Chapter 31
LACEY
I waited for Bodie to respond. Knowing him as well as I did, he’d go one of two ways. He’d either play it off, leaving me to fill in the details or he’d go along in an attempt to save face. Either way I had the lying deputy exactly where I needed him. At least for now.
“It feels, um, well, Lacey, you’ve kind of caught me by surprise here. You sure you want to do this?” His face had paled under the seemingly constant layer of scruff.
“What with Adeline canceling, it didn’t really give me a chance to find another bride and groom willing to share their big day with the media.
I know we talked about having a fall wedding, but really, it should be us that gets married there first, don’t you think, love bug?
” I stepped next to him, put my arm behind his back and rested my head against his chest.
His heart thudded, a much faster beat than it had the other night when I’d lain in his arms. When I thought he meant what he’d said. When I thought we were for real.
“Sure. Can I just grab a quick word with you? You don’t mind giving us a minute or two, do you?” he asked Samantha.
“Not at all.” She set down her pen and waved us away. “Take all the time you need. I’ll just be out here drooling over whatever Lacey has hiding here in this pan.”
“It’s brisket. Cooked all day. Feel free to help yourself, we’ll just be a minute or two.” I smiled, then tugged on Bodie’s arm, dragging him down the hall to where I presumed his bedroom was. How could I pretend he was my fiancé when I’d never even seen where he slept?
“What the hell’s going on?” He closed the door behind us then turned on me. “Fiancé?”
“That’s right. Congratulations to us. It happened so fast it just left my head spinning.” I practically spit the words at him. Being in his room, alone with the man who’d left my heart full of buckshot almost made me regret what I’d told Samantha. Almost.
“Where do you get off telling people we’re engaged? Who else have you told about this?” He towered over me, the glint in his eye proving he was beyond finding this an amusing little prank.
“You didn’t leave me much of a choice.” Arms clamped around my middle, I held my ground. This was his fault, after all.
His arms spread wide. “What are you talking about?”
“You tell me, Sheriff Phillips.” I emphasized the word sheriff.
He stopped gesturing and put his hands to his hips. “So you were on the phone earlier today.”
“That’s right.” I tried to squelch the raw emotion that threatened to bubble up inside. “I heard everything. How you and your dad are working with Buck Little.” My eyes watered. I couldn’t have that. Reaching up, I ran a finger under my lashes, wiping away any trace of emotion.
“Lacey, I can explain. My dad made me an offer but I went there to turn him down.”
“Sure you did. Does Sheriff Suarez know you’ve got your eye on his job?”
“It’s not like that.” He reached for me.
I sidestepped him, whirling around to stand in front of his bed. A bed I’d hoped to spend some time in up until a few hours ago. “I don’t care what it’s like. All I know is that your dad and grandfather are trying to pull a fast one and you’ve taken their side. Just like you always do.”
“I do not.” His jaw set. A muscle ticked along the edge.
“You do, too. And I’m not going to let you get away with it. Not this time.”
He scoffed, shook his head, and rolled his eyes. “Unbelievable. After everything that happened the other night? You think I’m working against you?”
My heart seized. Could he be telling the truth? I wanted to believe him. Wanted to think that everything we’d done had been because of feelings we’d been hiding over the years. Not because of some plan he was trying to pull together to keep his family out of trouble.
“You have two choices, Bodie.” I held up two fingers to emphasize my point.
“Really? Do tell. I can’t wait.” He took a step closer.
I backed up, my thighs bumping against the edge of his bed. Not willing to be intimidated, I drew in a breath and lowered my voice. “You can go out there and pretend to be my adoring fiancé—”
“Or?” He matched his tone to mine—low, almost a growl.
“Or you can tell her it’s a sham and I’d be happy to return the favor by paying a visit to Sheriff Suarez and telling him all about the plans you’ve been making with Buck.”
“I’m not making plans with Buck.” He glared at me.
“So you’re not trying to cover up the fact your family is involved in some illegal importing activities and you’ve been offered his job?”
His left eye twitched. I’d hit a nerve.
“I just haven’t had a chance to fill him in on everything just yet. Once I get to the bottom of it I’m going to tell him everything.”
The power shifted. I could almost feel victory in the air. “But you haven’t yet.”
Bodie put his hand to his temple. “Not yet. You know as well as I do that my dad’s made a few, let’s just call them ‘less than legal’ decisions over the past few years. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to him.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to see anything bad happen to my dad, either. Imagine what it’s going to feel like when my own father isn’t able to walk me down the aisle at our wedding.”
“Seriously? How far are you going to take this? You don’t expect me to actually marry you, do you?”
“Of course not,” I hissed. “We’ll fake the ceremony and no one will be the wiser. Don’t you see, this is our chance to put the town on the map? You owe it to me, Bodie. It’s your family’s fault this whole thing happened in the first place.”
He opened his mouth and I waited, expecting an argument. Instead, he threw his hands in the air. “You’re right. Fine, I’ll be your fiancé. But you’ve got to promise you won’t spill a word about the import stuff or the offer from Buck until I have a chance to figure out what’s happening on my own.”
“Deal.” I thrust my hand at him, ready to seal the agreement with a handshake.
His hand closed around mine, warm and firm and reminiscent of how it felt to be lost to his touch.
Was that just the other night I’d spent hours in his arms?
Seemed like a lifetime ago. And now, by calling him out and blackmailing him into being my fake fiancé, I’d pretty much guaranteed that would be the last time I’d have my way with Bodie, in or out of the bedroom.