Chapter 4

Ian's POV

Despite the fact that this was a fake date, I felt nervous as I made my way to Hailey's apartment. I had dressed in my black slim suit, black button-up shirt, and shiny black dress shoes and slicked my hair back to reveal my face a bit more. A fancy car from my workplace had been sent to chauffeur me to the event, which was awfully kind of them. The driver, Brad, and I made friendly conversation during the ride to Hailey's penthouse, helping the time pass by quickly. My palms were sweaty as I knocked on her door, and I couldn't shake off the jitters of a first date. But when Hailey opened the door, her stunning beauty took my breath away, and my heart skipped a beat.

She stepped out, having tied her curly black hair in a neat bun above her head, with a few curls dangling around her face. Flashing me her radiant smile, she allowed me to fully take in her appearance. Her black dress, which she had told me she would wear, was floor-length and sparkled with shiny, sheer material. Her shoulders were bare, showing off her bronze skin. A dip in her dress went down between her breasts, revealing an inch of cleavage where a diamond pendant hung. The long slit on the side of the dress showcased her slender and muscular calves, paired with black six-inch heels. I wasn't sure how she managed to walk on those skinny things, but it was actually very impressive. Overall, Hailey looked damn hot, and I wasn't sure why I hadn't been expecting that. After all, she was a stunning woman.

"You look dashing," she complimented me.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself." I winked at her, making her smirk with amusement. I wondered if maybe she found me intriguing. But who really knows?

"Okay, so a couple of things I may not have mentioned before," she said, squeezing the small purse dangling at her side. "My dad is more than likely going to ask you a million questions about random things, but they are about to gauge what kind of person you are. They seem like simple questions, but they are not, so don't get comfortable."

"Okay, so what do I do?"

"Don't worry, I'll steer us away before he gets you to reveal any deep, dark secrets." She laughed like this was all a joke, lightening the mood with her carefree ways.

"Not a problem. There are no deep, dark secrets to reveal."

"You don't say?" She arched her brow at me, an amused look in her eyes. I couldn't help but smile at her playfully teasing.

"What about you? Are you as open a book as you appear to be?"

"I try to be, but we all have secrets we don't want others to know. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone yours," she said, winking at me before turning her attention to the elevator doors.

"And what secret is that?" I asked, curious despite myself.

"That you still love Liv, of course," she said so casually that it took me a moment to process her words. I felt rooted to the spot as she stepped out of the elevator. How could she tell, even though we rarely see each other? Was I that obvious? Could everyone tell?

"Of course I love her. She's my friend." I tried to play it off, but Hailey only shook her head disapprovingly.

"Don't worry. I won't tell."

The ride over was silent as I mulled over Hailey's words and my own feelings for Red. Could Red tell how I felt about her? If so, why did she agree to see me? Did she imagine an alternate universe in which we ended up together? I certainly did, all the time. I thought about what could have been if we had pursued a romantic relationship. We would be happily married, with no kids yet, because I am a careful man who wants her to focus on her career first. After a few years, we would have our first child and buy our first house together with the savings we had scraped together over the years. We would be happy and in love, sharing how we fell in love in high school and made that love last through the years. Unfortunately, none of that was my reality.

"I asked for Fun Ian, and all I'm getting is a Sullen Ian. Let's play a game." Hailey broke the silence after a while, looking at me sweetly. She could be kind of adorable, I guess.

"What game?" I asked with suspicion, realizing Hailey can be a wildcard at times. She was daring and adventurous, which is something I've only ever experienced around Red.

"You have two options: never have I ever, or truth or dare." She smirked mischievously, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. Either choice I made, she was going to use it to say something that would get me in trouble. I just knew it.

"Aren't those high school games?"

"So? They're fun and a great way to get to know someone. So choose, Ian," she said, challenging me with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Fine, never have I ever," I replied, determined not to reveal too much in this game.

"Okay, I'll start. Never have I ever been in love." She surprised me with her admission, causing me to tilt my head slightly as I looked at her.

"What can I say? I just haven't found a man who can tame this heart of mine," she added with a playful smile.

As per the game, I put my finger down before taking my turn. "Never have I ever been in a relationship for longer than a month," I said, continuing down the same route.

"Seriously? Only a month?"

"What can I say? No girl has been able to keep me interested long enough." I winked at her this time, making her chuckle.

"How many relationships have you had? If they've only lasted a month, I'm assuming it's a rather large number."

"Not the game." I shook my head, deciding to keep her in suspense as we arrived.

As Brad opened the door, Hailey and I stepped out to Gotham Hall. The ornate, stained-glass skylight shimmered as we entered the venue, and I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. There were quite a few people in attendance, including a few familiar faces, who waved at me as we entered. I even caught a couple of exes turning their noses in my direction. Hailey grabbed the crook of my elbow and entered beside me, drawing everyone's eyes from me to her. How could they not look at her? She was absolutely gorgeous.

The actual game was about to start when Hailey's father approached us. I recognized him at Red's graduation. He was an average-height man, but his protruding gut made him seem cheerful. His smile was friendly and inviting as he stood in front of me with his hand extended.

"You must be my Hailey's date," he greeted me in his thick accent, shaking my hand with a firm grip.

"That I am. It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Medina." I gave him a polite smile as I shook his hand with the same firmness.

"I am surprised to see Hailey dating someone. How did you manage to convince my daughter to go out with you?" He laughed, but I knew he was being serious.

"Oh, no, sir. I did no such thing. Hailey was the one who convinced me. I tend to be a bit of a recluse, but she's certainly great about bringing me out of my shell." I didn't want to lie too much, so I told him the partial truth, because in all reality, I was here with her because of her.

"Is that true, Nena? You asked him out?"

"Sure did." She nodded, squeezing my arm like I shouldn't have said that. How was I to know?

Mr. Medina did exactly as Hailey had warned. He asked me a series of odd questions, such as what was my first pet and how long did it live for. Whenever he asked me if I knew how to take care of a flower, Hailey quickly intervened, pulling us away with the excuse of seeing someone she knew. She led us over to a group of younger attendees and stood close enough to them that we almost seemed to be part of the group.

"What is the matter with you?" She slapped my arm scoldingly.

"Ow, what did I do wrong?" Her hits didn't really hurt, but I rubbed the spot like they did.

"You shouldn't have told him I asked you out. Now he thinks I want to date." She groaned like I had ended her world.

"What's wrong with that?"

"I don't want to date anyone right now. Now that he thinks I do, he's going to set me up on so many blind dates," Hailey said, her shoulders slumping. For the first time since I met her, she seemed stressed and perhaps a bit sad.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," I replied, feeling guilty for unintentionally causing her stress.

"If you're really sorry, you'll pretend to be my boyfriend after this and come to my weekly Sunday family dinners," she said, looking up at me with a hopeful expression. However, the idea of pretending to be her boyfriend seemed like a huge undertaking.

"I'm not sure they'd believe that. I don't know you well enough for them to think I'm your boyfriend," I said, trying to be realistic.

"Come on, please?!" she begged, and I could feel myself starting to cave. "I'll owe you one," she added, sealing the deal for me. I could use her debt to make her not tell Red or Lucas that this was all fake.

"Fine, but you can't tell Red this is fake. If we're going to make your parents believe this is real, she needs to think it is too," I said, setting some ground rules. Hailey paused her begging as she contemplated her options, and I could see that she understood me better than I thought as her dark eyes met my blue ones.

"You want them to think you're over her? Fine, we'll use each other, then." Hailey extended her hand for me to shake, agreeing to our fake relationship, but I shook my head. I gave her a lopsided smirk, placing my hand on her delicate cheek, and leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"That's not what a boyfriend would do." I decided to be daring, like her, keeping my lips tantalizingly close. I won't force a kiss on her, but I left the option open.