Page 77 of Make-Believe Match

What could I do? I picked up one and slipped it through the hole in my earlobe, then the other.

“Beautiful,” he said. “Just perfect. Have a look.”

Reluctantly, I faced my reflection in the mirror over the dresser. “They are beautiful,” I said, turning my head this way and that. The pearls dangled from small diamond studs that sparkled as they caught the light. My eyes filled with tears. “I’m—I’m overwhelmed. Thank you.”

He patted my shoulder. “Love is overwhelming. But it’s also a gift. Just enjoy it.”

FOURTEEN

devlin

When I reachedBuckley’s Pub, I knocked on the locked glass door. Xander appeared on the other side, turned the bolt, and let me in. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey.” I strolled inside. “The place looks fucking great, Xander. Congrats.”

“Thanks.” His voice was oddly stern, and I turned around to see him standing there with his thick, tattooed arms folded across his chest. Eyes narrowed. Wide stance.

“What?” I asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because I’m trying to figure out if you’re crazy or just an asshole.”

“What do you mean?”

“Barely two weeks ago, you told me there was a girl standing in the way of closing a deal. You told me she couldn’t stand you. You told me nothing you said could get through to her. Last night you show up and announce you’re married to her?” He shook his head. “Something here does not add up.”

I shrugged. “The more we talked, the—”

“Nope. That might work on Dad and the ladies, but it’s not working on me. Tell me you didn’t marry her just to close a deal.”

“What?” My eyes nearly popped, and I clenched my jaw. “Fuck you, Xander. I’d never do that.”

“I didn’t think so,” he allowed, relaxing his stiff posture slightly, “but for the life me, I cannot figure what your game is.”

I exhaled. Ran a hand through my hair.

“You always said you didn’t want to get married or have kids,” he reminded me.

“I know.”

“And that’s changed?”

“Not exactly, but it’s a long story.”

Xander pulled out a chair from a nearby table and plunked himself down. “I got time.”

“I thought you needed me to help move—”

“That was bullshit.” He kicked the chair across from him out from the table. “Now sit down and tell me what the fuck is up.”

Giving in, I dropped onto the chair. “What I say here stays between us.”

“Fine.”

“I’m serious, Xander. Dad can’t know. Austin can’t know. Lexi and I have an understanding. But...” I took off my glasses and cleaned them on my shirt. “She told me she confided in a friend, so I guess I can tell someone the truth too.”

“What’s the truth?”

I spilled it—all of it. About the will, quitting my job, forming the plan, convincing Lexi to go along with it, flying to Vegas, tying the knot.