Page 45 of Empty Net

She twists her lips, nodding. “Fine. Say it’s not too much. Then what? How far are we supposed to take this? A month?” She lifts a pointed brow. “Two months? Six? Are we supposed to actually get married? This is too much of a slippery slope. I’m not letting you do this. I’m telling them the truth.”

She turns, ready to march out there and confess, but I grab her arm before she can get far.

“Lilah, wait.”

She looks down at where my hand is curled around her arm, and I release her, showing her my palms.

“Just wait a second, okay?” I drag a hand through my hair, stalling because I don’t know what to say.

She’s right. Being her stand-in boyfriend is one thing. Marriage is another. But I just fucking loathe the idea of her parents trying to marry her off, pressuring her to find someone, forcing her into these dates. Sure, she could say no, but they’re her parents. She won’t.

“Look, I don’t have all the answers right now, all right? But Idoknow this is saving you from a lot of torment in the meantime, and, to me, that’s worth it. We can figure everything else out later. I mean, the worst that happens is we spend time together and keep you from being married off to some creep.”

“No, the worst that happens is this gets taken entirely too far, and we end up married.”

I wince at the harshness in her words. “Is the idea of marrying me really that awful?”

“No. Getting married in general is really that awful.”

Right. I almost forgot Lilah would make a perfect addition to the Serpents Singles Club.

“Then I’ll let you dump me horribly and publicly before it comes to that. Deal?”

“That doesn’t sound terrible.” Her lips—the ones I now know taste so good—twitch with a grin. “Getting my parents off my back doesn’t sound bad, either. They’ve been extra awful lately and I have enough on my plate, trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.”

It delights me that she’s coming around, and I’m not sure what to make of that. Maybe it’s because this would keep me from feeling lonely. Or maybe it’s because I hope it’ll distract me just enough that I loosen up on the ice and stop pucks a little better. Or possibly it’s because of our kiss.

I don’t know. All I know is I want to do this for Lilah. Sure, it’s stupid and risky, but so what? We’ll have some fun, screw with her parents a bit. It’s not hurting anyone, so why not?

“Fine,” she says after several quiet moments. “Fine. Let’s do this, then.”

“All right. Just no falling in love with me, yeah?”

She rolls her eyes. “Not happening.”

“We’ll see about that,fiancée.”

I wink at her, and she blushes. It’s my first sign we might have bitten off more than we can chew.

CHAPTER 9

LILAH

Another drink and four dances later, I’m feeling better about my decision to attend this party, and I’m certain it has everything to do with the man doing the chicken dance across from me—my newfiancé.

I have zero idea why Fox is doing the chicken dance when the chicken dance song is not playing, but it makes me laugh, and I could use a laugh right now. It’s safe to say this evening is turning out nothing like I thought it would.

I’m engaged. To Arthur Fox. A man Ikissed.

I kissed him, and I have no clue why. Maybe it’s because everyone was staring at us so expectantly. Or maybe it’s becauseIwanted to throwhimoff-kilter like he did me by announcing to my parents we’re engaged. While I’m still reeling from this development, I can’t help but admire why Fox did what he did—he was trying to protect me. If that’s not the sweetest thing ever, I don’t know what is. How could I possibly be mad at him knowing that? How could I be upset when all he’s trying to do is help?

Are we idiots for doing this? Yes. But am I okay with that? Also yes, especially knowing my parents arestilltrying to interfere with my life, even after I’ve told them I’m in acommitted relationship. It doesn’t matter that it’s not real. My word should be enough for them, yet it’s not.

“You’re ridiculous,” I tell him. “People are staring.”

“Yeah, but it got you to laugh, so I don’t care.”

That same warmth I felt on New Year’s Eve slides over me, and I try hard to ignore the implications of that, mainly because it means it wasn’t just the alcohol making me feel warm and fuzzy.

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