Decked with Holly by Marni Bates

I’ve ever had to say.
    â€œI need you to be my girlfriend.”

Chapter 11
    Holly
    Â 
    â€œY ou need me to be your what? ”
    I stared at him, waiting for the words to make sense. So far that day, Nick had seemed interested in one thing only: getting rid of me. Which meant that his sudden announcement couldn’t have anything to do with actual feelings. I rubbed my stomach as it rolled queasily. The motion of the ship wasn’t the only reason I felt like puking.
    He wanted me to be his girlfriend.
    Seriously?
    I was the worst possible candidate for that particular role, and we both knew it. He needed someone model thin with lustrous chestnut hair, a dazzling smile, and clear aqua eyes. Not someone who could naturally double as a zombie in an Apocalypse film when seasick. I might be a California girl but I have never been glamorous.
    So why was he asking me?
    Judging by the horrified expression on his face, I was a last resort. Not that I blamed him. Dominic Wyatt’s life was probably pretty close to perfect: He could do whatever he wanted! Party with models, drink all night in exclusive clubs, hang out with all the A-list stars of Hollywood.
    He could probably say, “I’ll have my people call your people” in complete seriousness since he had agents and publicists and assistants and . . . a whole entourage.
    Probably.
    â€œSo to handle this uh, incident, we need to control the narrative. Here’s how it works: We talk to the press, say that we’re dating and madly in love. Then when we’re back in LA, we can pretend to drift apart. I’ll have my publicist announce an amicable parting of ways and we’ll put this whole mess behind us.”
    I nodded as if what he was saying made even the slightest bit of sense. “And why can’t we just tell the truth?”
    Nick started pacing the suite. “The press thinks I’ve been physically abusing you because the photos from this morning weren’t exactly flattering. For either of us.”
    Now I bet that wasn’t true. He probably looked all sexy in an I just rolled out of bed, don’t disturb me, rumpled kind of way.
    But at least he was no longer saying that I looked like crap. That was a minor improvement.
    â€œSo? I’ll just tell them that isn’t the case.”
    â€œThe problem is that the truth doesn’t make a good story. Even if they did believe us, they’d probably insinuate that I bought your silence.”
    I stared at him in disbelief. “So we can convince them that we’re dating but not that I puked in your toilet and then crashed on your couch? That’s crazy!”
    â€œLook, I don’t make the rules. I pay the consequences when they aren’t followed. So what do you say, Holly? Are you willing to be my fake girlfriend?”
    Well, that was the million-dollar question.
    Literally.
    I eyed him cautiously. “I have some conditions.”
    â€œOf course you do. You couldn’t just say, ‘I really owe you for last night, Nick. Sure, no problem.’ Oh, no, you have conditions. ”
    He said the last word as if it were toxic.
    I folded my arms in silence.
    â€œFine, let’s hear it.”
    My mind started whirring like an old computer getting rebooted. Even with provisions, what he was offering was insane. Turn me, Holly Dayton, into the temporary fake girlfriend of a rock star?
    That was ridiculous!
    And yet . . . Claire and Allison would never be able to make fun of my love life again if they thought I had even briefly dated Dominic Wyatt.
    â€œYou have to be crazy about me,” I blurted out. “Head over heels, romantic comedy, love at first sight, crazy about me. And when we supposedly fizzle out it’s not going to be because you lost interest. We’ll say that while you miss me terribly, I felt it was getting too serious and broke things off. You’ll probably need to observe a mourning period.”
    He stared