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"Long enough," Declan said, again staying away from the details.
Awesome. Her fiancé was a great liar. That was a trait every woman needed in a man.
Oh, wait. No, it wasn't. She knewthatfrom past experience.
"Long enough to…what?" Kitty asked. "Fall in love? Give me my first grandkid? Dance naked under the full moon?"
Piper's cheeks heated up. "Dance naked?" she asked. "Really?"
Kitty grinned. "Just testing the waters, my dear."
Declan looked at Piper and raised his brows. "Should we tell her?"
Piper's heart started to pound. Tell Kitty they were engaged? Oh, Lordy. That felt like such a door to open. Suddenly, she doubted whether that was such a good idea. "Maybe not?—"
"What?" Kitty slammed her palm on the table. "What in the devil's cocktail is happening? Tell me now!"
Declan raised his brows, then he took Piper's hand. "I asked Piper to marry me."
"What? When? What?"
The next few minutes were an interrogation and chaos of epic levels. Piper made up a story about how he'd proposed by taking her to a hilltop at sunrise. Declan said he wanted Piper to pick the ring she wanted, which was why they didn't have one yet. Kitty didnotapprove of the absence of a ring on any level. And there was a lot of outrage that they'd kept it a secret.
But eventually Kitty ran out of steam, and they were able to edge her toward the door. She held up her hands in defeat. "All right. I can take a hint. No more questions tonight, but what's your schedule? Dinner Wednesday night at the country club?"
Declan glanced at Piper and cocked his brow. She knew he was letting her decide. They'd fooled Kitty, which meant the rest of their arrangement had to serve Piper's needs. Her half was a public resurrection of her reputation. A country club dinner would be perfect. "Sure," she said. "That might be fun."
"Great. Seven o'clock. Don't be late." Kitty grabbed the doorknob. "I'll see you both then. I must be off. I have some calls to make!" Kitty giggled herself out the door and fluttered a good-bye at them through the window, before hurrying down the sidewalk, already pulling her phone out of her purse.
Declan dropped his arm from Piper's shoulder. "We have about thirty seconds to stop her. After that, there'll be no going back."
Piper took a breath. "No going back."
"All right then."
They both watched as Kitty dialed the phone, waited, and then started jabbering frantically.
The beast had been unleashed.
They were committed, for better or worse.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Declan waited for regret or guilt as his mom hurried to her car, but he felt none.
He'd lied to her, but all he felt was massive relief. The weight of her expectations and pressure was gone, and it felt incredible. "I feel like I'm free for the first time in a long time," he said.
And alive. He had a mission now, and that was about helping Piper. Protecting her. She was his now, and he wasn't walking away.
Piper grinned. "Awesome. Remember that feeling when I start using you for my own nefarious plans."
He turned toward her. "Whatever you need. I'm in." And then some. He hadn't realized how much his mom's worry about him had been weighing on him, until he'd seen her look at him with joy in her eyes, instead of fear. A gift to his mom. A gift to himself. He owed Piper, and he was going to make damn sure Piper got what she needed from him.
He wasn't going to think about how to handle it when they broke up. For now, he was riding the feel-good wave of lies, deception, and jellyfish kisses.
"I told you, I need a hot, adoring fiancé." Piper cocked herhead, studying him thoughtfully. "I'm thinking grungy, regular guy with a really expensive watch so that she knows you have money. But women like the bad boys, and that fits your persona. Maybe jeans and a T-shirt."
"I have a couple watches like that. Plenty of jeans. No problem." He was glad she wanted him to wear jeans. He didn't even own a suit anymore. He could probably find a tie and a jacket for the dinner at the country club, but he wasn't positive.
