Liam leads me inside a building that looks like it could be a courthouse. Everywhere I look, there are men and women in formal wear. The women all wear dresses of a similar style to the elegant black dress Liam left on my bed. He even laid out what must be thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. I decided to wear my hair down, but seeing some of the meticulously done hairstyles of the other women makes me feel immediately self conscious.

All my anxiety doubles when Liam pulls me aside just outside the building. He looks absolutely dashing in his black suit and white undershirt. He wears a few buttons undone, leaving little doubt about the sculpted body beneath the clothes, as if the way his pants hug his lean, powerful legs didn’t already send that message clearly enough.

“I almost forgot,” he says, reaching in his pocket and holding up an engagement ring. “We should probably have gone on a couple dates before I had you wear this, but I couldn’t wait to see how it looked on you.”

He takes me gently by the wrist and slides the most gorgeous engagement ring I’ve ever seen onto my finger. I look down at it, feeling suddenly light-headed. “How does it look?” I ask faintly.

He looks me up and down, barely glancing at the ring. “Like a dream.”

I clear my throat, trying to break the spell he seems to be casting over me. No matter how many times I tell myself this is just a game, I can’t shake how real it feels or how badly part of me wants it to be real. He’s using me. That’s all. And maybe part of me is using him too. He needs me to keep his daughter and I need him to convince Jake things are really over. But somehow I don’t think that’s the only reason I agreed to this.

All the romantic movies and books I watched growing up always made it seem like the right guy would just come storming into a girl’s life when she needed him most. I don’t know if I ever really believed the real world worked like that, but I guess I hoped it did. Year after year, that hope died a little more. And now? Now the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen could be offering me that exact opportunity.

In the movies it never seems this hard. The girls usually know the guy wants them more than anything in the world, and all they have to do is let themselves be taken. But with Liam, I don’t know if he wants any of this to be real. Sure, he has flirted with me and I’ve felt some sort of spark between us, but I’ve never really seen him with other women. Some guys are just flirts, and I’d challenge any woman not to feel a spark around a guy like him. I’d challenge them not to feel a full-blown fire, for that matter.

Liam leads me inside the building, guiding me with a strong hand splayed across my back. It feels surprisingly good to have him touch me like this, even if it’s just for show. I feel claimed--owned even, and when it’s a guy like Liam doing the claiming, I’m having trouble finding reason to complain. Liam waves to a beautiful woman with jet black hair and blue eyes. I notice the man holding her arm second. He’s handsome enough, but the woman doesn’t look like the right fit for him. She’s much younger, for starters, and she’s the type of woman that could charm any man. Maybe she’s after his money?

I mentally scold myself for the thought. Look at me. A couple days around Liam and suddenly I think I’m the expert on gold-diggers?

“Liam King!” declares the man in a booming voice. He claps Liam on the shoulder with a wide smile and twinkling eyes. “I can never remember. Have you met Veronica? Former Miss Universe,” he adds, quirking a meaningful eyebrow for emphasis.

Liam nods and raises his eyebrows in what I take to be feigned surprise. “Good for you, Tucker. Quite a catch.” My guess is this man has told Liam that fact more than a few times. Liam shakes Veronica’s hand carefully, and I feel silly for the stab of jealousy his touching her ignites in my chest.

“I’m Aubrey,” I blurt, drawing the eyes of the other couple. “Former and current Miss Nobody,” I say, losing my confidence halfway through the short sentence. I clear my throat and look down at the ground, eyes slightly wide with horror at how big a fool I’m making of myself.

“Don’t let her fool you,” says Liam smoothly. “This little somebody is my bride to be.”

The man’s eyebrows shoot up. Veronica claps her hands together in a careful way that protects her nails.

“My, my, my,” says Tucker. “How did you two meet?”

Liam looks to me expectantly and I realize he’s expecting me to answer. Oh God.

“Well,” I say. “We, um, I was actually his yoga instructor.”

Liam’s lips purse together slightly as he tries to hold in a laugh.

Yoga? I think frantically. What the hell am I doing? Roxanne is probably more flexible than me.

“You don’t say!” booms Tucker. “You know, my Veronica is quite the yoga expert. Show them, sweetheart.”

Veronica smiles, and I hate the way she directs her eyes to Liam as she shakes her head. “Honeydew,” she purrs. “If I tried to do yoga in this dress, I would bust right out of it. And I doubt,” she hesitates, clearly trying to remember my name and giving up. “I doubt Mr. King’s fiancée would appreciate me flashing her future husband. This dress was so tight I didn’t even dare wear panties or a bra. I wouldn’t have fit!” she says, never taking her eyes from Liam.

The fire of jealousy grows into a hot, boiling pit in my stomach and I suddenly want to punch straight through Veronica’s stupid, perfect teeth. I’ve never punched anyone before, but I think she could be a great place to start.

Tucker smiles nervously, putting the back of his hand to Veronica’s shoulder in a way that says he’s used to her making open advances on other men in front of him. “Come now, dear. Let’s play nice.”

I look to Liam, expecting to see him transfixed by this beautiful woman’s open flirtation, but instead his face is a mask of rage. He scoffs, shaking his head. “You might want to keep a tighter leash on her, Tucker,” he says stiffly, turning to leave and motioning for me to follow.

I turn to follow behind Liam, but I curl my hand behind my back and shoot Veronica the middle finger. I glance over my shoulder to make sure she saw, and sure enough, she’s glaring daggers into my back. Good. Let her glare.

“I can’t believe her,” I say once we’ve gained some distance.

“I’m sorry about that,” says Liam. “Some of the men in my field are complete idiots when it comes to women. They grab the prettiest thing they can find and don’t give a shit if she’s toxic. They tie themselves down to women who want nothing more than their money and wonder why they are miserable. Let them, as far as I’m concerned, it leaves the good women for me.” The way he glances over at me as he says the last makes a warm flutter run through me.

Is he talking about me? I shouldn’t be stupid. I have to keep reminding myself this is pretend. I’m not really his fiancée. And it’s a good thing, too. Why is that already so hard to remember? I’ve known Liam for three days. It’s one thing to fantasize about marrying a guy, but it’s a completely different level of crazy to actually start wishing I was legitimately engaged to him.

“What is this, anyway?” I ask. I see men and women mulling around, sipping champagne and sampling appetizers from waiters and waitresses who circulate through the crowd. Intricately patterned red carpets run beneath our feet and the walls are beautifully polished stone, complete with masonry and decorative balconies overlooking the large gathering area. My first guess would be some kind of movie premiere, but I didn’t see any paparazzi outside so I doubt that’s the case.

“It’s a celebratory dinner party, I guess,” says Liam. His eyes search the room for something or someone as he speaks. He tugs at the collar of his shirt and winces a little. “I hate these things, to be honest with you.”

“Really?” I ask. “You said it was your favorite place.”

“We’ve got to be seen, remember? I was just trying to make sure you wanted to come. I figured you’d like it though. Most women like these things.” he says. “Either way, people need to see how in love we are,” he says, voice growing huskier as he takes me by the waist and pulls me to face him. “How deeply, madly, in fucking love we are,” he whispers, eyes locked on mine.

My lips part and my eyes close as I tilt my chin up to him. My heart pounds in my chest and somewhere distantly my brain is scrambling to figure out what’s happening. He lays his hand on the side of my neck, brushing my jaw with his thumb and leaning close enough that I feel his breath on my lips.

Someone clears their throat loudly to our side. I don’t hear it at first, like an alarm clock interrupting a dream, but when my eyes finally flutter open and I see the woman standing next to us, fists planted on her hips, I’m broken from the moment as surely as if I had woken from a dream.

“Liam,” says the woman.

It takes me a second to place her, but I realize she’s the same woman I saw him with at Enzino’s a couple days ago.

“I’d think,” she continues, “You would be smarter than to bring this slut out in public with you, given the circumstances,” she adds in a dangerous, low voice.

“Don’t you dare talk about her that way. That’s my fiancée you’re slandering, Julianne,” says Liam with the hint of a grin.

Julianne looks from him to me, mouth hanging slightly open, lips working silently like a fish out of the water. “Her?” she asks finally.

“Yeah, her,” he says. “She’s fucking gorgeous and she’s dynamite in bed. What can I say. I’m smitten.”

I blush, especially when Julianne does a top to bottom survey of me and apparently isn’t impressed.

“Good for you,” Julianne says to Liam. “I guess you’ve moved beyond caring what a woman looks like on the outside. I’m impressed.”

“Excuse me?” I snap. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you can fuck off with your passive aggressive--”

I’m stopped short when I notice Liam is covering a huge smile with his hand.

“What?” I demand. “What’s so funny?”

“Yes,” says Julianne. “Please, tell us what’s so funny.”

He smirks at me, composing himself. “It’s just refreshing to see a woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and no,” he says, pointing to Julianne. “Sharing your thoughts in snide comments and talking about people behind their backs doesn’t count.”

She purses her lips and shakes her head. “How’s this for direct?” she asks. “My lawyer says he just needs one slip up from you to seal the case. One teensy, tiny slip up and I’ll easily win custody. I guess judges realize a child’s true place is with her mother, so it doesn’t take much.”

Liam’s jaw flexes. It looks like he’s about to say something and then thinks better of it, turning instead to kiss me full on the mouth. His lips crash against mine. It’s not a tender kiss. There’s no time to adjust. In a single, all-consuming moment, the world ceases to exist around us. There’s only the sensation of his velvety lips brushing against mine, his tongue exploring my mouth, and his hands moving across my body. When he pulls away, it’s like being splashed with cold water. Reality surges back to meet me with unpleasant force, and for a few moments, it’s all I can do not to hungrily and desperately go back for more of his taste.

Julianne is gone, but heads are turned toward us. “That was a good way to make a statement,” I say breathlessly.

He grins and bites his lip, “Damn. I think I’m going to enjoy convincing people this is real.”

I blush, and the heat from my cheeks spreads straight down to my chest and between my legs, where a pulsing, throbbing need for Liam explodes without warning.

This is bad. I’m letting him get to me. I’m letting this become more than a rouse, and if it keeps up, I’ll be risking my job and my relationship with Roxanne and Sophie.

“So that was your ex-wife?”

“Julianne,” he says, nodding. “And no, if you’re wondering whether she looked like that when we were together. She didn’t. All the… work she had done was after the divorce.”

I give a quick smile, not wanting to admit I was wondering exactly that. “I was going to say, if she’s your type I don’t think anyone will believe we’re together.”

He chuckles. “Somehow I think I could get used to you.”

“That’s real sweet,” I say sarcastically.

“Well, you know. It might take some more pretend kisses. Maybe some more pretend touching. Oh, and you could let me see you in your bra and panties again. That could help.”

I glare. “You mean when you walked into my room without knocking and stared at me while I was undressed?”

Liam shrugs. “Call it what you want, but you can’t take the image from my mind.” He laughs. “And you better not even think about trying to.”

“I wish I could. After seeing all these women, I must look like a cow compared to what you’re used to.”

He gives me a very serious, very intense look. “Aubrey. There’s one thing I won’t tolerate from you. Don’t you dare talk bad about my fiancée, because she’s the most real and gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“Oh she is?” I ask, smirking. “I’d like to meet this goddess sometime. She sounds incredible.”

“You have no idea,” he says, leaning to kiss me again.

I press my fingertips to his chin, holding him back slightly. It’s all happening so fast and feeling so real. As much as I want his lips on mine again, a cold fear grips my stomach and forces me back. “Better not convince them too quickly,” I say nervously. No matter how much my mind screams to remind my body he’s just pretending, it’s not working. If this keeps up, it’s going to be real for me, and that can only lead to heartbreak.

“Right,” he agrees, but I can tell from the way he’s eyeing me that he knows I’m not being entirely truthful.