“And you think that being my date for the wedding will make it better?”
“No, but I think we’re at a point where we can be friendly with each other. Do you really want to deal with that bride on your own? Think of me as backup.”
“She is unbearable,” she said as she considered his suggestion. “It would be nice to show up with a stripper boyfriend.”
He jerked back. “Say what?”
“Most of the wedding guests will think that you’re a stripper.” Angie bit her lip as she tried to contain her smile. “Patrick and some of the other guys will know the truth but I could tell them that our breakup sent you into a tailspin.”
He had crashed and burned once he left Angie. It had taken him nearly a year to get back on his feet. “You want me to continue the role as a stripper?”
“Why not? You’re the one who started it. And no one would question my sudden wedding date. After all, you showed me special attention last night. Thanks for that.”
He ignored her sarcasm. “You’re really considering this?”
“Brittany is going to have a fit that I’m bringing a date at such late notice.” She grimaced as if she were imagining the bride’s reaction. “I’ll talk to Cheryl, her assistant. She’s in charge of the details.”
“Think you can get me into Heidi’s room today?” He knew he was already pushing her, but he was running against the clock. If he didn’t get answers in the next few days, chances were he never would.
“I was going to visit her today after Brittany’s meeting,” she revealed reluctantly. “I’ll meet you at the hospital and we’ll go in together.”
“Thank you,” he said. He wasn’t sure if the relief he felt was because he could move forward with his assignment or because Angie was on his side once more.
Angie gave a sharp nod and got into her car. “By the way, my stripper boyfriend is totally into me,” she said. “He can’t believe his luck that he landed me.”
“I can do that.” He wouldn’t even have to pretend. He had felt that way since she had accepted his invitation for a first date. He had no idea what he did to convince her and often felt he was living on borrowed time. He knew someday she would wake up and see she could do much better than him.
“But I’m not really into him,” Angie warned Cole. “Everyone would get suspicious if I was all clingy and affectionate.”
Especially since she didn’t act that way in public, Cole thought. But when they had been alone, she was very demonstrative and explicit in her requests. “So it’s only physical attraction?” he teased.
She grinned. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Then that will be our cover. By the end of today, everyone will think we’re having a red-hot but brief reunion ,” he promised. It had to be short-term for his sanity. One touch from her and he’d want another. One kiss and he wouldn’t stop. Unless this had a predetermined end date, he’d start to believe he had another chance. He’d forget that she never loved him—couldn’t love him—in the first place.
“A wild fling?” Her smile disappeared. “No one will believe that.”
“They will.” Because he was going to make the most of this temporary affair. “I guarantee it.”
5
“THIS WAS A bad idea.” Angie felt her ponytail swing against her shoulders as she strode down the hospital corridor. She was nervous and it showed. She took a deep breath and gripped the flower arrangement tighter.
“Don’t back out on me now.” Cole draped his arm around her shoulder.
A sense of longing crashed through her unexpectedly and she tried not to react. It had been common for Cole to touch or hold her whenever they were together. She shouldn’t be so surprised.
“Oh, are we pretending to be a couple already?” she asked lightly as she struggled with the opposing needs to shake off his touch and to curl into his body. “Heidi can’t see us from here.”
“You don’t start pretending the minute you walk into the room,” he explained. “You assume the role as soon as possible. And you never know whom you’re going to bump into on the way. What if we see someone from the bridal party?”
Angie pressed her lips together. Cole always had an answer for everything, but she didn’t think this was going to work. “No one will believe this.”