“But what about your friends and family? It’s one thing to lie about an engagement that gets broken off. But to actually get married? Can you look your father in the eye and tell him you love me before he walks you down the aisle?”
Francesca swallowed the lump in her throat. She was very close to both her parents. They could read her like a book, and even as a teenager she couldn’t lie to them without getting caught. This would be hard, but she could do it because it was true. Just as long as they didn’t ask if he loved her…
“Yes, I can.”
“What about your town house? You’ll have to move in with me.”
That would sting. Francesca loved her town house. She could hardly imagine living anywhere else. But she saw the potential in Liam’s place. She could make that place her own for a while. “I’ll rent out my town house.”
“You don’t have to do that. It’s only fair I cover your expenses to keep it up even while you’re not living there.”
“Don’t you think your aunt would find it odd if the place was left vacant?”
“This is going to sound a little harsh, but if what she says is true, she won’t be around long enough to know what we’re doing. She will probably write the marriage stipulation into the stock agreement, but she can’t dictate what you do with your real estate holdings.”
Francesca wouldn’t put it past her. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who missed anything. “I suppose we can worry about the details later.” She waited a moment as she tried to process everything they’d talked about. “So…is it decided then? We’re getting married this weekend?”
Liam sat back in his seat. He was silent for several long, awkward minutes. Francesca could only sit there and wait to see what he said. “I guess so.”
“You’re going to have to work on your enthusiasm pretty quickly,” she noted. “We’ll have to tell our families tonight so they have enough time to make travel arrangements.”
He nodded, his hands gripping the steering wheel as though someone might rip it away from him. “I’ll have Jessica call Neiman’s again and get you a bridal appointment. Can you call Ariella and Scarlet tomorrow? They did a good job on the engagement party. Maybe they can pull off a miracle of a wedding in three days.”
“I can. They’ll think we’ve lost our minds.”
Liam chuckled bitterly. “We have. Let’s go inside,” he said.
They went into her town house, and Francesca went straight into the kitchen. She needed something to take the edge off and she had a nice merlot that would do the trick. “Wine?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
Liam followed her into the kitchen as she poured two large goblets of wine. When she handed him his glass, he looked curiously at her hand for a moment before he accepted it. “Can I see your ring for a minute?”
Francesca frowned, looking at it before slipping it off. “Is something wrong with it?” She hadn’t noticed any missing stones or scratches. She’d tried really hard to take good care of the ring so she could return it to him in good shape when it was over.
“Not exactly.” Liam looked at it for a moment before getting down on one knee on the tile floor.
Francesca’s eyes widened as she watched him drop down. “What are you doing?”
“I asked you to be my fake fiancée. I never asked you to marry me. I thought I should.”
“Liam, that isn’t neces—”
“Francesca,” he interrupted, reaching out to take her hand in his own. “You are a beautiful, caring and passionate woman. I know this isn’t how either of us expected things to turn out. I also know this isn’t what you’ve dreamed about since you were a little girl. But if you will be my bride for the next year, I promise to be the best husband I know how to be. Francesca Orr, will you marry me?”
She underestimated the impact that Liam’s proposal would have on her. It wasn’t real. It lacked all those critical promises of love and devotion for her whole life, but she couldn’t help the rush of tears that came to her eyes. It felt real. She wanted it to be real.
All the emotions that had been building up inside her bubbled out at that moment. Embarrassed, she brought her hand up to cover her mouth and shook her head dismissively. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Just ignore me. It’s been a rough couple of weeks and I think it’s catching up with me.”
“That wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for,” he said with a reassuring smile.
Francesca took a deep breath and fanned her eyes. “I’m sorry. Yes, I will marry you.”