Love Arranged (Lakefront Billionaires, #3)(30)

“Of course they do.” She has had twenty-eight years to establish herself as a trustworthy person, and it shows.

“And most importantly, I want you to win.”

“Because you don’t like the Ludlows,” I reply, my tone riddled with skepticism.

She keeps her emotions in check, making it hard to get a clear read on her, which only verifies my doubts.

What did the Ludlows do that made Lily switch to my side, and how do I get her to tell me?

So long as you two have the same goal, who cares?

I hesitate—a rarity in itself—before speaking. “If I agree…”

“Which you will, because my plan is the best.” The way she beams at her own idea should be off-putting, but I like her confidence.

Her strong sense of self drew me into her orbit the first time, and it’s the same trait that could threaten the protective barrier I placed around myself after she blew a hole through it months ago.

Reluctantly, I reply, “In theory, yes, your plan is better.”

“There are already some whisperings about us, especially after the sheriff’s station visit and my drunken episode, so planting additional clues won’t be difficult. They’ll have no choice but to believe it because the signs have been there all along.”

It’s alarming how perfect this all sounds.

Dare I say too perfect.

“So the official storyline is that we’ve secretly been in love this whole time but we hid it?”

She nods. “Ever since we met on a dating app last year.”

“And we kept quiet all because your family doesn’t like me?” Disbelief bleeds into the question. “Doesn’t that seem extreme to you?”

“Anyone who has met my family will understand.”

“So all of Lake Wisteria?”

“You got it.”

“And what changed for us?” I ask. “Why did we decide to go public now versus months ago?”

“I couldn’t stand the idea of keeping our love a secret anymore,” she says dramatically. “But I think to sell our engagement, we should give everyone at least two months to adjust to the idea of us being a couple before we hit them with a proposal. Because if we come on too strong, too fast, it could be suspicious.”

“Why bother getting engaged at all? We could fake a relationship and save ourselves from a future headache.”

She pauses to think it out before shaking her head. “No. We need something more…permanent. Something that tells the town you’re all-in.”

I stroke my stubbled chin. “Couples call off engagements all the time.”

“Then we’d better do a good job of convincing people that we won’t.”

Her idea does sound far superior to mine, and it could help revitalize my campaign. But the voice of reason questions what will become of me if I agree to work closely with the one person I swore to avoid.

You can’t become obsessed with someone if you stay away, the voice I fight daily speaks up.

Well, I can’t become mayor if I’m ten points behind my competitor, so there’s that.

I can take careful measures to prevent becoming emotionally attached. It’ll require effort on my end to remind Lily of our arrangement, but I’ve never been afraid of a little hard work.

So, without further delay, I decide to take fate into my own hands.

“Fine. Let’s do this.”

She’s about to open her mouth, but a fire alarm goes off inside the bar, drowning out the noise.

“How do you feel about starting right now?” She fists the loose material of my T-shirt and tugs until my mouth is within striking distance.

It happens so fast, I don’t fully process what Lily is doing until her mouth is pressing against mine, making me forget about the chaos ensuing around us.

All I can think about is how this kiss, along with everything else we do from this point on, will be nothing but a lie.





CHAPTER TWELVE


Lily


It took me five minutes to process Lorenzo’s apology and accept that while I’m still angry at him for the choices he made and the heartache he caused me, I need to put our history aside if I want to save Rose & Thorn. Doing so won’t be easy, but it’ll be way easier than watching the Ludlows destroy me along with my parents’ legacy.

If that requires me to fake that I’m “in love” with Lorenzo, so be it.

Except nothing about our kiss right now feels like pretend.

I have done my best to erase the memory of how Lorenzo’s lips felt—of how they kissed—but all my efforts go to waste because one kiss ruins everything.

The world around us ceases to exist. I’m in no hurry, so I take my time, setting a languid pace he matches, right before he turns the heat up.

I lean against the brick wall behind me because I don’t trust my legs, and Lorenzo follows, his hands finding the curves of my hips. He presses his body into mine, and I gasp at how right it feels to be underneath him.

He grins against my lips, and I kiss it away to spare myself from craving more.

More smiles. More fleeting touches. More of his hard length pressing into my—

Rusty hinges creak, and a burst of cold air hits the side of my face. Lorenzo ignores it, deepening the kiss until I forget about the original plan.