Page 3 of The Fiancé Hoax

Powerful.

And his eyes? Oh, good Lord, those intense blue eyes bore deep, deep within my soul. It was a miracle I remembered how to speak.

“Yep. I’m just fine,” I squeaked.

He bent down and offered me a huge, strong hand. I put my hand in his, and he helped me to my feet.

Once I was standing, he retrieved my fake glasses from the ground where they’d fallen and handed them to me. I put them back on, my face feeling hot to the touch.

“Thank you,” I said, my gaze sweeping over him.

His brown hair had lighter streaks in it, as if he’d been to the beach recently. Tattoos on his forearm peeked from under his jacket sleeve.

He was gorgeous.

“No problem.” His deep voice made me shiver. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Our eyes met, sending butterflies through my stomach.

“I’m sure.”

I made myself look away, twisting around to check my dress for damage. It was torn at the hem, but nothing I couldn’t repair later.

“Does, uh, your friend need a hand climbing over that stone wall?” he asked. “I wouldn’t want both of you injuring yourselves tonight.”

I looked back at Lauren, who watched us from atop the stone wall with wide eyes. Snapping back to reality, she swung her legs over the wall—much easier to do in a shorter skirt, I’m sure—and hopped down without a hitch.

“Thanks. I’m good,” she chirped.

I looked up at Mr. Hottie and forced myself to maintain eye contact. “Well, thank you for your help. We’ll just be getting back to the party now.”

An amused smile appeared on his full, luscious lips. “Getting back to the party? You mean you were here before?”

I scoffed. “Of course we were.”

“So you originally came in through the front door like the rest of us,” he said, clearly skeptical.

Lauren fidgeted beside me, but I felt strangely confident. He might be the most handsome man I’d ever seen, but he wasn’t going to shame me for sneaking into my dad’s party.

I was ready to die on this hill, dammit. Bad wig or not.

I lifted my chin. “Certainly we did.”

“So the climbing over the wall thing?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “The ladies’ room was full. And if you must know, I have a small bladder. My friend was kind enough to keep me company.”

He chuckled. “I see.”

I nodded, preparing to make my escape from his interrogation. “Glad we got that out of the way. Now, if you don’t mind—”

“Um, Felicity?” Lauren muttered under her breath. “Isn’t that Ruth?”

I looked past the guy’s giant shoulders to see Ruth, my dad’s assistant, standing twenty feet away in her pantsuit. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously in our direction.

Shit.

I stepped back, trying to hide behind Mr. Hot Detective.

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