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I shrug my shoulders, not entirely sure. “I don’t know. I thought I was handling everything just fine.”
“Is it because of Carter?” Amelia asks. “Is it the ‘fake relationship’ arrangement that has you worried? Because honestly, it’s a good thing.”
“I want to believe you, but…”
“No buts about it!” Daphne states emphatically. “The way I see it, this is the perfect opportunity for Carter to see how great a relationship with the world’s best sister is without the risk! The same could be said in reverse, too. You can see if you and Carter are compatible romantically and not just as friends.”
“Hey! I’m your sister, too!” Callie shouts playfully.
Daphne looks chagrined and tries to back-peddle. “You’re the best oldest sister. Leanna is the best youngest sister. It’s all a matter of perspective.”
Callie smirks. “I can accept that.”
Amelia laughs, then turns to me, “If you truly aren’t okay with the arrangement, I can go talk to my brother and husband, and we’ll figure something else out. But Daphne is right. This is a chance for you to explore the possibility of a romantic connection without the added pressure ofactuallybeing in a relationship. If things don’t work out, you both can go back to pretending to be ‘just friends.’”
“Look how a fake engagement turned out for me! I have a husband and a beautiful daughter out of the deal. Maybe you can get your ‘happily ever after’ as well,” Callie says excitedly.
Amelia giggles. “I’d like to think I played a small part in that. I knew the two of you would be perfect for one another, even if you got together in a very different way than I had anticipated.” Turning to me, she says, “I have the same feeling about you and Carter.”
“I think it’s time we head back to the conference room and make sure we are all on the same page,” says my mother, already heading for the door. We all trail behind. Just before we exit, Amelia leaves me with a parting thought.
“And think, you finally get to kiss Carter. No way to make it look real without a little smooching.” I blush as I imagine what kissing Carter will be like. Everyone laughs at my reddened cheeks, knowing exactly where my mind has gone.
Once we return to the main conference room, I notice that pizza has been delivered and another guest has arrived. I finally get to meet Claire, Ben’s wife, who is six months pregnant and glowing.
“You must be the lovely Leanna. Carter talks about you all the time and has nothing but great things to say,” the petite blonde tells me with genuine affection. Her silver eyes sparkle, and her smile is bright.
“It’s nice to put a face to the name. Carter thinks very highly of you. He said it took an ‘extraordinary woman to tame the beast.’” Her tinkling laugh in response makes me feel like someone sprinkled fairy dust in the room.
“Ben can be intimidating with his size and stoic demeanor. But don’t let that fool you. Underneath all the seriousness is a man who is as loyal, dedicated, and as loving as they come. He will move heaven and earth for those he cares about.” When she talks about her husband, you can feel her love for him.
We chat for a few more minutes before Patrick and Savannah waltz over to greet me. I know both of them well, but I have a soft spot for the Henry Cavill lookalike. If his hair was darker and his eyes were brown, they might be mistaken for brothers. He’s almost as pretty to look at as is Carter.
I’ve gotten to know Carter’s entire team, and we’ve had a few poker nights over the past few years, but poor Patrick has never won a single game. Savannah, on the other hand, rarely loses. Together, the two look like a beautiful celebrity couple, yet I know they aren’t anything more than friends. Patrick has never dated a single woman that I am aware of, but we girls have always speculated that there’s a woman out there who holds the key to his heart. Maybe one day we will get to meet her.
“Hi, Leanna. I hear we will be protecting you on this assignment,” Savannah says. Claire says her goodbyes so the three of us can talk shop.
“That’s the rumor.”
“Carter will be with you and your primary security detail, but Patrick and I will pose as a newlywed couple on our honeymoon, always in the background and keeping a lookout. We call that three-sixty security. We will be the eyes in the back of Carter’s head, seeing what he can’t. If you see us around, you’ll need to pretend we aren’t even there and that you don’t know us. The rest of your family has been given the same instructions. If there is a social gathering or event for the guests, then we can cross paths and mingle, but it should remain inconspicuous.”
“Is there anything else I should know? Or do you need anything from me?”
Savannah shakes her head. “Nope. Enjoy yourself and act as if everything is normal. We don’t want to tip anyone off that you have a security detail. Regarding the suspects, we have dossiers on all three individuals. The only one that stands out as a real threat is Mark Jenkins. He’s been charged twice with assault and once for vandalism of private property. Nothing stuck because the charges were dropped, and the matter was settled out of court. They were acts of retribution against senior members of the law firm he was fired from shortly after he was disbarred.”
My arms break out in gooseflesh at the thought that Mark Jenkins might have decided to take revenge on me for the loss of his father. “You mentioned vandalism. What did he do?”
“Red paint on their cars and slashed tires, for starters. I think he’s the one we need to watch out for since the same thing happened to you,” Patrick tells me. He’s always been a straight shooter.
“What about Melissa and Joe?” I ask, just as Carter comes to stand beside me. He hands me a slice of chicken and artichoke pizza, my favorite. I take it from him, grateful for his thoughtfulness. It’s a typical Carter move, knowing what I need before I do.
“Joe was raised in foster homes, never staying in one place for very long. There were a few fights between him and other foster kids, but nothing that ever got out of hand. He was arrested once for drunken disorderly after a night of celebrating making his first million. Melissa, on the other hand, has had two restraining orders filed against her for stalking. There were never any physical altercations or vandalism reported, but she would harass the women that the men she was interested in were engaged to. Surprisingly, it was the men who filed the restraining order on behalf of their fiancées. Would you like to know the name of the men?” Savannah had directed her last question more to Carter than to me.
We both nod in unison, though unsure why it matters.
“Take a guess. I’ll give you three, but I don’t think you’ll need it,” she says.
“Carter,” I state, watching his face pale as it dawns on him what I said.
