He handed his drink to Claire. “Hold this. It’s time Audrey and I started selling this thing.”

Audrey was a little surprised by how much she was enjoying herself. She’d always loved parties, but she’d expected this one to feel awkward given the circumstances. Instead, she was relieved to find it just felt like a group of people together in the same room celebrating love. And they were celebrating love. Friendship love, of the non-romantic variety.

“It’s going great,” her mother said, linking her arm with Audrey’s and grinning happily. “Did you hear the story I told about you calling to tell me about the proposal?”

Audrey rolled her eyes. “I think multiple time zones probably heard that story based on the level of zeal in your voice.”

“Was it too much?”

Audrey kissed her mom’s cheek, more grateful than ever for her fun-loving, up-for-anything mother. “It was perfect. Though, I feel like one of us should inform Clarke that he rode a white stallion bareback through Central Park before someone else asks him to verify the story.”

“You can fill him in right now,” Kathleen said, patting Audrey’s arm and nodding toward Clarke making his way over to her. She took Audrey’s champagne flute out of her hand. “I’m going to go check on your father, and I’ll get us some refills.”

Audrey nodded in acknowledgment, then smiled at Clarke as he approached. “Hi! I haven’t seen you all night.”

“Yeah, that’s sort of a problem,” he said quietly.

Her smile fell as she registered the terse note in his voice and the tension around his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

His gaze dropped to her clutch. “You haven’t checked your phone?”

Audrey’s stomach dropped. “No, I’ve been too busy making the rounds. Why? What’s happened?”

Clarke looked up, noting, as she had, that people were done giving Audrey a reprieve and wanted a moment with the guest of honor. Guests, now that Clarke had joined her.

He stepped closer and gave her a fleeting smile, lowering his voice even further. “They’re onto us, darling.”

“What do you mean?” But she already knew what he meant. Knew that their engagement being a sham had somehow hit the rumor mill. And judging by Clarke’s atypically serious expression, something beyond a little petty gossip was at play.

“Smile,” he instructed, stepping even closer and sliding his hand around her waist. She smiled automatically, even as she registered that his hand had slid low on her back, his face needlessly close to hers.

“Clarke—”

“Brace yourself,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.

“What—”

His lips closed over hers.

Audrey’s eyes went wide in surprise before they fluttered closed, her hands waving helplessly for a moment as she tried to register the strangeness of Clarke’s mouth against hers before they instinctively lifted to rest on his chest.