Other titles readBentons Hiding a Secret Prince With a Crooked Crown.OrAnother Billionaire Benton & His (Not So) Fake Engagement.
That particular article included comments from the town’s live feed on social media.I spotted Justine and Burke making out in quiet cornersduring the town’s autumn festival, one comment read. The name had been blacked out on the article.If they were faking it,the townsperson continued, they fooled me.
Justine made the great mistake of answering her phone to an unknown caller who asked for a statement regarding the story. “Were you in on the property scheme all along, or did Burke actually fool you into thinking he was in love?”
Hanging up on him was as good as sayingno comment, so that’s what she’d done. And then she’d gone on to block unknown callers completely.
Brittany got her own personal highlight in each article as the official stirrer of the pot. Most featured a snapshot of her at the podium with an “official quote”:“I have nothing against the Benton family. In fact, I’m a huge fan. I had no idea they were even related. As two-time winner of the Pie Princess Pageant, I just want to protect the city of Piney Falls to the best of my ability.”
Gag. What did she think this was, some popularity pageant? Brittany was shallow and horrible and…and a good target for Justine to gear her anger toward amidst so much confusion.
No doubt Burke and the Benton family had been bombarded in all of this. Yet for all of their willingness to show up to the town’s event, they hadn’t come out with one public statement on the topic. Nothing claiming that Burke was, in fact, family. Nothing that denied it either. And also, nothing speaking to the purchase of the property or the fake engagement that had fooled even her.
A quick glance at the clock said it was time to get moving. Who knew if word about the county meeting had gotten out? It was possible she’d be greeted by a band of paparazzi at the entrance.
That wouldn’t stop her. If nothing else, Justine wanted to save face. Some had accused her of being part of the ruse, after all. Of purposely turning a blind eye to the county’s warning so that Burke could cash in on another million. Perhaps her efforts to give the town a voice would help clear her name.
Justine was fooling herself to think her objective stopped there. Burke had promised he’d explain things. He’d said he still wanted to be her prince—to be worthy of that. A deep, nagging ache tore through her heart.
She wanted that too. In fact, she’d never wanted anything so much in her life. She didn’t want to believe Burke would, even for a second, purposely deceive her. Merely entertaining that idea made her nauseous.
But hehadbeen so…willing to step up and help her out. First with her grandfather, then with the whole town. Could someone be so cruel and conniving to go to such great lengths, all for the sake of scoring it big on their next sale?
One article suggested that Burke was buddy-buddy with the owner of D & L Factories,and that his jacked-up property price included a guarantee to help them cut through the red tape.
Justine hated believing horrible things like that. And if she thought back on her time with Burke, she was positive that wasn’t the case. Except that…people had surprised her before. Some people, like her own mother, were capable of disappointing her to painful, irrevocable degrees. She just hoped that Burke Benton wasn’t one of them.
Chapter 28
Burke blew out a slow breath through pursed lips as he sat in the passenger seat of Zander’s Stingray.
“Oh, man,” Duke said, his voice booming from the phone’s speaker. “If we can pull this one off, it will be epic.”
Zander nodded. “Beyond epic. Just figuring out the guy’s name—that was epic move number one.”
“Seriously,” Burke agreed with a nod. They had Sawyer to thank for that. “Epic move number two was getting the guy to respond to us.”
“True,” Duke said from the line. “But not many people can ignore a woman like Lorraine Benton.”
“Right,” Zander agreed.
Burke rested a hand on the dash wile Zander took a sharp turn. He glanced at his phone. “Says we’ll be there in eight minutes, which is good since that’s exactly when the meeting starts.”
“We are cutting it close,” Duke said through the line. “I’m dying. What is taking James so long?”
Burke had been wondering the same thing. It felt like fuses were lit inside his chest, ready to trigger an explosion that would either elate or devastate him depending on the outcome.
“Patience,” Zander said. “Burke was the one to come up with the offer—epic move number four—and now we just need James to pull off the final feat of getting him to accept it.”
“Wait,” Duke said. “You skipped epic move number three. Finding out whatMr. DLdidn’t already have.”
“You guys did great at that,” Burke said.
And that they had. Zander and Duke had spent hours researchingMr. DL,as they’d called him, and discovered the properties he owned and what he did with each. Burke used those details to make him an offer hehopedhe couldn’t refuse. An offer that James—with his knack for negotiations—was presenting at that very moment.
Duke groaned through the line. “James has way more patience than we do.”
“Speak for yourself,” Zander said. “I’m patient. Seven minutes left.”
