I shrugged. “We stage a fight and use it as an excuse to break up. We’ll obviously still be in each other’s lives, because we’re co-parenting, but we can otherwise go our separate ways. No one else needs to know it was fake.”
“Wait,” she said, taken aback. “You actually want to co-parent with me?”
“Yes!” I barked out, frustrated she didn’t believe me. “Of course I want to co-parent with you. This plan and the baby are two separate things,” I explained. “We’ll fake being engaged, yes. But we’re going to be real parents at the end of all of this. And I intend to be part of my child’s life. That commitment is in placewhether you agree to this deal or not. I’m not using our child as some tool to win you over.”
She absorbed that in silence. I was practically bursting, waiting for her answer.
“I don’t know,” she finally said.
“Isla—”
“It’s messy, Locke. It could go badlysomany different ways.”
“I know that, but the positives outweigh those potential negatives.”
“Do they?” She huffed, listing things off on her fingers. “The pretending. Getting our stories straight. Convincing my father, who’s probably one of the most stubborn people I know.”
“I know that?—”
She made a derisive sound, cutting me off. “If people found out we were lying about things, it wouldruinboth of our reputations.” Her hands slid down over her stomach. “Plus, I’m a little busy running an inn and growing your child.”
“But this deal could give us both what we want.” It could repair my company’s reputation and let Isla keep access to the land that meant so much to her.
“Come on, Ranger,” she said and started walking away, completely dismissing me.
Ihadto get her to agree. Things were becoming desperate…not that I wanted her to see that. I racked my brain, trying to come up with something I could use to convince her that this was the best plan.
“The house,” I blurted out. She froze mid-step.Yes!
She turned, slowly, to face me again. “What?”
“Yourhouse.” I pointed down the trail. “You talked about how much it meant to you. What if, instead of tearing it down, we restore it?”
She caught her lip between her teeth. “You’re serious?”
“You be my fake fiancée, help me win over your dad, and not only will I let the public have access to the land, but I’ll save and restore your childhood home. We could turn it into a special family rental or an event space or…something.” I painted a vision and hoped she saw it. “Either way, all those memories with your mother, all of those things you loved so much about your time there, will be preserved. And one day, you’ll get to share them with our son or daughter.”
Isla’s eyes were glassy as I stopped talking. “If you think that you screwed up over that Rover comment, imagine how much angrier my father will be if he finds out this has all been a lie,” she ground out. “If the town finds out, be ready for pitchforks and protestors outside your door.”
“No one will find out.” I could pull this off.Wewould pull this off.
“Don’t be sure about that. The rumor mill is strong in Braeburn, and someone always finds out.”
“I’ve got it completely under control.”
“Whatever you say, Poshpants.” She waved goodbye and headed for the woods at a jog, Ranger trailing after her. As I watched her go, I questioned whether I really did.
7
ISLA
“Istill can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” I’d been tossing and turning at night, imagining all the ways this could go wrong.
“It was the right decision. Everyone wins this way,” Locke said and I wasn’t so sure about that. Yes, I would love to have my family home restored and the surrounding area available to everyone, but was faking a relationship the best way to go about it? Probably not, but here we were.
“You’re sure she’s in there?” Locke asked, fixing the collar of his shirt in the reflection of the café door. He was more dressed down today than I’d ever seen him, in stylish jeans and a simple polo shirt, though I suspected the whole ensemble was off some luxury rack in Paris. Still, I took a moment to admire his arms. I might now be playing his fake fiancée, but the bicep appreciation was very real. “Isla?”
I shook off those muscly thoughts, grabbing the door handle. “Yep, Cat just texted me to say Jo arrived, and Maisie is holding the fort down at the inn, so now’s our chance.”
