’d always studied with Elyse in the past since we often took the same classes, but there was just something about having a bigger group of kids working together that really helped me grasp the various concepts. And for the first time in my life, I actually looked forward to studying, since it was made fun by being with my new friends.

And yeah, on the days that Carter stuck around after hours—which happened on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I was extra invested in those study sessions because it gave me a little extra time to be with him.

Sofia had joined our study sessions a few times, since she and Nash were still good friends. It had been a little awkward at first, but she and Carter seemed to be getting used to being in the same vicinity as each other again. As we all continued to study together, the more normal it became. Sofia and I even chatted about fashion and modeling here and there, and it was interesting to hear what was happening in the modeling part of the industry.

We probably wouldn’t ever be super close, since she thought I was dating her ex, but we smiled and said hello when we passed each other in the halls now. So I was confident at least that she wasn’t going to blast me on social media for what I’d insinuated about her and Simon at the barbecue.

Carter and I continued with our charade as well, since we didn’t want Sofia to know we’d just been faking it and I still wanted an alibi for our one-on-one tutoring sessions. But we didn’t do anything over the top like our make-out session in the gardens. We actually kept all PDA very low-key, which was basically sitting beside each other at lunch and during our study sessions and saying a flirtatious comment here and there.

It was kind of like having a boyfriend, just without the cuddle sessions and kissing.

I was trying not to want those too much.

Trying not to let myself think of ways to convince him that we needed to practice those very things just in case.

But it was almost impossible not to think about it when every time he leaned close and I caught a whiff of his faint cologne, I was taken back to that tree in the gardens and wished I could relive that moment in real life instead of just in my daydreams.

‘You guys don’t have anything planned three Saturdays from now, do you?’ Cambrielle asked us one day at lunch.

‘I don’t know,’ Mack said, draping his arm around the back of her chair as he sat next to her. ‘I was hoping to take you on that date I talked to your brothers about. You’re not already making other plans, are you?’

‘As nice as a date with you sounds—’ She nudged her back against his arm, pushing it off her chair. ‘—I do already have plans.’

‘What’s going on?’ Scarlett asked, stabbing some of the kale salad on her plate.

‘Well,’ Cambrielle said, glancing at Nash who was sitting next to Scarlett. ‘As you know, I’ve been slightly addicted to Bridgerton ever since it came out. And seeing all the fancy parties and balls in the TV series has me wanting to throw a big soirée of my own.’

‘A Bridgerton -style party?’ Elyse gasped, her mouth dropping open. ‘I am so here for this.’

Cambrielle smiled at my twin, encouraged by her enthusiasm. ‘We wouldn’t have to wear period clothing or anything.’ Her eyes brimmed with excitement. ‘You can wear whatever formal dress you want. But I don’t know, I’ve always wanted to have a fancy party like this with everyone, and since most of you are going to graduate this year, I wanted to have it before you all leave.’

‘Are you saying I’m going to need a new tux?’ Mack asked, a skeptical look in his eyes.

‘Your navy-blue suit would be just fine,’ Cambrielle said to him. Then looking back at the group, she said, ‘So, do you think you guys can come?’

‘I can,’ Scarlett said.

‘I guess,’ Mack said with a shrug.

Hunter gave a non-committal grunt.

‘I’ll be there if I can wear a cravat,’ Nash said, which probably shouldn’t have surprised me because he seemed to always want to be in character one way or another.

‘You know I’m there,’ Elyse said, since this was exactly her kind of party. ‘And I think I might have just the dress for the event.’

‘I’ll be there, too,’ I said.

‘You’re coming too, right?’ Cambrielle addressed Carter when he didn’t say anything.

‘Let me check my calendar,’ he said, pulling out his bullet journal. He counted the weeks and seemed to note the date. ‘Are you talking about October sixteenth?’

‘Um, yes,’ Cambrielle said, the look in her eyes becoming slightly more anxious at his mention of the date. She adjusted her shoulders in her cream-colored jacket. ‘I think that sounds right, anyway. I thought it would give us enough time to plan everything while still having good weather in case we wanted to do some things outside.’

‘That’s the only reason why you picked this specific weekend?’ Carter studied his sister with narrowed eyes, as if trying to figure something out.

She nodded, her gaze flitting to Nash before she said, ‘Yes. I don’t remember there being anything else going on that weekend, do you?’

Nash made a show of frowning, and then said, ‘Nope. Nothing special about October at all.’

Carter looked at his brother and sister suspiciously for another long moment before finally saying, ‘I don’t have any special plans for that weekend, either. So I guess I can show up.’

Relief showed on Cambrielle’s face, and after giving Nash a quick glance, she said, ‘Great. I’ll tell my mom that you’re all in.’

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