I love it. Love that she’s watching. Love that she’s trying to be subtle and failing completely.
Lily’s plan was simple but brilliant. She rigged me up with an earpiece connected to her phone so she can feed me information all night. Tell me things about Hannah, their relationship, details that’ll make me look like I’ve been dating her for months instead of pretending for one evening. She was insistent that this would work, talking a mile a minute about how she’d be my inside source and ensure I didn’t get caught in any lies.
I grin thinking about what a firecracker she is. Hannah’s sister doesn’t do anything halfway.
The earpiece crackles to life. “Testing, testing. Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear,” I murmur.
Hannah glances at me. “What?”
“Just confirming something with Lily.”
“Oh God, I can’t believe you let her rope you into that!”
“Insurance.” I tap my ear. “She’s feeding me intel all night so I don’t accidentally contradict your life story.”
Hannah groans. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“It’s going to be perfect,” her father says from the back seat. “So, Noel.” Her father leans forward slightly. “Hannah mentioned you’re a bounty hunter. That’s dangerous work.”
“Yes, sir.” I keep my voice calm, respectful. First impressions matter with fathers, and I learned that the hard way with my own. “That’s why I work in a team of three. We’ve got each other’s backs, do extensive research on every target before we move. One of our rules is to never go in blind. No surprises.”
“Smart approach. Very smart.” He settles back. “I was actually caught up in a bank robbery once. Scared the hell out of me.”
Hannah twists in her seat, eyes wide. “Dad, what? You were in a bank robbery? You never told us this!”
“Oh my God, Dad was in a bank robbery?” Lily’s voice comes through the earpiece, excited and loud. “Tell him I want to know everything when I see him next!”
I chuckle. “Lily wants the full story later.”
“Of course she does.” Hannah is smiling despite herself. “She’s probably already planning to use it in one of her murder documentary theories.”
Their dad laughs. “Didn’t want to scare you girls. This was before you and Lily were born, back when I was working at the credit union downtown. Three guys came in with guns, whole hostage situation. But there was a bounty hunter who got caught up in it, and he took the main guy down. Just tackled him like he was made of steel. Big guy, about Noel’s size. Very impressive.”
“That’s insane,” I add.
“Well, the cousins are definitely going to lose their minds when they see you, Noel,” Hannah mutters. “Mission accomplished.”
Her father chuckles. “They need something to talk about besides your love life. Or lack thereof, according to them.”
“Dad!”
“What? I’m just repeating what they say.”
“Anyway,” Lily continues in my ear, “we’re arriving at the wedding, so I might be quiet during the ceremony. But I’ll be back for the main event.”
“Sounds good,” I say quietly.
Hannah turns to her father. “So you know the deal, right? Noel is helping me out tonight. He’s my boyfriend for the evening. Just for show.”
I grin, catching her father’s gaze in the rearview mirror, and wink. “Yep. Fake boyfriend. Playing the part. We all know the drill.”
Hannah stares at me. “Noel.”
Her father laughs. “Don’t worry so much, sweetheart. Just be yourself. Both of you.” He pauses. “So where did you two actually meet? For real?”
“In a roundabout way, through a bounty hunt,” I admit. “But it all worked out.”
