Page 45

I took a healthy step back. “H-hello.”
“Levi, are you trying to steal one of my candidates?”
Silence stretched out between the three of us, and I looked up at the man I was marrying, silently asking how he was going to play this.
“I’m afraid she can’t be hired,” he said, and his arm came to rest around my shoulders. “She’s gonna be my wife. We just picked out a ring.”
Sally’s jaw dropped, and I had to resist the urge to let the same thing happen to mine. “You two are together? Gettingmarried?”
“Yes,” I said. “Suprise?”
I looked at Levi with wide eyes, hoping he’d take the lead on this one. I had no idea what story we were going to go with, and I’d spent most of our lunch freaking out about how nice he was being that I didn’t think to ask about our story as a fake couple.
“We’ve been together in secret for a while,” he said. “And known each other since we were in high school. She didn’t tell me that she needed a job, and I had to inform her that I would be happy to take care of anything she needs.”
“I-I’m secretive about money sometimes,” I said. “And I did hear your company was good.”
“You’re not working for me.”
“Luckily, we talked it all out last night and at lunch today. That’s when we decided we were ready to take the next step.”
“I see,” Sally said slowly, but then her face brightened. “She’s who you spend your nights with. I don’t know how you kept a straight face when I was telling you about your boyfriend!”
“He doesn’t spendeverynight with me,” I rushed to say.
“No, I do. She’s just shy about it.”
What was he doing? I was trying to give him an out. Why did we need to say he was that dedicated to me? He could still continue doing his other stuff on the side.
I pushed down the angry pang in my chest at the mere thought of anything else he could be doing. This was a fake marriage. I didn’t need to get defensive about a man who was marrying me for revenge.
“Well, I, for one, am happy for you, but also sad because you would have fit in great here.”
“I still could—” I began, but I was cut off by Levi.
“She still thinks I’m not going to take care of her. Isn’t that hilarious?”
Sally smiled. “Very funny. Don’t worry about anything, Amy. You’ve just hit the jackpot of men. Oh, we should have a party!”
“No need,” I said immediately. “I’m not good about parties.”
Levi’s eyes cut to me, and for once, I knew exactly how he knew this little fact about me.
“Are you sure? We love to celebrate things.”
“I’m not good with all of the attention.”
“Come to the wedding, then,” he said. “We can all celebrate.”
I smiled, but it was tight. If people he knew came, then it was going to be a slog of listening to congratulations for him and not for me. I was used to it, being Calvin’s sister and all, but I wanted to make it through our fake vows and get this over with, not prolong it.
“I’ll invite a few of the ladies at the office and we’ll take enough pictures for everyone.”
That would have to do.
But then Sally turned to me. “But trust me, you’re not getting off easy. Prepare for questions at the holiday parties later this year.”
Perfect. I doubted we would even last that long. “I’ll be ready,” I lied, forcing a bright smile on my face.