Harper
I propped my phone on the dressing mirror as I fumbled with the curling wand. I was trying so hard not to burn my fingers while talking to Ella and Zoey on the phone.
“Finally!” Ella squealed. “I’m glad you’re giving this thing with Maddox a chance. Do you know how long we’ve been waiting for this?”
“Yeah!” Zoey chimed in right after her. “It’s about damn time.”
I gave a small smile, even though they couldn’t see me. If only they knew the truth. I wasn’t about to tell even my closest friends that the whole thing with Maddox was fake.
I didn’t even hesitate when he’d asked me to fake going out with him to get Tiffany off my back for good.
“Hey,” Ella continued, “have you seen the comments under the picture Maddox posted!”
“To be honest,” I paused, trying to curl a few strands, “I haven’t read the comments. I don’t even want to know what they say.”
“Well, we read them all!” Zoey bragged. “It’s crazy that so many are surprised when a few weeks ago, there were videos from his birthday. You know the ones where you two were dancing all over each other?”
“This is different,” Ella chimed in. “That’s because Maddox himself posted Harper on his page with a fucking heart emoji. Now that’s some relationship territory right there!”
Usually, I would’ve been dismissive about it, but I had to play along. “You’re right about that.”
“Aww, isn’t she cute?” Zoey teased me. “You two look so good together. The next thing you know, he’s going to get down on one knee.”
“Which,” Ella cut in dramatically, “would make Tiffany your sister–in–law! Can you imagine that? I would eat up that drama every single day!”
Before I could argue, I heard someone at the door downstairs, making me put down the curling wand as I told them we’d talk later. Like they shared the same mind, they demanded pictures of my date in unison.
I hurried down the stairs with my hair half done as I didn’t want to keep whoever was at the door waiting since I’d already taken a while to come out of my bedroom.
What I was certain of was that it wasn’t Maddox. I would’ve heard his engine pull up.
When I opened the front door and came face to face with the person who was at my doorstep, my eyes narrowed with a sudden wave of rage. Seeing Kate made me tighten my grip on the doorknob. I still wasn’t over how she was the one who had set the ball rolling for Tiffany’s plan in London.
“What are you doing here?” I bluntly asked.
She gasped dramatically, bringing a hand to her lips. “Damn, Harper, I’m coming to your place for the first time and this is the welcome that I get?”
“I asked you a question. What do you want?”
She took a step forward, getting closer to my face then looking past me to take a peek at the interior.
“Tiffany never came in last time and she said it looked like there wasn’t much. I agree.”
The last thing I wanted was to be that close to her. It only fueled the urge to push her so hard she’d fall and roll over, but I practiced a little restraint. Instead, I poked a finger on her chest and pressed, my hostile gaze locked on hers.
“Get…back,” I said slowly.
As a reflex, she moved back, glancing down at my finger on her chest with disgust. She pushed it away, only to tightly grab onto my wrist.
“You think you’ve won just because Maddox is giving you all this attention?”
“I’m not sure what you were hoping to achieve by coming here to rant, but we’re done here. I’m actually wasting time when I should be upstairs in my bedroom. My hair isn’t even done yet and my boyfriend will be here soon. We’re going on a date!”
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