“Ever heard of long-distance?”
“You’ve got this all figured out, don’t you?”
I laugh. “Considering it came to me about, oh, twenty-four hours ago, I’m thinking on the fly here.”
Simon taps his fingers on the velvet of the chair. It’s the only sign that he’s thinking this over. Everything about him seems so intentional and purposeful. I guess that comes with the territory of being a bodyguard.
“What do you need from me to make this work?”
I blow out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Considering I’ll need a date to all the wedding events, it’ll be a lot.”
“Okay.” He nods his head.
“And some dates around town. Just to make it seem real.”
“Okay.”
“That’s it? Okay?”
“What? Do you want me to be more difficult, love?”
Love. There is that word is again. Why do I love hearing that roll off his tongue so much?
“No, I don’t. Does this mean you’re agreeing to it?”
Simon pushes up off the chair, coming to stand in front of me. He holds out a hand, pulling me up.
“Yes, I am, Layla. I will be your fake boyfriend. And whatever else that entails.”
“Simon. Thank you.”
My eyes drift past him, glancing around my store. This is the reason I’m doing this. To make sure the people of this town deem me worthy of running a store that helps others feel beautiful.
“We’ll need to swap numbers.”
“Look at you, asking for my number already.” I try to add some levity. Now that Simon has agreed, things just got a lot more real.
“I like getting numbers from all of the pretty girls.”
“All?” I quirk a brow at him. “Will I have arealgirlfriend back home in London to compete with?”
I hold my breath waiting for his answer. If Simon has a girlfriend, this whole thing is off. I don’t want to get in the middle and make things messy for him.
“I wouldn’t have said yes if that were the case.”
“I’m glad my boyfriend is a stand-up guy then.”
Simon steps closer, his tea and lemon scent invading my senses. “Do you need me to bring you some roses to really seal the deal?”
“No roses. Not my thing.”
“Guess I’ll have to get creative then.”
The silence of the store is loud around us. I can’t believe this man is going to help me save this place.
I have no idea if this slightly insane and desperate plan will work. It could succeed, or it could ruin everything. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know I couldn’t do it without Simon who is so willingly stepping up to help.
“And will this interfere with your schedule?” I ask.
