Rent-A-Girlfriend

I relented and allowed Tristan to hook an arm around my waist. ‘Fancy running into you here.’ His greeting was directed at the older woman. ‘I was just telling my girlfriend how nice this place is.’ I wasn’t that familiar with Tristan, but even I could tell the smile on his face was forced and fake. Girlfriend? I had an inkling of where this was going, so I held my tongue and played along. The woman’s face clouded over, though it was hard to be sure under the dim lighting. She flashed two rows of pearly white teeth. ‘Well, what a coincidence indeed. Why don’t you join us?’ ‘Sure.’ Tristan took my hand. I worked out what was going on, and I thought I knew the role I was supposed to play. In the thirty-second walk to a private room, I ran multiple scenarios through my mind. But I was still caught off-guard when the maître d’ opened the door. I stood in the doorway, gawking at the two people already inside. A trace of astonishment flashed across Kieran’s eyes, but he recovered quickly and