Three

      Lily did her best to stay busy at work the next morning, but knowing where she and Noah were going at eleven made it tough to focus. A mere twenty-four hours into their fake engagement and Noah was about to take her to buy the ring. She’d be lying if she said she’d never thought about stepping into a fancy jewelry store with a sweet, handsome, romantic guy. Her broken engagement had come with a ring that was a family heirloom, no shopping required. She’d had no idea that Peter wouldn’t be able to go through with the promise that accompanied that ring, but returning it had been a simple process. She’d thrown it at him in a quiet room just outside the nave. He’d cursed her, scrambled on his hands and knees for it, nearly ruining his tuxedo pants. She’d cried and braced herself for what followed—telling a church full of invited guests that they were welcome to enjoy the reception, but there would be no wedding.

      The events of that dreadful day were precisely why her fake engagement to Noah, although fun in premise, was about business and nothing else. She’d never had financial security in her life and that became her top priority after the love part went south. She had to take her chance to secure her future. It would be one fewer thing to fret about, in a world fraught with things that could make a woman worry, like whether or not Mr. Right would ever come along.

      Out walked Noah from the confines of Sawyer’s office. “So we’re all set with the photographer or whoever is supposed to be outside the jewelry store?”

      Sawyer followed his brother. “According to Kendall, yes. As to who it is and where they’ll be, I have no idea. You’ll have to be as convincing as possible. These people are very good at sniffing out a fake. And, honestly, you need to act like someone is watching, even when you don’t know for certain that they are. The video should have taught you that much.”

      Noah cast his sights at Lily. It was as if he was saying Can you believe what we’re doing? To which Lily would have replied No.

      “I don’t want any obvious signs that this is a Locke and Locke purchase, so put the ring on one of your personal cards instead of the company’s. We’ll find a way to reimburse you for it,” Sawyer said. “I don’t know if they’ll let us return it when it’s all said and done, but I suppose we could always sell it if we had to.”

      This was all too strange, an unromantic transaction. Lily dug around in her purse for a piece of gum, just to distract herself from this deeply uncomfortable subject.

      “Sawyer, listen to yourself. We’re not doing that.” Noah grabbed his coat and slipped it on. The man had incredible shoulders, but the black wool brought out the strong line of them, enough to make her stifle a sigh. “If I give Lily a ring, she gets to keep it. I’m not asking for it back, even if this is fake.”

      Lily’s heart broke out in a gallop, fierce and strong, like a young horse discovering it could run for as long and as far as it wanted to. That might have been the most romantic thing a man had ever said about her.

      Even when his sweet sentiment was tied up with a satin bow called “fake.”

      Sawyer stuffed his hands into his pockets. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. Lily, whatever you choose today, it’s yours to keep.”

      “Oh. Well, thank you. I guess we’ll call it combat pay?”

      Sawyer laughed. Noah did, too, but it was far less convincing and came only after his brother had started it. He seemed so tortured over this whole thing, it was impossible to feel good about it.

      “I’m kidding. Of course. If I wanted combat pay, I’d ask for cash.” She smiled sweetly and got up from her desk, wishing there was a protocol somewhere for interactions with your fake fiancée and your fake future brother-in-law. She felt a bit like she was failing right now.

      “You two have fun. Try not to get into too much trouble,” Sawyer said, heading back into his office.

      “No promises,” Noah muttered. “And we’re going out to lunch afterward.”

      “On the company dime?” Lily asked.

      Noah unleashed a devilish smile. “Of course.” He then offered her his arm, which he held in midair while Lily struggled to keep up with what she was supposed to do. “Remember what Sawyer said. We need to act like someone is watching at all times.”

      “Right.” She hooked hers in his and he snugged her against his body, sending a lovely shock right through her. One touch, through layers of coats no less, and she felt like her shoes might shoot right off her feet.

      They took the stairs down to the street. Noah’s driver was waiting for them, standing outside the sleek black town car. He opened the door as they approached and Lily struggled to stay in the moment, to not let her consciousness become too detached from what was happening. This was a fantasy brought to life, and she should embrace the good parts. There would surely be bad moments when she would end up with flickers of regret over doing this crazy thing. For now, Noah Locke, Mr. Unattainable, was taking her to buy an engagement ring. She wanted to soak up every minute.

      They got settled in the back seat. “Warm enough?” Noah asked.

      She nodded. “Yes.”

      “Good.”

      “Yes.” Wow. So this is what the world’s worst small talk is like.

      “I was thinking...” He looked out the window and shook his head.

      “What? You were thinking what?”

      He turned back and looked at her so earnestly she thought she might disappear into his green eyes. “What do people do after they buy an engagement ring?”

      Have sex? Lily thought for a second about putting it out there, but decided there were only so many inappropriate jokes she could make. That would not be professional. “I don’t know. Kiss?”

      “Yes. Exactly.” He nodded a little too fast, almost as if he was nervous, which seemed impossible. She’d witnessed more human moments out of Noah in the last day than she’d ever seen before. It was nice. “And, obviously, we haven’t done that yet. I don’t think it should be awkward. It should seem natural, especially if anyone is taking a picture.”

      She put her hand on his. “Right. Like Sawyer said.”

      “Following orders.”

      “He needs us to put on a good show. We should practice. At least once.” The instant she said it, the air crackled with electricity. She’d pushed things to the next level. With the help of some convenient excuses, of course.

      Noah’s clever half smile crossed his lips, and his eyes swirled to a darker shade. The city whizzed by outside the window. Lily was overcome with the freeing feeling of being given permission to do something you shouldn’t. Kissing Noah was such a bad idea, but when you’d thought about a bad idea for two whole years, it was hard not to be excited by it. His hand slipped under her hair and around her neck. She sat straighter. She angled herself closer. Every nerve ending in her body was cheering him on. His thumb settled in the soft spot under her ear. His touch was more than warm. It was a superhuman zap of heat. It might turn her into something she’d never been before.

      His lips parted ever so slightly and she raised her chin as he lowered his head. His hair slumped forward. She loved that. She’d fantasized a million times about running her hands through it, feeling the thick strands between her fingers and smoothing it back. She wanted to stare at him forever, but she also wanted to savor every delicious heartbeat of anticipation. Her eyes fluttered shut. When his mouth met hers, she waited for it to change her life, but it was a soft brush of a kiss. A first date kiss. An oh hi nice to meet you kiss. It was nice. So nice. But nice wasn’t going to cut it. Her body didn’t merely tell her so, it was screaming it in both ears. She slanted her head and pushed up from the seat, aiming her shoulders straight for his. He pulled back.