She couldn’t believe that she was seriously considering his offer.
And she’d thought her brother Dominic had been insane when he and his now-wife had pretended to just be dating for reasons that had benefited both of them at the time.
It looked like insanity ran in the family, because the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. At least in light of the options before her.
She opened her eyes, ready to accept what felt inevitable. “Okay. What exactly would I be expected to do?”
Chapter Four
“Take a deep breath,” Jack told her half an hour later, keeping his eyes trained on Daisy, probably afraid she’d bolt if he didn’t. “And exhale. I promise, this will be over in just a few minutes.”
Easy for him to say. He’d done this dozens of times. Stood up there in front of the microphone, cameras trained on his every move, as reporters plied him with tough questions.
But she was a single mom with no political aspiration, just trying to take care of her family. Not give a press conference that every person she knew back home might be watching on their televisions.
“Why do I even have to go out there at all?” she asked, hating the whining tone that had crept into her voice. “You could answer any of their questions better than I possibly could.”
He smiled, pressing his hands on her shoulders and squeezing. “I doubt you’ll have to do much more than smile and nod occasionally. I’ll do all the talking. You just need to be there to help sell the story. Let them know we have nothing to hide. Are you ready?”
Not in the slightest, but as he’d told her, the sooner they went out there and put the gossip to rest, the sooner the buzz would die down and they would be left to enjoy the rest of their vacation.
At least until they returned home, but that was days away and she’d have more time to adjust.
Her hands went to her hair. Crap. She hadn’t even had time to do anything with it, just pulling it up in a quick bun so it didn’t get in the way as she prepared breakfast before she’d dabbed her usual lip color on, sweeping her lashes with mascara.
And her clothes? Well, at least she was wearing one of the few stain- and hole-free capri pants she owned. Her shirt was modest, too, a simple scoop-neck navy tee she knew complemented her coloring.
“You look great,” Jack said, still smiling patiently. “We are on vacation at Lake Tahoe. They’re hardly expecting us to be dressed for anything but the beach.”
It was true, and out of excuses, she resolved to grow a backbone and get this over. “All right. Let’s do this.”
Aunt Glenda and the kids were upstairs again, since, after she’d explained the situation, the woman had promised she’d keep them from under their heels until after the interview. Something that was a huge relief since she didn’t want them to hear the bald-faced lie.
At the front door, Jack turned, his hand held out to take hers. Another wave of panic surged through her as she stared at it. She was really doing this. Calling this man her…fiancé.
He laughed. “You’re going to have to work on hiding your expression if we’re going to sell this. Flinching and grimacing at any ordinary contact is going to be a huge red flag.”
He was right, and she squelched her nerves down again.
This was her fiancé. This gorgeous undeniably charismatic man smiling so softly at her. They had to look like they were in love.
She forced her face to relax and turned the corners of her mouth up in a smile.
“Better. Now,” he said, his hand still out. “Come on. I’ve got you.”
His hand was warm and dry compared to her clammy one, and his fingers tightened as if to reassure her.
Then he opened the door, and they walked out together.
…
“You have got to be kidding. What is all this?” Daisy asked in disbelief as she stared down at the itinerary Stuart had emailed to them. Jack had to admit to feeling a sense of disbelief himself as the list was extensive.
“I’ve taken the liberty of scheduling a few activities for you all this next week,” Stuart answered from the cell phone’s speaker that sat between them. Stuart had been surprisingly supportive of the engagement idea when Jack called to relay the latest turn of events. Actually, excited might be a better description. Almost as if he’d come up with the idea all himself. Which, come to think of it…might hold a kernel of truth.
“A few activities?” Jack asked. Bowling, miniature golf, hiking, kayak lessons, sailing, summer concerts on the beach, fireworks display, hot-air balloon rides, parasailing, not to mention a black-tie fundraiser dinner. “This is supposed to be a vacation, Stuart. The campaign hasn’t started yet. I’ll give you”—he scanned the list again—“half of these activities. I’d like to enjoy some downtime, too.”
Daisy, however, was still shaking her head, her jaw set in a now familiar stubborn line. “A day at Treetop Adventure Park? I can’t afford to take the kids there. In fact, most of the stuff on this list are way out of my price range.?