Page 18 of The Fiance Dilemma

It was all I’d wanted for a long time. A family. Someone to stuff the gaping hole Mom had left in the middle of my chest when I’dlost her. I knew Adalyn had somehow helped to do that, and I loved that. Having a sister. But a sister wasn’t a parent, and my relationship with Andrew had been… unexpectedly different. Not as easy. Confusing in ways that made my stomach knot with the possibility that it might never work.

It wasn’t about pride, like Bobbi had implied.

When I’d promised Matthew I’d fix this, I only had to face Bobbi. But it wasn’t just Bobbi now. It was everyone. The whole town knew. Andrew knew, too. He thought I had the key to fix an issue I was responsible for in some twisted way I couldn’t refute. I had also lied. It had been me making up a story last night.

Without really knowing how, I now faced a dilemma.

I had two choices: Tell everyone my engagement was a lie and snuff out all that excitement and hope. Or move with what I’d set into motion and break things off later, when the dust settled, and inform everyone of something they might already expect: that another engagement was no more.

Both were equally terrible.

The first one made me look like a liar. It cemented Bobbi’s and Nick’s and Sam’s and everyone else’s accusations. That Andrew had messed me up. That on top of being a misstep on an incredible résumé, I was also deeply troubled. A liar.

The second choice did that too in a way. But it fixed the problem for now. It gave me a chance to salvage something.

Andrew is your family now.

It gaveusa chance.

“Coffee’s on the house,” I heard myself say. “My treat to first-time customers.”

Bobbi’s smile was slow, and when it fully formed, I noticed it was the first one to reach her eyes. “Excellent. Thank you.”

I cleared my throat. “Of course.”

The PR strategist tapped the counter before stepping back.“Now go get your man. We have plans to make, and a little birdie told me that Blondie and Andrew have a past. Which explains why your fiancé was… somewhat reluctant to accept Andrew’s help when I mentioned it last night. So, item number one on your list is prepping your doting fiancé. I want everyone on their best behavior. And that means Blondie, not my employer.” She whirled around, and right before walking away, she looked over her shoulder one last time. “Oh, and I think your ring might have slipped off your finger at some point last night?” Shetsked. “Hope you retrieve it soon, Josephine. Details are important in PR.”

I looked down at my naked finger, wondering if a part of me had known last night, when Ricky’s ring had gotten stuck. It hadn’t been the first time this had happened with one of the four rings I kept in that box atop my dresser, but it had been the one time dread had filled me so overwhelmingly instantly.

I supposed it didn’t matter.

Bobbi was wrong either way.

I had something more important than a ring to retrieve.

A fiancé.

CHAPTER FIVE

I pounded my fist on my fiancé’s door.

Yup, that was what I was calling him in my head. Because for all practical purposes, he was. He just needed to be informed of that fact.

There was noise on the other side. A sort of bang. And a thump. Then steps. I leaned back and waited, relieved that Matthew was, frankly, alive. Grandpa Moe had joked about ditching him somewhere in the woods when I’d asked if he’d safely deposited our guest in Lazy Elk. I hadn’t laughed. I didn’t have the time to retrieve a man from the forest at the moment.

The door to Lazy Elk Lodge opened, revealing a messy-haired, half-asleep Matthew. He was in sweatpants and a hoodie. No glasses, I noticed. He looked nice. Aright out of bed, I’m hot without tryingkind of nice. Which was… unimportant.

“Whattookyousolong,”I asked in single rush of words, stepping under his arm and coming inside. Looked like I was not waiting to be let in. “I’ve been banging on the door for five whole minutes.”

Matthew turned around slowly, blinking at me. “Josie?”

A strange sound left me. I wished it hadn’t, but I hadn’t been able to do a single thing to stop it. “Not this again,” I whispered. He opened his mouth, but honestly? Now I was irked. I stomped in his direction, dropped the bags at our feet and whacked him in the stomach—hardstomach, by the way, just like I’d guessed, based on that peek I’d gotten this morning.

“Christ,”Matthew complained, barely flinching. “What was that for?”

I huffed. “Something memorable enough for you to remember me, Dory.”

Matthew’s lips twitched. The corners of his mouth went up momentarily. Then he shook his head, as if wanting to stop the smile from sprouting. It didn’t work. He was grinning like some… I didn’t know. Like a blond guy who had just rolled out of bed and was smiling for no reason.

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