her assumed path upstairs to her room on the third floor. I busted in and found her sitting on the bed, shaking a bottle of nail polish.
“Oh.” She beamed. “Hey, Preston.”
“Fuck you!”
A low hiss breezed through her teeth. “Ouch. Someone’s testy.”
“What the hell was that, Delilah?”
“That was me doing what I had to do. You didn’t leave me much choice. Between that speech about waiting for Cinderella and mooning over that girl during speed-dating, people are getting the impression that you’re not as devoted to me as you claim to be.”
I placed my hands on the bed, glaring into her bored expression. “I’m not.”
She lifted her shoulders. “I know that and you know that. But no one else is supposed to catch on. I get what you see in her. She’s feisty. But we’re not blowing up our plans over a summer fling.”
“We can sleep with whoever we want, Delilah. That was the deal.”
“No, the deal was we discretely sleep with whoever we want. I can manage that. Why can’t you?”
“Belle isn’t the kind of girl to be anyone’s dirty little secret. How do I explain to her that we’re not dating, we’re not in love, we sleep around, but no one can know about it?”
Delilah pressed her finger between my brows and pushed me back. “That’s not my problem.”
“It is your problem, because I thought, at the very least, that we were friends.”
Finally, something akin to remorse cracked her smirk. She sighed. “We are friends. You know how much I appreciate you agreeing to all of this. Even with what you’re getting in return, ten out of ten guys would’ve said no. You’re better than all of them, Preston, and I want you to be happy... just not at my expense.
“No one can know just how fake this arrangement is. And it’ll be a pretty big hint if we watch you fall in love with someone else this summer.”
“Belle isn’t a threat to our impending nuptials. Did you miss her infamous reception speech?”
“No. I didn’t miss Carter’s speech this morning either. Apparently she is down to get married and I can’t risk her trading up for a husband that’s not dying.”
“Carter isn’t dying,” I scoffed. “That was a stream of bullshit from someone more calculating than you.”
“Wow. You do need better friends, don’t you?”
I chuckled mirthlessly. “I’m gonna get on that. Trust me.”
Delilah tried to hold my hand. “Just keep you and Belle quiet and everyone wins. Don’t forget what’s at stake. For you, not me. You’re going to throw everything away for some girl you barely know?”
“Don’t push me, Lilah. I’m the kind of privileged bastard that gets everything he wants. That’s not about to change for you.”
“Careful.” She rose up, squaring off with me. “You don’t want to battle with me over who has more to lose.”
“Oh, but I do. I really, really do.” Grinning, I flicked down. “Shit. I’m getting hard at the thought.”
Her shove came fast, though it didn’t move me an inch. I laughed at the attempt.
“Watch it, Preston! I will make your life a misery before and after the I dos.”
“You know what? I’m looking forward to it,” I said as I backed toward the door. “It’ll be fun watching you fight over me. I wonder what your side piece will think of that?”
She lobbed the nail polish at my head. It shattered on the wall, leaving a dripping, red splotch.
I strode out of the room, mentally recalculating my timetable.
BELLE
Day two and my plan was simultaneously working and going to shit. My suitor pool dried up quickly thanks to my lie. Trouble was Carter.
“Cute kids,” I mumbled. “Save it for the honeymoon.”
My thumb brushed my mouth. The gentle pressure of sweet, minty lips had yet to fade. Not to mention the five-minute scrubbing my ear received in the shower. It did little to stop his phantom tongue.
I wanted to believe he wouldn’t go through with it, but I experienced the total devotion he committed to making my life miserable in middle school. I hadn’t begun to plumb the depths of his desire for revenge.
Even so, Carter doesn’t have me over the barrel he thinks he does.
I took up my phone and dinner tray and carried it out to the balcony. The kitchen staff was kind enough to send my tray up, so I could avoid the swirling rumors. Marrying Carter but sneaking around with his best friend? That on top of the endless lies I’ve told in the past twenty-four hours. Dinner conversation