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Maxine was a river of tears but she was so overcome with joy she just kept nodding. “Yes. Yes. Yes,” she said as she reached over and hugged him and gave him the biggest squeeze and passionate kiss to seal their love.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Maxine felt an unbridled joy she’d never known before. She was on top of the world ever since her engagement to Lucas a week ago. Lucy, of course, was over the moon thrilled for her. They were going to be cousins by marriage. Imagine that!
She parked her car outside the office building at Dream Weddings, Inc. getting ready for a busy day at work when she was swarmed by reporters. What were they doing there?
“Maxine. What do you think about being used by your fiancé for a public relations gimmick?” one reporter called out.
“Maxine! Maxine! Any comment on the recording? Did you see the video?” another shouted from the crowd.
Huh? Video? Recording? What recording?
Maxine thought she was going to lose her mind. What the hell was going on? Did she miss something on the news this morning?
She hurried into her office past the crowd. Her cell phone was buzzing but she decided not to answer it. Her handbag swung from her shoulder as she entered the lobby of the building. The doorman ushered her inside and she paused panting.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” the young man asked her, a look of concern on his face.
Maxine caught her breath. “I…I don’t know. I’ll be fine. Thank you.” She was breathless but made her way up the elevator to her floor.
“Maxine, the phone has been ringing off the hook. Reporters. What’s going on?” the new receptionist called out to her as she entered the reception area.
“I’m sorry, I…I don’t know.”
Once in her office, she closed the door and slumped into her chair. Her heart was racing, pounding hard and fast in her chest. What was going on?
Maxine looked at her smartphone and a text from Lucas showed up on her home screen. “Will be there soon” was all it read.
She switched on the computer on her desk and went to the Yahoo email home to see what was trending in the news. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest.
ROMERO BAD BOY STAGES FAKE ENGAGEMENT IN WAKE OF PATERNITY SCANDAL
The next trending topic:
MAXINE SUMMERS FAKE FIANCEE
And the topic following that:
MAXINE SUMMERS LUCAS ROMERO
Maxine wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. She could not believe what her eyes were glaring at on the screen of her computer.
Fake fiancée? Fake wedding? Scandal? That sex scandal again? She was sure her heart rate was beating five times the limit and her blood pressure was probably through the roof. What was Lucas going to do when he arrived? Explain everything away?
Was he really the father of that girl’s baby? Was Maxine just a diversion? A publicity stunt?
She reluctantly clicked on one of the links that led to a YouTube channel. Her body went cold when she saw a video recording of a boardroom meeting some time ago at the Romero Corp. When she listened to the recording, sure enough, Toni Romero and Lucas were discussing his image and the possibility of settling down or getting engaged to project the illusion of stability. So that was why he asked Maxine to marry him? To reverse his bad boy image all in the name of business? What a fool she’d been to believe in him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lucas felt the heat of his blood boil inside his vessels. He was face to face with Maxine at her office. “Do you really think this was a publicity stunt? It’s obvious you don’t know me very well, Maxine.”
“But you and your grandfather were on the Internet discussing you settling down. How can you deny that, Lucas?”
“I’m not denying anything, Maxine,” Lucas said, his voice stern and cold. “I had a discussion with my grandfather, yes, but it wasn’t anything to do with fixing a fake wedding to prove anything to anyone.”
Lucas was worked up. Maxine saw a muscle twitch in his jaw. He pace with his hands shoved in his pockets. He paused and gave a sigh. He then turned his attention back to Maxine. “I’ll be going away for a while.”
“Where to?”
“Don’t concern yourself. I’ll be out of your way.” With those words he left the office before Maxine could say anything else. Her mind was numb. Her legs were weak. What just happened? Everything felt wrong, so wrong. Did she just let the love of her life walk out of her life—for good?
