Page 25 of Fiancé for Hire

What would happen to her? She was already falling for him. Could she maintain a platonic relationship with him until all of this played out?

Suddenly her chicken nuggets were like lead in her gut.

“If I agree to go along with the ridiculous idea, when this is all over, you have to agree that I’m the one who broke off the engagement. Otherwise, we need to end this now.”

She should end it now for her own sanity, but the last thing she wanted to do was go back to work and tell everyone that there wasn’t an engagement.

Drevon flashed his million-dollar smile, and she groaned inwardly.

Yep, she was screwed. There was no way she could be around this man for the foreseeable future and not develop feelings for him.

He stuck out his hand. “Deal.”

Antika shook his hand. “Don’t make me regret saying yes to you.”

ChapterThirteen

Drevon pulled his baseball cap low over his eyes, and stuffed his hands into his front pockets as he strolled up the street to a local downtown bar. After spending the afternoon with Antika, and laying out their engagement plan, he had called Jet and Montez to fill them in. He trusted them with his life and knew they wouldn’t spread the news around, but they insisted on him meeting them for a drink.

Drevon rarely second-guessed his decisions, but he could admit to having second thoughts about his plans with Antika. He loved being around her. He also loved that he was able to knock her ex-boyfriend off his high horse, at least for a while. He even loved the idea of pretending to be engaged to her to throw Kendall off his scent. But the more he thought about this fake engagement, the more he regretted going about things this way.

He entered the crowded bar. Music blasting, glasses clinking, and people took up practically every square inch of the place. He pushed past a few who stood near the entrance, then glanced around.

“Hey, handsome.” A petite woman who barely looked of legal age stood before him with a sweet smile on her face and sparkling hazel eyes gazing up at him. “Can I buy you a drink?”

He smirked. He wished he could say that was a new one, but some women had changed up their tactics. “Nah, sweetheart. I’m good.”

Drevon moved away from her before she could say anything else. At first, he didn’t see the guys, but then he spotted Montez waving from one of the back booths. Considering the crowd, they’d gotten lucky to snag a table.

As Drevon headed that way, he ordered a whiskey from a passing server and pointed to where he’d be sitting. When he reached the table, he slid in next to Montez.

“So I guess congratulations are in order, huh?” his cousin said dryly. “I can’t believe you asked that woman to marry you…in front of witnesses. That’s crazy, man. Even Jet hasn’t done anything that idiotic.”

Jet chuckled, not even embarrassed because Montez wasn’t wrong. Their friend pushed the limits on almost everything, always keeping them entertained.

Jet took a long drag on his beer. “I’m starting to think that Kendall fucked with your brain, man, because you haven’t been right in the head since you two broke up.”

Drevon huffed out a breath. He knew his friend was kidding, but hell, Dre was starting to question his own sanity. He had not thought that proposal all the way through.

Montez and Jet tossed verbal jabs at him left and right, and all Drevon could do was grin and bear it until they wore themselves out. He expected them to have some laughs at his expense. The two kept harassing him brutally until the server brought his drink to the table.

“So am I ever going to meet my future cousin-in-law?” Montez asked, only half-kidding.

“And what are you guys going to tell your parents and everyone else? Oh and I’m sure Ms. Vi will straight up trip over the news since she is the one who threw you two together,” Jet said on a laugh.

Drevon ran his hand over his beard as fifty million thoughts bombarded him at once.

Nope, he definitely hadn’t thought everything through. It was a wonder that Antika hadn’t kicked his ass or ran for the hills. He had screwed up everything, but he wasn’t defeated. He was going to ride this situation out until the end.

He told the guys that he and Antika had gone back and forth on how much to share with their loved ones. Neither wanted to lie to their family. They decided they’d give Jet, Montez, and Tamera the truth, and they wouldn’t say anything to the rest of the family unless it was absolutely necessary. There was a slight chance that the news wouldn’t get out to the media.

Their biggest concern was their immediate family. If the news did get out, they’d tell them as little as possible, with the promise of filling them in soon. Drevon hoped it didn’t get that far, especially knowing that his parents—especially his mother—would kill him for lying about the engagement and roping Antika into it.

“I don’t know this for sure, but I think my mom asked you to go out with Antika because she was playing matchmaker,” Montez admitted. “At the time, there wasn’t a shortage of men or whatever nonsense she told you.”

After spending time with Antika, Drevon had figured as much. His Aunt Vi had always been sneaky—in a good way. But she might not have been wrong about him and Antika. He could already tell why his aunt thought they’d be a good fit. Antika was amazing. He liked everything about her. At least what he knew of her so far.

Besides that, she was a good distraction. Kendall had finally left him a voice message, complaining about how rude it was of him to not return her calls. She hadn’t said anything else, but he was sure she wanted something. He just didn’t know what…yet.

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