“Ready?” Raphael asks when I walk out from the bathroom, having had my shower and put on my makeup.

“For what?”

“Breakfast,” he says.

“You make a simple meal sound scary.”

He laughs, then says, “You don’t have to worry. They like you, but that’s exactly why they’re not going to leave you alone.”

“Okay.” I check my reflection in the full-length mirror that’s leaning against the bedroom wall.

“You’ve been doing really well,” Raphael says as he comes up from behind me. He pulls my hair back and I watch as he dips his head down and plants a light kiss on my shoulder, sending a thrill down my spine, reminding my body of everything we did last night.

“Thanks?” I’m not sure what to say. It’s not like I pride myself on my acting skills. I don’t care how well I’m doing at fooling Raphael’s family into thinking we’re a couple.

But I do care about him being all affectionate with me. I haven’t decided how I feel about it. I like it, but it scares me. Or maybe it scares me because I like it too much. I don’t know.

A part of me wants him to cut it out so I won’t have all these confusing feelings swimming in my stomach. This is supposed to be a mere charade of a relationship. But a few other parts of my body want him to have his way with me.

“You’re welcome.” He grins as he looks at me through the mirror. “You look beautiful. Let’s go.”

We make our way out of our room, our feet padding quietly on the thick beige carpet.

My heart beats quickly in my chest as he leads me by the hand. My steps are heavy. I’m nervous about continuing this ruse in front of strangers. It doesn’t help that the warmth of Raphael’s hand makes me want to pull him close and finish what we started last night.

“There’s the happy couple,” someone shouts from the dining table as we enter the spacious kitchen, which opens up to the dining room and living room.

I smile nervously as everyone turns around to look at us. Raphael rubs my hand with his fingers, which makes me feel a little more at ease.

I’m okay. He’s going to make sure everything goes well.

I’m only here to make his family think we’re engaged. And then, after this morning, we’ll go our separate ways and we probably won’t ever see each other again, save for when I pay the rent—or fail to pay the rent.

Hey, that’s one way to make him come see me if I ever miss him in the future, I think to myself.

Raphael pulls out a chair and gestures for me to take a seat, which makes a few of the women smile with longing and go, “Aww…”

“Thank you,” I say.

“You guys are adorable together,” Diana says. She has been the most friendly one out of Raphael’s relatives. We’re also not that far apart in age, so it’s easier for us to connect.

“Guess what?” Raphael’s mom asks as some people in uniforms place plates of breakfast food on the table.

“What?” Raphael asks as he fills his plate and gestures for me to do the same.

On the table, I see plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, French toast, pancakes, and waffles, as well as some fruit juices.

One of the waiters ask me if I need anything else from the kitchen, and I almost laugh in his face. I’ve never had this many options for breakfast in my life. I can’t even imagine what’s missing from the assortment in front of me.

“We have a surprise for you. An engagement gift,” Raphael’s mom says. When she introduced herself yesterday, she insisted on having me call her Elise.

“Uh-oh,” Raphael says. “Should I be afraid?”

“It’s the good kind of surprise,” Elise insists. “You and Piper would definitely like it.”

I look up from the food in front of me, even as the delicious aromas fill my nostrils and send hungry signals to my stomach. I don’t often get the opportunity to eat well, so I’m dying to start eating. But why did she mention me?

“I see I got your attention now.” Elise grins. She looks a lot like Raphael with the mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Remember how we were talking about the shopping trip to Paris yesterday, dear?” Elise asks me. After I nod, she continues, “And you told us you’ve never been there. So Raphael’s father and I decided to get you two a trip to Paris. You're leaving tonight.”

My jaw drops. I turn to look at Raphael, but he looks caught off guard as well.

Elise, Diana, and everyone else—even including the kids—watch us with interest, waiting to see our reaction

“They don't even know what to say,” Diana breaks the silence, prompting everyone to laugh. “I think that makes it a successful surprise gift.”

“What?” Raphael says belatedly. “You didn't even think to ask us first?”

“What kind of a surprise would that be?” Elise says.

“What if we have work, or other plans?”

“I asked your dad and Diana about your work and they told me it's fine. And Piper, you're a student, right?”

“Uh, yes,” I answer, still dumbfounded.

“And it's summer break, so it's perfect,” Elise decides.

“She has work to do,” Raphael protests.

“Yes. The retail job, right? I don't think the manager would mind if she misses a shift or two. I worked retail, too, when I was younger, you know?” Elise looks at me and asks, “It's not going to be a problem, right, Piper?”

“Uh, no.” I don't know what's happening. I mean, it sounds like we're going to Paris, but that can't be true, right? People don't just gift international trips out of nowhere.

I want to go—of course. I’ve always wanted to travel. I’ve never been in a position to afford it, though. But apparently, all it takes is an engagement to a hot, wealthy man with an overly generous family.

“We’ve already prepared the private jet, and the house, too. So you two have nothing to worry about. I told Marie you’re going to be there for two nights, but you can stay for as long as you want,” Elise says. “Think of it as a little de-stressing getaway before you start planning your wedding.”

“Oh god, wedding planning is the worst,” Diana says. “Oh, Piper, remind me later to give you my wedding planner’s business card. She's the best. Expensive, but saves you so much time and frustration. And with the amount of discounts she’ll get you? It may be cheaper to hire her than use someone else.”

For a moment, I think about how nice it would be to really be getting married to Raphael. He's kind, funny, generous, and hot, too. Plus, his family is awesome.

“Whoa, wait a minute, guys, hold your horses,” Raphael says. He turns to me and asks, “Is it going to be okay with your job? And with your cat?”

“She already said it's okay, Rafe. Stop being such a party pooper. You guys can come back whenever. The jet’s not going anywhere without you,” Elise says as she rolls her eyes.

“Oh my god, you have a cat? My kids love cats. Can they see your cat sometime?” Diana asks. “I promise they’ll be gentle.”

“Yeah,” I say to Diana with a smile. They’re getting me an impromptu trip to Paris; I can’t say no to letting some kids into my apartment to see McClaw.

Raphael is still looking at me with both eyebrows raised. I don’t know how we can get ourselves out of this, now that everyone seems to just assume that we’re going.

“Are you sure you want to go?” Raphael asks.

I don’t know how he feels about spending two more nights with me. But if he wants to back out now, he’s going to be the one to tell them. I don’t know how to handle these people.

“To Paris? God yes,” I say honestly.

“And Dad? Are you sure there’s nothing you need me at work for?” Raphael asks in a louder voice, directing the question at his dad, who is sitting on the couch, watching TV.

“Yeah,” he answers without looking, distracted by whatever’s on TV.

“Okay, then. I guess we’re going.” Raphael shrugs.

“It would’ve been easier if you’d just do whatever I tell you to do,” Elise says with a victorious grin.

Oh my god. This is happening.

* * *

“Carly, you’re not going to believe this, but I’m going to Paris,” I share the news excitedly over the phone.

I’m standing outside to make the call. For all its luxuries, the one thing they don’t have here is good cell phone reception. I have to get out here to get one or two bars of signal on my phone.

“You what?”

“Yeah, crazy, huh?”

“Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover it,” she says. “I thought you didn’t have money. A few days ago you were telling me you couldn’t pay rent.”

“Yeah, it’s all been paid for.” To be honest, I don’t know if they’re “paying” for anything. It sounds like they own the private jet that’ll fly us to Paris, as well as the house where we’ll stay, so there’s no need for plane tickets or hotel bookings.

“By Raphael? The landlord?”

“Well, his family. So, yes and no.”

“Are you sure it’s safe, Piper? You don’t even know this guy.”

“Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but I think I can trust him.”

“After just a few days? I don’t know…”

“When you started going out with George, after your second date, you didn’t come home for a whole week” I remind her.

“Well, yes, but that was different.”

“Different how? You didn’t know him either. You guys met at a coffee shop.”

“Yeah, okay. You got me there,” Carly says. “But Piper, that’s why I’m calling. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

“About Raphael?” I ask.

“Yeah. So, don’t get mad at me, but my mom kind of runs in the same social circles as the Holts,” Carly says. “I asked her about Raphael. Did you know he went to jail?”

“He what?”

“See? You don’t know him as well as you think. ”

“What else do you know?”

“Not much. Literally, all I know is that he was in prison at some point, and he got out a few years ago. There aren’t any news articles on it or anything, so it doesn’t seem to be a big crime. But he’s still an ex-con. You don’t know this guy. Maybe you shouldn’t go globe-trotting with him just yet.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Carly,” I say. “But everything is already arranged. We’re leaving tonight.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“You said it yourself, he got out a few years ago, so I can assume that he hasn’t committed any crime for years now. Besides, I don’t know, he doesn’t strike me as a bad guy.” I lower my voice so nobody inside can hear me. It would be weird for me not to know my own fiancé’s criminal record.

“But if you don’t know something that big about him, what else do you not know? Do you even know for sure that he’s your real landlord? Has he ever shown you his ID?”

“Well, no, but… But I’m sure he’s the real landlord, okay? He knows the dates when I’m supposed to pay rent, the name of the property manager, the amount of rent I owe… Just… He’s my real landlord, okay?”

Carly pauses, hesitating, before she asks, “Did anything happen between you two? Are you together for real now?”

Damn, she’s sharp.

“No,” I say cautiously.

“Piper? Did you… Did you guys sleep together?”

“We shared a bed, yes, but nothing happened,” I say, the words sounding more defensive than I mean them to.

“Nothing, huh?” Carly asks, obviously not buying my story.

“Listen, I’m just calling to ask you to check on McClaw once a day. You don’t mind doing that, right?”

“Of course not. I miss the little asshole,” Carly says.

“Okay, good. I’ll, uh, let you know if something bad happens, okay? I’m sure it’ll be fine, though. Don’t worry about me.”

“If you say so,” Carly answers, sounding unconvinced.

As I hang up, I see the woman with glasses from yesterday approach me. She might’ve been present at breakfast, too, but I was too busy getting shocked over our “engagement gift” to notice.

She pulls out a cigarette from the box with her mouth. The lighter makes a flicking sound as she ignites the flame and brings it to the end of her cigarette.

“I heard about the Paris trip. Congrats,” she says as she takes the cigarette out of her mouth and blows noxious smoke from her mouth.

“Thanks.” I give her a polite smile and start to make my way back inside.

“He’s a cheater, you know,” she says suddenly as I walk past. “Just like his dad. I should know. Because Bill’s my dad, too. He had an affair with my mom and they had me.”

I stop in my tracks, not fully getting how this information is relevant to me, but feeling too weird about it to just walk away. I’m getting really strange vibes from this woman.

“Thanks for letting me know,” I answer curtly, giving her another smile.

“Yeah, just so you know, Rafe is kind of a womanizer. The entire time I’ve known him, which is practically our whole lives, he’s always had a new girlfriend every week,” she says. “I can see you’ve managed to keep him around for longer, but soon he’ll get bored of you, too. A tiger doesn’t change its stripes. I’d run away if I were you, before you waste your youth on a cheater.”

I guess I can see how women would flock to Raphael. Still, I’m not really his fiancée, so I’m not really planning on keeping him around in the long run either.

I nod and smile at her. I think she’s totally being rude right now, but I can’t be rude back without risking the family’s ire. I don’t even know who she is and how the rest of the family feels about her.

But as much as I want to deny it, her unsolicited opinion does bother me. I had my suspicions that Raphael is a bit of a ladies’ man, of course. He’s too handsome and smooth not to be one.

Still, a part of me was hoping that last night had meant something to him. Now, though, knowing how casually he treats intimacy, I don’t think that’s the case.

I need to keep my feelings out of this. He didn’t even seem too happy about going to Paris with me. This is just a temporary arrangement and nothing more.

We’ll have fun in Paris, and then that will be it. There will be no more Piper and Raphael after that.