Page 71 of The Havenport Collection

I smiled and felt a little defensive of Declan. “Oh, I’m sure that’s just rumors. And speaking of brilliant and accomplished, Declan has been filling me in on your booming business and all his innovative ideas for the future.”

The Captain coughed and looked at Declan, who beamed with pride. It felt good, bragging about my fake boyfriend. Was this what real relationships were like? Two people having each other’s backs and taking on the world together? Because that sounded really good right about now.

Declan pulled me close, as if trying to shield me from their well-intentioned questions.

The Quinns seemed like kind, helpful people who really loved their kids.

It made me feel a bit jealous actually. I couldn’t imagine my mother ever caring about whom I was dating, and she was definitely not a spontaneous hugger.

After we chatted with his parents for a bit, they excused themselves to find some of their friends. Mrs. Quinn specifically noted how excited she was for me to attend Liam and Cece’s engagement party in February.

As soon as they were out of sight, Declan grabbed me by the shoulders. “I have never seen my mom like that in my life.” He took off his hat and ran his hands through his hair. “And the way you told my dad I was brilliant? Thank you.”

I smiled at him, feeling a warmth spread throughout my body.

“Wow. This is going to work, Astrid. It’s going to work.” His smile was so broad, so genuine it broke my heart a bit. Why couldn’t his parents just accept him as he was? Why did he need a fake girlfriend to win their approval? And why was I so sad that we were succeeding at faking a relationship?

Pull yourself together. This is the plan.

Stick with the plan. He doesn’t want to be your real boyfriend, and the last thing you need is a distraction.

This is a mutually beneficial arrangement to help you get your life back on track .

“So did I earn a taco?” I gazed up at Declan and batted my eyelashes.

“Sweetheart, you earned a dozen tacos. Let’s feed you.”

My fake boyfriend certainly knew the way to my heart.

This was one of the most fun nights I’d had in years.

The Christmas tree fire was incredible. Declan had introduced me to his other brother, Callum, and asked him to take a picture of us.

We posed in front of the massive pile of trees before it was lit, and it was easily five times as tall as we were.

We took a few pictures, including one where he was kissing the side of my head while I laughed.

Logically, I knew I should post it on Instagram as evidence of our relationship, but part of me wanted to keep it private, a sweet reminder of this surprisingly fun evening.

“So you and Khal Drogo, huh?” Callum was studying us curiously. I stood up a little straighter, meeting his eye. I wasn’t about to let his skepticism get under my skin. Callum was the complete opposite of Declan. He looked like a young congressman in his expensive wool coat and cashmere scarf.

I smiled. “I get that reference!” I realized after the fact that I sounded like a total dork.

Declan put his arm around me. “I’ve been catching Astrid up on all the TV and movies she’s missed. We’re currently watching Game of Thrones .”

Callum seemed confused, so I tried to explain. “I haven’t consumed much pop culture for the past ten years. I’ve been working nonstop and haven’t made time to keep up with this stuff.”

Declan put his arm around me. “I will happily educate you.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I tried to suppress a giggle.

“How do you feel about superheroes, Astrid? My brother is obsessed,” Callum teased.

Declan looked sheepish. “I read a lot of comics as a kid.”

“I haven’t seen any superhero movies.”

“There are dozens of them.”

“I’m only really interested in the ones with female heroes.”

“Oh, that’s easy, there are only like three of those.”

“Shocker,” I deadpanned.

We ended up watching the fire being lit with Callum and some of the other friends from town.

Nora was there with Cece and Maggie, and Emily and Derek came over to say hi.

Aunt Connie had taken their kids home, so they were craving some adult time.

We all sat and drank beers and spiked hot chocolate.

I didn’t know Derek that well, but it turned out he was hilarious.

He had us rolling with stories of his architecture clients, all delivered in his signature Texas twang.

Emily and Derek were clearly obsessed with each other in a very affectionate, public way.

Not my style at all, but I had to admit it was sweet.

It warmed my heart to see them so happy together after a decade of marriage and three kids. Emily deserved all the good things.

I felt welcomed and accepted into this group of friends. Every few minutes Declan looked at me, and I felt warmth spread across my body. His intense gaze unnerved and excited me.

At one point, a strikingly attractive Asian man wandered over and was chatting with the group. He looked familiar, but in the dark it was hard to place him.

Suddenly, Callum was introducing me. Turns out I was standing in front of Lucas Kim. Tech genius-Forbes 30 under 30-MIT grad-reclusive billionaire Lucas Kim. I was starstruck.

“This is Declan’s girlfriend, Astrid.”

I shook his hand and stared at him.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said as he smiled. I nodded mutely.

Declan, sensing my hysteria, chimed in. “Astrid is visiting Havenport for a while. She is an attorney, most recently at Burns & Glenn in Boston.”

Lucas Kim smiled. “Wow. That’s great. I have used them over the years for a variety of business. That is very impressive.” I almost choked on my tongue. Lucas Kim thought I was impressive?

Get it together, Astrid. You’re a Wentworth, for Christ’s sake. “Thank you. I had the pleasure of working on some matters for you a few years back. The acquisition of ScansTic?”

“Wow.” He gave me a dazzling smile. “You were on that team? Fantastic. That was a tricky one but it worked out beautifully for us. Charlie, my general counsel, isn’t very forthcoming with praise, so let me just say thank you.

” For a billionaire genius he was one of the most genuine, friendly people I had ever met.

He instantly put everyone at ease. Everyone except Nora, who was currently shooting eye daggers at him.

I blushed and I could feel Declan shift uncomfortably next to me.

“Don’t thank me, it was a big team and I just did my part.

And don’t be too hard on Charlie—he had a lot going on and put in some long hours with our team.

He flew to meet us in Delaware for the bankruptcy hearing on one day’s notice. ”

“I forgot about that. You’re right. He is a good guy and certainly keeps my ass in line. What a small world, seeing you here in Havenport.”

We chatted for a few more minutes about people we knew in common and how I was liking Havenport. He made the rounds, talking to everyone, including Derek, who he seemed to be quite friendly with.

I turned to Declan who was standing with Callum. “How do you guys know Lucas Kim?”

Callum chuckled. “Luke? He plays basketball with us on Sunday mornings.”

“He is a hell of a point guard,” Declan mumbled.

“So you’re friends with him?”

“Pretty much. He’s always around town raising money and participating in events. He’s a really good guy,” Callum said.

Declan stood quietly sipping his beer. He seemed uneasy. I shifted in my boots, since I had developed a very painful blister on my right heel. I knew I should have broken these in.

After another hour, I was pleasantly buzzed, full of tacos, and cursing these damn cute boots.

I should have bought the ugly ones. They probably lasted decades and felt like your feet were being spooned by fluffy clouds.

Instead I went for the cute ones. And the cute ones always got you.

Chewing your feet to shit and leaving you with lifelong scars.

Despite the freezing cold, it had been a really fun night.

Declan was the perfect fake boyfriend—he bought me tasty things to eat, introduced me to people, and snuggled me into his broad warm chest when I started to get cold.

The problem was that he was making me feel a lot of things.

Things I shouldn’t be feeling and definitely did not want to deal with at the moment.

I was confused, happy, and more than a little bit turned on.

I knew I couldn’t act on it. My rules forbid it, and my brain knew it was bad.

But my vagina, that sneaky bitch, kept urging me on, tingling at the smallest bit of contact.