Page 130 of Love Arranged

“Yes,” I answer honestly.

Dahlia laughs. “Likewise.”

“I’ll have to learn to like him eventually, especially after tonight—” Julian cuts himself off rather abruptly.

“What’s happening tonight?” Dahlia looks over at him.

Julian glances away, which only feeds my sister’s curiosity.

“Julian,” she says while grabbing his chin. “What is it?”

His gaze flickers over me before dipping down to her. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”

Dahlia gasps. “Why not tell me now?”

He tilts his head in my direction, and my sister’s eyes go wide.

Dread settles in my gut now that the jewelry Lorenzo bought me makes sense. He must’ve picked it out while choosing myring.

My heart takes up permanent residence in my throat, and my skin threatens to break out into hives at the idea of nearly two hundred people witnessing a proposal tonight.

I don’t think I could’ve thought up a worse proposal if I tried.

Did you expect a romantic declaration of love for a fake relationship?

It seems silly to get upset about it, especially given our original agreement, but I can’t help it.

Are you upset about the type of proposal or the fact that it’s a fake one?

This kind of reality check would’ve been useful weeks ago, because how the hell am I supposed to tell Lorenzo we need to hold off on the entire fake proposal plan? Am I supposed to say that up until now I was fine with it, but now I’m having second thoughts because Ilikehim?

Can I really tell Lorenzo thatHey, maybe we should put everything on pause because there is a slight chance I might want him to propose for real one day?

I’d laugh if I didn’t feel like throwing up at the idea.

Take a deep breath.

There is no need to panic yet. When I see him, I’ll pull him aside and tell him to prolong the original plan. Maybe even extend it by two moremonths—that way we can continue monitoring the polling numbers and see whether they continue to improve without going the extra step.

I abandon Dahlia and Julian so I can talk to Lorenzo about it. Willow points me in his direction, and I’m relieved to find him standing by himself out on the balcony, hiding from the two hundred people milling about the ballroom inside.

“Lorenzo,” I call his name, and he turns with a smile.

The doors shut behind me, cutting us off from all the noise happening in the ballroom. It only makes the blood pounding in my ears sound louder.

“Lily,” he says with a smile similar to the lawn signs around town, and I instantly know I’m too late.

* You’re sobeautiful.

* Very beautiful.

31

LORENZO

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of proposing to Lily at the fundraising dinner. We’re surrounded by her family and two hundred townspeople who will help spread the word about our love.

If this were a real proposal, I’d hesitate to pop the question because of the sour look on her face. For someone who orchestrated this entire sham, she doesn’t appear the least bit enthusiastic to move on to Phase Two.