Page 13

“Yeah, Dad had PR working on it all day.”
“And this is phase one? How many phases are there?”
He twists his lips. “Listen, I know I got us into this mess-”
“No, it’s fine.” Seriously, better than fine. “We’re in this together. A team. We’ll figure it out.”
He blinks, almost like he’s taken aback.
“What?”
“Gabriel said you were, uh…” he trails off, seeming to search for the right word.
Unenthused? Uninterested? Unwilling? Yeah, because I didn’t want to marry him.
“I could’ve done more with the wedding planning,” I admit. “But he and Mackenzie were really into it. I always felt in the way.” I set the packet down, unsure how to voice this next part. “But this is different. I-” I bite my tongue before I confess it was him I was interested in from the start. Pretty sure that’ll scare him off. “I want to make this work.”
He narrows his eyes slightly. “So the deal will go through,” he clarifies.
“Right.” Can’t forget this whole thing is a ruse.
He scratches at the back of his neck, gaze flicking away from me. “Dad’s lawyers are working on a post-nuptial for us. It’s nothing against you-”
I hold up a hand to stop him. “I understand. My parents had one.”
Relief flashes in his eyes for a brief moment. “Mine too.”
There’s a lull and I flip through the marketing packet again for something to do. “Are you going to work tomorrow?” He nods. “Maybe we could go out to lunch? I can meet you at your office so people will see us, and then we can go to Evergreen?” I point to the open page. “It’s on the list.”
He considers me for a second, the weight of his gaze rooting me to the spot. “Good plan. I’ll make reservations.”
I release a breath, resisting the urge to bask in his praise. See, we’re already working together well.
Now to just have him fall in love with me.