"And what's happening now?"

  "Her agent got an offer from a reality show producer who is a big surfing fan and remembered our love story. This producer wants to create a show where Britt and I get back together. I spend time on the tour while I build my business at the Beach Shack, and she models and goes for auditions for film roles."

  "I can sort of see that as a show," she admitted.

  "A network said the same thing. Britt gave me a proposal." He tipped his head toward the folder and loosely spread papers on the coffee table. "There's a lot of money on the line for both of us. We just have to pretend to be engaged and live together for three months while they film and then keep the pretense up for at least six months after that until the show can air. We don't have to continue living together, but neither of us can be seen dating anyone else, and they'll be feeding stories to the media about us when they get ready to launch the show."

  "That's quite a deal."

  "I said no. I told her there was no way I would do it."

  She thought about that. "But you read the proposal after she left."

  "Yes, while I was waiting for you to get off your call. I know you think I lied to you⁠—"

  "I don't," she said, cutting him off. "You didn't lie. You had no reason to tell me."

  He gave her a guarded look. "Really? You seemed pretty angry before."

  "I felt blindsided, but I thought about it, and we barely know each other. We had a night together. If I'd wanted your life story before that happened, I should have asked for it."

  He ran a hand through his hair as he looked at her with a mix of emotions in his eyes. "Britt hasn't been a part of my life for a long time, so I didn't think to mention her."

  "Really? Because I remember having a conversation where you told me about all the girls you loved starting with when you were nine, and Britt didn't come up."

  "You didn't let me go that far. You said you'd heard enough," he reminded her. "You didn't need my life story."

  "Still, I think you probably could have mentioned being engaged. Why didn't you?"

  "To be honest, I put Britt out of my mind when our relationship ended. It was a stupid and embarrassing part of my life, that I don't like to think about. I got taken by someone I cared about, and I'd like to forget it."

  "That makes sense."

  "Anyway, I'm not interested in this deal."

  "Are you sure? You do want to buy the Beach Shack, and it sounds like you might be able to get enough money to compete with that sporting goods chain." She paused. "Is that why you looked through the proposal?"

  "It was curiosity, nothing else. There were a lot of dollar signs, but they didn't change my mind, Ava. I'm willing to do a lot to get what I want, but I'm not willing to sell my soul and pretend to be engaged for a fake television show just to get cash."

  "Will Britt take no for an answer?"

  "She hasn't so far. She's staying at a hotel in town, and she will try to change my mind. Britt is stubborn and determined when she wants something. And she wants this."

  "Did she ask you who I was?"

  "She didn't ask, but she did tell me that if you were going to be a problem, she could carve out an income for you, too."

  Her eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? She would pay me off?"

  "To be quiet about the fact that it's all a sham—yes. She would definitely do that."

  "It's amazing what some people are willing to do to get ahead." She wasn't just thinking about Britt. She was also thinking about Jeff and how easily he'd gotten her demoted just because she'd taken a few remote working days.

  "It's unbelievable," he agreed. Pausing, he added, "Do you really believe I would have spent the night with you if I was engaged?"

  She hesitated. "I don't know."

  Disappointment ran through his gaze. "I thought you knew me better than that."

  "It's been a little less than a week, Liam."

  "We've spent a lot of time together. We've talked a lot, Ava."

  Now she felt like she was in the wrong. "But in all that talking, you never mentioned Britt. Is it really that surprising that I'm not completely sure who you are? I don't think you know who I really am, either."

  He shook his head. "Don't do that."

  "Do what?"

  "Start rewriting our history."

  "We don't have a history. We have six days."

  "That's a history. And I do know who you are—at least the important things. And one thing I know is that when you get scared, you run, you hide, and you pretend you don't care and that something doesn't matter. And I don't want you to do that now—not with us."

  His words hit their target because he had nailed her defense mechanisms so accurately. And that made her more scared. How on earth had she let him get to know her so well?

  "I should go back to work," she said.

  "Or you could not run away, and we could keep talking."

  She hated that she was about to prove him right, but her instinct for self-preservation was just too strong. "I have responsibilities. I'll talk to you later." She returned to her bedroom and closed the door.

  As she sat down at her desk and stared at her dark screen, she felt an intense wave of anger. It wasn't toward him; it was toward herself. She had run. She was hiding out, and she was going to pretend that she didn't care enough about their relationship to keep talking about it.

  But they didn't have a relationship. They'd had a night. And, yes, maybe a great week of getting to know each other. She had done more with him in a few days than she'd done with other people in six months. And she couldn't imagine what it would feel like not to see him every day.

  But she was soon going to find out. Because whatever was going on between them had always had an expiration date. Maybe that date had just been moved up, but it had always been there.

  "Damn," she muttered aloud. Why was she so good at rationalizing and running away, and so bad at taking risks and going after what she wanted? Why couldn't she be as brave and fearless as Liam? Hell, why couldn't she be as ballsy as Britt, who was willing to ask the guy who broke up with her to get engaged again so she could be on TV? Britt certainly hadn't let fear stop her.

  She suddenly got to her feet. She needed to stop hiding. Before she could think more about it, she opened the door and left her bedroom. "Liam," she called.

  There was no answer, and the silence in the apartment was deafening. She had a feeling she'd missed her chance.

  But her chance to do what? Talk to him again? Or did she want more?

  Of course she wanted more, but not even her newly found courage would allow her to declare exactly what she wanted a chance to do. That felt like too big of a risk, because the logical part of her brain told her there was no good ending in sight. And it was just as well he was gone. Better to be a little unhappy now than a lot unhappy later.

  Wasn't that what she always told herself? But today it didn't make her feel better at all.

  Chapter Twenty

  Liam did what he always did when his life was filled with turmoil. He took his stress to the beach. He was an hour into surfing, or he should say paddleboarding, because the waves were barely there, when he saw a familiar figure paddling toward him.

  "On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest," Nate said, as he drew close to him, "how much do you want to punch me in the face right now?"

  "Fifty-seven," he replied.

  Nate sat up on his board. "I didn't tell Britt where you were, but I did tell Allie. I called her after we spoke yesterday, and we hashed things out. During our conversation, she asked about you and your business plans. I didn't know she was going to tell Britt any of it. But Allie gets kind of flustered around Britt. She has this weird admiration, idolization thing going with Britt."

  "It's fine. I don't really care. But you might have given me a heads-up."

  "Allie didn't tell me until about an hour ago. I've been calling you."

  "I've been here."

  "I figured. What did Britt want?"

  "Allie didn't tell you?"

  "Allie didn't know. Britt said it was a secret for now, but she needed to talk to you as soon as possible, and that you would want to hear what she had to say."

  "Well, I didn't want to hear it. She wants me to pretend to be her fiancé for a reality TV show. It's a crazy idea, but apparently a lucrative one."

  "That is wild. I can't imagine a person less able to pretend to be something he's not than you. And I mean that in a good way. What did you tell her?"

  "I said no, but she left me the proposal to look at, which I did, out of curiosity."

  "And…"

  "The answer is still no."

  "Just playing devil's advocate for a second. How lucrative are we talking? Would it allow you to raise your offer for the Beach Shack?"

  "Yes. But I'd rather lose that deal than get involved with Britt again."

  "You hate her that much?"

  "I don't hate her. I don't feel anything."

  Nate stared back at him. "Okay then."

  "What happened with you and Allie? Are you still breaking up?"

  "Not at the moment. She admitted that she jumped off the cliff ahead of me in terms of marriage and babies, but that it was something she wanted. I need to figure out if there will be a point in my life where I'll want the same. If there's no possibility, then she doesn't want to be in a relationship with me."

  "Is there a possibility you'll want to settle down and marry her and have kids?" he asked, thinking that was a stretch for someone like Nate, who really loved being free.

  "It gives me hives to think about taking all that on," Nate admitted.

  "You and Allie have been together for a long time. Will anything really change?"

  "It feels like everything will change. We're good right now. I like the way we are. But marriage and kids…my parents couldn't get through all that. They divorced when I was six, and my siblings and I were put through hell for years, going back and forth, having to pick sides, trying to make the other one feel like they were the best parent. I wouldn't want to put my kids through that."

  "You're not even married, much less getting a divorce, and you don't have any kids. You are looking too far down the road, Nate."

  "Do you ever look down that road, Liam?" Nate challenged.

  "I did when I got engaged to Britt. Since then, no."

  "Britt did a number on your head."

  "Maybe when it first happened. But she's not in my head or my heart anymore."

  "Glad to hear that. So, there's no one you're interested now?" Nate asked. "Not even your hot roommate?"

  "I don't want to talk about Ava." His feelings about her were too confusing and too unsettling to discuss. He liked her—a lot. But time was running out on them, and he didn't know what to do about that.

  Late Friday afternoon, Ava heard the doorbell ring. Liam still wasn't back, so she headed to the door with some trepidation. It turned out that foreboding feeling was right on the money, as she once again stared into the beautiful face of Britt Shelby.

  "Hello again," Britt said. "Is Liam here?"

  "No. And I don't know when he'll be back. Try his phone. I'm sure you have the number."

  As she started to close the door, Britt stuck her foot out. "Wait. We got off to a bad start this morning."

  "I don't think we got off to anything," she said curtly.

  "I shouldn't have said I was Liam's fiancée. I'm not."

  "He said you broke up almost a year ago."

  "That's true. Did he tell you about the reality show project I brought to him?"

  "He mentioned it."

  "Can I come in and talk to you? Just for a few minutes," Britt said, throwing another dazzling smile in her direction.

  She had a feeling that what Britt wanted, Britt got. And while she felt absolutely no compunction to have a conversation with her, she was slightly curious about what she might have to say. "Fine. Come in."

  Britt walked into the apartment with a confident smile, as if she'd already won something, although Ava couldn't imagine what that would be.

  Britt took the armchair, so Ava sat on the edge of the couch, feeling wary and uncomfortable. She didn't know why she had to be involved in any of this, but, somehow, she was.

  "So, you and Liam?" Britt began.

  Ava couldn't begin to answer that question, so instead, she said, "What do you want?"

  "I want you to understand this project wouldn't affect your relationship with Liam."

  "How is that possible? He'd be on television, pretending to be your fiancé."

  "That would just be for the cameras. You would have to keep your relationship private, but it wouldn't be forever, and it would be very lucrative for Liam and also for you."

  "This deal is between you and him. I don't need to be involved."

  "He cares about you; I can tell. And if you're good with it, I think he will be, too."

  "You're giving me too much credit. I don't have any influence over Liam."

  Britt stared back at her for a moment, then said, "Liam is a really good man. We started out as friends before it turned into more. But I hurt him, and I feel badly about that."

  "Is there a point to this?" she interrupted. "Because I don't need to know your story."

  "The point is that I didn't treat Liam well, and I want to make it up to him. I know how much he wants to own the Beach Shack and he needs cash. I have a proposition that will get him that money. It's just a fun reality show. No one takes those seriously, and I'll really be the focus, so Liam doesn't have to do much. He just has to be around, and we have to pretend to be engaged. That's it."

  "He already told you no. I don't know what you want me to say."

  "He said no because he doesn't want to mess up whatever he has going with you."

  "I don't believe I'm a factor in his decision," she countered. "He doesn't want to pretend to be someone's fiancé. He doesn't want to go on TV and put forward a fake story. He's not that kind of man. You must know that. You were engaged to him."

  "He can be too ethical," Britt said. "But this isn't like lying; it's just acting, putting on a show and making a lot of money. What's three months when you consider the return? I have talked to the producer, and they'd be willing to pay you a fee for going along with the pretense."

  "That's not necessary. Liam and I are not a couple. He can do whatever he wants."

  "I saw the way he looked at you."

  "You mistook whatever you think you saw. But you should talk to Liam about all this, not me. I don't want to be involved." She got to her feet. "If there's nothing else…"

  Britt slowly rose, then said, "You keep saying there's nothing between you, but when you mention his name, your voice catches a little."

  "You have a big imagination. Liam doesn't look at me a certain way and my voice does not catch when I talk about him," she argued.

  "I'm not imagining anything. But I will talk to Liam, and if you're truly not going to be a problem, then I hope you'll let him know."

  "That won't matter. Liam makes up his own mind." She walked to the door and opened it.

  Britt moved toward her, pausing once more. "I think owning the Beach Shack would make Liam happy. Seems like you might want him to be happy, too."

  "You never stop pushing, do you?" She was truly amazed by how persistent Britt was.

  "How else will I get what I want?" Britt asked.

  "Why don't you just do the show yourself if you're going to be the star anyway?"

  "Because the executive producer has a crush on Liam, and she says romantic couples always sell better."

  Did everyone in the world have a crush on Liam? It certainly felt that way. "Well, good luck."

  "I don't need luck; I need your help. At least encourage Liam to think about it. He can be so stubborn and narrow-minded sometimes. There's a bigger picture that could work for all of us."

  "But you most of all," she said pointedly.

  Britt shrugged unapologetically. "Well, I'm doing the work, so I deserve the extra time and cash. We'll talk soon."

  "I don't think so." She gently pushed Britt onto the landing.

  After closing the door, she leaned against it, thinking about their conversation. Britt was bigger than life—beautiful, athletic, vibrant, and confident. She was so sure of herself. She would never let anyone get one up on her. And she'd never stop asking for what she wanted.

  She felt like a pale shadow next to Britt. They were certainly nothing alike. Opposites in every way. And yet Liam had obviously been attracted to both of them. She didn't know what to make of that.

  Did it even matter? She wasn't in a relationship with Liam. And Britt was probably just trying to manipulate her by suggesting she could read something in Liam's eyes and her voice. That was just silly.

  The door suddenly opened, and she stumbled forward as Liam came into the room, giving her a questioning look.

  "Were you leaning on the door?" he asked.

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  "Because your ex-fiancée just left, and I was getting my bearings."

  "Oh. I didn't see Britt. But I understand the getting your bearings part," he said dryly. "She can be a lot. What did she want?"

  "She wanted me to convince you to do the show. She made it clear how much you'll both benefit from it. She's not giving up, Liam."

  "She can do it by herself. I just went to her hotel to tell her that. I left her proposal at the front desk with a note saying I was not interested."

  "I doubt that will stop her from coming back for another conversation. She's very determined. She also said her producer has a crush on you, so she definitely wants you in the show."

  "Whatever. I said no, and that won't change. What are you doing tonight?"

  "I—I don't know," she said, surprised by the sudden change in topic.

  "I ran into my friend, Nate, at the beach. He's going to bring over some pizza. I'd really like you to join us, Ava."