Page 14 of Operation Heartbeat

“This is my alias?”

He nodded.

“Sydney Edgars.”

He nodded again. “Same initials as yours. One rule of lying is keeping the lie as close to the truth as possible.”

She gulped and read over the fake details of her life. Grew up in Michigan. Parents had a carpet cleaning business.

Then she saw the age.

“Thirty-six? How old you do you think I am?” She tried to keep the edge of outrage from her tone, but he heard it. His lips twitched in amusement, and he quickly compressed them.

“I know you’re younger than that, Sophie. This is just to pass you off under another identity.”

She brushed a fingertip over the spot between her brows. Lately, she’d been noticing that the fine line she got when she puzzled over something didn’t fade the way it used to when she was younger. But she wasn’t thirty-six yet!

She issued a sigh. “Fine. I’ll live with the insult of my alleged age. But what is this?” She ran a finger beneath the line halfway down that mentioned a man named Jeremy Edgars.

He stared at her. “That’s me.”

“But…” She peered at the page. One word popped off the paper at her. “It says you’re my husband!”

He gave her a long, appraising look.

She backed up a step, shaking her head. “No way. I’m not doing it. I’m going back to Princeton.”

“Sophie, you’re a logical person.”

“Exactly—my brain is telling me that marriage is a terrible idea. Even a fake one!”

“We have to do this.” He reached into the pocket of his black pants and pulled out a glimmering gold band.

She balked.

“Give me your hand.”

“Why do we have to pretend we’re married?” She darted a look at his hand and saw a matching thick gold wedding band on his fourth finger.

She broke out in a sweat. After the hell her ex put her through, she’d sworn to remain single for the rest of her days. If she happened to meet a nice guy, they could always cohabitate without paperwork binding them.

He thrust out the ring. “Put this on.”

She snatched her hand back. “No.”

“Sophie.” His deep voice was laced with a warning.

She stuck both hands behind her back. “Is this necessary?”

His chest expanded. “It’s the order I was given. So, yes. Give me your hand. Please.”

Sucking her lower lip into her mouth, she slowly held out her hand. He closed his fingers over hers and turned it palm up. Then he dropped the ring into the middle of it.

Her logical mind couldn’t wrap itself around what he was asking of her. To pose as his…wife?

And to make it worse…

“Did I read that we’re newlyweds?”

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