I WOKE the next morning to my phone buzzing.
“Hello?” I asked. My voice was raspy with sleep.
“I have a great idea.”
I rubbed my eyes. “Emmett?”
“Are you still sleeping? Adams, it’s nine in the morning.”
“I know, it’s nine in the morning, and you’re calling me. So rude.”
“I get up at six every day. We should get married.”
I narrowed my eyes, replaying the words I must have mistakenly heard. “No, thank you.”
“It’s working, Adams. My polling numbers shot up the second you and I stepped out together. Also, Miri sent herself that picture from last night and posted it on social media.”
“The second one?” I remembered the way his mouth brushed my cheek right before he got a bunch of my hair in his mouth. His stubble had scraped my skin so gently. Why did I keep replaying that?
“No, thank god, the first one. My phone has been ringing all morning with people around town wanting to congratulate us.”
I pulled my phone away from my ear and saw a few phone calls and missed texts. I didn’t care what most people thought, but there were a select few in town I didn’t like lying to, including Hannah, Keiko, Max, and Elizabeth. I winced. I didn’t think about Elizabeth when we made this deal, I just thought about myself. But now, I’d have to lie to Elizabeth about dating her son, and I liked and respected her. I chewed my lip and stared at the trees outside my bedroom window, thinking.
“We wouldn’t have to actually get married, we could just get engaged,” Emmett was saying. “People love weddings. This would create so much buzz. You saw how Miri reacted and that was just us dating. Imagine if we got engaged, she’d lose her mind.”
Married. Blegh. My stomach churned. My initial reaction to Miri’s mention of a wedding last night was accurate—I had no desire to get married, especially after what I saw my parents go through. What they made me go through.
I had worked my way up from the bottom. I would never allow myself to give away half of what I had, especially when things inevitably went south. I would never allow someone to do what my father did to my mom.
“Emmett, you already said it was working, why do we need to get engaged?”
“I don’t have this in the bag yet. Isaac is still ahead.”
“I’m not doing it.”
I hung up on him, and my head dropped back on the pillow. My phone began to buzz a second later.
“No,” I answered.
“Double-paned windows.”
“What?”
“The Arbutus still uses single-paned windows. Do you know how energy inefficient those are? I could cut thirty percent off your utility bills in the summer and winter by switching them out.”
“You’re going to give me free double-paned windows if I pretend to get engaged to you?” I rubbed my eyes again and stared at the ceiling. It was way too early to be agreeing to a fake engagement. “How romantic.”
“Mhm.”
While Emmett talked about how it would work, I slipped out of bed and padded over to the kitchen to make coffee. It wasn’t that different from what I was already doing—try to smile at him, not jerk my hand away when he reached for it, pretend to like him. The wedding would never happen. We’d quietly break up sometime after the election, and everyone would go back to their business.
I watched the coffeemaker drip caffeine into the pot. “Fine.”
Emmett made a satisfied noise on the other end. “Excellent. I’ll drop by the restaurant to say hi later.”
“No, don’t—”
But he had already hung up.
“I’LL TAKE THAT,” I told Max that evening during dinner service, handing him a full pitcher of water and taking the empty one from him.
He accepted it with relief before heading back out into the restaurant, and I went back to watching Chuck in front of me, seated at the bar. He was glancing around the restaurant and making notes in a notebook in between mouthfuls of the linguine pasta I had reverse-engineered to the best of my ability with the chef yesterday.
“How’s your food, Chuck?” I asked. He had a big grease stain on the front of his shirt.
He stared at me for a second before making a note in his notebook. “Too salty.” He shoveled another bite into his face.
My eyebrows rose, but I kept my customer service smile pasted on my face, reserved purely for people like Chuck. If only I could see what he was writing in that book.
“You have a lot of staff,” he commented, reaching up and digging into his ear before wiping it on his cloth napkin. I suppressed a gag.
“It’s our busiest night,” I told him with a shrug. “All hands on deck.”
It was Thursday night, and I was standing behind the bar, doing what I could to help keep things moving along as the restaurant was bursting at the seams with customers. Thursday nights were when locals visited the restaurant. Visitors from Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle often swarmed Queen’s Cove for weekend vacations, so locals knew to avoid us on weekends. During these summer months, most locals worked weekends anyway. Summer tourism was how Queen’s Cove made money, either through the bars and restaurants, the outdoor activities like surfing or kayaking tours, or the kitschy gift shops with mugs, t-shirts, and fridge magnets with our town’s name on them. Thursday night was the locals’ weekend.
Chuck sent a wry glance at Max, who stepped up beside me to make drinks. “Heard you’re trying to buy the place.”
“I am buying the place,” I corrected him.
He made a disapproving noise in the back of his throat and wrote something down. My shoulders tensed, and I shrugged it off. Whatever he was writing in his notebook—people to fire, dishes to remove from the menu, changes to the decor—none of it would come to fruition because the plan Emmett and I had cooked up, it was going to work.
Keiko walked in the front door, and the hostess greeted her. I gave her a cheery wave. Chuck wrenched around in his seat to see who I waved at, and when he saw Keiko, he hopped up to go over and say hi to her.
His notebook lay open on the bar.
Read it, the devil inside me whispered.
I snorted. Emmett must have been rubbing off on me.
Before I could change my mind, I whirled around and left the bar area. I didn’t need to see whatever was in that book. I was better than Chuck. I was hardworking, treated my employees with respect, and I had enough business smarts to run this place. Keiko knew this, and I didn’t need to worry about whatever was written in that book.
I spotted Hannah and her father at a nearby table.
“Hey, you two. Frank, so good to see you,” I said to her father, who I rarely saw around town. He was a shy, quiet man.
He gave me a quick wave and a warm smile. “Hello. Hannah convinced me to put the book down and go out for a nice meal tonight.”
“I’m thrilled that she did,” I told them. “Can I get you anything?”
Hannah smiled softly up at me and shook her head. She and her dad had the same smile. They were splitting our paella with a few glasses of white wine. “Everything is great. Thanks, Avery.”
Frank looked across the table at his daughter with affection. He gestured outside at the setting sun on the water, splashing oranges and pinks across the sky. “And what a view.”
Hannah smiled again and raised her eyebrows at me. There was a glint of something in her eye I hadn’t seen before. Mischief.
“What’s that look?” I asked her, frowning. “What do you know that I don’t?”
She shook her head and smiled into her napkin. “Nothing, nothing. It’s nice to be here.”
I clapped my hands together. “Alright, well, please let me know if you need anything else, and enjoy your dinner.” I noticed the empty bread basket on the table. “I’ll send over some more bread.”
I bumped straight into Elizabeth Rhodes on my way back to the bar. She had just stepped in the door.
“Oh, Elizabeth.” I put my hand on her arm. “Nice to see you. Hi, Sam,” I said to her husband, Emmett’s dad. It suddenly struck me how he looked like an older version of Emmett, with his thick, short hair, strong nose, and light gray eyes. Behind him stood Wyatt and Holden. “It’s a whole gaggle of Rhodeses tonight.” The whole Rhodes family was here except Finn. I could see various women throughout the restaurant sending glances their way. They were all over six feet, and all handsome in their own way. Emmett in his chiseled Ralph Lauren way, Holden in his beard scruff, plaid-clad, gruff but polite mountain man way, and Wyatt with his sandy blond hair that was perpetually in need of a haircut, and lazy, overly confident smile.
I glanced around for the host, Rachel, but she was seating another group at their table.
Elizabeth beamed at me. “Emmett suggested we all go out for dinner here, isn’t that nice?”
Emmett appeared at my side and put his arm around my shoulder with a smile. “Avery, looking gorgeous as always.”
My face prickled, and I ignored the warmth and weight of his arm on my shoulder.
“Rachel,” I said to her as she returned. “Can you please seat the Rhodes family at Table One?” I smiled at Elizabeth. “Let’s give you a view, shall we?”
“Actually,” Emmett interjected, “we’d prefer a table in the main dining room. Right in the middle of the action.”
My eyes narrowed at him. What was he doing? “Table One has a much better view of the harbor.”
He grinned down at me and my gaze snagged on the tiny white scar on his lip. Annoying, meddling, tall man. “We’d like to be in the main room with everyone else.”
Elizabeth waved a hand. “Oh, honey, it doesn’t matter where we sit.”
Emmett stared at me intently. “I insist. Give Table One to someone else.”
I met his gaze, glaring at him for a moment before I broke. “Rachel, please put the Rhodes family at Table Ten. Right smack dab in the middle of the dining room.” I turned to Emmett with my most pleasant, polite smile. “Happy?”
His amused grin was sincere. “Absolutely. Thanks, sweetheart.”
“Anytime, darling.” I then looked at everyone. “Enjoy your dinner.”
Rachel gestured at them. “Follow me.”
Emmett gave my shoulder a squeeze and quickly winked, and the family followed Rachel, except for Elizabeth, who wrapped me in a tight hug. She smelled like roses, and I relaxed against her.
“What’s this for?”
She pulled back and beamed at me. “I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear the news about you and my Emmett. I always thought you didn’t like him!”
She gave my arm a light slap, and I laughed nervously.
“Oh, ha-ha. Got you,” I said in a joking tone.
“You two fooled me.” She shook her head at me.
Elizabeth, you have no idea.
Later, when the dinner rush was in full swing and the bar was stocked, I headed to my office.
“Where are you going?” Max asked the second I stepped into the hallway, blocking my path.
I pointed behind him. “I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”
“We need you out here tonight.”
“I’m just getting in the way,” I dismissed him. “Is there something in particular you need?”
Max stood his ground. He sent a glance over my shoulder. “There’s a customer who wants to complain about something?”
I frowned at him. “Who, Chuck?”
There was the tinkling sound of someone clinking their glass, and the entire restaurant quieted down behind us. I stepped back out into the restaurant, curious.
Emmett stood at his table with his glass raised.
Oh my god. My gut wrenched with panic, my lungs constricted, and I remembered the conversation we had a few days ago, right after I woke up.
I had forgotten about it.
My mind began to race. Here? No. Tonight? He was going to do it tonight? But we had only talked about it a couple days ago. There was supposed to be more planning involved. The guy could have given me some warning. I spun around, intending to sprint back into my office, lock the door, and slide the filing cabinet in front. Max, however, the little brat, blocked me again.
“No, you don’t,” he said, turning me back around. He locked his arm around my shoulders to hold me steady.
“What are you doing?” I hissed at him. “Whose side are you on?”
He continued smiling at Emmett while whispering to me out of the corner of his mouth. “Emmett slipped me a hundred bucks to make sure you were here for this.”
That bastard. A tiny fraction of me was impressed. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The guy was always strategizing, always scheming. The deal we cooked up? It had come to him so naturally. He had everything figured out before I even said yes. Of course he had this timed to the minute.
“Most of you know me,” Emmett was saying to the restaurant. “I was born and raised here in Queen’s Cove, and you know my parents, Elizabeth and Sam.” He tipped his glass to them and smiled. “This town means more to me than most of you will ever know. I’ve traveled all over, but I’ve never met a finer group of people.”
Wow, he was laying it on thick. My pulse picked up speed. Maybe this was just a toast to his campaign.
“I love this town, and I love the people who live here, that’s why I’m running for mayor. The people of Queen’s Cove are important, and I’m going to do everything I can to protect them, including upgrading the electrical grid so those power outages are a thing of the past.”
People started clapping, and he waited for them to finish. I rolled my eyes. In Emmett’s head, he was Jesus Christ himself, here to save our sad little town. Annoying.
Emmett nodded. “You know me as the Queen’s Cove boy who caused trouble with my brothers, you know me as the upcoming mayor, but there’s a side of me you don’t know.”
Emmett, the showman he was, let this last sentence settle in the room. There was a ripple of curiosity throughout the restaurant. My stomach was in knots, twisting and churning, and adrenaline dripped into my bloodstream from the anticipation. His family exchanged curious glances. Not a soul made a noise.
“I’m also a man in love.”
Every woman in the room except me swooned. My face tingled, and I couldn’t tell whether it was from exasperation, nerves, or nausea. Diners watched me with big smiles. They must have seen Miri’s photo of us online.
Emmett gave them all a bashful look. “That’s right. I’ve fallen head over heels for the last person I expected.” He set his wine glass on the table and reached into his pocket.
I closed my eyes. Why, why did I agree to do this? This was mortifying. No one was going to believe it. They’d take one look at my face and know it was a complete load of crap.
Emmett pulled out a small, navy-blue velvet box, and a chorus of gasps rose up around the room. He looked straight at me, and Max’s grasp on my shoulders tightened in response. My throat was thick. Even as Emmett inflicted this mortification on me, I couldn’t look away from him. He was an anchor. He was the only person who knew the truth, and we were in this together.
He gave me a soft smile and walked across the restaurant to me. The slow thump of his boots on the hardwood echoed as everyone held their breath.
Max shoved me forward to the center of the restaurant. Everyone could see me.
“Avery,” Emmett said, and behind him, Elizabeth clutched her hands to her mouth in elation. “I know you’re scared, and you wanted to keep us a secret.” He reached out and took my hands. “But baby, I’m crazy about you, and I want to tell the world. You make me a better man. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He dropped down to one knee and more gasps rose up around the room.
“Oh my god!” Max squealed behind me.
My head was about to explode. A nervous laugh sat right below my vocal cords, ready to bubble up at any minute. My stomach twisted back and forth. My hands shook in Emmett’s. Everyone stared at me. Every single person I considered a friend was here tonight, watching me, watching this happen.
On bended knee in front of me, Emmett opened the box.
My mouth fell open.
It was a vintage diamond ring from the 1920s, Art Deco style. I’d seen similar styles online. It sparkled brilliantly, catching the light from every angle. The center diamond was a soft gray, just like the color of Emmett’s eyes. A halo of tiny white diamonds encircled the larger diamond, with baguette-style gems cascading from the halo.
It was gorgeous. It was complicated, unique, over the top, and yet dainty. My heart squeezed.
How did he know what I would like? The only person I had told about this was—
My gaze cut to Hannah, who gave me a soft smile while biting her lip in anticipation. She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
I swallowed again and my gaze returned to Emmett. His money and influence knew no bounds in this town, it appeared.
“Avery Adams, will you marry me?” he asked softly, but just loud enough for everyone to hear.
The whole restaurant was silent, waiting for my answer. Emmett watched me with a gentle, reverent look on his face. I was frozen. My thoughts moved through jello, slow and sluggish. The longer I was silent, the more the tension grew. Shit, what was I doing? I had to say something. I had to say yes.
Out of the corner of my eye, Chuck fidgeted in his seat before checking his phone, like he was bored.
The restaurant. I was doing this so I could get the restaurant. Emmett and I were in this together, and I always kept my word. I always held up my end of the bargain.
Uncertainty flickered through Emmett’s eyes as he waited for my answer. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Yes?” His eyebrows shot up, and I could tell he was relieved I didn’t fuck it all up. “Yes?”
I nodded and smiled despite myself. It was fun, playing with Emmett’s sanity and emotions like this. “Yes.”
He slipped the ring on my finger, stood, and before I realized it, stepped into my personal space and put his mouth on mine.
I stopped breathing.
His arms wrapped around me. Emmett was kissing me.
Around us, applause and cheering exploded. Emmett was kissing me. A champagne bottle popped behind the bar. Emmett was kissing me.
His mouth was warm, soft, and I felt the lightest scrape of stubble on my skin, which sent a little shiver down my spine. I could smell his masculine scent, and my hands instinctively came to his chest. I shivered again when his fingers tangled into my hair.
Before my brain could make sense of what was happening, he pulled back and smiled down at me. “Nice work,” he murmured into my hair.
We were immediately surrounded by happy friends and family, wishing us well and congratulating us. Even though we kept getting pulled apart for hugs and handshakes, Emmett stuck by my side like glue, one hand always on me, whether it was my elbow or my hand or my shoulder or the small of my back. It was loud, noisy, and chaotic, and I didn’t have time to think while smiling and thanking people and shrugging with a quick smile when people told me they had no idea.
After everyone settled down and went back to their tables, and the staff had gone back to work, I returned to my office and closed the door before sitting down, closing my eyes, and putting my head in my hands.
I let a long breath out. My pulse slowed but my mind still raced. I couldn’t believe we did it. We pulled it off.
Elizabeth’s jubilant expression projected in my mind. She had raced over and given me another hug after Emmett proposed, beaming at me with tears in her eyes. She was over the moon about us. Her oldest son was getting married. This was everything she wanted.
Guilt washed through me, and I winced. I didn’t like this, and I didn’t like lying to her. She was a nice woman, and I could already picture the disappointment on her face when she learned Emmett and I hadn’t worked out.
But then I thought about what would happen if I didn’t go along with this charade. Emmett wouldn’t cosign on my loan, I’d be out of luck, and Chuck would swoop in and buy the restaurant from Keiko. He’d turn it into a strip club or something.
Was I doing something wrong? Yes. But it was the lesser of two evils, so what choice did I have?
And if the lesser evil meant wearing this ring for a couple months, I was on board. It caught the light as I tilted my hand to and fro. Every tiny diamond was placed with intention and care. I had never seen a ring quite like it.
“Just gorgeous,” I breathed.
There was a knock at the door before Emmett stuck his head in.
“Good work, Adams,” he said with approval, stepping in, closing the door behind him, and leaning against the filing cabinet.
I stared at him a beat.
He made a face and crossed his arms over his chest. “What? What do you have to be cranky about now? That went better than I could have imagined. That little hesitation before saying yes?” He shook his head with wistful satisfaction. “You’re a natural. Who, me? Marry you? Well, I don’t know…” he mimicked in a high-pitched voice and bit his lip.
“That wasn’t for show. I was debating whether buying the restaurant is worth taking a one-way trip to hell with you.”
His mouth hitched, and his gaze settled on me. My skin prickled, remembering the way our eyes met when we were inches apart. “You’re funny. Did you know that?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He winked. “And modest. Looks like we have that in common.” He straightened up. “Engagement party at my house, Sunday.” He paused and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “Wear that lipstick you wore to dinner with Miri and Scott.”
He gave me a devilish grin, and I stood, placed my hands on his chest, then gently shoved him out of my office.
“Out,” I told him.
He laughed and put his hands up. “Okay, okay. Goodnight, Adams.”
I closed the door and flopped down in my chair. He was still thinking about that red lipstick, huh? I thought about the way his gaze lingered on my mouth the other night, the way heat flashed in his eyes before he blinked it away, and how it sent electricity straight down between my legs.
I shook my head to myself and woke up my computer. Emmett was trickling into my thoughts more and more, but it was only because I was spending so much time with the guy. Also, I hadn’t been laid in a while. This was natural. Of course I was thinking about him, he was a handsome man who I was pretending to date. My body didn’t know the difference.
My brain did, though. This was just a deal. Emmett wasn’t interested in me, or he would have made a move years ago. Not that I would have done anything about it. So all I needed to do, if I wanted this whole agreement to go smoothly, was keep a cool head.
Easy peasy.
