The Charade: A Billionaire/Fake Relationship Romance (Eden Falls Academy)
The Charade: Chapter 4

‘SO, TELL US ALL ABOUT YOU,’ Cambrielle said after I’d officially been introduced to her and her brothers.

I usually did okay talking to new people, being the more outgoing twin, but for some reason, I was flustered sitting at this table full of new, beautiful people.

The fact that her brother Carter—the guy who’d basically ignored me when we’d met earlier—was sitting across from me and judging my every move didn’t help, either.

But even though he was probably the least welcoming person I’d met today, he was still gorgeous. His pale blue eyes against his light tan skin reminded me of that famous National Geographic photo of the ‘Afghan Girl.’

While his brother and sister had been giving me a more-than-friendly welcome, it was Carter whom I was hyper-aware of. So aware that my face burned every time I looked in his direction and caught him studying me.

But Cambrielle had just asked me a question, right?

I racked my brain, trying to remember what she’d asked. She wanted me to tell her about myself?

‘What do you want to know?’ I asked, hoping I’d guessed right.

‘Where are you from? What grade are you in?’

Easy questions.

Good.

I might be able to handle those.

‘I’m from Ridgewater, New York,’ I said, unscrewing the lid of my water bottle and taking a quick sip to moisten my dry mouth. ‘And I’m a senior.’

‘Cool,’ Cambrielle said. ‘So you’re not too far from home.’

‘Nope. It only took about four and a half hours to drive here.’ I set my water bottle back on my tray. ‘What about you guys? Where are you from?’

‘We’re actually from here,’ Cambrielle said. ‘Our estate is just on the other side of Eden Falls.’

Estate.

As in, not just a house but a place with a big ol’ plot of land and probably a castle to go along with it.

I swallowed, realizing that most people at this school probably grew up in places you didn’t call home but rather ‘the estate,’ ‘the penthouse,’ or ‘the mansion.’

Sure, in Ridgewater we had families like the Carmichaels, Perkins, and the Brooks who were wealthy, but their homes could still technically be called homes.

I was so out of my element here.

‘I’m guessing you’re day students then?’ I asked, hoping my face didn’t give away how out of place I felt.

‘We are,’ Cambrielle said, ‘But it almost feels like we live here sometimes since we’re here so much.’

‘Are you involved in extracurricular activities?’ I asked.

She nodded. ‘I’m in the drama club with Nash. I’m not a spotlight hog like him and so I’ve mostly just been part of the crew, but I’m thinking about auditioning for a part in the winter musical this year.’

‘I’m not a spotlight hog,’ Nash said. Then tossing his head dramatically, he said, ‘It’s not my fault that the crowd adores me.’

I couldn’t help but smile at the dynamic between these two. They were hilarious.

‘Elyse was hoping to get involved in the drama program, so I’ll have to tell her to talk to you two about it.’

Nash seemed to perk up at my mention of my sister having similar interests. ‘I’d love to show her the ropes.’ And when he looked at my sister with sudden interest, I had a feeling she was going to be receiving a similarly warm welcome from him.

‘I think warning her about Nash may be a better way to go.’ Cambrielle grinned as she glanced over to my sister who was in the middle of a conversation with Mack, Hunter, and Scarlett. ‘But it’ll be fun to have her join us. My best friend was in the drama club with me last year, but she transferred to a school in London. So, I’d love to have a new friend in there with me.’

‘I’m sure Elyse would love a friend in there, too. While I can be amazing when it comes to pretending to be my sister when we feel like tricking our mother, beyond that my acting skills die. I’m actually hoping to play basketball this winter.’

You know, if I get the right grades.

‘Basketball?’ Nash pulled his attention from my sister at my mention of the sport. ‘If you’re into basketball, you’ve sat at the right table. Mack, Carter, and Hunter are all on the boys’ team and Scarlett plays like a banshee on the girls’ team.’

‘Really?’ I asked, though I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. Mack was basically a giant and Carter was really tall, too.

‘Yeah, they practice on the court at our house all the time,’ Nash said. ‘I’ll be too busy with the winter musical to play for the school’s team this year, but I could totally put together a scrimmage game or two at our court sometime, if you want to practice before the tryouts in November.’

‘S-sure,’ I tried to say, caught completely off guard at his offer. ‘That would be fun.’

‘Actually,’ Nash said, his eyes lighting up. ‘We’re having a back-to-school barbecue at our place this weekend. You should come.’

I was being invited to a party?

Already?

‘Th-that sounds fun.’ Social circles were decided quickly at schools like this, and I’d better jump into the social scene while the invitation was there.

Cambrielle sat a little taller. ‘If you don’t have anything going on before the party, you could come early and hang out. I’ve been stuck in the Hamptons with my brothers all summer, so it would be nice to have some girl time.’

‘You wouldn’t mind?’

‘Mind?’ Cambrielle asked. ‘Definitely not. In fact, if your sister and Scarlett want to come, we can just call it our pre-party.’

‘Hey, wait a minute,’ Nash said, setting his hands on the table. ‘Don’t tell me you’re going to try to steal Ava from me. I thought Carter and Mack would be my biggest competition, not my baby sister.’

He thought Carter and Mack would be competing for me?

I was flattered by the sentiment, but Mack seemed to be dazzled by my sister at the moment, and Carter was currently reaching into a charcoal-colored backpack beside him, having ducked out of the conversation minutes ago.

I looked at Nash and Cambrielle, wondering what was going on. Was this just some kind of game they played with each other? See who could make the most friends the first week of school?

I’d been worried that everyone would already be settled into their friend groups and wouldn’t want to make room for Elyse and me, but were the Hastings siblings actually fighting over me?

Well, two of the Hastings siblings, that is. Carter was currently opening what seemed to be a non-fiction book—written in Spanish from the looks of the title I couldn’t translate—and his attention to it was intense, as if he was planning to escape into its pages while he finished his meal.

Who was this guy?

I could understand the compulsion to read an addictive romance novel in order to replace out how the couple got together in the end, but a Spanish self-help book at dinner? I didn’t understand the pull for something like that.

Unless it was, of course, scheduled into that planner of his that Mack mentioned earlier.

I pushed away my curiosity over what made Carter Hastings tick and focused back on Nash and Cambrielle who were now apparently deciding who got to drive Elyse, Scarlett, and me to their house on Saturday afternoon.

No bother over the fact that Elyse probably didn’t even know about the party, let alone a pre-party, and therefore couldn’t be counted on attending for sure yet.

I was about to suggest that since most vehicles had five seats, we could all just drive in the same vehicle when Carter’s deep voice cut into the air. With a hint of annoyance, he said, ‘You two are going to scare Ava and her sister away before the end of the night, if you don’t stop arguing.’

From his tone, I expected him to be glaring at his siblings. But when I glanced across the table at him, he was still focused on his book, casually turning a page. As if breaking up his siblings’ fights while reading came as naturally to him as breathing.

‘Oh, just read your book, Carter,’ Cambrielle said, waving her hand at her aloof brother. She turned to me and said, ‘How about this: Nash can drive you to our house and I can drive you back since we all know how Nash loses track of time during his parties.’

‘Good thinking.’ Nash held a finger in the air. Then looking at me, he asked, ‘How does that sound? I’ll drive you to our place, and my responsible little sis will bring you back to the school afterward.’

‘I, uh—’ I swallowed, not used to this kind of attention. ‘I guess that sounds good.’

‘Perfect,’ Cambrielle said, beaming that her plan had won out over her brother’s.

A moment later, the headmistress, Mrs. Sutton—a spindly woman with dramatic features wearing a white ruffled blouse and a black pencil skirt—stood at the podium in the front of the room to welcome us to a brand-new school year at Eden Falls Academy. While everyone’s attention was turned to Mrs. Sutton, I glanced at my sister to see how she was faring so far.

When she looked my way, she mouthed, ‘Doing good?’

I nodded and then mouthed, ‘You?’ To which she gave me a thumbs-up sign.

So far, so good.