Page 50 of Love Arranged

But if I want to see an impact on my town approval rating, I need to step out of my comfort zone, and doing so means ditching the clipboard and heading toward the crowded tent full of people, dogs, and Lily.

It isn’t fair for me to use her after I rejected her. I’m well aware of that, and honestly I’m ashamed by the idea, but not enough to stop myself. I have too much on the line and not enough time to come up with a better plan.

Lily catches me by surprise by waving at me. A few people turn to see who she’s looking at, including myself, only for me to curse when I don’t see anyone around.

After shaking off my foolishness, I dip my head underneath the tent and instantly notice the drop in temperature.

Lily walks over to me when my eyes are closed. “Here.” She presses a cold water bottle against my chest.

“Look at you caring about my well-being.”

“Well, unfortunately for me, you can’t become mayor if you’re dead,” she replies with a toothy smile.

“Since when do you care whether I win the election?”

“Since I realized you’re the best of two bad options.”

I place a hand over my heart. “Can I use that quote on an ad?”

“If you want my endorsement, I’m sure there are better quotes you can use.”

I consider that the green light to absolve my guilt and continue my experiment because I can’t think of a better endorsement than her company.

Someone standing nearby shifts a few feet closer to us, and I grin.

Willow will be pleased.

Lily’s gaze falls to my mouth. “What?”

“Nothing.” I crack open the water bottle she gave me and drink half of it in a few gulps. Her eyes drop to my throat before she quickly looks away, her cheeks burning like she was standing in the sun.

Clearly affection may come and go, but attraction is a lot more difficult to shake.

I would know.

She doesn’t look at me when she asks, “Don’t you have a parking lot to work?”

“Eh. I think I’ll hang out in here for a bit.”

“Just my luck.” She grimaces.

Nura walks over to us, a wide smile stretching across her face. “How’s it going over here?”

“Good!” Lily clasps her hands together. “I was meaning to come find you. I thought I could switch places with Lorenzo and give him a break from the heat.”

“That’s so nice of you!” Nura cradles her clipboard against her chest.

“It’s not necessary,” I interject.

Lily ignores me and stares straight at Nura. “Really. I don’t mind. I could use a little sun, and he’s been working the lot for an hour already.”

Nura sends Lily off with a new clipboard, ruining my plan to be seen together for longer than a few minutes.

Lily might’ve outsmarted me, but I won’t stop until I prove Willow’s theory correct. But first I need to make sure Lily can’t escape me so easily next time.

9

LILY