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We do. I’m impatient to fill in the blanks so Corinne will stop hesitating and say yes, but I merely smile while she asks our waitress about the menu. Finally, she chooses the ahi steak. I order a filet and a baked potato.
When we’re alone again, I turn all my attention back to her. “Tell me your question. I have an answer.”
“What’s your end game? What does a satisfying revenge look like to you?”
I’ve been so fixated on that sweet, sweet moment Parker realizes his sister is choosing me over him that I didn’t think about the end of our “romance.” What I really want—for people to know the truth about Hadley and my past with Parker—won’t happen. Public perception is set, and anything I say now looks like damage control and whining. “Good point. If I call off the wedding and seem to break your heart, that reinforces everything negative about me.”
“But it would infuriate my brother. You know how siblings are. We can insult one another horribly, but the moment anyone else does, watch out.”
Actually, I don’t know since I grew up an only child. I have siblings now, but the Reeds are a different breed. Since they’re competitive through and through, they haven’t always been there for one another. For years, Barclay turned them against each other, taught them to think of their own brothers and sisters as competition to be crushed. Thankfully, they’re tight these days. “What are you suggesting?”
“If I break things off, people will assume I finally saw your ‘true colors.’ At the very least, Parker looks justified for the things he said. But if you break things off because you found someone else, that doesn’t make you look like a bully, just a manwhore.”
“Good point.” Since my reputation for debauchery is set, that’s probably our best out. I would have realized that sooner if being this close to Corinne wasn’t jacking up my libido and clouding my brain. “I’ll break your heart, then.”
“I had a semester of drama in college. I can act appropriately devastated.”
“For the record, I won’t relish even pretending to hurt you.”
Her dark eyes chide me. “You have to get into the role to be believable.”
She’s right. “I’ll work on an exit strategy. Unfortunately, we don’t know how long it will take your brother to concede defeat and give you your inheritance. It could be weeks or months…”
“Parker is nothing if not stubborn.”
“Are you saying yes to being my fake fiancée now?”
“There’s a lot of ground we haven’t covered yet, and I still have concerns.”
Ailani appears again with our appetizers and sets them between us. “Be careful. These are hot.”
“Thank you. Would you also bring us a hula pie with two spoons after dinner?”
“Of course.” She nods.
“Dessert, again?” Corinne groans as soon as our waitperson leaves the room. “You’re killing my diet.”
“You don’t need one, trust me. But you have to have hula pie,” I assure her. “Macadamia nut ice cream on chocolate cookie crust, topped with hot fudge, toasted nuts, and whipped cream.”
She sighs like she’s in love. “If you thought I moaned like I was nearing orgasm the last time you watched me eat, just wait.”
“Why do you think I ordered it?” I quip.
“Spoken like a true manwhore…which brings me to my hesitation. How will we handle your sex life during our ‘engagement?’ You’ll have to be discreet or word will get out before we’re ready and—”
“It won’t.” We’re getting to the terms and conditions Corinne will object to. “But thanks to your brother, my profile is too high to walk into a bar and pick up a woman without half the internet knowing inside an hour.”
She nibbles that pouty lip like she knows I’m right and it’s a problem. “So what’s the plan? Will you just do without until my stubborn brother lets up?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t understand how you’re going to manage this.” She presses her lips into a thin, white line. “Since your decision affects me, I have a right to know. But I guess you have women you can call—flings, friends with benefits, casual hookups…”
Is it my imagination or is Corinne less than pleased with the prospect of me in bed with someone else? Her expression says so. It’s perverse, but the fact she seemingly cares about who and what I do thrills me.
“Impossible. The second I touch any of them, they could run to the press, who will pay big bucks for the raunchy inside scoop of how I cheated on you. And our whole plan will be down the toilet.”
That’s the truth…but not the whole truth. I don’t want Emma, my last fling. Maxie, my usual friend with benefits, can’t keep her mouth shut. She already sold the story of our on-again, off-again sex life to a tabloid a few months back. And my last casual hookup, Jacinda, is leaving the island in a handful of hours.
