Fauxmance (Showmance #2)(57)

“Yes, they are.”

“How do you know? She said you refuse to read them.”

“I’m familiar with several of the storylines,” I replied, thinking of Ellen. I wondered if she realised just how popular those books were, because if she continued to claim parts of the stories as her own, she was eventually going to come across someone who’d already read them. Since she worked in a bookshop, she must’ve known. Maybe she enjoyed flirting with disaster. I still hadn’t confronted her about it, but perhaps it wasn’t relevant anymore.

Our relationship had evolved. We’d been intimate.

For the most part, I slept with people for money. Yes, I savoured the pleasure that came along with it, the connection, the feeling of being desired, but all that was secondary. With Ellen though, the money was unimportant. I desired her in a way I hadn’t desired anyone in a long time. Such arrangements were always tumultuous, but a part of me relished the drama, the heightened emotions, the insurmountable, drugging lust.

When she’d asked to hire me at the Bransons’ party, I’d been conflicted. Mostly because I wanted her so badly I was prepared to go about any means of having her, and that was normally a bad sign.

For weeks she’d bewitched me as Elodie, and now I was going to get to know the deepest, darkest parts of Ellen. Going down on her at the hotel last night had been intense. I’d savoured every moment, every little shiver and sigh, the way she looked when she came. She didn’t feel like a client, she felt like a lover. I frowned at the troubling realisation.

“I’m on book three,” Damon said, breaking me from my thoughts. “I actually think this series would make an excellent movie franchise. Did Rose mention I’ve been looking to get into directing?”

“No, she didn’t. You’re considering those books?” I asked with interest. Damon making his directorial debut would be very big news in the entertainment world.

“I was, but I inquired about the rights and apparently the author refuses to sell them. She’s very reclusive. So far nobody’s been able to make an offer that she’ll accept.”

I gave him a conciliatory look. “That’s too bad.”

Rose emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. “Well, if this isn’t the start of a porno I don’t know what is,” I teased.

She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know what sort of pornography you watch.”

I gave a saucy smile. “The kind where a fresh-faced beauty walks out of the shower and gets DP’ed by two handsome, strapping young men who just so happen to be hanging about.”

“That’s wrong on so many levels.” Damon frowned down at his book.

“Hey, you signed up for all this when you got with Rose,” I said, gesturing to myself. “We’re a package deal.”

Rose glanced at Damon. “Don’t listen to him. He just likes to shock people.”

“He’s well aware of my MO by now, I’m sure.” I followed Rose into the spare bedroom.

“Have you just gotten home? You were out when we arrived last night.”

“Yes, I was working.” Sort of.

“Well, we’ll just be here for three days and then we’ll be out of your hair.”

“But I love when you’re in my hair. You know I don’t like to be alone.”

“Speaking of which, you haven’t been calling as often as usual. Is there something I should know about?”

“Or someone,” I replied. She was clearly hedging for information, but I never minded indulging Rose. She was my best friend, my confidante, my sister from another mister. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with Ellen, actually.”

“Elodie’s sister?”

“Yes, we’ve become pals.”

“What about Elodie?”

“Elodie’s…complicated.”

Rose moved about the room, pulling outfits from her suitcase and hanging them in the wardrobe. I admired a pretty, embroidered dress. She must’ve been planning to wear it to Damon’s premiere.

“How is she complicated?” she asked as she studied the dress, then carefully hung it up.

I wondered if I should just tell her the truth. Rose would never reveal Ellen’s secret, and besides, it would be good to get some perspective. I sat down on the bed, ran my hand over the pale duvet cover. “Well, Elodie and Ellen are actually the same person.”

She paused her unpacking to look at me, one eyebrow slowly rising. “Okay, you’re going to need to explain that.”

I huffed a breath and fell back into the pillows. “This is going to sound crazy, and it is crazy, so bear with me. You see, Ellen has problems interacting with people. She’s shy…no, that’s not the right word. Think of how reclusive Damon was when you two first met and multiply it by ten. She lives in a big house all by her herself, but aside from her part-time job at the bookshop, she rarely goes out. So, she invented Elodie to overcome her social phobia.”

“Wait, Elodie is what? A persona?”

“Yes.”

Rose shook her head. “I swear to God, Julian, I don’t know where you find these people.”

“I found her at the Polka Dot Café.”

“You know what I mean. Dressing up and pretending to be someone else isn’t normal. She could have deeper issues.”