Impostor

Chapter 17

Harry surprised me with a beautiful black cocktail dress and brand-new black laced heels. I was totally in love with the outfit. We stopped at an apartment building and I turned a questioning gaze to Harry. "We need to get your hair done. I thought you might like Fernando because you are familiar with him and his work." He said and helped me out of the car. I smiled excitedly and nodded in agreement. "Thank you so much, for everything." I said as I realized that I hadn't thanked him once for everything he had done for me. "No problem, Goldilocks." He said and smiled when he brought up the nickname. It felt like years ago when we were in the escape rooms. I raised my eyebrows and he chuckled, making his dimple appear. The butterflies were gentle this time, but I felt warmth spread through my chest that scared the hell out of me.

Fernando lived in the penthouse of the extravagant apartment building. I wasn't really surprised, considering he only worked on rich people's hair. He was happy to see us and by the looks of it, he knew Harry personally. "Are you here for your weekly cut?" he asked as soon as he opened the door and saw Harry. "No, I was hoping you could work your magic on Goldilocks again." He said and I regret letting him call me that. Fernando gasped and grabbed me into a big bear hug. "Oh my goodness! It's been too long, girl!" he shouted out and pulled me into a saloon-looking room. "Get changed quickly and I'll start with your hair." He motioned to a curtained cubicle and I made quick work of getting the dress on.

Fernando worked quickly and soon I felt like a princess again. My hair was made into a delicate-looking fishtail at rested on my left shoulder. He added little pink flowers to make it look a little more sophisticated. It looked magical to me. Harry had disappeared when I got out of the dressing room and Fernando left me in front of the mirror to admire myself while he looked for Harry. I felt like the luckiest girl on earth. Was this what Emma felt when she met Michael? Was Emma from a rich family? I felt like I didn't even know that much about her. I made a mental note to ask her all about it later. For now, I just relished the moment.

Harry's hands moved over my hips and settled on my stomach as he hugged me from behind. I jumped a little because I didn't hear or see him come in. "You look beautiful, Princess." He whispered in my ear and goosebumps spread over my body. "You look handsome." I said while admiring him in the mirror. He wore his trusty black suit with a crisp white shirt. He had a stunning white rose peeking out of his suit pocket and I adjusted the stem as an excuse to touch his chest. He smiled at me knowingly and pressed a soft kiss to my temple. As soon as his lips touched my head, I heard a camera going off and the butterflies were having a war in my stomach. "You guys are so cute together." Fernando gushed and wiped at a fake tear under his eye.

I rolled my eyes playfully and Harry thanked him with a dimpled smile. "We're not together." I said and started walking to the door. "Enjoy your evening!" Fernando yelled after me and I could hear in his voice that he wanted to add something to his sentence. "Thanks!"I yelled back without turning around. We were soon seated in the car and on our way to the party. "We're not staying late, are we? I have a lot of work to do tomorrow." I warned and Harry just smiled. "Midnight it is, Cinderella." He said with a wink. I rolled my eyes for the second time in the last hour. "You should really settle on one nickname, Prince Charming." I said and he puffed his chest out a little when I called him Prince Charming. A soft giggle escaped my mouth when he did this and he looked at me with amusement sparkling in his eyes.

The car pulled to a stop in front of a lavish hotel and I could see different color lights in the clouds above the building. The party was on the roof of the hotel. "Are you ready for this?" Harry asked with a confident smile on his face. "Let's do it." I said determined as Sam opened my door and offered his hand to help me out of the car. I could hear Harry chuckle in the car as I got out and waited for him to get going. "You are something else, you know that?" he said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the hotel lobby. "Of course I do." I said and raised my eyebrows in mock arrogance. He chuckled again and pushed a button to call the elevator down. I took some time to admire the interior of the hotel while we waited.

"This place is so beautiful." I said with a smile as I turned my gaze to Harry. He smiled and glanced around. "I'm glad you like it, it's one of my best hotels." He said and stepped into the elevator as the doors pinged open. I gaped at him and took a quick glance around before joining him in the elevator. "How many buildings do you own?" I asked with wonder. He shrugged and pressed the top floor button. "A few." He said with an arrogant smirk. "Really?" I asked with sarcasm dripping from every word. He gave me a toothy grin and turned his gaze to the doors as they slowly slid open.

The roof was modernly decorated with white chairs and sofas. The tables were made of glass and reflected a black sequence. There were white deck umbrellas spread out in between the tables. The lights were emitting from the glass railings that surrounded the area. The waiters walked around with trays filled to the brim with delicious-looking food and drinks. I noticed that most of the waiters carried smoked ham sandwiches. "I see you organized the menu." I said and Harry smiled proudly. He grabbed two slices from a waiter and handed one to me. I smiled while watching him devour his half of the sandwich. I know it's only been a few days, but I think I'm in love with Harry. There was definitely a difference between being in love with someone and actually loving someone. I knew this wasn't love, but it could be someday.

I noticed a petite woman in a navy blue dress and immediately recognized her. I smiled and walked over to her, tapping on her shoulder to get her attention. "Excuse me." I heard her excuse herself from the conversation before turning around. "Jane?" she exclaimed in shock. "Amber!" I yelled excited to see her after what felt like years, but it had only been a few days. My best friend nearly started crying right then and there. "Let's catch up." I said and guided her to a table where we could have some privacy. I looked around and spotted Harry with a handsome man. They looked like best friends and I was relieved that I didn't leave him by himself. I turned to Amber and she smiled at me guiltily. "So, who's your date?" she asked with a smile and I smiled back. "Oh no, we are starting with you. Tell me everything." I said and waited patiently for her to spill the beans.

"We met the day I dropped you off for that interview. I accidentally hit him with my car." She said with a deep blush spreading over her face. I gasped and looked at her with big eyes. "Amber! I've told you a million times to slow down and actually look at the road." I scolded her. "I wasn't even going that fast. I mean obviously, otherwise he would be dead. Back to the story." She said raising her eyebrows as a sign for me to stop interrupting her. "Right." I said and waited for her to continue. "So I hit him with my car and got out in a panic. He was lying on the ground being incredibly handsome." I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut.

"I called an ambulance and waited on the ground with him. I set his head on my lap and that's when he told me that I was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. At first, I thought that he might have a concussion, but the medics cleared him with no head injuries. He asked me out on a date and that's where I found out that he is loaded, not that I'm in it for the money. I mean I've got just as much money as him, but anyway..." She said struggling to remember where she was with the story. "So you went on the date and then?" I helped to get her back on track. "Oh yeah, so he asked me to go on a few more dates. We've been inseparable since that day." She finished and took a sip from her cocktail.

"Wow, that's quite the story you have. What's his name?" I enquired so that I could stalk him later and make sure he was good enough for my best friend. "Ryan. My name is Ryan." He said and I didn't even realize that they were standing right behind us. "It's nice to meet you." I said and shook his hand. He smiled and joined Amber on her side of the table while Harry snaked a hand around my waist. "Let me show you the incredible view of the city." Harry said as he pulled me away from the table. I looked at Amber and she mouthed 'later' before turning to look at Ryan with adoration. I turned my attention back to Harry and followed him to the edge of the roof.

The city looked like a glimpse of the galaxy. It was breathtakingly beautiful. "Wow." I was speechless and only had enough sense left to utter that one word. "That's how I feel when I see you." Harry said and I felt like I was about to burst. "Wha...?" I could barely get a word out. I think I was in shock again. That seemed to happen a lot when I was with Harry. He pulled a box out of his pocket that looked suspiciously like a ring box. "Don't worry, it's not what you think." He said and opened the box to reveal two diamond earrings. I sighed with relief and smiled at him. I was most definitely not ready to be engaged to him. We just didn't know each other well enough. "Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" he asked and looked at me nervously. I could see the hope in his eyes and I sucked in a deep breath.