Thank you guys so much for the first lovely reviews :) Now, I guess some of you are eager to find out Clara's part in this?

Chapter 2

"I need to borrow Rory!"

In response to her admittedly rather spontaneous exclamation, her friend's eyebrows shot up and an expression of disbelief spread over Amy's face as the words hung in the air. The more time passed, the sillier it sounded even to Clara's ears.

"I'm sorry," Amy replied after a while, her voice wary at best and completely weirded out at worst, "he's not exactly in the rent-a-husband business anymore. I made him give that up when we got married."

"Oh, come on," Clara pressed as she scooted a little closer to her best friend and completely ignored her joke. "Just for one evening."

Still, Amy seemed anything but convinced. Not that Clara blamed her for it, but she really needed a boyfriend for one night and one night only. Rory was perfect. He was a gentleman, but also kind of dorky and awkward and very likely to cause an accident or two.

"I have an idea," her friend retorted. When she put on a smile, it seemed rather fake. "Why don't you tell me what the hell is going on first?"

Clara inhaled deeply and decided to just come out with it because otherwise, Amy would never agree and she needed her to. And if she was quite honest, all of it had been her grandmother's idea.

A few hours ago

Her grandmother handed her a large cup of tea and Clara thanked her with a smile even though, after the news she had just heard, Clara didn't feel like smiling at all. Today, she had received an invitation in the mail that she had never expected in a million years, an invitation that had completely ruined her day.

"Did you know about it?" Clara asked and squinted her eyes at her grandmother to determine whether she was lying to her.

However, her nan didn't even attempt to. Instead, she merely nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" she demanded angrily. "Hell, why didn't Dad tell me?! You'd think he would want to tell his daughter in person that he is getting married and not through a stupid invitation card!"

Clara threw a disdainful look at the white card that she had discarded on the table and for a moment, she wished she had the power to set it on fire just by looking at it. In her heart, she had always feared that one day, her father would grow tired of living in sin, that one day, Linda would make him marry her. Linda was the last person Clara would have picked for her father. He deserved better. And she certainly deserved better than to hear about the upcoming wedding through an invitation card.

"He wasn't sure how you were going to react," her grandmother tried to defend him. "He knows you're not exactly… fond of Linda."

"That's because Linda is a bitch," Clara snapped.

Her grandmother's eyes widened at her word choice, but when a soft smile spread across her lips, Clara knew that in her heart, her nan agreed with her.

"Well, we knew this day would come eventually," her grandmother said. "And it's his choice. If Linda makes him happy, then we should accept it."

"I am accepting it! What I'm not accepting is the way he decided to let me know," she argued, once again glowering at the card.

Her grandma sighed heavily before she took a sip from her tea. "I agree. That wasn't his finest hour. But you'll still come, won't you? Your father really wants you there."

Growling, Clara nodded. "Of course, I'll come," she said, but then Clara thought of something and it almost made her change her mind. "Oh God, Linda is going to be all over me if I show up on my own again. She's been badgering me about getting a new boyfriend since… well, basically a week after Danny died. This is going to be really, really great."

Even if her voice hadn't dripped with sarcasm, her grandmother still would have known how she felt about Linda's constant attempts to set her up with anyone who was single and vaguely Clara's own age. Just a few weeks ago, at a family birthday party, Linda had tried to set her up with her twenty-four-year-old nephew. Clara was still shuddering at the mere thought of it.

"Why don't you bring a friend?" her grandmother asked her. "If you show up in male company, Linda will think twice about attempting a new set-up."

And just like that, the perfect plan popped into Clara's head because, as always, her grandmother was right. All she needed was a fake boyfriend for the wedding.

Even after hearing her story, Amy didn't seem entirely convinced. Quietly, she sipped her drink and pondered her answer while Clara waited patiently for her to say yes, she could absolutely borrow Rory for the evening.

"There is one flaw in your plan," Amy said eventually and set the mug down. "Remember that Linda met Rory at your 30th birthday party and they had a very long conversation about her sciatic issues? I'm fairly certain your stepmother remembers that."

"Don't call her my stepmother!" Clara pulled a face at the mental image, but she had to admit that her friend was right. If Linda had met Rory last year, she would definitely remember him. With a sigh, Clara admitted to herself that her perfect plan wasn't, in fact, a very good one.

"But I think I might have a different idea," Amy said after a while, sounding thoughtful.

When Clara looked up, she spotted a strange expression on her friend's face, one that told her she was thinking very hard.

"Well, what is it?" Clara wanted to know.

"It's just something I read about recently," her friend explained. "There's this app called Alibi and if I understood it correctly, it's like a dating app for fake dates."

In a swift gesture, Amy pulled out her phone and started typing while Clara waited patiently for her to finish. An app for fake dating? That sounded a little shady in her ears, but she was willing to give it a shot just to get Linda off her back. She certainly wouldn't sit through another party while listening to her stepmother telling her that she would die single.

Finally, Amy seemed to have found what she was looking for and handed Clara the phone with a bright smile. Looking at it, Clara spotted the app that seemed to be exactly what her friend had thought it would be.

Alibi - An Evening In Good Company

You don't want to attend your company's Christmas party on your own? You are tired of being asked when you're finally going to meet someone? Or maybe you just don't want to go to the theatre all on your own? Don't worry because you are not. Connect with millions of other singles out there and find the perfect alibi partner for a night - or maybe even more.

"That sounds perfect," Clara noted immediately. It sounded like just the thing she needed. An alibi partner for just one night. Well, maybe two if the man she chose needed her for the same cause. But then, the doubt suddenly surfaced and she looked up to meet Amy's gaze. "Are you sure they aren't all creeps?"

Her friend shrugged. "I'd suggest talking to the guy beforehand. It certainly won't hurt to look around a little. Plus, you might get invited to a nice company event if that's what the other guy needs you for."

Overall, this app sounded like an escort service - only that it was mutually beneficial and no one was actually getting paid. The longer Clara thought about it, the less weird it seemed because she knew that there had to be more people out there who were in exactly the same position. Single, not ready to meet a new love or those who were just too focused on their work to actually have a dating life. From time to time, Clara was sure that they would have to answer questions about their love life, questions they didn't want to answer. Maybe, she would find a nice man on this app who she could pass off as her boyfriend for a night. And even if not, it was certainly worth a try.

Then, a mischievous smile spread across her face. "I'm going to find a guy that will really piss Linda off," she determined. "You watch me."

Her friend chuckled next to her. "I can't wait to meet him," Amy remarked. "Are you going for the punk rocker or the extremely intelligent nerd that will make everyone feel like an idiot?"

Clara grinned to herself as she unlocked her own phone to download the app. "I don't want to decide beforehand. I'm just going to let the app surprise me." She turned her head towards Amy, still smiling. "Let's do some boyfriend shopping."