Page 38 of The Marriage Playbook

He’d enjoyed last night just as much as she had. He wanted it to keep going just as much as she did. And for now, that was enough to ignite a tiny spark of joy in her chest. Enough to make her set aside her hesitation and just enjoy everything that was happening.

They spent the rest of the day together. Cara never retreated to her own part of the house, and Liam never asked her to. They returned again and again to his bed, and every time they did felt like hope springing anew within her. Hope that this could blossom into something really good.

I can’t forget myself. This is a professional relationship. We’re both having a good time, but at the end of the day, he hasn’t promised me anything more than that. I don’t know if I even want anything more than that.

But it was hard to remember that in the face of the most idyllic day she’d had in a long time, and by the time the sun went down, Cara had thoroughly given herself over to just enjoying this new adventure.

Whatever it led to, she would deal with it.

And who knew?

Maybe they would find a way to make it last after all.

CHAPTER 19

CARA

Cara was jerked awake by the sound of the phone ringing.

At first she was shocked, disoriented. She couldn’t figure out what was happening or why. Liam stirred beside her in the darkness. “Time is it?”

She squinted at the screen of her phone. It was three a.m., and the call was from Alastair.

Horror bloomed in her chest. Had he discovered, somehow, what was going on between her and Liam? Was he calling to reprimand her about it? Maybe he thought it was a bad idea. Maybe he thought it was shockingly unprofessional—which she would have to concede that it was.

“I’d better take this,” she mumbled, crawling over Liam to go out into the hall so that he could go back to sleep. There was no reason he should be disturbed. She was the one who had broken the boundaries of professionalism here. Sick shame crawled through her.

But it was accompanied by something else—a surprising anger. She had done so much for Liam’s publicity. If Alastair had somehow found out what was going on, would he really dare to intervene? Should he even have the right to? What if she gave it back to him? What if she told him she didn’t care what he thought, and that she was just going to go on seeing Liam regardless?

She answered the phone. “Alastair…what the hell? It’s the middle of the night.”

“I could ask you the same question,” he snapped. “This is the third time I’ve called you. Were you ignoring me?”

“I was asleep. Why are you calling me at this hour?”

“I guess you haven’t seen the news, then.”

“The news? Do you think I check the news in my sleep?”

“I’m starting to think you should,” he snapped. “This is bad, Cara. Did you vet those women at all?”

“Women? What women?”

“The women! The ones you tried to get to marry Liam Sims! First that girl backs out on the day of the wedding, and now this!”

“And now…what?” She was starting to realize that she had been worrying about the wrong thing altogether. “Is this about Stephanie?”

“She went to the press,” Liam said. “She told them everything.”

Cara’s blood froze. “No. She couldn’t have done that. She was under an NDA. I made sure of it. She even mentioned on the day of the wedding that she had spoken to a lawyer and that she wasn’t going to violate the terms of her nondisclosure agreement.”

“Well, she must have changed her mind,” Alastair said bitterly. “I’ve had news outlets calling me for comment for hours. They know I’m his publicist. I’m surprised you haven’t gotten calls yet.”

“My number isn’t publicly listed.” Cara felt numb.

“You know how these hounds are. It doesn’t matter what’s public. They’re going to have it by sunrise, and you just better be ready to answer some questions.”

“What am I going to tell them?” Her head was spinning. “Do I stick to the story? Say our marriage was real? Or should I come up with something else?”