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“What are our options?” I ask. “Because right now, it doesn't seem like I have any. The only option I see is that I just brought even more negative press to our family's lodge, and if things keep going the way they are, I’ll run this place into the ground. We'll lose everything.”

Sure, that might be a little dramatic, but to be fair, this is a dramatic situation.

“Well, option number one is that we come clean and say that our night got carried away and it is a joke.”

Like I said, that sounds like negative press.

“April's Fools isn't for four more months, Preston. We can't just say this is a joke. There are thousands and thousands of likes and comments.”

I'm so totally screwed.

“What's the other option?”

“The other option is we fake being engaged and⁠—”

“What?” I shriek, the high pitch even startling me.

Preston leans back into the couch. “This post was not one of our best moments,” he says, and I smack him with a pillow.

“You think?” I stand and start to pace. “We are complete idiots, Preston.”

“Well, that’s a bit⁠—”

“We are grown adults,” I snap. “And we honestly thought faking an engagement would fix our problems.”

My hands fly up, one falling to my hip while the other rubs my forehead. “We are so freaking stupid.”

Silence takes over as I process the two worst-case options.

Option one, calling it a joke, would only drag the lodge deeper into ruin. Option two would mean that I have to pretend to like the man sitting on my couch. A man who has annoyed me for as long as I can remember.

But if done correctly, it could maybe actually be a good thing for the lodge.

Holy shit, I’m actually thinking about it.

Being engaged to Preston Archer King.

Shit.

Preston just stares at me, giving me the space I need.

“If,” I say slowly, my heart hammering inside my chest at the idea I’m even still entertaining this option, “we went with option number two, no one is going to believe us.”

Preston rubs his chin, nodding slowly.

“Yeah, you’re not wrong about that. It’s going to take some convincing.” His head volleys. “At the same time, it might not take as much convincing as we think. I come to the lodge so often that I think convincing people I’m here to see you won’t be hard.”

“What about the fact that I’ve clearly expressed my distaste for you?”

“Well—”

“Or that you’ve dated on and off all these years.”

“Yeah, that might⁠—”

“Or that an article just popped up maybe seventy-two hours ago about your latest breakup.”

He smirks. “Are you tracking the number of hours I’ve been single, Sunny?”