Page 40 of Pretend for Me

“Let me start by saying that Piper is a business owner, not unlike the two of us, Dad. And while we might hold business degrees, Piper has built an incredibly successful and unique business practically on her own. So, as much as you might expect that of me, I’m not looking for a trophy wife to parade around for her fancy degrees. I’m marrying Piper for a hell of a lot more.”

His eyes linger on mine. “Not only is she beautiful, intelligent, charming, and hilarious, but she has a personality that could power the entire city. And beyond all that, she’s authentic to a fault, and kind, even when she doesn’t have to be.” His voice softens. “There’s no other woman I’d rather have by my side.”

My heart skips a beat.

Damn, his acting skills are top-notch! Maybe he has a theater degree too, along with all his other fancy degrees, because I almost believed that!

The thing is, despite my ex making me feel like shit about not pursuing a formal education, and my father repeatedly telling me I’d never amount to anything throughout my formative years, I’m proud of how far I’ve come through sheer determination and hard work. But I won’t deny it feels good to hear Dev’s emphatic words, even if his feelings for me aren’t real.

Clearing my throat, I find my voice again. “I thinkyou forgot the best part about being with me . . . free haircuts for life.”

Dinner proves to be more activity than Claire can handle in one evening, so once the plates have been cleared, Dev and I offer to help her back to her room. Exhaustion lines her features, but a glimmer of gratitude sparkles inside her blue eyes when we settle her into her bed.

I quietly fill the empty glass on her nightstand with water while Dev fluffs the pillow behind her, his movements both careful and deliberate, as if focusing on his task is the only thing keeping him from breaking down. But despite his composed exterior, his eyes betray his inner anguish, and my chest tightens at the sight of the pain he thinks he can hide.

Claire reaches for my hand, silently tapping the spot next to her, urging me to take a seat. When I do, she takes my hand in hers, her touch tender as she brushes my empty ring finger with her thumb.

Her brows knit in confusion when her gaze wanders to the other side of her room, where Dev is drawing her curtains. “You didn’t give it to her yet?”

Turning around, Dev’s gaze finds our intertwined hands before he sees the puzzled look on my face. “I planned to do it today.”

The corners of Claire’s mouth curve upward. “Do you have it with you?”

Dev nods, pulling out a small velvet box from his pocket as he saunters toward us, his warm gaze trained on me. Even the way the man walks has my breaths unsteady. There’s no way that can be healthy for me long term.

It’s only when he kneels in front of me, revealing a sparkling solitaire in a vintage setting, that I realize what’s happening and my hands come together in prayer at my lips. Forget the unsteady breaths from earlier, my breathing has now come to a halt.

I rise to my feet, blinking rapidly at the man before me on one knee. “Oh, my God.”

“Peter,” he whispers. “There hasn’t been a moment since the day I met you that I haven’t wanted you to have this. But since it’s my mother’s engagement ring, I thought I’d ask you officially while she was—” His voice falters momentarily as emotions threaten to overwhelm him before he composes himself, unwilling to vocalize the previous thought. “Will you marry me?”

Tears gather in my eyes as I look from Dev to Claire, finding love and encouragement in her nod. And while those tears shouldn’t be real, and my heart shouldn’t feel this heavy, everything about this moment is nothing but.

And so, without analyzing it for what it is or isn’t, I slide off the bed to kneel in front of him. My chin trembles and a sense of pride and anguish collides inside me.

Wrapping my hands around his neck, I brush my thumbs over his scruffed jaw, peering into the eyes of the man I’m promising myself to—a man who’d literally do anything for the ones he loves—knowing I’ll be walking away in due time.

“Are you sure?” I rasp, feeling a tear splash over.

His eyes hold mine in a moment that feels like a promise. A promise I know he has no intention of keeping. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life.”

And before I even know how the next moment will unfold, I lean forward, doing something I haven’t done in well over a decade—kiss someone—and murmur my answer against his lips, “Yes.”

fifteen

piper

Live, Learn, Lasagna

“Holy shit, is that an engagement ring or an iceberg on your finger?” Sarina shrieks, poking her head out of the room just as I step into the salon early the next morning.

I rushed inside with Ralph covering me to avoid the two or three photographers we saw loitering on the street. While I’ve definitely seen paparazzi snapping pictures of me—along with a couple of magazine articles about me—they’ve mostly left me alone. Still, there’s no reason to give them freebies.

While my salon has always had a decent amount of security around it—a doorman who only allows people inside if they are on an approved list—the extra security Dev has placed around the salon has helped deter any overzealous paparazzi from sneaking in. It’s one less thing I need to worry about with the circus my life has become as of late.

“That thing could double as a paperweight!” she adds.

I chuckle at my best friend’s ability to spot something from all the way down the hall, despite her tendency to be in her own world. Heading to the main desk, I notice Joshua glancing up from the computer to eye the ring on my finger. A smile plays on his lips, but he stays quiet as both my bestfriends emerge from their respective rooms to inspect my ring like certified geologists.

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