inst the wood as if she could physically barricade him in. He didn't resis

voice low and measured. "You dragged a st

ut something closer to real. Her voice trembled. "My fiancé... he was supposed to be here. He was supposed to marry me

tching his face. No pity.

y find out what happened, it could kill them." She swallowed hard. "I

pped. B

ed a

esperate hope flickering in her eyes. He could have walked away. He should have walked away. He had h

stood there-broken, furious, ref

serious," he

ked through that door, and that means you're my groom. All you have to do is stand next to me, excha

lifted. "And why

wedding-you're lost, you said so yourself. But you could be here for something else. A story. An a

rible one. But she had

e on purpose-a small rebellion against his grandfather's latest attempt to marry him off. He h

ar more in

en know my na

oice was fierce. "You can

er in her eyes. The trembling of her hands. The

t and pulled out a sleek

ther set it up. Another blind date." He let that hang

eted th

," he sa

d. "Alright?

ifferent gesture. "I was going to be

cted negotiation, hesitation, conditions. She hadn'

ng dress, the makeup, the chaos of the room. "I figure I've already

y, one eyebrow arched. "Bu

me

ad to lean in to hear. "When this is over, you let me leave.

ld his ga

box from the vanity a

nd try to look like