Fake Marriage Box Set

Penn chuckled at my prickly tone. "You'd do that to the penniless black sheep?"

"Oh, is that who I'm with?" I asked, keeping a pleasant smile in place. "I could have sworn you were my perfect and perfectly fake fiancé. Thanks for the drink."

"Now what are you mad about?" He sipped his champagne without batting an eye and surveyed the room. A half dozen faces nodded to him.

I studied him. "You seem to know a lot of people here. How long ago did you cut yourself off from your father?"

"Not soon enough," he muttered. "I can't believe they are getting married."

I watched Xavier and Alice strolling arm in arm and felt a twist of jealousy in my chest. They deserved their happiness, while I was faking mine. It was becoming more than I could bear.

"Now that your mother is feeling better and they have a wedding of their own to plan, don't you think we could tell the truth?"

Penn shook his head. "Not yet. It'd look bad."

I wondered if he meant he would look bad, but his friends joined us and saved me from my dismal thoughts. Phillip, determined to be happily single, brought another round of champagne while Bill and Tamara stood smiling at each other.

"I know, right? They're disgusting. Happy couples are so strange to me," Phillip said.

"That doesn't mean you're giving up on being part of a happy couple, does it?" I asked.

"No, I'm not going in for the Penn Templeton everyone-for-themselves outlook on life." Phillip laughed and took another sip of champagne. "Oops, I mean… Are you having a good time?"

Phillip's slip-up nagged at me, and I couldn't keep up the polite conversation. "No. I'd never thought I'd prefer some back country camping site, but this just seems so forced."

I didn't know Penn had been listening to our banter until he leaned over my shoulder. "It's not so bad. Phillip can teach you all his fun society games, like test-the-hair-extensions and spot the Botox injection site."

I turned to Penn. "Is your last name still Templeton?"

Alicia appeared at Penn's elbow and slipped an elegant hand through his arm. "You don't know your fiancé's last name?"

"Stay out of this, Alicia," Penn warned.

"Out of what?" Alicia tossed her glossy hair. "It's ridiculous for her to pretend she doesn't know you're Penn Templeton, owner and CEO of the largest and most successful outdoor sporting goods retailer. His biggest success is in research and development."

The willowy heiress winked at me as if the whole subject was incredibly boring and old news. I struggled to return her nonchalance, but my stomach took a sick dive. I handed Phillip my glass of champagne and staggered backwards out of our conversation.

"Oh, darling, that dress is fantastic, but you don't look so good," Phillip said.

Alicia tittered. "What an actress! I am impressed. As if you don't know every dime of his multi-billion dollar fortune. Penn's only been all over the headlines since his company made the Forbes list."

My mind ground in tight circles. I had been in Monterey with Penn and had completely left off keeping up with headlines. My whole summer had been Penn, the mansion that I now realized he had bought himself, and those visits out to Pinnacles. I clung to the tattered memories of our nights around the campfire there, but they burned away under my fierce blush.

"Am I just some joke to you?" I asked Penn. "Is that why you've been making such a big deal out of me liking nice things? You can have anything, custom-made or designer, so you think it's childish of someone to actually want something?"

Penn's mouth was a stern, suspicious line. "Frankly, I'm surprised it took you this long to find out. I don't mean to brag, but Alicia was right. My name has been making headlines."

"I wasn't paying attention to headlines. I was helping you through a family crisis, or was all that just a big joke, too?"

My voice was getting too loud. I spun and headed out the patio door. "Don't follow me. I just need some air."

I heard Alicia's silken voice as I retreated. "I knew you two weren't really engaged. Honestly, Penn, she's not your type at all. I can't believe your parents ever fell for it."

"They fooled me," Phillip said.

I sucked in my breath and refused to cry. I couldn't let Penn and his friends get anymore entertainment out of the poor girl from South Dakota.

Chapter Eighteen