“That depends. Is the rumor your fault?” Determined to appear stern, CeCe folded her arms in front of her chest, eventhough they ached to hug him. How long had it been since they’d seen each other? Eight—no, nine months? He didn’t visit often.
“Don’t I get a hello hug first?” Jayce asked, always able to read her thoughts.
Piper coughed, choking on her pastry as she suddenly regained control of her faculties. “I’m going to, uh, give you two a minute.” She slid off the stool and awkwardly made her exit.
“New employee?” Jayce asked, watching her go.
“Yes. Her name’s Piper. I’ll introduce you later. Don’t change the subject.”
“Okay. Back to that hug we were discussing.” He flashed his most endearing smile. The one he never showed the cameras. The one he seemed to reserve only for her. “I’ve missed you, Toto.”
His sincerity weakened her defenses. “I’ve missed you, too.” She sighed, relenting to his charm. “Welcome home.”
He scooped her into a bear hug, and she melted against him, inhaling his scent. No matter how much money he made, he still wore the same inexpensive cologne—the brand she’d bought him as a graduation present. Starlight Storm. The fragrance resembled hints of the ocean after a midnight rain, deep and musky. She’d hoped to remind him of what he’d left behind.
He held her a little longer than usual before returning her to the ground.
She stepped back, smiling at the flour smudges smeared across his black cotton T-shirt that probably cost more than her car.
“What?” he asked, catching her bemused expression.
“Nothing. Except that your shirt looks like a Rorschach inkblot test in reverse.”
He studied the splotches with mock seriousness, stroking his strong jawline with his thumb and forefinger, pretending to read the random shapes for hidden meaning. “Hmm… I see theoutline of my best friend in the whole world forgiving me for something foolish I did.” He glanced up, meeting her gaze with a chagrined smile.
“So, itisyour fault.” She slugged him in the arm. “Do you know they’re calling me ‘the Hollywood Hypnotist’? They’re saying I hypnotized you into proposing.” Well, one online blogger had made the claim. And she’d had to dive pretty deep into the blogosphere to find the article. But still. She wasn’t thrilled with the accusation.
“That’s crazy. If you were going to hypnotize anyone into proposing, it would be Chris Pine, not me. You’ve been in love with him ever since his role as Captain Kirk.”
Oh, if only he knew how wrong he was.
“Besides,” he added, “they’re idiots if they think you’d have to hypnotize a man into marrying you. All you’d have to do is bat those beautiful dark eyes at him. And if that didn’t work, you could bake him one of these.” He reached for a pain au chocolat, but CeCe slapped his hand away, ignoring the way her skin flushed at his flattery.
“That’s not the point. This whole situation is embarrassing. The photo—”
“Is not your best,” he interjected. “But it’s one unflattering photo. It happens to everybody. Any bozo can see how gorgeous you are.”
Gorgeous? CeCe stared, caught off guard by the compliment. She involuntarily pressed a hand to her chest, hoping to slow her racing heartbeat. Did he really think she was gorgeous? No. That’s absurd. Cute, maybe. But notgorgeous. Especially not compared to the models and movie stars he mingled with every day. “Stop trying to butter me up. I’m still mad at you. How did the rumor get started anyway?”
As she listened to Jayce’s confession, and his impulse to help out a friend, her irritation softened slightly. That was so like him—always thinking of other people.
“I messed up,” he admitted, throwing up his hands in a show of surrender. “I shouldn’t have lied or dragged you into this, and I’m sorry. I have no right to ask you for a favor, but I’m desperate, so I’m going to throw myself at your mercy. Feel free to turn me down.”
“What’s the favor?” CeCe asked cautiously, a nervous suspicion brewing in the back of her mind.
“Would you go along with the ruse? Pretty please? For a few days. Maybe a week or two, tops. Just long enough for Stacey and Rob to get married and have their honeymoon in peace. Then we can come clean or stage an amicable breakup.”
He gazed at her earnestly, looking so disarming and vulnerable, her better judgment wavered.This is a horrible idea and will end in disaster.But rather than share her concerns aloud, she said, “I won’t lie to our parents. Or our friends.”
“That’s fair. And I wouldn’t ask you to. We can tell them the truth and beg them to play along. The only people we have to convince are Gretchen and the paparazzi.”
At the mention of the vultures circling her café all morning, CeCe realized it was unusually quiet. “Wait a minute. Wherearethe paparazzi?”
“I asked them to leave.”
“And they listened? Just like that?”
“I may have promised each of them an exclusive interview and a press pass to our wedding.”
