The realization had stung because she’d supported him, had wanted him to fulfill his dreams as she chased her own. Unfortunately, he chased them so far, he forgot to take her along.
And now he was asking her to fake the one thing he’d never been willing to give her?
“You’re not serious,” she finally said, anger bubbling deep within her.
His stern face and steady stare told her he was quite serious. Now she just had to think about how badly she wanted this job. Planning a celebrity wedding would be invaluable. It would open doors she wouldn’t be able to get close to on her own. She’d been willing to see Luke again, to put her pride on the line, to beg. But he was asking for much more than that.
“Is there any other way around this?” she asked hopefully.
“Not if you want that appointment.”
“What all would this pretending entail?” she asked, still quite skeptical and not at all amused.
Was she seriously considering this craziness? Pretending to be engaged would require much more emotional work than she’d been willing to do when she first came in here. She actually hadn’t even thought that Luke would require something in return, but he hadn’t become a successful businessman by giving everything away.
Luke shrugged. “A few social-media posts, public appearances. You’d need to be here a few nights with me so everything seems authentic. Some PDA wouldn’t hurt, either.”
Public displays of affection? They wouldn’t hurt? Kissing, touching, pretending would hurt. There was no way she could be in that type of situation and not recall everything she’d once dreamed of having with him and ultimately lost.
Damn it, he’d gotten shrewd since she’d left...
Okay, fine. She wanted this wedding. So she could play the game. She’d loved him once, so pretending to love him shouldn’t be difficult. At least now, she knew how things would end. There wouldn’t be naive stars in her eyes. She wouldn’t lose her heart this time and she would stay in control. Besides, she’d be too busy planning the celebrity wedding of the year to get wrapped up with her ex, right?
“Fine.” She moved closer to him and held out her hand. “It’s a deal. And after the wedding, we’re over. For good this time.”
“Sounds good to me.”
He took her hand and her heart began pounding. Her stomach knotted once again, and she knew in that instant that she was in trouble.
Playing her ex’s pretend fiancée.
What the hell had she just gotten herself into?
Copyright © 2021 by Jules Bennett
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ISBN-13: 9781488070648
One Week to Claim It All
Copyright © 2021 by Adriana Herrera
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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One Week to Claim It All Page 17