At eleven o’clock, they all met for brunch. Walker noted that Kurt was sullen this morning, holding Marissa’s hand like it was his anchor. He kept his sunglasses on, even though they were eating inside at a fancy window table.

Walker tried to steer clear of the guy, sitting at the other end of the table. No one else was there yet. Walker pulled out his phone so he wouldn’t have to try to play nice.

Scarlett entered the room a couple of minutes later, looking fresh and movie star-ish in a flowing white outfit. She was chatting happily with Tami and Charlene. Victor and Brent were with them.

She didn’t look sick. She sat next to him, a warm smile lighting up her face, and she leaned into his ear. For a second, he thought she might kiss him, but then she whispered, “Sorry about earlier. I was so tired. Thank you.” Then she sat all the way down.

Whether he was playing the fiancé or just because he wanted to, he put his arm around her chair and smiled at her. “You fell asleep like Sleeping Beauty.” Man, it sounded corny, but he just couldn’t get over how normal she looked. Granted, she had her makeup on, and her hair was beautiful, but she seemed perfectly fine. It was stupid how protective of her he felt.

Almost like she knew he was feeling differently about her, she gave him a soft smile. “You always do Prince Charming so admirably.” She slipped her hand into his, and then she was chatting with Tami.

Victor sat next to Walker. “I just have one question for you, my friend.”

With some effort, Walker redirected his attention.

“How is Riker Dylan going to beat Anthony Kincaid this year?” He shook his head. “I just don’t see how it will be possible.”

Walker relaxed and fell into easy football chatter.

Scarlett’s father and Liz joined them, and everyone casually ordered and ate.

For once, it was nice and relaxing. Everyone seemed to be doing exactly what he would picture rich people doing at wedding festivities: getting along. It was a stark contrast to Kurt’s outburst the night before.

As breakfast wound down, Charlene pulled out the itinerary for the day. “Okay, so we have a busy day, people. First, it’s horseback riding. Afterwards, for the women, we have a fun DIY project today making personalized soap.”

Walker couldn’t stop from meeting Victor’s gaze and laughing. Then he noticed the way Scarlett’s hand had covered her stomach and her eyes were shut.

No, this would not do. She didn’t have the energy to do all of this. She was sick. She needed to rest, at least from horse rides.

Liz dramatically stood and gave Charlene a mock look of sympathy. “I’m sorry, but I’ve been called away. My mother is having some health issues. I won’t be back until the wedding.”

It felt abrupt and fake, but Charlene got up and went to Liz, folding her into her arms. “I hope she recovers quickly.”

Liz gave her a half smile, then put her hand out to Scarlett’s father. “Will you walk me to the helipad?”

Scarlett’s father hesitated and he glanced from Scarlett, then back to Liz. “Hold on.” He walked over to Scarlett and whispered something in her ear.

“No, daddy, I can’t right now.” A mask had crossed over her features.

Looking a bit upset, her father sighed and glared at Walker. “Fine.” He turned back to Liz. “Let’s go.”

They disaapeared.

Charlene kept everyone focused. “Okay, let’s change into our horse-riding clothes and meet at the stables in an hour. Oh, and tonight, the whole wedding party has been invited to my parents’ house in Malibu for a party.”

Walker thought horseback riding and soap carving and a big party in Malibu might be a bit much for Scarlett, but he didn’t know how to bring it up to her. He glanced at Scarlett.

She plastered on an insincere smile. “Great.”

He didn’t know how to keep her from horseback riding, so he turned to Charlene and blurted, “What if Scarlett and I stay here and get a jump on the soap carving for you?”

Charlene gave him a confused look.

“I’m Special Forces, and …” This was coming out all wrong. “Anyway, I have some mad soap carving skills, and we’ll surprise you.”

Scarlett and Charlene and Brent all looked at him like he was crazy.

Scarlett frowned. “No,” she said. “This is what Charlene wants to do, so let’s go.”

Walker didn’t move.

Brent frowned at him. “Are you just worried about riding horses?”

“Exactly.” Not quite the out he was hoping for, but he’d take it. “I’m deathly afraid of it.”

Understanding registered on their faces.

He let out a laugh that he knew wouldn’t sound real. “Yeah, that’s it. Got thrown from one before, and I just never got over it. I was hoping I could still help out, and that’s why I offered.”

Charlene nodded and leaned over Scarlett, putting a hand on Walker’s hand. “You poor baby. Don’t worry a bit over it. Yes, yes, that would be wonderful. You and Scarlett stay and do the soap.” She let out a little laugh and stood. “Come on, everyone else. Let’s go.”

Later, as they sat at the table, carving the tiny pink soap, he feared the soapy ocean scent would never leave his hands. He and Scarlett had both decided to change into more casual clothes. She wore jeans and a T-shirt, and she’d braided her long, auburn hair back.

“Thanks for doing this,” she said as she finished carving one and stuck it into its little tissue-filled box. She shut the lid and put a small bow around it.

He grunted in contentment. “It’s not what I imagined I’d do with my knife skills when I was in the army, but hey, can’t always pick where you get to use your skills, can you?”

“You seem pretty chill today,” she said. “I don’t think you’re afraid of horses, though.” She looked suspicious.

“Oh, but I am.”

She looked him up and down. “Nah, you’re not the afraid type.”

“Oh? What type am I?”

Lifting and lowering a shoulder, she grinned. “The hero type.”

Warm filled him. “No, not that.”

She nodded. “Yes, totally that. You picked me up and carried me to your car the other night.”

“Not like you weigh much.”

She pointed her soap at him. “Not the point, you did it.”

Grinning up at her, he asked, “Is this going to be another chat about how I need to up the jerk Walker? All right, all right. Who do you want me to make cry today?”

She giggled. “No, actually. I don’t. I was thinking we should have a new deal.”

“New deal?” Walker lifted an eyebrow.

“You’ll still get the lake house.” She held her hand palm up in the air. “Just be my doting fiancé.” She smiled sheepishly.

This had not been what he expected, but he liked it. “Doting?” He thought about what a doting fiancé would do, and his mind buzzed with the idea of kissing her.

She wagged her finger. “But it doesn’t entail more kissing.”

“You’re the one who’s thinking about it,” he said defensively.

“Whatever.” She let out a soft laugh that made him feel even more content.

They both carved for a bit, and he set another one in the finished pile. “Let’s see, a hundred done. How many to go?”

She let out a light sigh. “Roughly two hundred.”

Not complaining, he hunkered down and worked faster.

“See, that’s what I’m talking about.” She pointed at his very detailed soap animal. “You made an elephant!”

He discovered that her delight was contagious. “You know, maybe if the football thing doesn’t work out, I’ll start an online soap carving business.”

She let out a light laugh. “Oh yes, that would be amazing. So, are you going to tell me about being discharged?”

“Dishonorably discharged,” he corrected her. He hated talking about it. “Classified.”

Not missing a beat, she tried to carve as fast as him. “Yeah, that’s what it says in the media. I guess it gives you an air of mystery.”

“Your father seems to know,” he said, bristling at the memory of that lecture last night.

“But I don’t.”

Not giving her anything, he continued to carve.

“I think you just like to keep the mystery surrounding you alive,” she said, using her knife to carve a circle in the air.

He glanced at her, meeting those pale green eyes. They were teasing him a bit, so he went with it. “Oh, mystery, huh? Is that what you think?”

She laughed. “A bit broody and mysterious—pretty much every woman’s dream.”

Walker’s chest swelled with pride. It sure didn’t hurt that she was admitting he was every woman’s dream. “My brothers can pretty much guarantee I’m no dream.”

“That’s for sure,” she said, raising her eyebrows playfully.

For a brief second, he thought about making her tell him the truth about her health, but he didn’t want to ruin the happy mood.

“You just changed your mind,” she accused.

“What are you talking about?”

She pointed the small carving knife at him. “You changed your mind. You were going to tell me something. Then you stopped. Why?”

Hesitating, he turned to her. Dang, the woman was a firecracker. “I should keep my trap shut, that’s why.” Mostly because it hurt way too bad.

“Hmm. So what did your father ask you earlier?”

Her face fell and she shrugged. “Oh, he keeps telling me he needs to talk to me but I just don’t want to get into everything at this wedding, you know?”

Walker thought of the intensity of her father and he could see where she was coming from. “Makes sense.”

They both kept carving.

“So, what are those pills about?” he asked. Fair was fair. This way he could get her to admit it.

Her smile flipped upside down. “Nope. What did you say? We all have to deal with family stuff our own way.”

He sighed, not wanting to push her. “Don’t worry about it. We all have secrets, and even if my mission isn’t to be a jerk anymore, I don’t need to know everything about you. Everyone has a story they don’t want to tell. We’ll just agree not to worry about those stories.”

Even though she looked sad, she met his eyes. “Okay.” She held up an uncarved soap to him. “Here’s to not telling stories.”

He picked up his half-carved soap and clinked it against hers. “No stories.” They resumed their carving, and he cleared his throat. “What if I faked an illness tonight, and we skipped out on the big party?”

Scarlett frowned at him. “Why would you want to do that?”

He didn’t want to tell her the truth, that he was worried about her health, so he said, “I don’t know, I just kind of want to go for a motorcycle ride.”

“A motorcycle ride?” She looked skeptical.

Not that riding motorcycles was relaxing, but if she just shimmied up behind him … Man, his thoughts exploded thinking about her arms around his waist, about how good it would be to have her close to him. Stop. Stop. Stop, he commanded himself. He wasn’t here for that. He was here to be her fake fiancé. “Yeah, but if you want to hit the party, we can hit the party.”

She evaluated him. “I would love to skip the party.” She tapped the knife to her soap. “Plus, there is still this date thing.”

“We’re still on that,” he grunted.

“Hey, you’re the one who’s talking about getting me alone.”

The way she said it so sincerely made his heart feel light and floaty.

Just then, Brent burst through the doors. “Hey.”

They both laughed at the way he was out of breath. “Hey,” Scarlett said.

Brent looked at the pile of soap. “Uh, we just got back from riding.” His eyes focused on Walker. “Want to kick my butt in tennis?”

They laughed again, and Walker thought about how Scarlett said he had a crush on him. “Naw, still a lot of soap to do.” Walker checked the time. It was roughly two o’clock, and he would love to play a game, but he didn’t want to leave her high and dry.

“Go,” she said, smiling at him. She leaned into him and whispered, “We’ll hang out later.”

Right then, Tami and Charlene and Marissa came through the doors. “We’re here to save you!” Charlene had a delighted look on her face as she pounced down next to Scarlett. “You have done such a great job.”

Scarlett grinned at her, then winked at him. “See? I have reinforcements. Go! Have fun!”

As Walker left with Brent trash talking, all he could think about was that he couldn’t wait to feel her arms around him.