He glanced down at her. “Why would you think that?”

“Well, you can’t very well be wooing every woman in the bar the way you normally do while I’ve got this rock on my finger.”

“If that’s your way of asking if I’ve stepped out on my fiancée, absolutely not.”

“Well, congratulations,” she said dryly. “You’ve made it an entire week without sex.”

“Thank you for noting my sacrifice.” Clarke glanced down at his watch, then stood, refilling their champagne before taking his shirt off the hanger and pulling it on. “Guess we should go pretend to be in love, huh?”

“You pretend to be in love. I’m just here to show off my shoes,” she said, reaching down to pull on the painful but beautiful pumps.

“And I need you to say it out loud, we’re done after this, right?” she said, stepping toward Clarke and batting his hands aside to fix the tie knot he was mangling. “Your mom will get the message to back off with the Elizabeth stuff, and Scandal Boy and his minions have gotten the hint that I’m not a romantic pariah.”

“How do you know they won’t be back with a vengeance when we call it off?” he asked, studying her. “That they won’t say, ‘There she goes, losing another one’?”

“I thought about that,” she admitted. “Which is why it’s going to be crucial that I’m the one who dumps you.” She gave his chest a friendly pat. “How’s your fake cry?”

“How much time do I have to work on it?”

She shrugged. “This is your show now. We can either issue a peaceful statement in the next day or two, or we can put on a spectacular show tonight. We can have it be about something silly but real. Like, let’s say, maybe I’m not so keen on the fact that you’re texting another woman during our engagement party?”

Clarke grinned as he pulled on his suit jacket. “Spectacular. My playboy reputation could use a bit of a boost anyway. Shall we?” he asked, extending his arm to her.

She smiled and slid her hand into the crook of his elbow, though her smile slipped a little as they headed toward the elevator, wondering why Clarke seemed so eager to play the part of villain.

Chapter Six

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18

Well, well, well, she’s done it again. As if she didn’t attempt to steal the late Brayden Hayes out from under his wife, it turns out our little home wrecker has been up to her old tricks…

—@ScandalBoyNYC

Clarke was at the bar ordering himself a martini when his mother finally cornered him.