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“There was wine involved.” She winced. “I swear I’m not a lush, but last night I missed Sierra and–”
I held up my hand. “You’re not the only one who’s had a few too many before.”
She brushed her hair back again. “Well, I remember the bulldog rock. There really is one, I think, and I buried the ring in a tea tin right in front of it. I just don’t know where it is.”
“You said this was two years ago. He wants the ring back now?”
She sat up and held the blanket to her chest. She was so fucking pretty, and she had no idea. “I know, right? His lawyer sent me a letter. I have to give the ring back by the end of the month or I owe him the value of the ring.”
“Which is?”
It was her turn to wince. “Fifty thousand dollars.”
Shit, that was an expensive ring. No wonder she enlisted the kids to help her find it. But it was easily solvable. I could make this asshole and Aspen’s problem go away. Life cleansing? I’d give her toxic ex removal once and for all. “I’ll give you the money.”
Her eyes widened. “What? No. You will not.”
I shrugged. “I’m rich. This jerk doesn’t deserve–”
“No!” she countered, clearly adamant. “I will not take your money. I was the stupid one, burying it like that. It was my embarrassing mistake. Duncan was my mistake.” She was the only woman I knew who refused that kind of money and she wasn’t even going to keep it. I wasn’t sure if that was more telling about her integrity or the quality of the people who usually surrounded me. Perhaps both.
I held up my hand. “Fine. Then be my fake girlfriend in exchange for the money. You would really be helping me, and I think we can agree, liking each other won’t be too hard to fake.”
In fact, I wasn’t faking at all.
She pursed her lips. Huffed. Closed her eyes. It was as if an internal battle was playing out before my eyes.
“Or we can go hunt the woods again for the bulldog rock.”
“Fine! I’ll do it.”
18
ASPEN
* * *
“You’re going to what?” Mallory screeched, then tugged me in her front door.
I almost tripped on the step with the force of her pull.
After I agreed to go to LA with Luke, he’d left to get things organized for our trip because he wanted to leave today. Really, I figured he was being kind because I knew I looked and felt a mess. When I saw myself in the bathroom mirror, I practically screamed. Hair crazy. Bags under my eyes. I was a bloated mess. And, fuck, I’d had the worst roadkill breath ever.
Even if I felt like fooling around with Luke, I had no doubt he’d have turned me down.
So I showered, drank a huge detox smoothie, and hoped the man would forget I ever looked like a hag.
No wonder he settled for me to be his fake girlfriend! No way a guy like Luke would want me for real.
So I’d do it for the money. I needed that money.
I wasn’t an overly vain woman but being born a Bergstrom had taught me one thing. If I was going to play a role, I had to look the part. While Luke seemed to like I was a small-town yoga instructor, I wasn’t too sure that was what he needed to convince the tabloids that we were dating. Another reason why I’d driven directly to Mallory’s. Sometimes a girl needed a BFF to make sure she wasn’t crazy.
“Be Luke’s fake girlfriend.”
She frowned. “What happened to real girlfriend?”
I waved my hand in the air. “There never was going to be real anything with him.” Especially not after he saw me this morning. “We had sex and maybe we’ll have it again this week, but that’s it. He’s going to get this movie role and go back to his life in LA while I do school drop off, hockey drop off, groceries, science fair projects, and yoga classes here in Hunter Valley. What kind of real can there possibly be?”
