My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 825

After a long silence, he let out a half-laugh, half-sigh and said, “My family just texted me. They said if this doesn’t work out, they’ll start setting me up with someone new.”

Albert Rivera glanced at Emily Blair, who still hadn’t caught on to what he was about to say.

“Ms. Blair, I’ve been thinking. Both our families seem to believe it’s time for us to settle down, which is why they keep sending us on these dates. If we go back and tell them we’re not interested in each other, they’ll just find new people for us to meet.”

Emily considered this and nodded. “That’s true.”

She knew all too well how relentless Emma George could be. If Emily went home and said she wasn’t interested, Emma would just push her to go out with someone else right away.

Albert looked directly into her eyes and said slowly, “Ms. Blair, what if we just pretend to date for a while, just to keep our families off our backs? That way, neither of us has to meet anyone new.”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Albert pressed his lips together, then smiled softly. “Honestly, when I first suggested this, I had no idea we’d get along so well. But after talking with you, I realized you’re incredibly smart and easy to talk to. I think we’d make the perfect team to keep our families satisfied, don’t you?”

Emily couldn’t deny it.

In a gentle, coaxing tone, Albert continued, “So, what do you say? All you’d have to do is tell your family you’re seeing me, and they’ll stop introducing you to other guys. We’d just need to meet up occasionally, nothing stressful. No pressure, no strings—just a way out for both of us.”

Thinking back on Emma’s relentless matchmaking, Emily felt a headache coming on.

She was starting to be convinced.

“And after that? How do we end it?”

There was hope.

Albert’s eyes lit up. “If you ever meet someone you actually want to date, just let me know. We can tell our families that it just didn’t work out between us and call it off for good.”

Emily hesitated a moment, but soon agreed.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

Albert grinned, satisfied. “Here’s to a successful partnership.”

Sitting in the back seat, Emily caught a glimpse in the rearview mirror of Albert still standing there, waving at her as she drove away.

Finally, it was over.

Emily let out a deep breath, feeling the tension slip away.

But before she could fully relax, a flurry of texts from Emma George popped up on her phone.

Emma: How did it go?

Emma: Was he nice? Did you have a good talk?

Emma: What did he say?

Emily felt her scalp tingle with stress, gritted her teeth, and replied just as she and Albert had planned.