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“Two weeks?”Lucas shook his head.“How long had they been seeing each other behind your back?”
“I’m not sure.”She met his gaze.“I should’ve seen it, though, but I was so busy with my shop, I guess I lost sight of what Marty was doing when he wasn’t with me.”
“Obviously, he was screwing around.”
“Yeah.Which makes me look like a fool.Now, every gossiping neighbor in the parish feels obligated to tell me how sorry they are for me and to tell me it’s not too late to find another man before my child-bearing days are over.”
“Seriously?”Lucas shook his head.
Felina pressed her lips together.“No matter how many times I tell them I’m okay, they don’t believe me.Some have even brought their sons or nephews to the shop for me to meet, hoping to find my perfect consolation prize for having lost out on marriage to Marty.Even my mother has been dragging potential suiters into my shop for me to consider.I can’t take it anymore.”
“That’s tough,” Lucas said.“I can’t believe you’re still talking to the other woman.”
“I kind of have to.”Felina looked away.“She asked me to provide the flowers for their wedding in two weeks.”
His eyebrows shot up his forehead.“And you said yes?”
“I’m the only florist in Bayou Mambaloa.If I had said no, I would appear churlish or worse...like I still have feelings for Marty.”
“And do you?”Lucas asked softly.
She shrugged.“It’s hard to shut off all feelings for someone you thought you’d marry.I do have feelings for him.But not the passionate, can’t-live-without-you kind of feelings.More like a nostalgia for what was and no longer can be.”
“Even though he dumped you for your best friend?”Lucas shook his head.“You’re a lot more forgiving than I’d be.”
“I feel a little at fault in this scenario,” she said.
“How so?You didn’t cheat on him, did you?”
“No.Nothing like that.”She looked into Lucas’s eyes.“Relationships take work.I didn’t put any effort into ours.I think we were drifting apart even before he hooked up with Trish.If I’d felt strongly enough about us, I would’ve worked harder.I guess I didn’t feel strongly enough.”
“And the need for a plus one at the wedding has to do with the marriage-minded mamas looking to match you with their boys?”
She nodded.“They’re driving me crazy.I just need all of this to die down so I can focus on my business.I hope that once the wedding is over, they’ll quit bothering me.Until then, my meddling neighbors will bring their boys to the shop, my mother will dig up some toothless Cajun to take me to the wedding, and I won’t get a moment’s rest.”She crossed her arms and rested them on the table, leaning toward him.“Which brings me to you.”
“Your plus one,” he said with a twisted grin.
“I had been toying with the idea of hiring someone to pretend to be my boyfriend for the two weeks leading up to the wedding and then have him be my date for the big day.”She narrowed her eyes.“Since I jumped the gun and kind of lied about you being my plus one, I’m in somewhat of a corner.You’re one of those Brotherhood Protectors like Remy and Gerard, right?”
He nodded, his brow dipping low.“Yeah.”
She continued.“You hire out for some kind of security service?”
“We do,” he said.
“What if I hire you to protect me from all those well-meaning friends and relatives until I can get past this damned wedding?”She cringed.“I mean, it’s not like being a bodyguard to a celebrity or politician, but I would pay good money.Would you be at all interested?”
Lucas tapped a finger to his chin and looked at her consideringly.“As an agent with the Brotherhood Protectors and former Delta Force operator, I take my duties seriously.”
“I understand,” she sighed.“This would be beneath you.”She reached across the table and grabbed his hands with both of hers and winced at the reminder that her injuries were still fresh and raw.“Look, I’m desperate.I need a break.My shop needs a break.I can’t get any work done when I have to wade through the ‘candidates’ on a daily basis.Will you be my fake boyfriend for the next two weeks and go with me to a wedding I have no desire to attend?”
“I don’t know…” Lucas said.
She glanced over his shoulder at the other members of his team gathered around a table, laughing and joking with each other.“If not you, do you think one of your teammates would consider the job?I mean, I could possibly get around the fact it isn’t you...”
He laced his fingers with hers.“I’ll do it,” he said.“On one condition...”
Relief flooded through her.“Fine.Anything.What’s the condition?”she asked.
