More Than Pretend

Clara

“Is this…?” I trail off, unable to find the right words.

“I thought if we’re going to pretend to be together, we ought to do it right.” Thorne smiles, his obvious pleasure at my reaction taking the sting out of his words. This isn’t because he feels anything for me, but he’s happy that I like the gift – and that’s worth something, right?

“It’s beautiful,” I sigh, “But I feel… I haven’t gott