Page 43 of Falling for your Fake Boyfriend

“Lucas,” she said and leaned to look past me. “Did she come with you? I haven’t seen her yet.” I was stunned by her interest. Was it possible my mom was seeing what everyone else saw in Isla? It seemed a far stretch but then Isla did save her youngest child from a traumatic death. Maybe that was enough to chisel through the granite hard exterior.

“I think she’s still in her room.”

Mom’s face lit up at something behind me. “No, here she is.”

I spun around and realized I was an idiot. She’d been asking about Alexandria. Alex and her mom strolled toward us. Alex had changed yet again. She was wearing a skintight denim sundress, cowboy boots and a white cowboy hat.

Mom sidled past me to greet them. “You look gorgeous, Alex. Everyone is waiting for you to sing.” Mom turned back to me. “Luke, doesn’t she look gorgeous?”

I smiled. “Like the hat.” Suddenly the notion of Isla sitting alone in her room with her bruised cheek made my chest tighten. “Excuse me, I need to go find Isla.”

“She’s already here,” Mom said sharply and waved her hand toward the room. She even added an eye roll.

I stared hard at her for a second, but that never phased my mom. She was almost impervious to other people’s show of emotion. I nodded to the Carltons and headed farther into the party. I glanced around and still couldn’t find Isla. Then someone who’d been standing in a circle of people moved to the side, and I spotted her silky blonde hair. Isla was standing in the middle of a group of guests apparently giving a small demonstration of how to save someone from choking.

“Brilliant,” my mom’s cousin, Linda, said as I reached the circle. She went on to tell the others a story about a woman choking in a restaurant and how it took a dozen tries to get her to cough up the piece of steak that was caught in her throat.

Isla smiled at me from center circle. The bruise had gotten darker, but it didn’t take away from her beauty.

“Luke.” Uncle Jim was part of the group. He apparently preferred the first aid training to listening to his wife sing. “She’s quite something. Pretty, too,” Jim muttered in my ear. “I hear her family is in flour and sugar. General Mills?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nope. If everyone will excuse me, I’d like to talk to my girlfriend.” I reached through the crowd, found her hand and pulled her free from her fan club. We managed to find a place to talk near the bar. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, although a little charged up on dark chocolate tarts and vanilla tea. But really, this doesn’t look great, but it doesn’t hurt.”

I found myself just gazing at her and thinking how was I going to just let her walk out of my life. “Isla, I hope you can forgive me. I don’t think I can get on with my life knowing that you hate me for putting you through this.”

“First of all, you’re far too good looking and charming to hate. In fact, I think I find you still quite tolerable, in spite of everything.” Her smile morphed into more of a frown. I glanced back to see what had changed her expression. Alexandria was garnering a wave of attention as she sashayed with a sassy hip swing toward the stage. She tapped her hat down on her head.

“I guess she went country, too.” Isla looked down at her short boots. “Wish I’d brought a hat.”

“You look adorable, and I can’t wait to hear you sing.”

Alex reached the stage and did a quick little Texas-two step before picking up the microphone and signaling she was ready. The music started. It was The Chicks, “Cowboy Take Me Away.”

“No way,” Isla muttered. “That little …”

I turned to her. “Everything all right?”

It was the first time I’d seen Isla look deflated, as if she’d hit an obstacle she couldn’t find her way around. Alexandria started singing. It was good. Good enough to bring more people toward the stage.

“I’ll be right back.” Isla headed back toward the bar area.

Alex knew how to wow a crowd and keep all the attention on her. She sang and danced and kept the audience captivated.

“She’s amazing.” Mom was suddenly at my side. “You’ll regret it if you let her get away.”

I looked back toward the bar. Isla was looking at something, a song list, I assumed. It seemed she’d changed her mind about her song.

“Have you thanked her yet?” I asked curtly.

Mom looked at me. “Who?”

“Seriously? The woman saves your youngest from death, and you haven’t even taken the time to thank her? You might think your manners are impeccable, but you’d be wrong.”

“Lucas, I’m very stressed this weekend. It would be nice to have support from my eldest, rather than constant contention. You’re just angry because you know I’m right about Alexandria, and you hate it when I’m right.”

“You might be getting ahead of yourself there.”

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