Underneath the bright lights of the Prescott Arena Allyson Smith squinted, hoping against hope that there weren’t any reporters lurking. The owner of the local basketball team was talking to her boss, Dane Prescott. And her secret boyfriend. Not that anyone knew. Shoot, she wasn’t even sure anymore either.

While Dane was having a quick meeting, Allyson kept an eye out for anything untoward happening on the basketball court. She had to make her scan of the arena discreet. Things might be imploding in her life, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be professional and protect her boss from further scandal.

Besides, the PR department at Prescott Global had specifically instructed that she and Dane not to be seen in public together. The company had a scandal to weather, and there was now zero room for error.

She turned her head at the sound of Dane clearing his throat. “Yes, Mr. Prescott?” Allyson was so used to being at his side that she noticed even the smallest changes. Call him by his proper name, give nothing away.

Dane looked down at her, his handsome face placid, those gorgeous blue eyes giving away no emotion. “The meeting’s over, so we can have lunch in one of the private suites.”

With quick goodbyes to the team owner, Allyson followed Dane to one of the arena’s luxury suites.

After working as Dane’s executive assistant for three years, she should’ve been used to all the decadence and easy luxury by now. But the private suite was still a welcome surprise.

There were plush leather seats and sofas, a huge flat screen TV, a kitchenette in the corner, and a bar complete with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Plus, from up here they got a terrific view of the basketball court. This place was nothing like the ordinary seats most people used down below.

A chef busied herself with last-minute food preparations while the bartender made their drinks. After taking their beverages—a mocktail for Allyson and a glass of scotch for Dane—they took their seats at a low table. It was hard for her to get comfortable now that she felt like she had to search for reporters all the time.

Dane sat across from her and unbuttoned his navy-blue jacket. He sat back, appraising her, scotch in hand. There was something about the way he managed to fit in wherever he went that kept her so completely drawn to him. She imagined there was no reason not to fit in for a man like him. Men like Dane owned the world. Even when the world was crumbling around them. Like it was now.

“Did the meeting go well?” she asked.

“That isn’t what you want to talk about,” he said smoothly.

No, it wasn’t. She shouldn’t have been surprised he had figured that out, as Dane never missed details. It was impossible to hide things from him.

“We should probably talk about damage control,” she said. They were still in the fallout of their scandal. Only two days had passed since the media frenzy on Tuesday night. One minute, they’d been keeping up their fake marriage in order to help Prescott Global obtain a merger deal, and the next minute a tabloid reporter had declared the marriage a sham in front of the press.

She cringed at the memory. She and Dane had been in the middle of a live interview with a local news channel when a tabloid reporter had shoved his way into the interview, and asked them to comment on the rumors that their marriage was a fake. With the lie exposed on camera Allyson had wanted to flee, but Dane had held on to her hand. Had whispered into her ear that they were going to walk out with their heads held high. Which they did until they got into the limo, and Allyson had started panicking.

Dane had been the one to calm her down and drop her off at her apartment. Then he spent the rest of the holiday dealing with the press, including releasing a public statement. His statement basically told the truth. They had gone to her brother’s wedding, the media had gotten the wrong impression and believed it was Allyson and Dane’s wedding, and then Dane decided to run with the fake marriage for the publicity. He hadn’t tried to finesse their lie, but he made himself the target of the blame. Which hadn’t made her feel good at all. She owed him. And she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he’d stepped into the line of fire for her. It was too much. She didn’t deserve it.

“The damage is already done,” Dane said. His voice was so calm and even. Like he was taking all this in stride.

She didn’t know how that was possible, considering she hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since the truth had come out. She’d dealt with calls from the press all day yesterday. It was supposed to have been a day off, but New York tabloid reporters didn’t rest when it came to scandal.

To top it all off, they’d gotten orders from Prescott Global’s PR department to not be seen together in public. PR was terrified their fake marriage would ruin what was left of Prescott’s reputation, and being seen together was only going to make things worse. Which meant they had to keep on the lookout for reporters while somehow managing to still do their jobs.

Worse, she had no idea where she and Dane stood. She didn’t know if he still wanted to be with her after the media circus. They’d agreed to be together after their charade ended, but a scandal like this might only serve to remind him just how different they were. The deeper she got into his world, the worse things got for him. Guilt ate at her.

“It is. But maybe we can do something to improve things going forward,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you have in mind?”

“We could say this is all my fault—”

“We’ve discussed this already, Allyson,” he said sharply. “I’m not throwing you under the bus.”

“All this started because of my lie,” she insisted.

“A lie that I was happy to go along with,” he pointed out. “You didn’t force me to do this.”

“I should’ve put an end to it,” she said softly, staring down at her hands.

“I don’t have any regrets,” he said. “After all, I got you.”

Her cheeks flushed and she looked up. His words made her heart flutter.

“That is, if you still want me,” he continued. “That’s what you really wanted to talk about, isn’t it? Not the meeting or the damage control. Us.”

Us. The fact that he still wanted to be an ‘us’ made her insides warm. “I thought that, after the truth got out, you wouldn’t still want to be with me,” she confessed.

He took a sip of his scotch. “I’ve never wanted anything more.” Dane watched her with hot desire blazing in his eyes.

That did all sorts of things to her. Made her stomach do little backflips. Made her skin heat at the thought of them finally being together. “So, does this mean you’re my boyfriend?” Her face flushed and she reached for her drink.

“Yes,” he said with a grin. “And you’re my one and only.”

It was probably a good thing she hadn’t ordered alcohol. She suspected the way he affected her wouldn’t have mixed well with booze. She already felt intoxicated in his presence.

Dane couldn’t be any taller or more gorgeous. Every inch of her body was so totally aware of him. It had probably always been that way, but had become so much more intense since they started playing pretend the weekend of her brother’s wedding. She was stunned that, in less than two weeks, they had gone from boss and assistant to actually sleeping together and dating. The speed of the whole thing made it hard for her to make sense of everything. They were at work right now, and no matter how much she insisted they stay professional her reaction to him was always this primal, burning need.

With a grin she said, “Well, you’re my one and only, too.”

He returned her smile. His cell phone started beeping and he reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve it. His smile faded. “My parents want to see us in two hours.”

A sense of dread settled over her. “Should we tell them? That we’re together?”

His mother hadn’t been thrilled when she’d believed they were really married. Liliana Prescott had been so desperate to get rid of Allyson that she’d tried to get her to divorce Dane by paying her off. Allyson understood that if Liliana knew about their relationship, she wouldn’t give up on trying to get rid of her. She guarded the Prescott family wealth like a dragon guarding a cave full of gold. So, while she no longer thought of Allyson as a gold-digger, she probably didn’t think that someone of Allyson’s ordinary, middle-class background was the right fit for her eligible blue-blood son.

Dane let out an agonized sigh. “I want to, but my mother wouldn’t make things easy for us.”

“She’s probably looking for an heiress for you as we speak.” Allyson had meant it as a joke, but something dark flickered in his blue eyes.

“I’ve enabled her insanity,” he said. “She’s meddled in my life for too long.”

She bit her lip. “She’s your mother. She means well.”

“I used to think the same. That her behavior was because she meant well. But I know better now. She tried to buy you off to get you to dump me,” he said bitterly. “We might not be married for real, but you make me happy. She was ready to throw my happiness aside in some misguided attempt to wield control over me.”

“Don’t act too hastily,” she counseled. “Things are so chaotic right now, I wouldn’t want you to be alienated from your family.”

Already, the scandal had put a strain on things at work. They tried to hide it, but she knew the staff was gossiping about them. The local press was out for blood and now that their scandal had made national headlines, things would only get worse. With the dark cloud of scandal hovering over what should have been good news about Prescott Global’s merger with Handel and Company, Prescott’s board members were uneasy. Not to mention the new Handel staff hated that the merger had happened partially because the wool had been pulled over their eyes. Right now, Dane needed as many people in his corner as possible. Especially his parents.

He swirled his scotch. “We can make a decision about telling the truth after seeing them later.”

The chef appeared and started serving their lunch. The spread came complete with an assortment of sandwiches, chicken wings, mini burgers, mac and cheese, pizza slices, salad, cheesecake, and pie. Everything tasted delicious. She suspected the food was only deceptively simple because everything was made with the finest ingredients. She was in heaven when she tasted the hint of truffle oil in the mac and cheese.

After the chef left the suite they were mostly alone, except for the bartender who was busy cleaning and organizing the bar area. 

She took a bite of her chicken salad sandwich. “Why do your parents want to see you anyway?”

“Us. They want to see us.” He shrugged. “They’re not happy with how things ended up. I think the Handels feel insulted by what we did. Not that I blame them.”

“Well, I certainly don’t blame your parents for wanting to talk this out.”

“I don’t think this meeting is my mother’s idea.” He stared off into the distance, as if he was no longer aware of the room. “My mother was fine with us lying, but my dad... well, he had no idea.”

That was why he was suddenly so distant. He hadn’t faced his father yet. Hadn’t explained to him why they had lied. Up until two days ago, Alfred Prescott had really believed his son was married. Then he had discovered the truth, not from his own son but from the news. He’d gotten the truth like everyone else, which must have been agonizing.

Alfred had been friendly and welcoming to her during their trip to Prescott Hill. Seeming to take the news of their surprise marriage much better than Dane’s mother. Now, Alfred knew that it had all been a lie. She couldn’t imagine what that must be doing to Dane.

When they visited his parents last week up at Prescott Hill, Dane had told her he didn’t like lying to his parents. But he had kept up the lie to secure a contract renewal for her. A contract with better pay and more benefits. He’d been willing to do all that just to make sure she was secure.

They were together now, which was more than she had ever hoped for. But it was obvious that Dane wasn’t completely happy. There were so many things weighing on his mind. His pain was her fault. The guilt from that knowledge overwhelmed her.

Now that they were together, Dane’s happiness was all that mattered. She wouldn’t rest until she fixed the mess she had made. Somehow, they were going to face his parents later this afternoon. And after that, all they had to do was weather the storm.