He’d purposely told Jack he had official business but didn’t get into what that was on the phone—for obvious reasons. He telegraphed a warning look in Jack’s direction that was supposed to mean, Ask no questions. Just do your job.

But Jack, the second-most obstinate person he knew, didn’t seem to get that memo. “I’ve just spent the past fifteen minutes trying to talk Tessa out of this. I am your best friend, unless you’ve gone and gotten another one in the past week. What the hell, Leo?”

He tried for a nonchalant shrug. “We fell in love fast. We want to get married. That’s it.” Was unemotional and deadpan convincing enough? Because that was the best his nerves seemed to allow.

Jack looked at him with piercing blue eyes that never missed a trick and combed his fingers through his thick head of hair. “Are you really sticking with that story?”

Leo had never kept a secret from his best friend before. But if he told Jack the truth, he would never agree to marry them.

“As of two weeks ago, you were chatting up some woman at the Tin Cup in Cloversville.” Okay, now he was playing dirty. Tessa’s face colored, and that made Leo feel bad. Even though this soon-to-be-marriage was as fake as reality TV.

He had zero emotional attachment to Tessa. But what woman wanted to hear that her fiancé had been flirting with someone right before their wedding? Especially someone who’d been cheated on by that ass Sam, who’d wanted Tessa ever since high school and, from what Leo had gathered, had zero emotional growth since then. Why she’d finally given in and dated him these past few years baffled him.

He reined in his wandering mind, but one glance at Tessa herself distracted him again. She looked…she looked really nice. She wore a very pale pink lacy dress with a bright pink sash around her waist and some seriously sexy bright pink shoes. She had pretty ankles. Shapely calves, too, like she might be a runner or something.

And her hair was flowing loose and wavy around her face. Not her usual messy bun accompanied by the typical trail of flour on her cheek. Although he didn’t mind the flour. It was the mark of a hardworking person—and was also kind of cute. But this look…this feminine Tessa…completely threw him.

When their gazes snared, he actually sucked in a breath because she looked worried and a little fidgety and…beautiful. There was no other word. He couldn’t even lie to himself.

His nemesis was beautiful.

His mouth went dry. Not from attraction. Not that. Because he was robbing her of a real wedding. What if this harebrained idea failed? What would the fallout be for both their families? And he hadn’t thought of this before but…what would it be for them?