Chapter Three

      Christine felt her mouth go dry at his words. She’d changed him?

      “At least that’s what my family needs to believe,” he clarified.

      “Schuyler agreed not to tell anyone,” Christine argued, although the thought of how she’d go about convincing people that she and Gavin were really a thing made goose bumps dance along her skin. Talk about the adventure of a lifetime.

      “We told her not to tell anyone.” He traced his thumb in circles against the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. “But there’s no way she’s going to be able to resist.”

      “So we’ll need to convince your family this is real,” she whispered. “Your parents will be upset they didn’t know.”

      “They’ll understand,” he assured her. “I’ll make sure they do.”

      “I hate lying to your father...to anyone in your family. They’ve been so good to me.”

      “This isn’t going to change anything,” he promised.

      But Christine knew nothing would ever be the same. She should stop this charade right now, march downstairs and explain to Schuyler that it was all a big misunderstanding. Although she was sober, maybe she could pretend to be drunk. Blaming her crazy behavior on alcohol might give her a decent excuse.

      Gavin’s jacket began to ring. He stood and moved toward the bed, pulling his phone out of the pocket of the discarded tuxedo coat.

      “Hey, sis,” he said into the device. “No, I’m not coming back down.” Pause. “Yes, she’s with me.” Pause. “I don’t think she’s going to care about the bouquet.” Pause with an added eye roll. “Don’t go there, Schuyler. I told you this is special. She’s special. Let me enjoy it, okay?” Pause. “I understand and appreciate it. I love you, too.” Pause. “Okay, I’ll see you at the brunch in the morning.”

      He punched the screen to end the call then tossed the phone on the bed again.

      “You missed the bouquet.”

      Christine stood. “I’m okay with that. You shouldn’t be annoyed with Schuyler for calling. I don’t want this to complicate things with you and your family.”

      He moved toward her. “My family is always complicated, especially now that the Fortunes are involved. My only concern is you. As much as I appreciate what you did earlier, if you aren’t okay with this arrangement, we’ll end it.”

      Here was her chance. A dance, a few kisses and she’d go back to her normal life before the clock struck midnight, like some sort of Fortune-inspired Cinderella.

      But she couldn’t force her mouth to form the words. Despite this whole thing being fake, she wasn’t going to miss her chance at getting to know Gavin. Under what other circumstances would a man like him choose to date someone like her?

      Not that she was down on herself. Christine liked her life and felt comfortable with who she was. Usually. But she wasn’t the type of woman who could catch Gavin Fortunado’s attention. Until now.

      “I don’t want it to end,” she said, embarrassed that she sounded breathless.

      Gavin didn’t seem to notice. He cupped her cheeks in his hands. “Me neither,” he whispered and kissed her. Once again it felt like fireworks exploding through her body. The kiss was sweet and passionate at the same time. He seemed in no hurry to speed things along, content to take his time as he explored her lips.

      Then his mouth trailed over her jaw and along her throat, her skin igniting from the touch. He tugged on the strap of her dress, and it fell down her shoulder. He kissed his way from the base of her neck to her collarbone. Her body was all heat and need. She wanted so much from this moment that she couldn’t even put it all into words.

      “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

      The compliment was like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head. She wrenched away, yanking her dress strap back into place.

      “Don’t say that,” she told him, shaking her head. “You don’t have to say that.”

      Confusion clouded his vivid green eyes. “In my experience, women like to hear those words.”

      She swallowed. How was she supposed to respond without sounding like she was fishing for something more? That wasn’t the case at all. In fact, she felt the opposite. She didn’t want or need him to tell her she was beautiful because it simply wasn’t true.

      Christine prided herself on being pragmatic about her appearance. Growing up, she’d been a chubby girl with thick glasses and bright red hair that was more frizz than curls. Her mom had forced her to keep it in frizzy Annie-style curls that were anything but flattering. Christine had spent years enduring teasing, much of it led by her younger sister, until she’d become an expert at not being seen.

      Aimee, with her larger-than-life personality and classic beauty, had been happy to step into the spotlight. She went to parties and on dates, while Christine spent most of her high school years in her room reading or listening to music. No one in her family seemed to notice or care as she slipped further into the periphery of their lives.

      She’d decided to change things when she went away to college. She’d gotten contacts and started running, shedding the excess pounds that had plagued her for years. A bevy of expensive hair products helped her tame her wild mane, and the color had mellowed from the bright orange of her childhood. Her dad had called her “baby carrot” as a kid, and her sister had amended the nickname to “jumbo carrot” due to Christine’s size. Even though she thankfully hadn’t heard the nickname in years, it was how she still thought of herself.

      She took pains with her appearance and she knew she wasn’t ugly. She was decent-looking, in fact. But beautiful? No, not to someone like Gavin.

      “This is not real,” she said, both for his sake and to remind herself.

      Gavin’s thick brows furrowed. “That doesn’t mean—”

      “What’s your favorite color?”

      “Um...blue.”

      “Mine’s