Page 25 of Someday You Learn

“Then what are you saying? I’m sorry, but I’m confused.”

He pushes his hand through his hair. “I can’t be your fiancé, okay? That’s all you need to know.”

The pain of defeat rises in my chest, but before I count myself out, I decide to try my backup tactic. I didn’t want to have to resort to coercion, but desperate times... “You know, I’m not the only one with something to gain from this ruse.”

His right brow lifts. “What do you mean?” I watch his forearms flex and my body starts to heat up, remembering what his entire body looked like naked, the way every part of him flexed when my mouth was around his cock.

Focus, Cashlynn. That night cannot be a memory we revisit while we’re here.

“I saw your videos,” I blurt out.

His entire face falls and he leans over the table, burying his hands in his hair. “Fuck. I hate the internet.”

“Yeah, well, it seems you’re quite popular with the ladies now, aren’t you?” The number of times women post videos of themselves ogling this man is insane, but I definitely understand the appeal.

He lifts his head and glares at me. “What are you getting at?”

“Beth has told me about your visitors to the animal hospital and how these women are relentless.” I begin to draw circles on the table in front of me. “If you were getting married, that would make them back off.”

He sits up again, crossing his arms. “Nice try.”

I hold my hands up defensively. “I’m not speaking lies here, am I?” I can practically see the wheels turning in his brain, so I press on. “Not to mention, when I was talking to my father earlier, I brought up retirement. You’re in the running to take over the practice, right?”

He smirks as he leans back. “I underestimated you, Cashlynn O’Neil.”

“Most people do, but that’s why I had to have a plan when I came back here, Parker.”

“I imagined you did when you blurted out that we were engaged. That doesn’t seem like something you’d come up with on the fly.”

“Please don’t think that I don’t know how crazy this sounds and that I don’t know what I’m asking from you. I do. But you don’t know my dad like I do, how judgmental he can be, and how quickly he can overreact. I needed something to give me time to plan this big life change before springing it on him, and this is what I came up with.” I shrug. “Was it the best idea? Well, that’s still to be determined.”

His eyebrows draw together. “But why me? Why an engagement?”

Leaning forward, I reach for his hand and lock my gaze with his. “You have a lot to lose here too, Parker. I’m literally related to the man who will determine the future of your career. Do you honestly want to work for Seth Brown if my father chooses him?”

“You know about Seth?”

I nod. “Beth and I are close. I knowa lot.”

In fact, I probably know more about the drama at Carrington Cove Animal Hospital than the townsfolk do—and I don’t even live here.

Well, I guess I do now, actually.

“If you come clean to him about our lie, he’d almost be forced to choose Seth. And I know you don’t want that.”

He swallows, his jaw clenching. “I’m fucked either way, Cashlynn, thanks to you.” He pulls his hand from mine, and my stomach is immediately in knots again. “You’re right. If I come clean now, I’ll lose your dad’s trust that I’ve worked hard to build. But if I go along with this and he finds out later it was all a lie, he’ll be even more furious with me.”

“No, he won’t,” I insist. “Because this is temporary. I promise.”

“It is?” He feigns surprise. “Thank God—I thought you planned on getting married for real!”

“Your sarcasm is a bit over the top, don’t you think?”

“We haven’t scratched the surface of my sarcasm, sweetheart.”

I blow out a breath, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. “Look, I just need some time to get my life together.”

He raises an eyebrow. “And how long is that gonna take? Because I gotta say, I’m not too confident in you and your current life choices.”

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