I glanced over her shoulder at Jason as I wrapped my arm around Emmerson’s waist. He looked like someone had just taken his favorite puppy from him. Focusing back on Emmerson, I replied, “More than ready.”
We walked away, and I couldn’t help but look back over my shoulder. Not at Jason, though—at the woman standing beside him who looked just as defeated as her fiancé.
Emmerson
THE LIMO RIDE to the Fairmont should have only taken five minutes. Instead, it was going on fifteen, and we were still only sitting two blocks away from the country club. Only in Austin, at ten at night, would there be a freaking traffic jam.
Landon hadn’t uttered a word to me since we’d slipped into the limo. Every few minutes, I stole a glance at him as he stared out the window. I knew he was angry, and he had every right to be. I had gotten us into a huge mess, and I had no earthly idea how to get us out of it.
I was engaged. Albeit it was a fake engagement, but I finally got what I wanted. No longer the bridesmaid and all that nonsense.
“I’m sorry I got us into this mess,” I said. “I swear to you, I’ll figure out a way to get out of it before things get too…serious.”
He turned and faced me, and my breath caught in my throat. His blue eyes looked like a storm was brewing in them. “What did he say to you?”
Confused, I asked, “Who?”
He let out a frustrated sigh. “You know who, Emmerson. Jason. What did he want to talk to you about?”
Oh. That.
I twisted my hands in my lap. How in the world do I tell him I’ve dug us deeper into this lie?
He stared at me, and there was something in his eyes that looked like a mix of fear and anger.
I decided the best thing to do was to be honest. “He wanted me back.”
Landon’s mouth fell open. “What?”
“He said that he broke up with me because he didn’t think I wanted to settle down, at least not with him. He said he could walk away from Lillian, that all I had to do was tell him I’d take him back and he’d leave her.”
“What. An. Asshole! His fiancée was standing only a few feet away!”
I nodded. “I thought the same thing.”
“How did that make you feel? What did you say?”
His question took me aback. “How did it make me feel? I didn’t feel anything but sorry for him. I told you, Landon, that I don’t have feelings for him. And what I told him was that I felt sorry for him, but more so for Lillian. And then I said…”
Landon drew in a breath and held it as he waited for me to keep speaking.
“I said I was in love with you and that we were getting married, so he was too late.”
His eyes grew wide.
I shook my head and then buried my face in my hands. “I know, I know! I made things worse, but it was the only thing I knew to say to get him to understand I wasn’t interested in getting back together. I’m so sorry, Landon.”
“You…you really don’t want to get back with him, then?”
I dropped my hands to my lap and gaped at him. “Have you not been listening to a damn thing I’ve said?”
The corner of his mouth twitched with a hidden smile. He nodded. “I heard. You told him we were in love in an attempt to get him to realize it was truly over.”
I sighed. “God, this whole thing spiraled out of control so fast. I still can’t believe it.”
Landon reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Don’t worry, Emme. We’ll get it all settled. I do agree with Hailey, though; I do think it would be good for Serendipity if we played this out a bit longer. Once we get back to Waco, things will calm down. Every now and then you can post a picture of us on your Instagram or do some research trip like Hail said, and then in a few months we’ll release a statement or something that says we’re better friends than lovers. It won’t be hard to find stuff to post. We’re always doing something together. We can post about movie night or we can start doing ice cream Sunday.”
My mouth instantly went dry, and I had the urge to burst into tears. The only thing I’d heard was that we were better friends than lovers. What in the world was happening to me? Why had his words felt like a knife straight to my heart? Why did the idea of breaking up this fake engagement feel like it would rip my heart out?
I gasped and covered my mouth with my free hand.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.