Page 30 of The Love Hoax

“But?”

He grins. A mischievous, delicious grin. “It would be great if you played the role of Ronna, my loving fiancée.”

I desperately want to say yes. Honestly, if he asked me to skydive off Half Dome, I’d say yes.

And yet. I can’t ignore the low buzz in the back of my mind. “No qualms about lying to your family?”

Adam chews his bottom lip. I wonder how it would feel if it was my ear lobe.

I tell myself to get a grip.

He says, “At the end of the day, you’re right. It is a scam. But it’s one of those white lies where no one gets hurt. If anything, they’ll all be happy. No harm, no foul.”

Adam seems sure of himself. While the lying part makes me uncomfortable—significantly so—I understand his predicament. Like he said, no one will get hurt. And I owe him.

I meet his eyes. “I gave you my word. To me, that’s sacrosanct.”

“Not only beautiful but loyal.”

I’m grateful for the dark. He can’t see the blush rising to my cheeks.

All I can think of is,he thinks I’m beautiful!I try hard to silence my inner teenager, again.

“You do see the irony, right?” he asks.

“You mean keeping my word about tricking other people.”

He shrugs.

“Yep, it does seem funny but there you go.”

The corners of his lips lift and he wiggles his brows. “Does that mean you’re in?”

“I’m in,” I say laughing. Seriously, I’ve laughed more in the lasttwenty-four hours than in ages. Even with the FF club. “Just to be clear, I’m not quite the saint you’re conjuring up. Who doesn’t love a good con?”

This time it’s Adam who lets out a hearty guffaw. He sticks out a hand which I shake. “Welcome aboard.”

Chapter Twenty

Adam

The cold gets too much even for me but this outdoor venture is working like a charm. Evie is fully on board, no longer yawning. When she patted my arm, I couldn’t tell if she was flirting. Though I’ve improved some in recent years, I’m still lacking at reading women. But one thing was clear, my skin reacted to her touch like it was a bolt of electricity.

Evie’s wearing a hodgepodge of my clothes and I can think of nothing sexier.

Except for maybe a lacy, black teddy. It takes all my self-control to push the image away.

I need to get a grip!

Evie would never see me as a viable lover. She’s nothing like the directionless, insecure women I’ve met in recent years. The ones looking for an “experience” out West. Evie is an accomplished, metropolitan, confident woman with grown kids. Surely, shewants a responsible city man, with a stable job who owns a closetful of dark business suits and is on the board of several charities.

We’re both shivering now and we head back inside to the sofa, where Evie and I review our fictional backstory. Where we met, how we fell for each other.

Her cover, as we begin to call it, is Ronna Rosen, a divorcée from New York City. It works well given it’s where I told my family my fiancée resided. The fact that Evie actually lives there saves a lot of trouble.

“Okay, now for the grueling particulars,” I say, holding back a yawn. I’m beyond tired now and have no idea how I’m keeping my eyes open. Other than having a beautiful woman seated near me.

“When is your birthday?” I ask, pulling out my phone.