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Taking a slow, deep breath, I look at him, trying my hardest not to let his handsomeness wreak havoc on me. "You'd better explain yourself, Parker, because to me, this doesn't make sense."
He stands up and closes the distance between us. His presence manages to throw me off for just a moment but, as best I can, I try to appear unfazed.
"I've been trying for a while now to get rid of my image as a womanizing playboy," he explains. "And I think this might be a good way to do it."
"With a one-night stand and lies?"
"No one knows this was a one-night stand except you and me. The media is speculating that we've been dating for months, and that you're pregnant, and that's precisely what we can let them believe. We had a secret relationship, and now we've decided to bring it out into the open."
"That doesn't make any sense. Besides, they'll find out sooner rather than later that I'm not pregnant," I say.
"Maybe, but for a while, we can let them believe that. We've been dating for a while, and now we're engaged. We plan to have a baby. Later on, we can make something up to get out of the lie once we have what we want."
"And what do you think I want out of all this?" I ask. "Because so far, you've only come up with a plan to rid yourself of an image that you built for yourself in the first place."
"Think big, Penny," Parker says. "I know a lot of important people. People who could boost your brand in unimaginable ways. We both know that, while your designs are good, you're at least five years away from making a name for yourself among the big guns in the industry. This buzz can bring benefits to both of us. It can win you interviews, support, and renown. It’s the kind of exposure you need, precisely during fashion week, for the best investors to set their eyes on you and launch your brand to a new professional level."
"I—" I start to protest, but his statement catches me by surprise. It would never occur to me to use a rumor for my own benefit that way, but as much as I hate to admit it, Parker is right.
This story is bringing my name to more people than just those in the fashion world. This could help me with my career.
It would put my name in the public eye. "Besides," he says, knowing he's swaying me onto his side. "Think of your family, your siblings, and your mother. You won't have to admit that you shared this one night with me, but we'll stick up for each other, together, to Eleanor, Grayson, and your other brothers. We will tell them that we were afraid to admit it to each other, but now it is undeniable. In a few months, perhaps, we'll be able to end the false engagement and make them believe that we separated on good terms despite it all."
"I don't know, Parker," I mumble, full of doubt.
He steps closer to me, wrapping his firm hands around my waist. My eyes widen as I level my gaze with his green eyes, locked on mine.
"What have you got to lose, Penny? It will be a few months' charade that we can both benefit from. It will be a time for you to pretend to be mine. For everyone to believe we're irrevocably in love."
I swallow, feeling a lump forming in my throat.
Is that what I wanted, to pretend that Parker and I loved each other?
No. I knew I didn't want to pretend. I wanted to feel it, but the closest I may ever come to that fantasy is this lie.
Sighing, I let my face rest against his chest, my hands on his arms. "Tell me this won't blow up in our faces."
He lifts my face and holds me by the chin. "I promise I won't let it."
Slowly, almost as if I’m inviting him, his lips find mine, and begin to push in a slow rhythm against them.
I sigh, knowing without saying it that I’m lost. I will be part of this lie, and hopefully, I won't crash too hard into the truth when it comes out, but by then, it will be too late to save my heart.
Chapter fourteen
Parker
Someoneisknockingonthe door, insistently but firmly, making me think that it is probably one of the staff members for the event, trying to annoy me with some small, but urgent detail that needed to be solved as soon as possible.
I sigh as I walk to the door of the room, but am surprised when I opened it, as the person on the other side of the door is not who I thought it would be.
"Preston," I say as soon as I see him, instantly recognizing my best friend's twin.
Preston and Grayson are identical. They both possess the same chocolate-colored hair with reddish highlights from the sun. They have the same hazel eyes, the same height, and the same chiseled physique. But, unlike his twin brother, who is a few minutes older, Preston tends to wear his hair short and slicked back, while Grayson opts for a slightly more relaxed look. Most people can’t tell them physically apart, aside from their family and close friends, like me. Not too many people know this, but Grayson has a slight barely noticeable scar under his chin. I was there when he fell off the jungle gym in elementary school, busted his chin open, and got stitches. That, and their personalities are noticeably different.
Without asking, Preston enters the room. We are old, good friends, but my friendship is stronger with Grayson.
"Is my sister still here?" he asks me, looking curiously in the direction of the master bedroom.
