34. Leo
Chapter Thirty-Four
LEO
It’s Christmas morning and here I am, standing in front of this giant London estate.
Liz doesn’t know it yet, but I flew all night to get here.
I was slightly suspicious something was up when she insisted on staying in London for the holidays.
Her story was believable enough. But when she kept dodging my calls, I knew something wasn’t adding up.
She’s been at this house for about twenty-four hours.
I know because she never stopped sharing her location with me after she moved to San Francisco.
She told me she would be at a hotel, and this is definitely not a hotel.
And neither is the location where she’s been all week.
It’s an apartment building. A very posh one, as they say in London.
Am I an overprotective older brother for spying on my sister’s location and flying all the way from Los Angeles to London on Christmas Eve?
Maybe. But she’s my sister, and with each passing day, my internal alarm bells have been getting louder and louder.
She’s lying to me about something. I just hope whatever it is, I’m not too late to get her out of it.
I call her again. After a few rings, she picks up. I see. Now that I’ve come all the way here, she answers my call.
“Hey, Leo, Merry Christmas,” she says.
“Merry Christmas, sis. What are you up to this morning?” I ask, walking up toward the house.
“Oh, you know, just drinking coffee and catching up on emails.” Liz sounds relaxed.
Now I know something’s up. “Are you at the hotel?”
“Um, yeah,” she replies. Liar, liar, pants on fire. Or that’s what we used to say to each other when we were kids.
“So you’re not staying at some big house in London with stone steps and garland on the windows?”
“What?” Her voice tightens. Got ‘em.
I furrow my brow. “I’m in London, Liz. Out front.”
“How did you?—”
“You’re still sharing your location. You haven’t been in a hotel all week. Are you going to come out here and tell me what’s going on?”
“Don’t move. I’ll be right there.” She hangs up the phone like she’s ticked off at my presence.
Fine. I don’t like being lied to. A minute later, Liz opens the door.
Her expression is panicked but I don’t get the sense she’s in any danger.
She steps out, shuts the door behind her, and stomps toward me.
“What are you doing here, Leo? I thought I told you not to come.”
“Yeah, because you said you’d be working all week at your hotel. And that wasn’t true. Then you stopped answering my calls. What was I supposed to do?”
She crosses her arms. “I don’t know. Mind your own business. This isn’t a good time.”
“Liz, what the hell’s going on? This isn’t like you.” Then I see it. How could I not? The damn thing is blinding. I knit my brow and point an angry finger at her hand. “What’s that on your finger?”
She tucks her diamond-clad hand away. “It’s nothing.”
“That doesn’t look like nothing.” I reach for her arm but she pulls away. “Is that an engagement ring? Did you get engaged?”
Her pale cheeks are flaming red, and her nose is as flared as ever. “Sort of. But it’s not what you think.”
“Sort of. What the hell does that mean?”
“Liz, are you all right?” A dark-haired man with broad shoulders emerges from inside, taking a protective stance that rivals mine.
“Yes.” My sister slaps her hands over her face like she’s about to cry. Also not like her. Finally, she looks up. “Kent, this is my brother Leo. Leo, this is Kent. My fiancé.”
Fiancé? What in the actual fuck is happening right now?
The guy, Kent, or whatever, shifts cautious glances between Liz and me before offering a handshake. “Leo, nice to finally meet you.”
My gaze falls to his hand for a moment but I don’t take it. “Listen, man, I’d like to say the same for you but I have no idea who you are or why you’re engaged to my sister.”
Liz lets out a frustrated growl. “Dammit, Leo!” She gets really close and lowers her voice. “We’re not actually engaged.”
“Liz!” Kent says, stepping forward like he wants to slap tape over her mouth.
She darts her furied glare at him. “Kent, he’s my brother and he’s standing right here. I have to tell him the truth.”
“What truth?” I ask and they both shush me.
Liz takes a breath. “Kent is my friend Kate’s brother-in-law and a venture capitalist. He’s single-handedly saving SOLIDS in exchange that I pretend to be his fiancée.”
I shake my head, ready to barrel her with questions. Where do I even start? I simply take a breath and start at the beginning. “So you’re not engaged?”
Liz and Kent share a look. It’s the kind of look that tells me they’re hiding something else. “No.”
Liz steps closer. “Now, listen, this is Kent’s brother’s house. His whole family is inside, and they don’t know what we’re up to. So you have to pretend that Kent and I are a happy engaged couple. You can’t say anything, okay?”
I hold up my hands. “Wait a minute. How did I get roped up into this scheme?”
“By showing up unannounced, that’s how,” Liz says with gritted teeth.
Kent folds his arms and looks at me with a slightly impressed expression. “Ballsy move. Must run in the family.”
“Kent.” Liz gives him a sideways glare.
He shrugs in his defense. “What? I’m not the one who flew halfway around the world and surprised you unannounced.”
My sister rolls her eyes then turns her attention back to me. “Seriously, Leo, please. I need you to act like you’ve known about this all along. Otherwise, this whole thing falls apart, and Kent and I will lose everything. This isn’t a game,” Liz begs.
Well, it certainly feels like one. Fake fiancées. Reminds me of one of those cheesy romance movies I worked on early in my career. “So you want me to fake it too?”
“Yes. I need you to act, put on a show like it’s one of your films.”
“But I’m a director, not an actor.”
Liz narrows her eyes. “You orchestrate fiction for a living. What’s the difference?”
Kent steps up to my brother. “Look, I know we just met, and all of this is a big surprise, but it would really mean a lot to your sister if you could keep this quiet and play along.”
Mean a lot to my sister? What does this guy know about what means anything to my sister?
I raise my brow. Are they hooking up too?
What a mess. But when I look into Liz’s pleading eyes, I know it’s true.
If I want to protect my sister, it looks like I’ll have to go along with this little charade too.
My sister’s fake engaged? How hard can it be?
It’s not like I know any of these people.
“Yeah, okay,” I say.
“Now, come in and meet everyone. We’re still having Christmas brunch,” Liz says.
Good, because after that long flight and a longer explanation of my sister’s faux betrothal, I’m hungry.
Kent opens the door and I walk inside, wheeling my carry-on behind me. He asks one of the staff to take it to a room and mentions I’ll be staying the night.
“Um, I already booked a hotel,” I say, reaching for my bag.
Kent pats my shoulder. “Nonsense. You’re Liz’s brother. You’ll stay here with us.”
That would allow me to keep an eye on things. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”
Kent gives me a hesitant look and leads the way. As we walk closer to what I presume is a dining room, the chatter grows louder and louder. When I enter, there are at least six others sitting around a table with an outlandish and decadent brunch spread.
“Everyone, this is Liz’s brother Leo,” Kent announces, and his family looks up.
I wave, gazing over their faces, recognizing Liz’s friend Kate. “Sorry to intrude. I just wanted to surprise my sister for Christmas.”
“Welcome, mate,” A man, not so different than Kent, approaches with what looks like a mimosa in a champagne glass. “Glad to have you. We’re all about to be family after all.” That’s what he thinks. “I’m Mick by the way.”
Just as I’m about to introduce myself, a faintly familiar voice calls from behind me, “Leo?”
I turn around. Instantly, I’m transfixed by those big brown eyes, that porcelain complexion, and those beautiful cheekbones. Is it really her? The girl I was once head over heels in love with? How can this be? How is she here?
“Dahlia?”