EVELYN SAT down drumming her fingers anxiously on the tabletop one of Dionysus Bar's tables waiting anxiously for Matt to arrive.

Has she arrived early? She had a habit of setting an alarm when she had any form of appointment and she'd set an alarm earlier than usual to give herself time to glam up.

She found her phone in her bag and check the time. It was 07:32 pm.

It was way past the time they had agreed to meet up. What was taking him so long? Could he be stuck in traffic?

Evelyn looked around scanning the area. She hated this place. Not only was it too pricey here in Dionysus Bar, she still harbored some horrible memories of the last time she was here. But she couldn't think of any other safer place to have a decent conversation without being hassled by reporters and paparazzi.

Being a celebrity's girlfriend was no joke.

Her privacy was gone. Totally!

It was rumpled and tossed right out of the universe.

She couldn't move out through the front entrance of Jason's house. He had shown her a secret outlet behind his house where he usually sneaks out without being noticed by the reporters.

Evelyn had to move around like a wanted criminal with The Almighty Trio— a facemask, sunshades, and a face cap— to deter people from recognizing her.

This wasn't what she signed up for.

A few days ago, she'd made the mistake of her entire life going to the convenient store without her disguise gear on. She had been chased down by some group of jealous toxic teenage fangirls of Jason.

The fact she survived that incident still remains a miracle.

She used to think celebrities were being a little too dramatic and extra going around dressed like serial killers but now she get why they need all that disguise.

It was mandatory especially when your name is in the top searches.

There were some bright sides to it though. Other charming people that recognizes her wanted to take selfies with her and even asked for her autograph.

Even better. Her social media handles were on fire. Her followers increased drastically on a daily basis.

She'd gotten over a hundred emails from different strangers. Eighty percent were asking her who she was dressed by at the press conference. She'd proudly replied it was designed by her and they'd ask her if she had more where that came from.

Of course, Evelyn had to seize that opportunity and uploaded other of her designs on her social media handles revealing her chef-d'oeuvre to her newly found fanbase. And let the orders come flooding in.

She got to admit that apart from getting hassled by reporters and paparazzi, and getting almost killed by angry fangirls, being Jason's girlfriend was not such a bad thing.

FAKE GIRLFRIEND, she reminded herself. She wrapped her hand around the blue-ish cocktail she'd ordered.

She had a purpose for this all. That she should never forget. She wasn't going to rely on the fame being Jason's girlfriend—FAKE GIRLFRIEND—brought her. She was going to be famous by her own abilities. It was temporary anyway, she had just six months to enjoy this ‘fake girlfriend fame’.

Besides, there was only one man in her life she thought of having a real relationship with and it certainly wasn't Jason.

THAT MAN IS A DOG.

In barely a few days after announcing his relationship, he'd gone around hooking up with any hottie he set his eyes on.

Someone needed to put a leash on that man. Women would be the bane of his existence.

Two days ago, he'd taken her to a fellow artiste's wedding reception and had gone all macho-man when he spotted this drop-dead gorgeous chic.

Jason had been really close to hitting on her when Evelyn had pulled him back telling him to control himself.

"I'm not telling you to stop your sexual escapades I'm merely telling you to be discreet. In case you've not noticed, the whole world's eyes are on us," she had told him.

She hadn't stopped him because she was jealous. No, she wasn't. Far from it. She was just disgusted by his lack of moral stamina.

When her straw slurped against the bottom of the cocktail glass, dragging in the last drops of rum, blueberry flavor, and something else she couldn't put her fingers on, Evelyn pushed the thing away and looked up with a blissful sigh to find Matt walking towards her.

"Sorry, I'm late. Traffic was hell," Matt said, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Have you been waiting for long?"

Evelyn turned rosy. "No. I just got here," She said with a smile, studying him. She didn't know if it was because she hadn't seen him in a while, but he looked so yummy.

Matt had worn a grey shirt with three of the buttons left open clearly revealing his chest and more than a few dark blonde chest hair.

He'd rolled up the sleeves of his shirt displaying the sun-bleached hair on his arms and the veins on the back of his hand stood out in prominent raised rivers. Sinewy. Powerful.

At this distance, she could have reached out and touched the curved flicks of thick blonde hair that had fallen over one side of his temple, but she had the idea that he would like that far too much so she simply lifted her chin and inhaled a long calming breath through her nose.

BAD IDEA.

Instead of the usual random background scent of the bar, she was overwhelmed with the scent of his citrusy cologne which was tangy and fresh against the sweetness of the air.

He smelt wonderful. Expensive, distinctive, and on a scale of one to ten on the testosterone level she would give him a fifteen.

Matt pulled out a chair in front of her and straddle the thing like he needed extra room between his legs to accommodate... you know.

Evelyn blinked fast at the direction of her thoughts, before lifting her eyes quick smart to his, only to connect with all that beautiful jade. Cool and hot all at once. As if he knew exactly where her eyes and thought had been.

"Evy."

"Mmm?"

"You don't need to lie to make me feel better. I just saw you finish your glass of that blue-ish stuff."

He smiled. An honest-to-goodness smile that made his eyes glow and his eye crinkles deepen. Sheesh; the man didn't need to have a sexy smile to go with the sexy looks and all the other sexy bits.

But there it was. Talk about a potent cocktail.

She swallowed hard. Tasted rum and blueberry and... whatever the other thing was. The deadly wicked other thing that made her rather tipsy.

When did she become this way? Previously, she had rarely sexually regarded any man.

It probably had something to do with her who had eaten the proverbial forbidden fruit. Even though she still had zero recollection of that night.

Matt ordered a pint of beer and another glass of the cocktail Evelyn had earlier.

He downed half of it and then looked at her. This time his countenance had changed from sexy-hot-guy to anxious student awaiting his result sheet.

"Evy..."

"Matt," Evelyn beat him to it. "Trust me, I have my reasons for deciding to be in a relationship with Jason."

Evelyn narrated everything to him right from the very beginning without leaving a detail. From her sister's murder to Doris' birthday night, down to the plan of living with him.

She looked down half expecting him to get mad, storm out and never return.

She peered up at him from under her lashes to find his eyes, filled with fervor and concern, watching her.

"You've been through a lot, Evy and I had no clue," he sighed and took a long drink before going on. "I'm concerned though. If he is the one that actually killed your sister, isn't it quite unsafe living under the same roof with him?"

"I know it is but I'm at end wits right now. This seems to be the only option I have."

Matt reached out and grabbed her hand, enveloping it in his warm, strong, and slightly calloused palm which sent a sharp shot of awareness right through her arm. "Evy, You know I like you a lot, right?" A sweet smile edged at the corner of his mouth. "It's OK. I understand why you want to do this and I know I would do the same if I were in your shoes. And I'll help you whatever way you want but you need to promise me something."

Evelyn blinked. "Which is?"

"Don't fall for him. It'll destroy me if you do."

Evelyn placed her other free hand over his, smiling affectionately. "That would never happen."

She looked into his eyes. It was mesmerizing. How did she ever resist this man's charm in the first place? He was every woman's dream. He made her feel alive and...

"Hi, babe!" A familiar deep voice called from behind.

She needed no clairvoyant to tell her it was Jason.