Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Lachlan
With a strangled eep, Del—my unplanned fiancée and love of my life for the next twelve hours, at least—stares up at me, eyes wide, cheeks flushed. “That’s my…” She darts a look at Angus and Beryl. “I’ll just…”
With a twist of her wrist, she slips her fingers free of mine and damn near sprints across the lawn, heading for the woman who looks a lot like her. Except for the shorter hair, and massive glitter-crusted purple fairy wings flapping about on her back.
Wings?
Angus jabs his cane in the direction of the woman in the wings who is now standing with Del a few yards away. “Your fiancée knows Stephanie Ricci? The bride?” He flicks a suspicious frown my way
“Ahh…” I swipe at my mouth as Del throws her own frown at me over her shoulder before turning back to the other woman. “Yeah, they’re…”
Sisters? Best friends? Fellow fairy stans?
“They’re long overdue for a catch-up.” I give Angus and Beryl a sheepish smile. “Will you excuse me? Us? It’s been a while since I saw her as well.”
Ha!
“Sure, sure.” Angus waves a hand. Beryl narrows her eyes. “You and Delphine will join us for dinner, yes?”
Fuck. I have no clue why Del played along with my desperate charade, but the chances of her continuing to do so for the evening, let alone tomorrow when I sign the exchange papers, are worse than the proverbial snowball’s in hell. “I’ll go—”
“Let the lovebirds be, Angus.” Beryl taps his arm. “We’ve given them a beautiful room with a beautiful view, and Cloudkiss is made for romance. I’m sure they’ll be plenty busy tonight.”
An image of Del standing naked at a window as she looks out over the valley slams into my head.
My cock twitches—Oh yeah, let’s do this! I’m all in.
Angus grunts out a surrender and pecks a kiss on Beryl’s cheek. “You’re right, love.” He extends his hand to me. “We’ll knock on your door as we walk past tomorrow morning so you can join us.”
Knock? On our door? How the hell am I going to convince Del to be in my room tomorrow morning?
Another twitch from my cock. I have some suggestions…
I clear my throat. “That’s not nec—”
“Nonsense,” Angus says. “Our personal residence, the detached villa I’m assuming you’ll be moving into when you take ownership, is only a few yards away from your suite. Speaking of which, the key is waiting for you at reception.”
And with that, he and his wife turn and stride away. For an elderly couple, they moved like fucking ninjas. Does he even need that cane?
Sucking in a deep breath, I turn my attention to Del.
The dusk light falls over her, the darkening golden hues turning her hair to a honey blaze and highlighting her lush curves.
As if aware of my gaze, she looks over her shoulder again.
Our eyes connect. My heart thumps harder.
Hell, she’s gorgeous.
And now your fiancée.
Filling my lungs with oxygen, I head over to her.
Both she and Stephanie, the bride, stop talking and watch me.
My heart smashes faster in my chest, as if I’m going into combat. I’m not. I’m just…
Going to ask a woman who called you a jerk but has somehow got so far under your skin that your cock is in a permanent semi-hard state to continue to pretend to be your fiancée so you can finalize a property deal she has nothing to do with.
My gut knots.
Chin tilting, Del’s stare clashes with mine. “Hi, future wife,” I say with a relaxed grin as I draw to a halt in front of her. Maybe I can charm my way through this?
Yeah, charm has never been one of my strengths.
The woman beside her, definitely family in some way, giggles. “Oh, this is fun.”
Del rolls her eyes. “You’re not helping, Stevie.”
Stephanie—Stevie—thrusts out her hand, grinning up at me. “Hi, I’m Del’s cousin. She tells me you almost ran her off the road, rescued a truckful of baby animals, and she’s now your fiancée so you can buy this place?”
I let out a low chuckle, even as relief punches me in the chest. I look at Del. “You’re okay with doing that? The fiancée thing?”
She bites her bottom lip, sighs, and shrugs. “Why not.”
“Excellent.” Stevie grins. “After my bachelorette party, she’s all yours. Tell me, Mr…”
“McKenzie,” I supply.
“Tell me, Mr. McKenzie,” Stevie says. “Are you good at being protective?”
Del groans, planting her face in her hands. “Oh, God, Stevie. Shut up.”
A tingle of tension slips up my spine. “Protective?”
“Del has an Instagram fan who’s discovered her phone number,” Stevie says. “And I’m a bit worried. She needs someone to look after her, and I’m getting married the day after tomorrow, so it can’t be me.”
“Stevie,” Del growls. “Stop.”
“Instagram fan?” I frown. Is she famous? An influencer? “Are you in danger? Have you blocked them? Called the police?”
“Stevie is being dramatic,” She slides a scowl at her cousin. “I’m not in danger. I just don’t know how they got my phone number, is all.”
Tension coiling in my gut, I scan the area around us. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Good grief, Lachlan.” She throws up her hands and rolls her eyes.
“Why would they be here? Now, if it’s okay with you, fiancé, I’m going to go finish making my cousin look like a fairy and then go party my sizeable butt off.
You can go and—” she rakes a look at me from head to toe to head “—do whatever it is you do until you need me to be your adoring, besotted bride-to-be again.”
Chest tight, I take a step closer to her and catch her fingers with mine. Hold her gaze. “If anyone threatens you or makes you feel uncomfortable, I will deal with them.”
A delicate pink stains her cheeks. Her full lips curl into the softest smile, and she gives my fingers a gentle squeeze. “I’m okay. But thank you.”
The need to wrap her in my arms, draw her into my body, and keep her close, keep her safe, slams into me with such force that I can’t breathe for a second.
The world shifts. Tilts. Everything shifts. My goals, my dreams, my reason for existing. It’s all about her now. Del.
This beautiful, snarky, feisty young woman—who must be at least fifteen years younger than me—is my purpose.
Fuck.