“You know what, let me take care of that for you,” he said with a half smile. No way was his girlfriend—fake or not—riding the public bus around Phoenix, “and no more dollar store flip flops for you.”

“These came from Old Navy. They have this sale once a year—”

“No sales, Bella. You’ll have to maintain a certain image that is an extension of my own. For my girlfriend or fiancée to wear cheap plastic shoes—that makes me look like a cheapskate. A shitty boyfriend.”

“I would never expect my boyfriend to pay my bills and buy my shoes.”

“No, you wouldn’t. But the people in my circle would,...