Easton Moore is back...and I'm his fake girlfriend.
After leaving for the professional surfing tour the morning after we slept together, my childhood best friend became the person I never wanted to see again. Now he strolls back into Sandy Cove when...
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EASTON MOORE JUST asked me to be his fake girlfriend—so I did the only thing that I could do in this moment.
I laughed—hard.
That may seem insensitive. But when the man who was your childhood best friend who you have been avoiding for years asks you to be his fake girlfriend, it's the only thing I can do to not slap him at the absurdity of the idea.
Doubled over, clutching my stomach in the dimly lit coffee shop, laughter pours out of me at the insane request that came out of Easton's mouth.
He stands there, slightly taken aback by my response, as if I would have fallen at his feet and accepted or that I would have been speechless and gotten angry. Amusement passes through his features as my body can't shake the laughter.
"Why in the world would I ever pretend to be your girlfriend?" I ask him, holding onto the counter, placing a hand on my stomach as I try to catch my breath and stop my stomach from hurting.
He crosses his arms, looking at me with a stern look. "You don't have to act like it's the worst thing in the world."
"Oh, but it is," I mumble before walking around the counter to continue closing the coffee shop down.
"I dread to think of your response to anyone who asked you out properly over the years," Easton says, clearly hearing what I said.
I smile sweetly. "They get a nicer response."
His eyes follow me as I walk around. "I was serious, Gabi."
I snort. "I know, and that's what made it so funny."
I hear him sigh and I roll my eyes before turning around, leaning against the side of the counter facing him. "I need your help, Gabi."
My brows furrow as I look at him, confused why he needs my help out of all the people in this town. "Why?"
"My reputation at the moment isn't the greatest. It's never really been a huge problem, but sponsors are trying to clean up their images of who they work with. An athlete with a partner comes across more responsible than a single man who goes clubbing and is pictured with girls hanging off his arms," Easton explains to me as if looking a little embarrassed at that confession.
"You did that to yourself, Easton," I tell him softy, and he nods his head.
"I know. When you're on the championship tour, traveling to all these different countries, meeting all these new people and just having fun, you kind of forget about responsibilities and what really matters," he tells me. Looking at me as if that's why he never reached out to me after he left. Because he got caught up in the storm of being a professional athlete.
"Do you really think they would drop you?" I ask him seriously and he shrugs.
"My agent thinks it's a good idea to clean up my image for the rest of the tour. Make it seem like I have a girlfriend and am in a steady relationship. But I wasn't a fan of having a random stranger in my space and having to pretend like that," he explains, and I raise my eyebrow.
