“Please tell me that I can throw a three princess, deluxe party for thirty seven-year-old boys and girls and not break the bank.”
Lucy’s morning consult held the front door to her landmarked house. Delaney had bypassed a traditional greeting. But seeing as Lucy had known Delaney Mayor since grade school soccer at the community center, she wasn’t thrown off.
“You can,” Lucy confirmed, knowing the single mother and sole heir of her family’s real estate business had a pretty large bank account.
“Thank you!” Delaney threw her arms around Lucy encompassing them both in a Chanel perfume cloud. When Delaney released her, the scent lingered in the air. “Now come in and we can talk details. I picked up muffins from the new bakery by Publix after my run.”
“Sounds great.” Lucy followed her host through the old house that had been designed to look like an art deco boat. Delaney had renovated the property but kept the unique floor-to–ceiling, curved glass wall that gave the house its nautical feel. The pool stood directly beyond the glass providing the surreal illusion that the sitting area was floating on the water.
“We’re having the party at my parents’ house again this year. More room there,” Delaney explained as she set out plates, a coffee tray, and the bakery box. “I’m afraid this will be the last time Kia wants a princess party. I’m terrified that this will be the last year she believes. Don’t sleepover parties start around eight? I can’t remember what age the magic princess and fairy tales starts to fade.”
“I’m twenty-five and I still believe.” Lucy claimed a chair at the antique table and accepted a half-filled teacup of coffee.
“True.” Delaney sat opposite her and fixed her own cup, starting with the sugar. “But are you planning to invite all of your girlfriends to meet a trio of princesses for your twenty-sixth?”
“My brother takes me to the parks in Orlando every year.” Lucy reached into the bakery box and silently promised to run an extra mile tomorrow for the rolls she’d eaten this morning, and one for the sugar-topped blueberry scone in her hand. “It’s a tradition we started after our parents passed away. I think Finn wants to visit Harry Potter World again this year. He claims he goes for the Butter Beer.”
“Bless his heart,” Delaney said, resting her right hand on her chest. “How is your brother?”
“He’s good. Still single.”
“Finn’s not for me. We’d drive each other crazy.”
Lucy nodded. Her brother would agree. And it wasn’t soon-to-be eight-year-old Kia that would send him running away from Delaney. Finn was married to his work.
Delaney leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table. “But I wouldn’t turn down a date with his partner.”
“Oh?” Lucy shoved a piece of scone into her mouth before she muttered something stupid like he’s mine.
She wanted Mr. Ab Selfie.
Wow, that sounded awful. She hadn’t said the words out loud, but she could understand why Nicole thought she was crazy.
Still, she did want Philip Ryder—and she had a date with him. Just because he’d postponed didn’t mean she would allow herself to fall for Jared. Her brother’s friend was the unicorn. She couldn’t keep him. He would vanish as soon as the sugar deal closed. Poof! Just like that. Back to Manhattan.
“Jared Mitchell is back in town. I ran into him on the beach the other day, and we ran together,” Delaney confided. “And this time, he seemed at home there. In fact, he asked me to take his picture by the ocean.”
“Jared stopped running for a photo shoot?” Lucy let the jealousy simmer for a second before silently presenting herself with the facts.
First, she’d rejected Jared’s juice box offerings. He had every right to move on and find someone else to entertain him while he waited for his big deal to close.
Second, she’d known from the beginning that Jared was a hit-and-run serial dater. Sure, he could deliver the “wow” factor in the moment—or in the storage closet—but afterward?
He would slip away. Maybe all at once. Maybe slowly like her ex. Skipping dates, avoiding conversation until he had been in bed with someone else . . . which was exactly why she’d rejected the juice.
After turning him down, she couldn’t realistically expect Jared to sit at home pining for her.
“We had a fling once.” Delaney picked her cell off the table. “More like a one-night stand. I thought it was a dead end at the time.”
The jealousy rushed back without invitation, and Lucy reached for another scone. “And now? You don’t think Jared’s a dead end?”
Delaney shrugged as she swept her finger across the screen. “Wait until you see the picture. We talked about how he belongs here, and then he stopped suddenly, asking me to take this shot. I started wondering if maybe he’d grown up and was looking to settle down. I was thinking about texting him and asking him to dinner. A picnic on the beach. Right here where I snapped this shot.” Delaney held out the phone. “Only at sunset instead of sunrise.”
Lucy set aside the comfort scone and accepted Delaney’s phone. She’d say something nice about the picture and then steer the conversation back to Kia’s party. Ten minutes of planning and princesses would wash away the remaining fragments of jealousy.
She looked down at the screen.
No. It can’t be. It’s not possible.
Her eyes widened as she brought the tiny image closer to her face. Shock engulfed her like a cloud. How had he pulled this off? And more importantly—why?
“Jared Mitchell looks pretty good from behind doesn’t he?” Delaney said with a laugh.
“He does,” Lucy admitted.
And so did Philip Ryder.
“I still wish he’d let me take one of him looking at the camera,” Delaney said. “But he refused. I don’t know why. He has such a sexy smile.”
Lucy knew. If he’d sent a picture of his face, she would have seen the truth—Jared Mitchell and Philip Ryder possessed the same perfect backside, the same drool-worthy abs, the same eye-catching arm muscles, and the same sexy smile.
Because Jared Mitchell was Philip Ryder.
Chapter 14
“Mr. Ab Selfie is not an axe murder,” Lucy called from the pantry. She grabbed a six-pack of juice boxes and headed back to the kitchen. “I have proof.”
“So we’re celebrating with mixed berry mimosas?” Emma eyed the bottle of Prosecco Lucy freed from the fridge before retrieving the juice.
“What proof?” Nicole set the car keys on the counter. Lucy had jumped out of the Civic and run for the house before her friend cut the engine. “You muttered ‘I can’t believe it’ the whole drive back from the meeting with Delaney. Did something go wrong?”
“Don’t tell me she invited you over to say Kia wants to do something else this year, party at the zoo, or a sleepover. We were counting on the income. We’d already added it to the budget.”
“Kia wants the party.” Lucy uncorked the bottle and started to fill three wine glasses. “It will be her biggest one yet.”
“What does this have to do with Philip Ryder?” Emma demanded.
“Let me guess,” Nicole said. “Delaney knows him.”
Lucy nodded as she stabbed a straw into the first juice box.
“She’s slept with him.” Nicole reached for the third still juice-free glass and took a long drink of bubbly.
“Yes.” Lucy tossed the half-empty juice aside and raised her glass to her lips. “But she didn’t know him as Philip Ryder.”
Lucy drained her drink and then spilled the entire story—or at least what she’d pieced together. When she finished, she poured another round and looked at her friends.
“Your brother’s best friend, a freaking billionaire, created a Fated for Love account so that you would go out with him?” Nicole said. “How did he know you would find the account?”
“He knows Lucy,” Emma said with a shrug.
“I told him what I was looking for after the disaster date with Mr. Thigh Gap.” Lucy
stared into her fizzing, berry-colored drink. “He listened.”
“And when you ignored his presents and continued to date losers, he took action,” Emma said. “He found a way to get your attention.”
“A creepy way,” Nicole muttered. “Stalking you online.”
“I think its sweet,” Emma said. “But my opinion doesn’t matter. What do you think, Lucy?”
“I think . . . ” Lucy took another long drink and then set her empty glass on the counter. “I think that I’m falling for a man who deceived me.”
The alcohol mixed with the heavy doses of sugar from the emergency buns and fresh-baked scone left her dizzy. Or maybe that light-headed spinning feeling came from the realization that the man she’d kissed in the closet, the man she’d fantasized about kissing again, was the same person who’d written those heartfelt messages.
He wrote those messages while I was standing right there!
“I’m falling for a man who chatted about my love life while sending me messages about handcuffs,” Lucy continued. “He knew the whole time.”
Nicole made a hissing sound.
“I wonder what drives a man like Jared to do something like that,” Emma murmured.
“He had to know I would learn the truth,” Lucy said. “We had a date—”
“Which he postponed,” Nicole pointed out.
“Maybe he was afraid Finn would find out so he canceled?” Emma asked.
Lucy closed her eyes and tried to picture Jared Mitchell afraid. She couldn’t imagine a man who ruled the world around him, who dared to steal her away from her date and kiss her—he wouldn’t run from a confrontation with her brother.
“Maybe Jared wanted to get my attention,” Lucy said softly.
“By lying to you.” Nicole carried her glass to the sink. “The bored billionaire bachelor thought it would be fun to lead you on—”
“Or maybe this was his grand gesture to get your attention,” Emma cut in. “What if he meant every word he wrote while pretending to be Philip? Would you forgive him?”
Yes.
But would she learn to trust him?
“I need to talk to him.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she found Jared’s cell and clicked on the message icon. Then she started to type.
I still owe you a juice. Meet me for a picnic on the beach? If you bring the tacos, I’ll bring the drinks. 8pm at the rocks by the Worth Avenue entrance. We can watch the sunset. Your not-so-naïve Handcuff Virgin.
“Do you think he’ll show up?” Emma asked.
Lucy hit send. “If he walks away now, I’ll know it was all just a game.”
“We have a problem.” Finn strode into Jared’s office with his expression set to doomsday grim. “A big fucking problem.”
Jared glanced at his cell, scanning Lucy’s text for a third time. When he first saw the signature, he’d flown into fight mode. He wanted to go to her now. He needed to explain. Instead, he’d paced his office. He couldn’t rush over to the princess lair without a plan.
He should be relieved. Lucy knew the truth, and she hadn’t told him to go to hell. But relief hadn’t burst into his office—Finn had. If she’d gone to her brother first . . .
“Damn right we have a problem,” Jared confirmed.
“You heard?” Finn stopped in the center of his office and folded his arms in front of his chest.
Jared nodded. The muscles in his jaw tightened, and his teeth ground against each other. “I did.”
“Do you have a plan?” his friend demanded.
“Pick up some tacos and meet her on the beach,” Jared said flatly. “Hell, at least she is willing to talk to me. That’s a good sign.”
Finn’s brows knit together. “What are you talking about?”
“Lucy. Your sister knows I’m Philip Ryder.”
“I can’t fucking believe it.” Finn let out a burst of laughter. “The deal you’ve been after for fourteen months is about to implode, and you’re pacing your office because my sister learned about your fake online dating profile.”
“What happened to the sugar deal?” Jared shot back. “You said it was handled.”
“Turns out we’re not the only ones interested. Peak Investments out of Colorado approached the chief financial officer yesterday. They’re going to make an offer.”
“You’re sure?”
His partner nodded. “I had lunch with the CFO’s team. One guy came clean, admitting he’d pulled together materials for Peak.”
“Devilla is going to want more money.” Jared shook his head. “Are they worth it?”
“No,” Finn said flatly. “We should walk away.”
“We could try to fix the deal,” Jared said. “Offer them new terms or different incentives. It’s a good company.”
“They’re trying to drive the price up.”
“I’ll meet with them.” Jared added a hint of finality to his tone. “Tomorrow.”
“You should to go back to Manhattan and focus on the companies that are making us money. Coulter can book your tickets. You don’t need to hang out in this heat and try to hammer out a dead deal. Let it go, Jared.”
“I’m not leaving. I’m meeting Lucy tonight for tacos and juice.”
“She wants to meet you?” His business partner cocked his head. “What makes you think that she knows?”
“The way she signed her text,” Jared said with a sigh.
“You’re paranoid,” Finn declared. “Online dating has messed with your head.”
Jared held out his phone. “When she messages you, does she refer to herself as the ‘handcuff virgin’?”
Finn stepped back as if the phone might burn him. “Lucy’s spent the past month looking for a fairy-tale romance. What kind of relationship are you dragging her into?”
“I thought I knew your sister before this. She spends her days making little kids smile. How complicated could she be?” Jared lowered his arm and slipped his cell into his pocket. “I was wrong. Lucy continues to surprise me.”
“How did she find out?” Finn asked.
“I don’t know,” he said grimly. “But I’m going to make it right. Then tomorrow, I’ll put the sugar deal back together.”
“The deal is shot, Jared. We both know Peak jumped in because we’re going after them. The company probably invited them in to drive up the price. Mr. DeVilla plans to sell to us in the end, but the greedy bastard wants more money. We don’t play that game. I don’t work that way. The win is not worth it.”
“The hell it isn’t.” Jared headed for the door. He had an hour to pick up food from Minny and get to the beach. He pushed through the exit and headed for the reception area. “I’ll make it work.”
“How?” Finn demanded. His best friend followed close at his heels, matching him stride for stride.
“Find out what is most important to Jason DeVilla. Is it money? Protecting his employees?” Jared stopped in the center of the lobby and turned to Finn. He dropped his voice knowing that Coulter was trying to listen from his perch behind the reception desk. “I took your advice and found a way to get Lucy’s attention. The same rule applies here. Figure out what they want. I don’t care how you do it.”
“Jason DeVilla wants cash,” Finn said. “What makes you think there is more to it than that?”
“If this is all about the money, we’ll restructure the deal. Add payments based on performance that pay out over time, but won’t cost more up front.” Jared glanced to the glass doors. The elevator banks stood on the other side. He didn’t have time for this argument right now. He needed to get to The Taco Bar, stop by his house, and meet Lucy at the beach. “Talk to his employees, his kids—I don’t care how you find out what they’re after.”
“It’s not that simple,” Finn protested.
“If you can’t fix this, I will.” Jared turned and headed for the exit. “Tomorrow.”
“You’re not superman,” Finn said, still close behind him.
“No, I’m not,” Jared muttered as he reached the elevator bank. “I’m the prince, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let my kingdom fall apart.”
Finn grabbed his arm before he pressed the down button. “Buying into your own online profile?”
Jared pulled free. “I meant every word. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go convince your sister.”
Chapter 15
Lucy had imagined meeting Philip Ryder for the first time. Even without a face to complete the mental picture of her perfect date, she’d daydreamed about the fading sunlight dancing on the ocean. They couldn’t watch the sun sink below the horizon on the east coast, but the slow shift from daylight to starlit darkness cast a romantic spell on the mostly empty beach.
On her dream date, they would link arms and walk along the sand. The tide was low and the water calm. Fluffy white clouds turned pink overhead. An occasional dog ran by followed by an owner out for an evening stroll. But otherwise the night was quiet and entirely theirs. They would talk for hours as she studied his face.
She had pictured the perfect date with the perfect man. Instead she was confronting Jared Mitchell.
She stepped on the sand, barely avoiding a patch of seaweed. A wave crashed around the sand and another quickly followed.
Even the ocean is pissed off tonight.
She still hadn’t decided if she should hurl the juice boxes cradled under her arm at her date. When she replayed the night before at the charity event, she felt like a fool. He’d been standing right in front of her while reading her messages.
She turned around and headed away from the ocean. If she needed answers, she could send another message. She didn’t need to face him.
She stopped at the base of the stairs leading up to the boardwalk and her car.
Give him a chance, the little voice in her head whispered.
She turned back to the rough sea. A raindrop fell, and she knew a storm hovered near the coast. Thunder and lightning would follow.
She picked her way down the beach as rain marked the dry patches of sand. Angry clouds hovered over the ocean. Waves crashed down. Each one rose higher than the last. She could picture the riptide drawing everything in its path out into the open water, though she had no intention of stepping into the wild surf and experiencing it for herself.
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