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Dave whipped his head in Patrick’s direction. “Well, well, the lucky groom,” he said, half-surprised, half-unbelieving of it all.
That was endgame. The very short-lived scam was over. Soon this town would be crawling with scummy paparazzi, and Charlotte’s quiet, quaint wedding dreams would be obliterated.
“I’m so sorry,” I mouthed to Patrick while Dave had his back to me.
Patrick’s facial expression went from shocked to softened, like the flip of a light switch.
“Listen,” I began to say, choking back tears. All our precautions were for naught. Charlotte was going to be devastated. “Patrick isn’t—”
“Darling.” Patrick rushed forward. “Is this man bothering you?”
I nodded, having no words. Was Patrick playing the hero?
Patrick came to my side, not seeming to care that he was standing in a puddle of milk. He didn’t hesitate to put his arm around me. A feeling of security washed over me. He pulled me closer, and I sank into him like there wasn’t twenty years between us. I breathed in his cedar-and-cinnamon scent. I was home.
Dave’s eyes popped out of his head while pointing between Patrick and me. “You really are getting married?”
I looked up at Patrick, knowing I needed to tell the truth, but it was the last thing I wanted to do, and not just because I loved my sister. I wanted to stay in Patrick’s arms. I realized that part of me wanted the lie to be the truth, even though it was insane. I might not even like this Patrick. The Patrick who would just as soon ignore me. Yet here he was holding me, as if he never wanted to let go. Just like he held me twenty years ago.
Patrick flashed me his playful, sexy smile. In it I saw the man I knew so long ago. Oh, how I’d missed him.
When Patrick was done dazzling me, he flashed Dave a wickedly steely gaze. “I suggest you leave myfiancée”—he said the word so easily, like he had thought it a thousand times before—“alone before I call the authorities.”
Fiancée? He called me his fiancée. He truly was playing the hero. I wanted to kiss his face off right there.
Dave’s lips curled into a snarl like he was a dog and Patrick had taken away a juicy bone. “I’m not breaking any laws.”
“Let’s see if the police see it that way,” Patrick threatened, and did it ever make my heart go all aflutter.
Dave went a tad pale. “I’ll leave, but just know I have every intention of making sure your story checks out.”
“Be my guest,” Patrick dared him.
I couldn’t believe it. Did Patrick know what he was setting into motion?
Dave smirked but left us with a warning. “See you around.”
When he was out of sight, my eyes wandered up to catch Patrick’s while I still clung to him. I didn’t want to let go. I had done that once before and regretted it. “What just happened?”
Patrick met my eyes, though his were blinking an inordinate number of times. “I don’t know,” he stuttered, the weight of our lie hanging heavy in the air.
I didn’t know either, so I did the only thing I could think of. I snuggled right into him. I was pleased when he wound his arms around me.
“Thank you,” was all I could think to say.
“What have I done?” he said to himself.
That was a good question.
PATRICK AND I SAT INhis fancy four-wheel drive Audi, not saying a word to each other. We had to leave together just in case Dave was watching. In the silence, the magnitude of what we had just put into motion loomed large like a big fat elephant sitting on my chest. Hardly able to breathe, I stared out the windshield at the snow-covered Tetons. Their breathtaking majesty was always a reminder of why I’d come to this place. A Jane Austen quote came to mind: “What are men to rocks and mountains?”
I dared a glance at Patrick, who looked as dazed as I felt. Unlike Elizabeth Bennet, today I did not tire of men. At least not the one sitting next to me who had gallantly saved me from myself. “Patrick, I am so sorry. I don’t know why I said your name. I was just trying to save ... well ... Since I dragged you into this mess, I suppose you should know; Charlotte and Drake really are getting married on Christmas Eve. It was supposed to be a secret. I was trying to do the right thing,” I pleaded with him to understand.
Patrick slowly turned his handsome head my way. His aqua eyes boring right through me. “I gathered as much. I heard most of your conversation with the vile man.” Of course he had.
“Oh.” I bit my lip.
“You were doing well there until your little slip-up.” He offered me half a smile.
