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“I know, but our flight leaves at nine, and if I’m not at the airport by seven, Monty will flip the fuck out. Or I could bring him by tonight?”

“Tomorrow morning is fine. I’ll be up getting ready for work, but Wyatt will still be asleep, so we’ll just have to be quiet.”

“Great,” I reply. “I’ll get everything ready for him tonight and see you bright and early.”

7

Monty

I’ve been second-guessing asking Kendall for this favor since the words left my mouth.

After talking to my mother this morning and learning she couldn’t cancel the reservations, I panicked. She’s so excited about planning a wedding and meeting her future daughter-in-law that I couldn’t tell her the truth and break her heart.

Her heart’s been broken enough already.

Now I’ll just have to hope that Kendall and Maggie keep this arrangement from spreading through the office like wildfire.

I’m probably an idiot for risking the board finding out I’m taking my assistant to a romantic island and posing as her fiancé. But I couldn’t figure out how to tell my mother the truth: that I caught my new fiancée screwing one of my neighbors. A guy I considered a friend.

I was so preoccupied with work that I didn’t have a clue what was going on between them. The day I figured it out was only by accident.

One day last week, I left a file in my home office, which is unusual for me. When I went back at lunch to get it, there they were.

On my sofa.

Opening the top drawer of my desk, I pull the navy-blue velvet ring box out and raise the lid to stare down at the diamond solitaire I spent way too much money on before snapping it closed again.

I already know Kendall’s going to love the ring. She’s the one who helped me pick it out. The moment she gasped and pointed at it, I knew it was the right choice.

Vanessa hated the ring.

And hated whenever I talked about Kendall.

I reminded her as much that day when I ended things on the spot.

As if summoned by my thoughts of her, she raps her knuckles against my open office door.

“Come in.”

“I’ve got a little something for you before we head out,” she says before she tosses a thick stack of stapled papers onto my desk.

“What’s that?”

“Our agreement in writing. I’m in!”

I’m relieved she’s coming with me, but curious why she went to all the trouble of writing out the details of this arrangement.

Putting down the ring box, I pick up the document and flip through.

“I’m glad you’re coming, but when will I have time to read all this, Kendall? Our flight leaves at nine in the morning.”

“Then you could just sign it now,” she says with a sly grin.

Oh, I had better read every single word.

I flip to the end of the document and find her big, loopy signature on the page. “You’ve already signed it?”

“That’s right. My attorney cleared it.”