Love Arranged (Lakefront Billionaires, #3)(57)

Will it? Because the idea of going on a couples trip with my sister sounds like the final boss level of fake dating.

She expects you to be excited about this, not hesitant.

With a shaky breath, I say, “I’ll have to ask Lorenzo—”

“He’s totally going to say yes.”

“How do you know?”

“Because why wouldn’t he want to spend a whole weekend with you without Mom’s rule about no sleepovers?”

Shit. That’s totally something I’d look forward to if this was a real relationship because my mom is strict with boys. I’m talking no moving in before marriage strict—and definitely no sleepovers because apparently Dahlia and I are still virgins in my mom’s mind.

My sister continues, “So, I’ll have Julian book us two rooms. If Mom asks—which you know she will—tell her we’re sharing one while the boys take the other.”

Oh no.

No. No. No.

It hits me that I’ll have to share a bed with Lorenzo because it will look too weird to ask my sister for a room with two queens.

Well, you did want him to admit that he wants you.

Perfect. This is fate smiling down on me. Really. I couldn’t have planned this any better myself.

Then why are you so nervous about sharing a room?

Dahlia, completely unaware of my struggle, promises to send me the hotel info before she hangs up. I decide to get my call with Lorenzo over with so that way I can concentrate on the rest of my work.

“Are you okay?” Lorenzo asks first thing.

“Hi. Yes, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Just checking.”

My heart, which was already beating faster after the conversation with my sister, picks up speed. “About that… I’m sorry to bother you in the middle of the workday—”

Rustling on his end of the line makes my phone’s speaker crackle. “No worries. Give me a second.”

I hear him excuse himself from whomever he was talking to before I interrupted him.

“I can call back later if you’re busy.”

“It’s fine.” A door shuts in the background. “What’s up?”

“So…I planned a shopping trip with my sister this weekend.”

“And?”

“And it turned into a lot more than I originally bargained for.”

“Lily, as cute as your conversational cliffhangers are, I’m in the middle of a meeting.”

I stop listening once he drops the word cute. I mean, who could pay attention after something like that—

“So if you don’t mind getting to the point…” His sentence hangs there.

“Right!” I’m in such a race to get the words out, I don’t process my thoughts before saying them. “Uh, basically she wants us to join her and Julian on a couples trip to Chicago this weekend, and you and I will have to share a room—and a bed since I can’t ask her for two queens without it looking weird—and she also wants you and Julian to hang out together while we go shopping, so I hope you don’t mind.”

It’s so quiet, I have to check to make sure he didn’t hang up.

“Are you still there?” I ask.

“Appears so.”

“It’ll be fun!” I repeat Dahlia’s words.

“Should we review the meaning of the word?”

I laugh him off. “Maybe fun was a bit of a stretch, but it won’t be the worst weekend ever.”

“With Julian attending, I can guarantee it.”

“Who knows? By the end of it, you two could become the best of friends.”

“In that case, I’ll start making our matching friendship bracelets.”

With a laugh, I hang up the phone, and the smile on my face remains, along with a hint of nerves about spending an entire weekend with Lorenzo, showing him exactly what he’s missing out on by denying himself what he clearly wants.

Me.





CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR


Lorenzo


Julian, Dahlia, and Lily are outside the Mu?oz house when I pull into the driveway that Friday evening. Julian is in the middle of sifting through a toolbox in the back of his truck while Lily is looking at him, panicked.

I hop out of my G-Wagon and walk over to them. “What’s going on?”

Dahlia glances up from her phone. “Julian tried to fix the fountain while we were waiting for you.”

“Did you get it to work?” I ask him.

Julian shakes his head. “I told Lily she’s better off replacing it.”

She makes a face. “I want to keep it.”

“Maybe I can call one of my guys to come take a look, but the parts alone are going to cost more than a new one.”

Typical Julian, wanting to tear anything of value down.

“I’ll cover the cost of fixing it,” I say without thinking twice.

Lily glances over at me with wide eyes. “You don’t have to.”

I pull her into my arms as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. With the number of fake dates we’ve been on, it has become second nature to touch her, to keep her close.

I’ve even come to enjoy the little flutter in my chest that occurs whenever we’re in proximity to one another, which I never thought was possible.