Page 61 of Faking I Do
“You have two choices, Bodie.” I held up two fingers to emphasize my point.
“Really? Do tell. I can’t wait.” He took a step closer.
I backed up, my thighs bumping against the edge of his bed. Not willing to be intimidated, I drew in a breath and lowered my voice. “You can go out there and pretend to be my adoring fiancé?—”
“Or?” He matched his tone to mine—low, almost a growl.
“Or you can tell her it’s a sham and I’d be happy to return the favor by paying a visit to Sheriff Suarez and telling him all about the plans you’ve been making with Buck.”
“I’m not making plans with Buck.” He glared at me.
“So you’re not trying to cover up the fact your family is involved in some illegal importing activities and you’ve been offered his job?”
His left eye twitched. I’d hit a nerve.
“I just haven’t had a chance to fill him in on everything just yet. Once I get to the bottom of it I’m going to tell him everything.”
The power shifted. I could almost feel victory in the air. “But you haven’t yet.”
Bodie put his hand to his temple. “Not yet. You know as well as I do that my dad’s made a few, let’s just call them ‘less than legal’ decisions over the past few years. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to him.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to see anything bad happen to my dad, either. Imagine what it’s going to feel like when my own father isn’t able to walk me down the aisle at our wedding.”
“Seriously? How far are you going to take this? You don’t expect me to actually marry you, do you?”
“Of course not,” I hissed. “We’ll fake the ceremony and no one will be the wiser. Don’t you see, this is our chance to put the town on the map? You owe it to me, Bodie. It’s your family’s fault this whole thing happened in the first place.”
He opened his mouth and I waited, expecting an argument. Instead, he threw his hands in the air. “You’re right. Fine, I’ll be your fiancé. But you’ve got to promise you won’t spill a word about the import stuff or the offer from Buck until I have a chance to figure out what’s happening on my own.”
“Deal.” I thrust my hand at him, ready to seal the agreement with a handshake.
His hand closed around mine, warm and firm and reminiscent of how it felt to be lost to his touch. Was that just the other night I’d spent hours in his arms? Seemed like a lifetime ago. And now, by calling him out and blackmailing him into being my fake fiancé, I’d pretty much guaranteed that would be the last time I’d have my way with Bodie, in or out of the bedroom.
CHAPTER 32
BODIE
I gesturedfor Lacey to enter the kitchen first. “After you, sugarplum.”
She shot me a thinly veiled glare—the kind that might have leveled me if I hadn’t been in on her deceitful little game. “Thanks, snuggybug.”
“Have you always had nicknames for each other?” Samantha sat on a stool at the kitchen counter, pen in hand.
“Not always,” I said. “She didn’t like me for the longest time.”
“Oooh, an enemies-to-lovers tale? Do tell.” Samantha scooted closer to the counter, where her blank notepad waited to be filled with stories detailing my and Lacey’s love affair. Lies, all of them. But I’d always been a big fan of the advice to go big or go home. Since I was already at home, I didn’t have a choice but to come up with the biggest, most ridiculous background story I could. If Lacey wanted to play with fire, I would make sure she got a little singed around the edges.
“Yeah, she always had the hots for me but . . .”
“Unrequited love?” Samantha’s pen flew over the paper.
“Not exactly.” Lacey leaned her elbows onto the counter. “I didn’t want to catch anything, if you know what I mean. He’s been clean for a few years now, isn’t that right, honey bear?”
Samantha’s eyes widened.
“I don’t think you should put anything about that in the story.” Lacey brought a finger to her lips. “Let’s keep that just between us.”
Score one to Lacey. If that’s how she wanted to handle things, I’d be willing to take a stab or two at creating a history for her that was just as colorful as the one she seemed to want to make up for me.
