Chapter 3
“I told you they’d come through for you.” Amanda hooked her arm through Liliana’s as they moved the meeting from the barn to the lodge dining room.
Liliana wasn’t feeling quite as confident as Amanda. “Do I really have to pretend I have a fiancé? Is it necessary?”
“I think it’s the most logical choice for your safety and reputation,” Amanda insisted.
“You know the press and your opponents have been watching, looking for dirt on you. All they need to see is a man, not your husband or fiancé, going into your hotel room, and they’ll make you out as loose or accuse you of sexual harassment for taking advantage of a male employee. ”
“The key to undercover work is to make it convincing.” Kyla fell in step beside her.
“And she knows,” Stone said from behind the three women. “Kyla was undercover with the CIA.”
Liliana stared at the woman with open admiration. “Was it hard to pretend to be someone you’re not?”
“It’s acting and embracing your role. Are you one hundred percent you when you get up in front of a crowd of people?” Kyla asked.
Liliana frowned. “I like to think I am. Then again…I’m not as confident as I project. At times, I feel like a fraud, and self-doubt creeps in.”
“Do you let the crowd see that?” Kyla asked.
“Oh, hell no,” Liliana said. “My campaign would’ve ended before it began.”
“So, you put on an act,” Kyla said. “It’s better for you and them. They need you to represent them with confidence and conviction. So, you give them what they expect. You really want to help them, which is commendable, but you can’t if you’re not elected.”
Liliana nodded slowly. “True.”
“So, you do what you have to do to protect yourself, your reputation and make it through to election day.” Kyla shrugged.
“If you’re convinced that you’re doing the right thing, then fake it until you feel it.
” Kyla entered the dining room, found a seat close to Stone and rested her hand on her belly.
Liliana paused at the entrance to the dining room, leaned into Amanda and whispered. “I’ve been so busy with my career that I haven’t had a significant relationship since high school and not much of one then. How do I fake something I’ve never felt?”
“You watch movies, don’t you?” Amanda asked.
“Sometimes,” Liliana said, “when I’m not reading law journals.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Amanda clucked her tongue. “You really do need to get out more often.” She sighed. “How about this…treat it like standing up in front of a jury. You want them to buy into everything you have to say, so you appeal to their emotions, right?”
Liliana stood taller. “I state the facts.”
Amanda nodded. “But you state them in a way that captures emotions. You want to sway the jury to agree with your arguments, right?”
“Absolutely.” Liliana lifted her chin. “They have to really understand the importance of what I’m saying,”
“Using the same methods of demonstrating love as you see on television, build your case and present it like the defendant’s life depends on it.
” Amanda’s lips twisted. “The defendant being you, in this scenario.” Amanda shook her head.
“I can’t believe I’m having to put this in lawyer speak to help you understand how to make people believe you’re in love with Dax. ”
Liliana chuckled. “You’re doing a pretty good job of it.”
Amanda shrugged. “Bottom line, like Kyla said…fake it until you feel it. Acting is like a muscle. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Slip into the character…you in love with Dax.”
Liliana’s heart fluttered like it did her first day in court on a big, critical case. Only different. With the flutter of nerves came a surge of warmth she couldn’t identify. The thought of pretending to be in love with Dax sent ripples of excitement through her.
She’d chosen Dax over Morris because she hadn’t felt anything beyond indifference for the other man.
When she’d glanced across the conference table at the man who’d come into the room smelling of the outdoors and horse, something had awakened inside her.
It both frightened and exhilarated her at the same time.
When she should have chosen Moe, who didn’t inspire the same feeling, she found herself naming Dax.
She hoped her choice wasn’t a big mistake. Should she win the election, she’d have her hands full with her campaign and her duties in office. Liliana didn’t have the time nor the inclination to fall in love.
And since Dax was the hired help, the bodyguard on assignment to her, he wouldn’t be in the market for some lovelorn woman, much less one who had chosen politics as her career.
What man in his right mind would voluntarily get involved with a woman who would remain under a public microscope for years?
She followed Amanda into the dining room and claimed a seat at the large table near the swinging doors to the kitchen. Having been occupied with her speech that morning and standing in front of a crowd that day, food hadn’t even crossed her mind.
Savory scents drifted through the kitchen doors into the dining room, making Liliana’s stomach growl.
“Get ready for a culinary delight.” Stone smiled. “The Grand Yellowstone lodge has one of the best cooks in the tri-state area of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. How my father talked him into burying himself out here beats me.”
“He’s had free rein in the kitchen since he came to work with his father,” Bubba said.
“Not every restaurant is willing to allow their chef carte blanch. Cookie thrives on discovery and inventing new recipes.” Bubba patted his midsection.
“And we thrive on Cookie’s meals.” He headed for the swinging doors. “I’ll see if he needs help.”
As Bubba neared the door, it swung open in front of him. The big guy stepped back and grinned. “Perfect timing.”
Three men emerged.
The first, John Jacobs, who had greeted her when she’d first arrived at the Grand Yellowstone Lodge, carried a large platter containing a scrumptious array of pork chops, grilled chicken breasts and steaks.
“Hope you’re hungry. Cookie’s outdone himself yet again, and he might’ve cooked enough food for the entire county. ”
“Don’t listen to him,” said a shorter man with blue eyes and a shock of white hair, who followed John Jacobs carrying a heavy pot with a ladle. “If slabs of meat aren’t your thing, this pot is full of my famous minestrone soup, full of vegetables and my secret flavoring.”
“Mmm,” Amanda licked her lips. “I’ve had Cookie’s minestrone. It’s better than he says.”
“Tinker, did you get the tea?” Cookie asked without looking around.
“Only got two hands,” came a voice from the kitchen. A wiry man with brown hair and brown eyes appeared, carrying a basket of bread rolls in one hand and a casserole dish filled with scalloped potatoes.
“Need me to bring out anything else?” Bubba asked.
“That pitcher of tea sitting on the counter,” Cookie replied. “If you want anything stronger, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”
Bubba disappeared into the kitchen and returned seconds later, carrying the large pitcher of tea. He made a trip around the table, filling glasses full of the clear brown liquid before taking his own seat.
Talk turned to prior assignments and what was happening in their personal lives. Liliana enjoyed listening to their stories and good-natured ribbing.
John Jacob gave his son a curt chin lift. “You two set a date yet?”
Stone shot a glance toward Kyla. “I’d get it done this week if I could get my fiancée to go along with a courthouse wedding.”
“No way,” Kyla said. “I want the white dress, flowers and first dance. I'll let you know the date as soon as I find the dress and a place to host the event.”
“That baby will get here before you find a venue,” Amanda said. “I’ve heard you have to plan a year out to get on venue schedules.”
“Seriously?” Kyla shook her head and rubbed her small, slightly rounded belly,
“You’re pregnant,” Liliana exclaimed.
“We are,” Stone confirmed.
Kyla laughed. “Though I’m carrying the baby, it took two to get this far. So, yes, we’re pregnant.”
“And still waiting for a wedding date,” Stone repeated with a cocked eyebrow.
“Don’t push it, buster,” Kyla warned with a narrow-eyed glare. “I accepted your proposal at a weak moment. Don’t make me regret it.”
Stone chuckled as he raised his hands. “Backing off. When you’re ready, you’ll let me know.”
Kyla sighed. “I will. This girl is only getting married once. I want to do it right.”
“Let me know what I can do to help,” Amanda offered.”
“Know a venue where we can tie the knot?” Kyla grimaced.
“He’s due in six months. Seems like time is flying by.
I haven’t even started getting ready for him.
” She shoved a hand through her hair and looked around as if trying to find a carbon copy of herself to accomplish everything she needed to do.
“We have a community hall on the rez, but you have to be at least a quarter Shoshone or Arapaho to use it. Have you considered flying to Vegas and getting married in one of the chapels there?”
Kyla cocked an eyebrow. “How about it, big guy? We could have Elvis officiate.”
Stone’s brow dipped. “Hell no.”
Kyla pouted, the look so foreign on the former CIA agent Liliana had to smother a giggle. “Spoilsport,” Kyla muttered. “I always swore I couldn’t be with a guy who didn’t appreciate Elvis.”
“I’m a huge Elvis fan,” Stone argued. “Sadly, the king is dead, not out for a donut. The impersonators are a little creepy to me.”
Kyla shrugged. “Going to Vegas would get it done, as you so nicely put it. And our son wouldn’t be born a bastard.”
“We will be married before our daughter is born, come hell or high water.”
Kyla tilted her head. “Hell or high water…what does that even mean? I’ve heard that saying all my life, and it makes little sense to me.”
Moe nodded, his face straight, serious. “One of the great mysteries of life.”
Footsteps sounded across the wooden floor, and all gazes turned toward the man entering the room.
Liliana swiveled in her seat.