Harlequin Romance March 2017 Box Set: Return of Her Italian Duke\The Millionaire's Royal Rescue\Proposal for the Wedding Planner\A Bride for the Brooding Boss by Rebecca Winters & Jennifer Faye & Sophie Pembroke & Bella Bucannon

Author:Rebecca Winters & Jennifer Faye & Sophie Pembroke & Bella Bucannon [Winters, Rebecca & Faye, Jennifer & Pembroke, Sophie & Bucannon, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781488019791
Google: uXoODQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-03-01T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWO

LAUREL BLINKED AT HIM. Then she blinked a few more times for good measure.

‘Are you…?’ Pretend. He’d said pretend boyfriend. ‘Are you fake asking me out?’

Dan laughed. ‘If you like.’

‘Why?’

Because he felt sorry for her—that much was clear. How pathetic must she look to elicit the promise of a fake relationship? Really, there was pity dating and then there was this. How low had she sunk? Not this low, that was for sure.

‘Because it feels wrong to let your ex wander around the wedding of the year like he won,’ Dan replied with a shrug. ‘Besides, I’m here on my own—and, to be honest, it would be nice to have a friend at my side when I have to deal with my family, too.’

His words were casual enough, but Laurel couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else under them. Something she was missing. But what?

‘So it’s not just a “Poor, sad Laurel, can’t even get a date to the celebrity wedding of the year” thing?’ she asked, cautiously.

Dan gave her a quick grin. ‘I’m not even sure I know what one of those would look like. No, I just figured…we’re both dateless, we both have to spend the week with some of our less than favourite people, we’re both non-Hollywood stars in the middle of a celebrity extravaganza…why not team up?’

Who were his ‘less than favourite’ people? she wondered. Who was he avoiding, and why?

Suddenly the whole suggestion sounded a little bit dodgy. Especially since…

‘Aren’t you a stuntman?’ Laurel narrowed her eyes. ‘Doesn’t that count as a Hollywood star?’

‘Definitely not,’ Dan said firmly. ‘In fact it probably makes me the exact opposite. Put it this way: if I wasn’t related to the groom by blood there’s not a chance I’d have been invited to this wedding.’

‘Same here,’ Laurel admitted.

One thing they had in common. That, plus the whole far-more-famous-sibling thing they both had going for them. Maybe—just maybe—this was a genuine offer.

Leaning back against the car seat, she considered his proposition. On the one hand, the idea of having someone there to back her up, to be on her side for once…well, that sounded pretty good. Especially when she had to face down Benjamin for the first time since that really awkward morning in the coffee shop, half an hour after she’d walked in on him in bed with her replacement.

‘You understand, don’t you, Laurel? When it’s true love…you just can’t deny that kind of feeling.’

She hadn’t thrown her coffee cup at his head. She still felt vaguely proud of that level of restraint. And just a little bit regretful… Breaking china on his skull would have been a reassuring memory to get her through the weeks that had followed—breaking the news to her family, cancelling the save-the-date card order, dealing with all the pitying looks from friends… And Melissa’s amusement as she’d said, ‘Really, Laurel, couldn’t you even satisfy old Benjy? I thought he’d have done anything to marry into this family.’

Her mouth tightened at the memory, and she fought to dispel it from her brain.