“Believe me, I do. I have it on good authority. Did you somehow misplace their money?” His gaze moved from my head to my toes and back again. “By the way you’re dressed, I’m guessing you lost it all on clothes.”
I tugged at the hem of my jacket. “If you knew anything about clothes, you’d know this suit was from a discount store.”
“I might not know about clothes, but I know a fraudster when I meet one.”
This. Wasn’t. Happening. I rolled my shoulders back, sucked in a calming breath, and stood tall.
Less than twenty minutes ago, everything had been perfect and was falling into place. But now this Keegan person threatened to destroy everything I’d worked for. One man had already tried that. He hadn’t succeeded. Neither would Keegan Devlin.
“I won this contract on my own merits, and I—”
“Own merits? More like false pretenses.”
“I don’t care what you call it.” I smoothed my fingers over my hair and ran my hands down the front of my jacket. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a wedding to plan.”
“But I do mind, very much.”
Adrenaline barreled through my bloodstream and possible solutions whirled around my mind. If I had any money, I could pay him off, but judging by his expensive wool coat, and the tailored suit beneath it, money wasn’t something he lacked.
Maybe if I contacted Violet, I could explain. Say it was all a misunderstanding. No, that wouldn’t work. Despite all the rubbish written online about my business, Violet was in love with my love story. If the superstar discovered it was all make-believe, I would be out of the wedding world forever.
“You’re so damn self-righteous and so caught up in calling me a liar,” I said, crossing my arms, “but maybe you should look in the mirror. By pretending to be my fiancé, you’re a liar, too. What will Barb say if she finds out?”
“She’d say she was grateful to have a professional here to clean up the disaster you’re going to make.”
“Why don’t you tell her now? Go on—” I shooed him with my hands, “—get it over with.”
He didn’t move. “And take away my fun? You need to understand you can’t lie and cheat your way through life to get what you want.”
“Who are you to question my integrity? I’ve busted my ass to get where I am, and I won’t let you ruin that.”
My adrenaline rush slowed, and drunken disorientation swamped me. How could I have been so smug, so stupid? Lying wasn’t the answer, but I’d been desperate. Everything I’d spent the past six years building was about to cave in. All thanks to one white lie and a devil with blue eyes.
“I’ve had enough of this.” A sob clawed its way up my throat, but I covered my mouth and turned it into a spluttering cough.
I teetered from the office on shaky legs, followed by Keegan. He grabbed my hand and curled his fingers around mine. A stream of unwelcome shivers charged up my arm and trickled down my spine before pooling at the base of my back.
My jumbled emotions conspired with my nervous system to take me down. Lust and anger drew a line in the snow and declared war in my body.
I turned to face him, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. “Don’t do this. Please.”
“Too late.” He loosened his tie, and an emotion I couldn’t quite place flickered through his eyes. “If I leave now, how will you explain my disappearance?”
“I’ll say you had urgent business.” My words rushed out. I was hopeful he was beginning to see sense. “You wanted to stay but couldn’t.”
“Covering lies with lies? Classy.”
A snow-damp curl fell onto his forehead, and he released my hand to shove it away. “For the next week, you have yourself a fiancé, sweetheart.” He stepped forward until we stood toe to toe. “Congratulations.”
I looked up, straight into his uncaring eyes. No matter how much he tried, he wouldn’t intimidate me.
“Don’t try to bully or scare me. I’ve dealt with worse than you and won.” I stepped backward. “And as for being my fiancé, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, I think so. Look at this place. You actually believe two superstars want to hold their wedding in this hovel? The place is a shit hole. It’ll be a catastrophe.”
“What if it isn’t a disaster? What if we work together? Make it perfect?” Newfound optimism swelled my heart. If I could get him on my side, promise him some credit for the job, he might soften. “If we form a temporary partnership, will you still tell Barb?”
He glowered. “Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t.”
Chapter Four
Keegan
Everything Shane had said checked out—the lies, the missing money—but something about Tessa tugged at me. She was either genuinely desperate or someone who could give Jennifer Lawrence a run for her next Oscar. There was a lot more to her story, and I wanted to find out what that was.
When I had a few minutes, I’d call my cousin Niall. Last month, he’d accepted a detective’s position, and if there was any dirt on Tessa, Niall would find it and fast. A background check was something I should’ve had carried out before booking my flight. Usually, I was obsessively methodical, never impulsive, and always listened to the facts. But when Shane told me about Tessa, logic flew out the window, and until I knew something different, I’d treat everything she said as a lie. She wouldn’t make a fool out of me. Not like
