The ballroom at the Strattons’ country club takes my breath away. I thought I’d be bored of the pomp and circumstance of campaign events by now, but the Strattons aren’t your average candidate. They don’t do things in halves.

Red, white, and blue sashes and banners hang from every wall. Elegantly set tables with white linens and enormous bouquets of white lilies are scattered around a large dance floor. The bar is on the left, and on the opposite end is a raised stage with a podium and microphone. Delicious-smelling food is whirling around the room, and drinks are flowing freely. It’s the largest and fanciest event yet during Heath’s campaign. The only thing to top this would be his victory ball.

Delicious crudités or not, I’m growing tired. My lack of sleep is going to make this one long night. It took me ages to settle down after Archer went back to dinner, and when I did slide underneath the covers, I spent hours overanalyzing that tense moment between us.

I glance around the ballroom, searching for his tall, lithe frame. We never talked about what happened—or almost happened. I didn’t hear Archer come to bed last night, and when I woke, his side was empty. He went out of his way to avoid me at breakfast, so I took his cue and did the same, spending the day at the pool with Faith and Dalton.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that we were finally alone together. I walked out of the bathroom in my sapphire-blue Dior gown, the one that hugged me in just the right way, to find Archer fixing his bow tie in front of the mirror. After a perfunctory “hello,” he snatched up his phone and hurried out the door. We haven’t been alone since.

But now, I’m ready to talk; to clear the air. We can’t dance around this forever.

I excuse myself from my group. I grab a crab cake off a passing tray and go in search of my boyfriend. I spot him hiding in a corner.

That doesn’t surprise me. I start walking, only to stop when I notice he’s not alone. He’s talking to Tessa, and by the way she’s leaning in toward him, their conversation’s serious.

I’m surprised by the vicious stab of jealousy that hits my gut. Why do I care if my fake boyfriend is talking to his ex? Archer made it clear last night that she meant nothing to him. But if that’s true, then why is he talking to her?

I turn away and search for a quiet spot to clear my head. I spot a balcony and head toward it. I slide through the French doors, shut them behind me, and take a deep breath. Silence, at last.

“Hello, gorgeous.”

I whirl around and find I’m sharing the small space with Zach. “Hiding out from the crowd, too?” he asks with a smirk.

I reach for the door handle.

“Wait, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he says quickly.

I glance over my shoulder at him. “You always upset me.”

“Yeah…” he rubs the back of his neck. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

“Twice,” I remind him.

He grimaces and sticks out his hand. “Let me start over. I’m Zach. Nice to meet you, Quinn.”

I narrow my eyes, but turn to take his hand. “Pleasure’s all mine.”

“You’re welcome to share my oasis with me,” he says, motioning around him before reaching into his pocket. He pulls out a cigarette and lights up. He offers me the pack.

I shake my head. “I might stay for a little bit. It was…getting too hot in there,” I lie.

“Well, I’m out here hiding from Tessa.”

“Really? Why?”

He shrugs. “I know I’m here for one purpose, but I still have pride. I don’t feel like watching Tessa drape herself all over your man.”

“Oh…” I throw a sideways glance at him and decide to tell the truth. “That’s why I came out here. Archer says he’s not into her, but that’s hard to believe when they’re constantly talking.”

“I wouldn’t let it phase you,” Zach says after taking a long pull. “Archer is over her, and it’s driving her nuts. Tessa looks ridiculous fawning over him like this.”

“I still can’t believe you came here with her. It looks like—“ I stop and look away. “Never mind.”

“No, go ahead.”

I meet his eyes. “A betrayal.”

Zach looks away. “It feels like one, too. I shouldn’t have come here with her.”

I stay quiet for a moment. “Talk to him. Tell him you’re sorry.”

“I dunno,” Zach mutters. “Archer’s not the forgiving type.”

“You won’t know if you don’t try.”

“Maybe.” Zach looks at me. “You’re not like the women he normally hangs out with.”

I roll my eyes. “So I’ve been told.”

“No, it’s a good thing. And I think you’re changing him…for the better. You know how I said he’s been a dick lately? Well, it’s not because of you, it’s over you.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s protective of you. Doesn’t take shit from anyone.”

I grunt. “Sounds like Archer.”

“He’s an alpha, like me,” Zach says with a shrug. “We get territorial, and well…you’re one of a kind, Quinn. I’d put you before my friends, too…” he steps toward me “…if you were mine.”

I twist around as the balcony doors open. Archer sticks his head out, glances between Zach and me, and narrows his eyes.

“What’s going on here?” Archer asks, his voice hard and tense. I don’t like the way he’s staring at Zach.

“Nothing,” Zach says, puffing on his cigarette. “Just talking.”

Archer drags his eyes to me. “I think the talk is about to start,” he says tersely.

“I’ll come in,” I say, moving toward him. I’m almost through the door when Zach speaks up behind me.

“See you around, Quinn,” he says, in a low voice. I glance back at him and then close the door behind me.

Archer takes me by the elbow and pulls me behind a pillar. “Why were you talking to Zach?” he demands.

“I needed to get some air and he happened to be out there,” I bite back. I wrench my arm free. “Why were you talking to Tessa?”

Archer clenches his teeth. “She won’t leave me alone. I had to tell her that I won’t stand for her blatant flirting, especially since I’m here with you.”

I’m quiet for a moment. “Oh. That’s really sweet of you,” I mumble.

“What did you think I was doing?” Archer says. “I kept waiting for you to come rescue me, but you’ve been avoiding me.”

“I’ve been avoiding you?” I repeat, my eyes going wide. “I’ve tried to talk to you all day about what happened last night!”

Archer runs a hand across his jaw. “I’ve been busy.”

“And I wanted to talk this afternoon, but you ran out of our room so fast that I figured it was this dress,” I say, motioning to my gown.

Archer furrows his brows. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing, I thought. But now—”

“You look beautiful, Quinn,” Archer says, his voice low and gravelly. “You’re the most beautiful woman in this room.”

I’m shocked into silence. All I can do is stare at him.

“Hey, bro,” Dalton says from somewhere behind me. “It looks like we’re getting started.”

Archer nods over my shoulder. “I’m coming,” he says. “Wish me luck?” Archer asks softly, turning back to me.

“Good luck,” I squeak out, though I know he won’t need it. He had practiced that speech the whole drive up here.

“I’ll see you after,” Archer says. “And stay away from Zach. He’s not…trustworthy.” Archer looks at me for a moment longer and then turns to join his family by the stage.

Alpha, huh? You don’t say…

Guests start navigating their way to their seats, and I join Faith at the middle table closest to the stage. A hush descends on the crowd as Claudette mounts the stairs to the stage and makes her way to the podium.

“Honored guests and family,” Claudette begins, “thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate a superb public leader, philanthropist, husband, and father…Heath Stratton!”

Claudette smiles out at the audience as we clap and cheer.

“I am only the first act in tonight’s show…” Claudette winks as the crowd laughs. “My sons will be speaking about why they believe their father would make the best future mayor of New York City. So please join me in welcoming my eldest son, Dalton, to the stage!”

Claudette meets Dalton halfway across the stage and stops to kiss him on the cheek. He grins, gives her a hug, and then takes the podium.

“My mother, everyone!” Dalton cries out, sending a ripple of applause through the audience. “She’s a wonderful woman, so patient and poised. Though you’d have to be to handle my brother and me.” He smiles as the crowd laughs. “I bet you’re wondering why I’m up here, talking about my mother, when my father’s name is on every banner in this room. But behind every great man, is a strong woman…”

I glance over at Archer to see how he’s doing. I’m surprised to see he’s looking uncomfortable. I try to catch his eye, but he’s watching Dalton.

“I wouldn’t be the man I am today without my mother. Like my father, she taught me to be strong, fair, kind, and good. They taught me about the importance of family, of having a partner in life…”

Movement near the stage catches my eyes. Archer’s shifting his weight from side to side, and I can see his jaw working from my seat.

“And so, I looked for that in my own life. I found it my wife, Faith…” Dalton smiles down at her, and she waves “…who’s expecting our first child in the new year.”

The crowd breaks out in applause.

“My father is many things. He’s a businessman, a patron of the arts, terrible at chess—”

Faith giggles along with the crowd.

“—but most of all, he’s a family man. He’s a loving husband, an exceptional father, and I know he’ll be a dynamite grandfather. As mayor, my father will treat this great city like he does his family: fair, devoted, and loyal. I couldn’t ask for a better father, and New York City couldn’t ask for a better mayor. Heath Stratton for mayor, everyone!”

Dalton steps back from the podium, and the crowd erupts in applause. Guests are whistling and hooting around me, and I add mine own to the mix.

“He did really well!” I shout to Faith above the racket. She nods back with tears in her eyes.

The crowd begins to die down, and I look for Archer. He’s already halfway across the stage, shaking Dalton’s hand.

I frown. He looks on edge, nervous, like he doesn’t want to be there.

“Another round of applause for my brother,” Archer says, reaching the podium. We lock eyes for a moment while the crowd claps. “My father is a great man. He comes from a long line of entrepreneurs who have poured their lives into making our family company what it is today. But my father is more than a businessman, he’s a philanthropist. He makes it his life’s work to help those who are left out and left behind…”

I nod along as Archer runs through his speech. He hits all the right buzzwords that get the crowd clapping, but it’s not as organic as it was during Dalton’s speech. Although Archer’s speech does a great job highlighting the ways Heath will make New York City great, the crowd can tell Dalton’s was from the heart.

“As a husband…” Archer pauses and glances at me. “As a husband…um—”

Did he forget the rest of his speech?

Archer drags his eyes away from me and focuses them above the crowd. “My brother is right: behind every great man is a strong woman—though I might argue a stronger woman.”

This gets his first laugh from the crowd.

“There’s a special woman in my life…”

I furrow my brow. This isn’t part of his speech.

“…someone I didn’t know I was missing until I found her.” He reaches into his tux pocket, and fiddles with something.

Doubt and dread fills my chest.

“And so, in front of you today, I want to ask that special woman a question…”

Oh no.

“A question that I hope she’ll say yes to…” Archer meets my furious eyes. “Quinn East, will you marry me?”

The crowd gasps, and I feel a hundred pairs of eyes fix on my back. As the seconds draw out, my heart beats faster and harder. I know the longer I sit here, the more awkward it gets, but I can’t make myself move. I can’t find my voice. All I can think about is how I’m going to murder my fake boyfriend after this.

Faith nudges me. “Quinn, say something!” she hisses.

I glare at Archer and try to remember who he is and where we are and why we’re doing all this in the first place. I take a shaky breath and stand up.

“Yes,” I whisper, and the crowd goes wild. Archer jumps off the stage and strides toward me, smiling ear to ear. I can barely breathe as he wraps me in his arms and kisses the top of my head.

“How adorable!” I hear a woman squeal next to me.

“So in love,” another coos.

Archer leans back and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small square box. He opens it, and I gasp along with thirty other women around me.

The solitaire diamond dances in the light; its simple gold band is completely overshadowed by its girth. It has to be at least four carats, and though most girls would be swooning, I only wondered how I’m going to wear such a gaudy thing.

Archer plucks it out of the velvet and slips it on my finger. He kisses my cheek and whispers “Thanks for playing along” in my ear.

Then he pulls away, clasps my left hand, and holds it up in the air. “She said yes!” he shouts, sending another shockwave of excitement through the crowd.

Faith throws herself into my arms, crying from happiness, and a dozen people I’ve never met congratulate me, ask to see the ring, and clap me on the back.

I look up from the chaos to see Dalton, Claudette, and Heath fighting their way toward me. Their smiling faces and shining eyes remind me that this is fake; that Archer and I are the only ones in on this joke. In two months, this engagement won’t mean a thing.

The room quickly feels stifling and claustrophobic. I push away Faith, shouting to her that I need air. Archer tries to hold on to my hand, but I twist free. Soon I’m battling my way through the crowd, smiling and nodding to the throngs of strangers bent on adding their congratulations to growing pile.

When I finally make it to the double doors, I cover my forehead with my hand and follow the exit signs around the corner and down the hall. I need to get out of here. I need to think. I need to get as far away from my Oscar-winning fake fiancé as I can.