Page 93 of Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date

“So this is about money. You’re extorting me. Have I got that right?”

Daphne nearly rolled her eyes. That was rich, coming from a man who, by the looks of things, had been embezzling funds for years. Archie Yarrow Jr. wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue.

New, hurried footsteps approached. Archie said, “Not now, Jenna.”

“What’s he doing here?”

“I want out,” Bobby repeated.

“Since when?” Jenna asked. “Never mind. I don’t care. Archie, there’s no point. He doesn’t want me.”

Archie grunted, and it sounded like pure frustration. “He’s been driving by Bobby’s place. He might be onto us. If you could’ve just gotten close to him—”

“He doesn’twantme,” Jenna complained. “Itried. It’s like he’s in love with her or something.”

Daphne frowned. In love with who? Jenna couldn’t mean Daphne, could she? They were obviously talking about Calvin driving by Bob’s place, so what other “her” could there be?

But Calvin wasn’t in love with her. They’d come up with this stupid fake date plan, and now it was over. They had gotten too close in the process and became confused. That was all.

Right?

“I don’t get why you broke into Romano’s anyway, Archie.”

“Ididn’t,” the man hissed.

“Someone did,” Bobby put in.

Daphne’s eyes widened. If Jenna was asking about the second break-in, did it mean Archie himself had been responsible for the one at Barela’s? What had he been trying to steal?

“Go back inside. Keep Flint occupied. We’re done here.”

A pause, and Jenna’s footsteps retreated.

It was Bobby who spoke next. “We’re not done until you tell me we’redone, Archie. I’m not doing this anymore. There’s too much heat. And if you don’t even know who did the second break-in, what if someone else is onto us?”

“No one is onto us,” Archie insisted. A foot scuffed on pavement, and Daphne strained her ears. There was a grunt. Were they fighting? Archie whispered something, but it was too low to hear. She needed to get closer. It sounded like they’d moved away from the corner of the house.

In the brief moment before Daphne shifted closer to the edge of the walkway, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. A month ago, Daphne wouldn’t have been in this position. She would never have agreed to come here with Calvin. She never would’ve kissed him. Never gotten punched in the face. Never done a silly dance in a gigantic dress.

She’d been playacting ever since she got back, pretending to be someone she wasn’t. Except she felt like herself. Right now, as she inched closer to the edge of the walkway, it felt like she was following her principles. Sure, she wasn’t exactly being responsible. And her comfortable, warm shell had been left somewhere to gather dust without her.

Maybe there were parts of Daphne that could be impulsive. Maybe it wasn’t playacting; it was just opening herself up to another side of herself.

On the island where she’d grown up, where she’d always been known as the good, responsible sister, Daphne was able to see herself in a new light. She stole family heirlooms back. She shacked up with hot men. She followed her instincts.

Sure, she was still 90 percent sure it would all blow up in her face, but didn’t it feelgood?

Well. It did, up until the voluminous tiers of her dress nudged up against the rusty rake, which proceeded to slide down the angled roofline of the home to crash into—and shatter—half a dozen terra-cotta pots.

The noise was deafening. Daphne froze, shoulders hunched up near her ears, breath trapped in her lungs.

Four quick footsteps sounded, and Archie Jr. appeared at the end of the walkway. He took in the smashed pots leaking old rainwater, the rake, and Daphne in her dress, standing there like an absolute dolt.

“Whoops,” she said. “Thought the bathroom was out here. I’ll just—” She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder toward the kitchen door.

The lie was an obvious one. Within seconds of it coming out of her mouth, Archie’s face twisted, and he lunged toward her. His arms circled her biceps as he spun her around and trapped her against the fence. Behind him, Bobby snarled.

“You’ve been eavesdropping,” the mayor accused.

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