the biggest mis

rst was probably that night with Penel

ve just sent, the words

Good

e immediately. We have an

Fl

catastrophic lapse in judgment t

w the hell I'm going to explain this to Penelope. My mind drifts back to la

________________

down?" Mom's voice dripped with honey-coated v

s hardly decrepit. But in my family's twisted worldv

d, stabbing a piece of asparagus with more force

ing fine. What you need is a g

ther Hudson and his girlfriend Susan were too busy making googly eyes at each other to offer

me in line," I growled. "I'

not the point, Vincent. Family is everything. Look at

rt long enough to beam at my pa

aving Susan in my life has made me a better pers

there, but I put on a neutral express

"Son, we're worried about you. All work and no play isn'

"Oh, I know! It was that lovely New Year's party

ed on

elo

green eyes, curves that haunted my dreams for months. Bu

te," I muttered.

rk scenting blood. "Oh? And

gh gritted teeth. "As the head of ev

Well, perhaps you should reconsider. A wo

he crystal goblets rattle. "My love life is none o

d my parents exchanging one of those loa

that's why we asked you here tonight. Yo

my spine. "What

the urge to pull away. "We think it's time for some toug

won't stand by and watch you throw your life away on work. It's

how exactly do you plan o

between my parents. Th

rlfriend-preferably a fiancée-or don't bo

e a physical blow. "

e you, Vincent, but we won't enable your lone wolf lifestyle

awing at my throat. "You can't be

rry, bro. I tried to talk them out of it, but you k

ant you there, Vincent. Maybe this is th

them all where they could shove the

he table and stood. "If you'l

sts. The warm night air hit me as I stepped onto the patio,

p a serious relationship-hell, a fiancée-

, I knew they weren't bluffing. My parents were many things, but idle threat-makers wasn

. For all our differences, I'd promised Hudson years ago that I'd stand beside hi

a short time? I wasn't exactly drowning in prospects. Most of the women I met were eit

truck by the Floyd name or intimidated by my success. Someone who c

ind-warm green eyes, a sassy

ckly as it appeared. Getting tangled up with Penel

ights of the city below, a plan began to take shape.

be my onl

____________________

nelope to arrive, with a half-baked plan to as

I straighten my tie and school my features int

me

But I know her well enough to see the tension in the se

to see me,

my desk. "Have a seat, Ms. Goodman.

r posture ramrods straight. "Is everythi

the tip of my tongue-I need you to pretend to be my fiancée-But looking at her now,

. "I wanted to discuss the u

But sir, we just had a meeting about that yeste

uickly. "I just wanted to

yebrow. "What d

g, to justify this meeting. "The, uh, guest list. Yes

repeats slowly. "The one

"Well, you know how these things are.

ond head. Can't say I blame her. "Mr. Floyd, a

mething other than sit here drowning in my own idiocy. "I'm fine. Just...

ul. "Which is why we've been planning it for mo

d my desk. "Good, g

Sir, if there's nothing else, I should really get

it over with-I need you to pretend to be my fianc

say instead. "Thank you f

t, I think she's going to say something else. But then she

'm Vincent Floyd, for God's sake. I've negotiated multi-million dollar deals

a voice in my head whispers. And

nd a fake fiancée, or I'll miss my brother's wedding. And the one person I trust t

be fair, I

e I need a drink. Instead, I pull up the gala plans on my comput

e perfect opportunity. It's a glamorous event with all of LA's elite in attendance

ope to play along. To do that, I n

ail or text. I need to do this in person, preferably somewhere private wh

erty next week. Penelope's supposed to come along to start planning the grand o

rf

asking her to clear my schedule for

I'm going to propose this insane idea to Penelope.

t's be honest, she'd have every r

y mind. Those sparkling green eyes, that sassy

help