Twisted Love (Modern Romance #3) - Piper Lawson Page 0,12

to be married.

“Maybe this isn’t the right fit.” He retracts the sheet of paper.

I see the number slipping away. Shit. I want his business. It’s the next step I’ve seen for us for months.

A figure emerging from the stairwell into the foyer beyond the glass wall has me frowning.

“Would you excuse me, please.”

I head into the main office, pulling the conference room door behind me.

Ben’s determined expression softens when he sees me. “Delivery. Hold out your arm.”

I do, and he clicks the bracelet around my wrist. I heave out a sigh. “How’d you find this?”

“The waitress found it under the table after brunch. The restaurant called me because my name was on the reservation.” He looks past me. “How’s the pitch going?”

“He wants a spin doctor for his son’s wedding.”

“You’re not taking it?”

“I want his resort business, not to play PR babysitter. But,” I relent. “It doesn't help that Lil told me she lost her scholarship today. I could use the extra money.”

“I thought she crushed her exams.”

“She did.”

He brushes a piece of hair from my face.

I need to get back to the clients. “Thank you for this. You happened to have a spare hour to return it personally?”

“My assistant canceled two meetings so I could.”

My chest tightens. I’m caught in his eyes when a throat clearing from behind us has me turning.

“Benjamin! I had no idea you knew each other.” Richard extends a hand, which Ben takes.

“Daisy and I went to school together. Met through a mutual friend.”

“Congratulations on your award nomination,” Richard says.

Of course Vane would know Ben and Xavier. They'd run in the same circles.

Richard looks between us. “You make a striking couple. If I’d known you were a team, I wouldn’t have questioned my offer, Daisy.”

Ben starts to correct him, but I grab his wrist before he can speak, squeezing hard.

Because Vane's face lit up. In it, I see paying for my sister’s tuition now and landing his company on retainer later, which means the ability to take on more staff—plus maybe even interns, people a couple years older than Lil, graduating school with brains and ambition.

I see the ability to grow my business and help more people.

“You caught us,” I say, smiling.

Ben recovers so fast, I’m left wondering if this was his plan all along. “I thought you didn’t want to tell anyone.” He brushes a hand down my bare arm.

I’m going to eat so much shit for this later. “Well, since we both know Richard, I suppose it would be hard to keep it a secret forever. But just as the right publicity is important, so is the right privacy.”

Vane looks between us before offering a grin. “Camila said I should give you another chance, and it seems her intuition is right. I appreciate your discretion and I trust you understand what I require—what we require—of this arrangement.”

“Of course. I’ll draw up an agreement immediately. If you could send the schedule of activities and contact information, plus any contracts with media or other partners, I’ll review those today and be prepared to move forward.”

“Good. If this goes well, I would be pleased to talk about further business. Consider this a trial.”

A month and I can get the real business I want. In the meantime, I can pay for Lil’s school.

“We have an interview scheduled for this week,” Camila tells me as we head toward the door.

I nod, committing that to memory. “I trust your fiancé will be involved.”

“Oh. One would think.”

Her tone has my attention flying to her eyes, searching for the irony her voice seemed intent on masking, but they leave before I can ask what she means. I’m standing with Ben as I stare after them.

“So, we’re doing this.” His smug voice has me turning to face him.

As I take in his handsome face, the triumph on it, I can’t get onboard with his comfort level.

“Yes. We'll attend your awards gala together. Act like a couple. But we need a plan. A backstory. And ground rules.”

Ben cocks his head, apparently amused. “This isn’t war games.”

It feels like it. The smallest miscalculation could mean disaster.

“Deception isn't my thing. So to make sure there are no slip-ups, we should decide on a few principles around what to tell Vane if he asks, and Xavier too."

“Fine. You’re the details person.” Ben’s phone buzzes and he glances at it. “I'm taking a lunch near the Met. Let’s meet there after.”

I nod. “I’ll come up with a list of questions. We’ll go through them together.” I rub