Page 27 of Love You, Mean It

“Okay, but—”

“No buts. You have to trust me.”

“Do I?” The dim light of the car interior sparkled across his deep-blue eyes. “Do I really have to trust the woman who became my fiancéeduringmy concussion?”

“Anotherthing we’ve been over more than once.” I raised my hand as he started to speak. Dear lord, it was exhausting being around someone as used to dominating a conversation as I was. “I’ll remind you, this was your idea. Plus, now that we’re doing this, I need it to work. This is life and death for me.”

“So I should trust your killer instinct?”

“Trust that I have much more on the line than you do if we don’t pull this off.”

He held my gaze for a long moment, lips curling with a hint of amusement. That same heat bloomed in my chest as he leaned closer, taking my hand in his again and pulling it toward him, rubbing a thumb over my palm in a way that gave me shivers. He bent closer, until I could feel his warm breath tickling the hairs at the nape of my neck, his voice barely a whisper as he murmured:

“Good. Because I’m sorry to tell you, we are now officially under scrutiny.”

I started to turn, but he caught my cheek with his other hand, leaning in to press his lips against it. My movement put him slightly off course, and they landed just where my jaw met my throat, their pressure soft but insistent. I forced myself to stay absolutely still,entire body tingling with anticipation…or something else.Thiswas why we had rule two. Bodies justrespondedto certain things.

“We’re being watched?” My voice sounded breathier than it had any right to.

“We are.” The words hummed over my skin. “But I think we’re passing the first test. Well done, Ellie. This will make sure we pass the second.”

He opened the center console, pulled out a small box, and handed it to me. “Ted might not notice if you’re not wearing this, but Marta definitely will.”

I frowned and pulled it open. Inside was a small ring box, and in that…

“Seriously?”

The diamond nestling on the pillowy satin had to be at least…what do I know about carat size, but it wasbig,the flourishes of gold scrollwork punctuated with smaller diamonds on either side barely noticeable next to its heft.

“I believe it’s considered traditional to propose with a ring,” Theo said.

“Okay, but this must cost…Actually, I have no ideahowmuch this would cost.”

“Me neither. It was my mother’s, I don’t know what it appraised at last.”

“Your mother’s? Theo, what if I…I don’t know, lose it in a pot of sauce or something?” I dropped the box into his hand and shied toward the door, trying to physically distance myself from the far-too-expensive object.

“Then fish it out.” He smirked. “It’s a ring, it’s not nuclear. Millions of women wear them every day without incident. Here.”

He plucked the ring out and put his other hand out expectantly, gazing at me from beneath lowered brows. Unsure what else to do, I extended my left hand. Theo took it carefully in his, squeezing ever so lightly. Even though I knew it was fake, that this was just my costume, a warmth spread outward from my chest as I watched himsolemnly slip the ring onto my finger. My gaze felt drawn to his as he finished, and I found him looking at me intently, something unreadable in the swirling depths of those dark blue eyes. For a moment, we just stared at each other, then, with a small cough, he dropped my hand, nodding once, sharply. I frowned at the ring from a couple angles until the weirdly vertiginous feeling swirling through me dissipated, then waggled my fingers. As promised, it stayed put. In fact, it somehow seemed to fit perfectly.

“Oh…fine,” I said, rolling my eyes as I tugged my hand away. The warmth of Theo’s touch lingered on my skin. “But if something happens to it, you can’t blame me.”

“Noted.” I sucked in a breath that I hoped didn’t sound as shaky as it felt, flipping open the visor mirror and making a show of checking my makeup until my heartbeat finally felt close to normal. “So? Are we just going to sit here, or are we going to convince Ted I’m his soon-to-be daughter-in-law?”

Theo grinned, pressing the button to turn off the engine and getting out in one smooth motion. Before I could stop him, he was opening my door. I should have found it annoyingly patriarchal, but there was something touching about how automatic the gesture clearly was.

“It’s that sparkly personality that made me sosureyou were the woman for me, Ellie Greco.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as he presented his arm. I took it, grateful for the stability on the slightly slick stones (heels arenota big part of the routine in a deli), and together we walked to the door, both pointedly ignoring the silhouettes in the room to the left of the entryway.

Theo barely had a chance to press the doorbell—and I’d had no time to comment on his ringing the doorbell at his family home—when the door opened on a tall, slender woman, her long auburn hair tousled in that casual way that took hours to achieve. She was extremely pretty, with wide eyes and plump, glossy lips, but she felt very…effortful. I, for one, had never bothered with false lashes for a weekday family dinner.

I knew it wasn’t his kid sister—Cat looked more like Theo, plus her vibe was more ripped band tees and tattoos, less Real Housewives of Milborough. But I couldn’t place her, which was…concerning.

“Theo. How lovely to see you.” The woman wrapped him in a perfumed hug, rich with vanilla and sandalwood. His entire body stiffened as he lifted one hand to her back, fingertips barely grazing the fabric of her simple but elegant dress, the draped neckline and three-quarter sleeves allegedly demure while the full-body cling of the bias-cut silk left nothing to the imagination. It was impressive construction, actually. The seamstress still buried deep inside me couldn’t help but wonder how, precisely, it had been patterned.

Eventually, she released Theo, and he stood, his approximation of a smile not quite reaching his eyes.

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