Love For Hire: The Helena's Grove Series Book 2 Read Online Free

them I would bring him to Christmas dinner. How can I bring a boyfriend that doesn’t exist?” she moaned.
    “Holy shit woman,” Roxy said loudly. She slammed her laptop closed and walked over to Annie’s bed. “Listen to me.” She plopped down on the bed, the dark makeup around her eyes making them seem more intense. “This time, and this time only, I’m going to give you some advice. And just to be clear, this doesn’t mean we’re friends, and in the future you are not allowed to ask me personal questions or expect me to care about your problems. I’m only helping you now so you’ll shut the hell up about it.”
    Annie nodded and sniffed, fighting back tears, but said nothing; Roxy was a very intimidating person.
    “Ok, first off. Stop being so freaking whiny! You’re giving me a headache.”
    “Sorry,” Annie apologized.
    “And second, why is this bothering you so much. You are fake dating the guy so fake break up with him. You’re off the hook.”
    “I told them I’d bring him for Christmas,” Annie told her quietly.
    Roxy gave her a ‘you’re stupid’ look. “You lied to them about having a boyfriend, but you feel bad about lying to them that you broke up with the boyfriend that you lied about in the first place? Wow, your morals are all screwed up.”
    Annie took a second to think about what she said. “That’s true I guess.”
    “So then the question is why didn’t you tell them the truth? Why did you let the fake boyfriend thing go on?”
    “I just…” A tear slid from Annie’s eye and she quickly wiped it away. Roxy rolled her eyes again, clearly disgusted with Annie’s lack of emotional control. “I’m the only one in my social circle that’s still single, and for just one night, I wanted to be on the same level with everyone else. I don’t like being the third, seventh or ninth wheel.”
    “You gotta stop giving a crap what people think. Most of the human race is pathetic losers and it has nothing to do with whether or not they’re getting any.”
    “I just got tired of everyone feeling sorry for me. You should have heard them, they were going on and on about all my so-called qualities, trying to prove to this Amelia chick that I wasn’t a total loser because I’m not dating anyone. I wanted them to stop trying to protect me and just let it be. So I made up this guy Marcus. And now I’m stuck in this mess.”
    “So you want people to think you have a boyfriend so they’ll stop hounding you?” Roxy asked, an edge of annoyance still in her voice.
    “Yeah, I guess I do. I just want them to know that I can go out and make relationships on my own.” Annie felt ridiculous saying all these things out loud, especially to Roxy, but at the same time, it felt good to let it out.
    “So, it’s simple. You just gotta go get you one,” Roxy said evenly.
    “One what?” Annie asked.
    “A boyfriend stupid. I know where you can find a Marcus.”
    “You do?” Annie asked, not sure what she meant.
    “Yeah, I know a guy who knows a guy. I’ve even used them myself once or twice.”
    “Them?” Annie wasn’t sure she wanted to get into whatever it was that Roxy was using .
    “Yeah basically, you call them up when you need a date. If you have a description you give it to them. Then you meet them for coffee or lunch and discuss the details of your contract and, voila! For a small fee, you have a boyfriend who will be anything or anyone you want him to be.” Roxy smiled for the first time during their conversation.
    “Soooo… you’re suggesting I hire a boyfriend to take back to my family for the holidays?” Annie wasn’t sure if the idea was brilliant or insane.
    “Yeah.” Roxy got up and went back to her laptop. “That way, they still get to meet him, ya know, so they can see that you’re doing fine on your own, and when you get back the contract is up and you just tell your family that you broke up. No one has to know you lied and no one gets hurt. It’s really