Page 20 of The Love Chase

Bridget cocked her head. “That would be a little hard seeing as this needs two people.”

Emma’s eyes darted between us as we argued back and forth.

“And what exactly is this?” I bit out between clenched teeth.

Bridget waved a hand in dismissal. “This is the solution to your problematic reputation. This will get the negative tabloids off your back and hopefully things will take a positive spin for once.”

Emma coughed, reached out and took a sip of my Coke, just like old times. My heart gave a strange lurch in my chest. My manager’s eyes narrowed, and the victorious scheming look returned to her face.

I didn’t like that look. Not at all.

“Leave Emma out of this,” I warned.

I didn’t want Emma in this life. I didn’t want to risk her sweet soul getting eaten alive by the viciousness of the people in the music industry. I couldn’t bear the thought.

Bridget crossed her arms, sitting back in her chair. That smug smile was back on her face. Her next words had my body feeling like I had plunged into an ice bath.

“But who else would you marry, Liam?”

Emma

“What?” Liam shouted at the same time as I spat a mouthful of grilled cheese across the table, narrowly missing his manager’s pristine pink blazer.

My face burst into flames, and I muttered an apology as I wiped my lips with a napkin. Bridget’s face twisted into a pinched expression that told me she wanted to scold me but was reining herself in—likely for Liam’s sake and this scheme she’d concocted.

What the heck did she mean by “who else would he marry?”

“Excuse me?” he asked, barely holding back the anger that had his hands clenched into fists beneath the table. He started picking at the threads of his shorts, and a muscle jumped in his jaw as he clenched his teeth so hard I was sure he’d have a headache later. Most people wouldn’t notice those small things, but I knew Liam too well to miss them.

“That’s how you fix your bad boy, womanizer reputation, Liam. Get married.”

This had to be a joke. There was no way she was serious about this. Why on earth would Liam and I getting married be a good thing for his career? Wouldn’t that make people not interested in him since he would no longer be single?

The idea of being Liam’s wife had my body simultaneously flaring hot as the sun and my stomach smashing into the earth. Through our teen years and into my early twenties, there was no doubt in my mind that I had felt something for Liam—something more than friendship.

But I tried to never allow myself to entertain the idea of marrying my best friend. He had always made it clear that I was just a friend to him, and he didn’t, nor would he ever, think of me as more than such.

“Seeing as you two seem to be…close,”—Bridget gestured between Liam and me—“it’s the perfect solution. Saves me the trouble of trying to find a random woman to go along with such a sham.”

Sham is right. There’s no way Liam would ever marry me. This is a ridiculous plan.

Bridget turned her cold eyes on me. “I will, of course, make it worth your while, Emma. I don’t expect you to sacrifice a year of your life for nothing. A sum of money will be written into the marriage contract, and I’ll make sure it’s enough to set you up once the marriage is over.”

Wait, when it’s over?

I opened my mouth to ask what the heck she meant, but Liam held up both hands to stop her.

“Wait. Wait. Wait. Hold on. What do you mean money and when the marriage is over?”

Bridget gave him a patient smile, like one would give a child, before folding her hands on the table again.

“I would never expect Emma to radically change her life in such a way without proper compensation.” She glanced at me, giving me a once-over. “A pretty young thing like her would probably be grateful for the money.”

I did not like that insinuation. Not at all.

“And,” she continued, “the marriage would only last for a year at most and then you two can split ways. The contract would give enough time for the world to hear of your happily ever after, your reputation would be scrubbed clean, and then things between you can end and your popularity will soar again. Every woman on earth will want to comfort the freshly divorced country singer, Liam Walker.”

A smug look crossed Bridget’s face, like she was immensely proud of coming up with such a plan.