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Lydia smirks down at the icing, apparently agreeing with my response.

“Not at all,” Liam says, and he gives me a look that makes my stomach curdle. Was he—he couldn’t be hitting on me, could he? As far as he knows, I’m engaged to his brother. Liam’s always been self-centered, but surely he wouldn’t sink that low.

“Well, you can keep your comments to yourself,” I inform him. Doesn’t matter what his intention is. I’m not going to tolerate it.

I can feel eyes on me, but before I can turn to look and see who it is, strong arms wrap around me from behind, and I catch the scent of bergamot, amber, and oak.

“You look good enough to eat,” Ford growls, just loud enough that I’m sure Liam can hear every word. “Maybe I’ll have you for dessert instead of these cookies.”

His brother scowls and stalks out of the kitchen. I’m relieved to see him leave. I don’t know what that was about, but I definitely don’t want it repeated.

Ford’s solid body is still pressed against mine, and now that Liam is gone, that’s where my entire focus goes, making it hard to breathe. He’s so warm and solid, steady and reassuring, and so much taller than I am. I can’t help but wonder if he’ll drag his nose along my throat again—or if he’ll do even more, like kiss me there. I shiver involuntarily.

He doesn’t do any of those things, of course, pulling back after a moment. But I can feel his heavy gaze on me, and when I turn to face him, I can see that standing behind him in the kitchen doorway are Hayden and Gabriel.

Both of them are watching me with unmistakable possessiveness. All three men are.

I swallow hard and turn back to the cookies. “Great work on these, Lydia. And you, shoo.” I point a spatula at Ford. “We’re trying to actually be productive in here and you’ll just distract me.”

He chuckles and puts his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Just let me know if there’s extra icing.”

“Is your sweet tooth really that bad?” I reply.

“I was thinking of spreading it on something other than cookies.”

“I am right here!” Lydia laughs. “Your sister! Ew! Go away!”

Ford does as she says, and I’m so incredibly relieved. My body is on fire and I’m trembling slightly, and even though I try like hell to forget it, I can still feel the heat and pressure of his body against mine.

27

MAEVE

I manage to navigate the dinner with the Kingsley family’s friends—everyone loves the cookies and heaps praise on Lydia and me—and get through the night sharing a bed with Ford without any more spicy dreams.

Part of that is probably because I cave and set up a pillow barrier. Ford smirks at me as we get into bed, but I steadfastly ignore him. I know that building a wall of pillows is basically admitting that I’m attracted to him, but I have to sacrifice some dignity, I suppose. He kissed me, after all. He started this whole mess. I’m just trying to survive it.

I actually sleep really well. The mattress is incredible, and I think my subconscious knows that Ford is next to me and instead of interpreting it as something sexual, interprets it as safety.

It’s been a long time since I felt safe. Not like my life is in danger, but like I can actually relax and be taken care of, instead of always being on high alert and taking care of myself, doing everything on my own. Not that Ford would really want to do that for me, but it’s nice to pretend, I suppose, at least in my dreams.

Today’s big activity is picking out a Christmas tree from the lot that’s run by the local Christmas tree farm. It’s in a high-end area of town, so Elaine also wants us to do some shopping.

I want to try and slip away to get some small presents for everyone. I would normally bake something, but I don’t think I can get away with doing that without someone noticing, and I’d like it to be a surprise. I can’t afford much, and I’m debating as we drive over whether I should give in to temptation and use the Black Amex cards. I hope the men won’t mind if I use the cards to get each of them, and Ford’s family, something nice for Christmas. I just don’t want anyone thinking I didn’t think of them.

I actually feel more centered this morning. I’m determined to do a good job and see this through. I’m going to fulfill my end of the bargain, damn it, and I won’t be caving to temptation or embarrassing myself or Ford while I’m at it.

The trees are all so gorgeous, I can feel my eyes going wide as we step into the lot. I can’t see what color they are, but I can certainly enjoy the smell and shape of them, and appreciate how tall and full they are. I’ve never seen Christmas trees this magnificent.

“If you’re not careful, your eyes are going to fall out of your head, Keller,” Hayden informs me.

“And if you’re not careful, your eyes are going to get stuck like that, if you keep rolling them constantly,” I shoot back.

Ford chuckles as Hayden glares at him. “Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.”

“Thank you, Ford. At least my fake fiancé appreciates me.”

“Hey, if the fiancé is fake, maybe the appreciation is too,” Hayden points out.