“You’re hooked, man.” Noah clapped a hand on his back. “She’s working her lady voodoo on you bad!”

“I haven’t seen him like this in a long time.” Des grinned. “I got that look on my face when I met Gracie. Be warned, bro, it’s a slippery slope.”

It was indeed a slippery slope, and he was sliding headfirst at full speed.

Chapter Eleven

Thanks to Gracie’s mother’s militant event planning, the kitchen tea was packed with activities, meaning Libby didn’t have time to think about her recent discovery. She threw herself into helping coordinate the games and assisting Cecilia, Gracie, and Gracie’s sister, Emmaline, wherever possible.

“Thank you for your help today, dear,” Cecilia said, motioning for one of the caterers to come so she could hand them an envelope.

“The extra pair of hands was great.” Emmaline smiled as she stuffed the crumpled wrapping paper into a garbage bag. “Mother wanted to get people in to run the whole thing, but I thought it would feel more personal if we did it as a family.”

“That’s sweet,” Libby replied, collecting a handful of paper and handing it over.

A few guests remained, including Sadie who looked as though she wanted to curl up on the couch and go to sleep. While the other women occupied themselves, Libby watched Sadie talking to a few of Paul’s aunts. She couldn’t imagine Sadie and Paul together the way she had when she’d seen him with Cassie the other night.

Sadie seemed nice, but she looked so formal, so polished. Nothing like the kind of girl Paul would date.

But what did she know? The reason she was dating Paul was to help her business, and he’d suggested it because there was something in it for him…not because he was attracted to her.

Why do you care if he’s attracted to you? It’s not a requirement for the job.

But it had become clear that his opinion did matter and that Libby had crossed the line by daring to feel sorry for him upon discovering the truth about his ex…not to mention her recent idiotic display of truth. They’d said up front that emotions were to be kept completely out of it. She couldn’t breathe a word of this to Paul.

Libby picked up a couple of empty teacups and carried them into the kitchen to be washed. The catering crew had done most of the cleaning, and the dishwasher whirred as it churned through yet another batch of dishes. She placed the cups on the counter.

As she went to leave the kitchen she heard her name, though it was obvious the person was talking about her and not to her. Flattening her back against the wall next to the alcove that lead to the hallway, she strained to listen above the gush of water in the dishwasher.

“The redhead,” the first voice said. “That’s his new girlfriend.”

“No way. He finally stopped fucking his way from here to kingdom come?”

“Maybe she’ll be able to do what I couldn’t.” The first voice definitely belonged to Sadie.

“What, tame him? Please. Some people aren’t meant to be the settle-down, get-married type. Hell, he wasn’t even the hold-a-job type…if it wasn’t for his brother, he’d still be out of work and mooching off Zia Leone.”

“I tried so hard to encourage him to do something with his life.” Sadie’s voice wavered.

“Don’t cry.”

“It’s these bloody hormones.”

“That’s the reason you’re upset now, not because of Paul. You made the right choice to be with Michael instead.”

“You have to say that, he’s your brother.”

“I believe it.”

“I shouldn’t have cheated on Paul.”

“Sure, but he more than made up for it after you left by screwing anything that could walk.”

Libby’s hands trembled in front of her. How dare they talk about him like that. Judging by how he’d treated her in the last month and considering they weren’t even in a real relationship, Libby had zero doubt in her mind that he’d been a great boyfriend to Sadie. Perhaps he hadn’t lived up to everyone’s expectations, but who would even try with people like that putting you down? These people were his family and yet they talked about him as though he were the scum of the earth.

And she knew exactly what it was like to have your own family push you into the ground. No one should have to experience that.

“You chose right, Sadie,” the second voice said. “Paul’s a lost cause, but good luck to this girl in trying to change him.”

Sucking in a breath, Libby pulled back her shoulders and walked into the hallway.

“For the record, I like Paul just the way he is,” she said, not even pausing to let them close their mouths. “He’s a wonderful, supportive boyfriend and I wouldn’t be with him if all I wanted was to turn him into someone else.”

Sadie’s face paled and the girl next to her, who Libby assumed was another of Paul’s cousins, blinked rapidly. Neither girl said anything to fill the void.

“And, for the record,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. Adrenaline coursed through her, the high from standing up for Paul fueling her words. “We’re thinking about getting married because he’s never been so happy, and neither have I.”

She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth, even more so when she realized that Paul’s mother had walked into earshot. Libby wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole, so she could stew over her bad life decisions in solitude.

“Married?” The look on Leone’s face was like a stake through Libby’s heart. Paul was going to kill her.

“We’re just talking about it,” she said, trying to smooth the situation over. “It was supposed to be private, but it just…popped out.”

Sadie blanched. “He told me marriage was old-fashioned.”

Libby shrugged, grappling for how to recover. She had to get to Paul and tell him what she’d done so they could come up with a solution. But how could she tell him that without revealing what his family was saying about him behind his back?

Her stomach swished, the floor tilting beneath her feet. What had she done?

Leone looked so excited Libby wondered if she might spontaneously combust. She rushed over and enveloped Libby into a tight hug. “This is wonderful news!”

“You have to keep it a secret,” Libby begged. “He’ll be mad if he finds out I mentioned it without consulting him first.”

Or even alerting him to this mystical fact.

“You have my word,” Leone said. “I won’t make a peep.”

Now all Libby had to do was figure out how to tell Paul that she’d made things worse for him.

Paul turned his mobile over in his hands, contemplating what to do about Libby. Guilt weighed on him. Maybe Noah and Des were right. He should have told her the full story about Sadie.

But the last thing he wanted was her pitying him or, God forbid, saying something at the wedding. He didn’t need anyone feeling sorry for him. The whole point of his “relationship” with Libby was to change that power dynamic. Except now these complicated feelings of guilt and obligation had clawed their way in—along with a few other, more primal feelings—and he was debating how to break the news to her.

He held his thumb over her number when a knock sounded at his door. Libby stood on his doorstep as if materialized from his thoughts. Her long, copper-colored hair floated around bare shoulders, draping over the top of a strapless dress in shades of pale blue and yellow.

“Don’t you look like a fantasy?” He looked her up and down, taking in the details he’d come to expect from her. The shoes matched perfectly with the tiny green leaves on the flower pattern of her dress.

It was that level of attention and care which made her such a fantastic businesswoman. Everything she did was thought out to the very last detail…even if it did drive him crazy when she expected the same from him.