I could not tell my mother—that much was certain. Aside from Amanda, she was the only other person I loved in this world, and I was absolutely not going to disappoint her like this. I didn’t care if it meant actually walking down an aisle and marrying the handsome bastard. I could not tell her that this was all just a lie. Or worse yet—a business arrangement. The thought of exchanging fake romance for money would make her stomach turn. My mom had always been a sucker for love stories—the sappier, the better. If she knew that I had fabricated one in front of the whole world just to catch up on some back rent…I honestly thought she might disown me.
Then again, if I didn’t pick up that phone in a hurry, she might disown me anyway.
“Okay,” I said again, “here’s what we’re going to do: we’re going to go through with it.”
Every muscle in Marcus’ handsome face froze. “You want to get married?”
“No, gosh—no!” I shuddered at the thought.
I had never planned on getting married. Never really planned on having kids or falling in love. I’d always imagined my life as that of a nomadic movie star. A sultry ingenue with a series of passionate affairs that would last me into my late seventies, at which point I would retire to life on an island with a bunch of hot men at my beck and call.
Granted, it was a tentative plan…but a plan nonetheless.
“No,” I said again, pacing divots into the floor, “I want to keep up the illusion. You said it yourself: this is a business arrangement, right? Why can’t we both get what we want?”
Marcus nodded slowly. “Yes…”
“Do you still need to impress Mr. Takahari?”
“Yes, he hasn’t signed on yet. But he’s close.”
“Then we keep up the charade,” I said again, more firmly this time. “My mother is the only family I have left in this world, and I’m absolutely not going to disappoint her like this. We’ll kill two birds with one stone. Carry on the relationship—engagement, whatever—for a month or so until Takahari is definitely on board, and in the meantime, keep up pretenses for my friends and family.”
Marcus nodded mildly, taking an unfamiliar backseat position. “And…my friends and family?” He reached out to catch me, but I paced even faster—half-ignoring, half-dismissing—as my devious plan settled into place.
“You made your bed; now you have to lie in it,” I said. “But don’t worry. This won’t be long. I promise.”
He opened his mouth to say something but wisely thought better of it, sitting down instead on a stool by the counter with a slightly bemused look on his face.
I was desperately trying to keep in control, but my eyes kept flitting back to our picture under a national news headline. When my phone buzzed angrily again from the couch, I brought my fists up to my temples and closed my eyes.
“It’ll be fine,” I muttered quietly, trying to steady myself. “After a month or so…we’ll just say that it fizzled out. I’ll give you back the ring, and we’ll go our separate ways. Nothing flashy or newsworthy—we’ll part as friends.”
He stepped into my line of vision and leaned his head down to catch my eye. “I say we put this plan into motion.” His shoulders loosened a bit, and he even dared to go out on a limb and flash that signature, charming smile.
I couldn’t believe he’d put me in this position. My eyes flew suddenly around the room. “Wait—do you still have the ring? I left it on the desk with the necklace.”
His face was unreadable as he reached into his pocket and held out an open hand, a massive diamond sparkling in the center. I examined it briefly.
“Good.”
Romance be damned.
I snatched it up and shoved it onto my finger. It felt awkward there. It was the “scary” finger I never put a ring on, no matter what it was. And this was a doozy. Too much weight, and I felt certain the oversize gem was sure to catch on something.
Marcus studied my face, a strange, anxious emotion dancing behind his eyes. “Do you…like it?”
I ran my hands back tiredly through my hair and winced as the rock caught on one of my curls. “It’s beautiful. I couldn’t stop staring at it when you slid it on my finger that night. You have great taste, Marcus.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s bigger than what I would’ve personally liked. But it’s absolutely lovely.”
Again, he looked like he was about to say something, but instead, he merely dropped his head, tugging absentmindedly on the stool’s cushion. The phone buzzed again, and a spasm rocketed up my spine.
“I need to get that,” I muttered helplessly, keeping a safe distance from behind the kitchen counter. “It’s my mom.”
We both stayed frozen as it buzzed twice more, then stopped.