“I want you to man up and make an engagement announcement. Right after you give her a ring. Like I said, go big or go home.”
My gut churns.
This is getting way too real, but he has a point.
“Now?” I planned on waiting just a little while before going in hot with the ring. I don’t know why I feel a live current in my nerves.
“Now,” he echoes. “Commit to the ruse. Your fans will eat it up, especially all the ladies who love a wedding, even if they’re turning green. Feed the happy people your happily-ever-after.”
“Easy for you to say,” I growl.
“Your parents will buy it if a million people do.” He smirks. “They’ll see what they want to see. If you look like you’re happy and in love, they’ll see you with a girl and a big ol’ ring, and their mind will put the rest together.”
“Apart from the skeptics, you mean. And the unhinged types. Do you know there are stalkers online who fixate about everything? Shit, I had two nutjobs in my comments the other week telling me the corgi we picked up was AI and wasn’t real.”
He laughs. “You’ll always have those, no matter what. But peoplewantto believe in the happy endings, boss. Give them their show.”
Damn, he’s right.
What I told my parents was right too. This will be good for our brand.
People want proof I’m not a raging asshole or some infantile playboy who changes models like socks.
Lena’s a vet nurse. Relatable and sexy and strong. The perfect partner for the biggest crime of my life.
It’s why I chose her.
I can’t get cold feet now when I have a reputation to unfuck. And Lena—she doesn’t strike me as a quitter. She might regret signing on to this, but she won’t bow out.
As long as I can pull this off.
As long as she’s on board.
It’s bizarre to shove this entire deception into the public eye, but maybe it’s exactly the kind of weirdness we need.
I pull out my phone and start texting Lena, asking when she can meet me.
“Remember, you said it first. I’ll need your help.”
Luis groans. “Where would you be without me?”
“She’ll meet us soon. Let’s expedite the announcement.”
IX
Stray Cat
(Lena)
I’ve never felt so out of place anywhere in my life.
Brady lives in a two-floor penthouse suite that looks over half the city, which shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does.
Yes, the place isnice.
I mean, bonkers, off-the-wall fancy with sleek marble, natural wood finishes, and these artsy light fixtures that look like they’re straight out of a museum.
The kind of place where a girl might relax in a classy red dress and sip champagne as she lords over Puget Sound through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls masquerading as windows. Or at leastlordover it vicariously through Brady.
