Page 24 of Romantic Hero
‘Henry Irving and Gertie Bickerstaff are invited to the idyllic Buckinghamshire village of Little Crumpet in honour of Jim Kellerman’s 40th Birthday Shenanigans. Birthday Shenanigans? My God. This is the party Henry was talking about? This weekend?’
‘Yes?’
‘Then that gives us only a day to prepare.’
‘Prepare? For what?’
River slaps the invitation haphazardly beneath a different magnet and meets my eyes. ‘Prepare to show Henry what he’s missing.’
‘Buthow?’ I ask, taking the invitation back off the fridge and putting it back neatly under the correct magnet.
‘We let him see you full pelt with another man. Make him so jealous he won’t rest until you’re back in his arms.’
I nod slowly. ‘So fake dating?’
River rolls his eyes. ‘Fake dating? Nah, Gertie. Fakefucking.’
I swallow hard, my eyes widening, my cheeks feeling a little hot. I may write about these things. And I certainly read about these things. I do not live them. People like me do not live these things.
‘I’m not sure,’ I start. ‘I’m not exactly—’
River jumps in. ‘You get Henry back, solve your “writer’s block”, and fingers fucking crossed, I’ll magic back home before the land auction and save Bedlam Creek from ruin.’
‘That simple?’
‘Well, clearly no. Whatever is going on here is about as far from simple as it’s possible to get. I have no clue what’s happening, just like you.’ He huffs. ‘But this is my best guess.’
I fold my arms. ‘I can’t just turn up in Little Crumpet. Jim is Henry’s friend more than mine. I was only invited to the party as Henry’s plus one. I’ll probably start crying again as soon as I see him. And as you’ve just witnessed, I am not one of those pretty, one-glistening-tear-trailing-a-poreless-cheek criers. I don’t want to ruin the party. Jim’s been excited for this weekend since he started planning it a year ago. There has to be another way for us to fix this situation … I don’t know what that might be, but maybe we just need to sit down and do some brain storming? Or we could go to the library? Or to a doctor so that we can definitely definitely make sure I’m not losing my mind?’
River steps decidedly over to me, so close the rim of his Stetson casts a shadow over my eyes. My heart beasts faster, which once again surprises me because, while this man is undeniably hot, the burly, surly alpha thing has never been my type. What I find much sexier is wit, compassion, dreamy blue eyes the colour of deep sea.Henry.
I feel the soft warmth of River’s breath on my face. It smells like whisky and …my toothpaste? Did River brushhis teeth when he was in the bathroom? Did heuse my toothbrush?
‘What other ideas do you have to get us out of this, Gertie?’ he asks, eyes flashing with frustration. ‘I’m all ears.’
I drag my eyes away from his, bury my head in my hands and sigh. I have zero ideas. The ceremony last night was a literal wash-out. Could it actually be possible that River Oakley is here to help me with Henry? To help heal my broken heart? In my novels, what makes River Oakley so dangerous is his ability to charm almost anyone into falling for him. I could definitely use a bit of that power. But the thought of him getting all up in my relationship? The thought of having to pretend to beintoRiver in front of Henry? That makes me very very nervous indeed.
‘I have things to tend to, Gertie,’ River says seriously. He crouches down so that his eyes are level with mine. ‘Important things. I have to get home. I have obligations.’ His shoulders slump. ‘Endless obligations and promises to keep.’
‘But what if—’
River growls in frustration before I can even finish the sentence. ‘Gertie, this is the only idea we have right now. In the absence of any better solutions we are doing this. Come hell or high water, I’m going to show you how to get Henry back. Okay? If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but until we get a better idea, this is what we’re doing. It’s decided.’
I hold my hands up. ‘Okay! Fine.’
River nods. ‘Good. Now did you keep any videos of this guy? I’m gonna need a lot more information to work with if we have any hope of pulling this off.’
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
‘No way. We arenotcalling our mission “Operation Windbag”,’ I grumble as River and I head down Marylebone High Street. I glance across at him, relieved that he’s now wearing a size-appropriate black T-shirt we found in Marks & Spencer. ‘Henry isnota windbag.’
‘I watched the videos you showed me. The one of his book launch speech? The man’s a real chin musician. You couldn’t shut him up. Anyway, it’smyoperation. I get to choose the name.’
‘How about “Operation True Love”?’ I suggest.
‘How about “Operation Can We Focus and Get River the Fuck Home As Soon As Humanly Possible”?’
‘How about “Operation River Oakley Has a Terrible Attitude”?’
