Page 27 of Faking with the Fae King

“Oh. My. Freaking. God,” I breathe as my eyes do their best to pop out of my head like a cartoon character sighting their lady love.

All of the jewelry in the store is beautiful, but the ringsin this box are works of art. And the stones! The stones are utterlymassive. Each one looks like it could inspire a heist movie, and when put together, I feel a little lightheaded just looking at them.

I open my mouth, ready to say they’re all too much and I’ll take one of the ones from the regular case, when Severin reaches out and plucks the most exquisite ring from its mossy bed. “This one.”

It’s a large princess-cut diamond that’s as wide as my ring finger. There are no other stones, but the ring’s far from plain, because the carved gold band looks like the stem of a flower that curls back on itself, the petals of the bloom opening to disclose the diamond at its heart.

Severin slips it onto my ring finger, where it’s a little loose. Then the gnome touches the band, and in a tingle of magic, it shrinks to the perfect fit.

I stare down at my left hand, feeling the weight of the ring. I never knew a ring could be heavy. Then again, I’ve never owned a ring big enough to be seen from outer space before. This thing probably creates its own gravity well—it sure has sucked me in.

When Diamond names the price, Severin pulls out ten gold coins.

I gulp. Our little stint in the bank means I now know each is worth several thousand dollars. God, I love this ring, but I make words wheeze out of my reluctant throat in a faint whine, “It’s too much.”

Severin’s attention snaps to me. “Do you like it?”

“I do.” But none of this is supposed to be aboutmegetting money and gifts. It’s supposed to be about helpingFerndale Falls.

“Then it’s well worth the cost.” He lifts my left hand to press a kiss to my knuckle right below his ring. “It’s not nearly as precious as you, my bride.”

My butterflies take flight.

“Come.” He offers me his elbow and leads me back outside to where a small crowd waits on the green.

Skye gives me a little wave, having come out of the library.

“Why are all these people here?” I whisper-hiss out the side of my mouth.

“I arranged it, of course.”

Of course. It’s more proof he’s a consummate actor, determined to make our engagement look real.

“Thank you all for being here,” Severin says. He lifts my left hand, presenting it on his. “I knew you’d want to see Mayor Wylde’s new ring.”

Even though she’s one of the people who knows it’s all fake, Skye lets out an excited squeal, ever the romantic.

Jared pushes to the front, his phone clicking photos. Ferndale Falls is too small to have a newspaper, but as our resident photographer, he maintains an unofficial town-news website, and I have a feeling I know what the new headline is going to be.

“Now one with a kiss!” Jared says, waving his phone.

Severin’s eyes hold me mesmerized as he leans close.

Is he actually going to kiss me? Oh, no, no, no. I’m not ready. We haven’t practiced. Wait, what am I even thinking? Practice? I hiccup a flustered laugh. Practicing kissing Severin would mean a whole lot ofactuallykissing Severin.I already feel like I’m going to explode out of my skin—how would I ever survive that?

As he gets closer, my heart leaps, my body locked rigid as flames heat my cheeks. I want to moan in mortification. Ugh. I bet everyone can see I’m not used to his touch.

His lips brush the corner of my mouth. It’s the tiniest caress, but it sends a jolt of electricity shooting through me. The butterflies escape my stomach to fill my whole chest with fluttering as my heart races.

Fake, fake, fake, I chant to myself. This is all totally fake. You can’t forget he’s a really good actor.

As I meet Severin’s intense green eyes, the butterflies completely ignore me, doing loop-de-loops of joy.

Shit. I’m so totally screwed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Severin

---