Page 84 of The Fiancé Hoax

At least I could still join them for dinner every night. And most nights, Cooper and I found comfort in each other’s arms in his bed.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted between us.

I kept telling myself it was because we were both busy. He was worried about the trial, and I had to renovate my store.

No matter what excuses I told myself, Cooper felt more and more distant with each day.

For a while, things had been great between us. I’d started to wonder if he wanted to have a real relationship with me. We’d gone out for drinks with Lauren a couple of times, and he’d taken me on a couples’ date with his work friend and his wife.

And of course, our time together with Eva and Lily was fantastic. With the girls, it was easy to feel like we were a family.

We seemed to fit perfectly into each other’s lives.

But lately, he felt so far away. Like he was counting the days until I was gone.

I longed to feel close to Cooper again.

But what could I do? I couldn’t make him feel the way I did.

It was the middle of the afternoon—another busy day at Moonstone. I’d just finished designing a new dress in toddler sizes when the door chime sounded.

“Welcome to Moonstone Boutique,” I said cheerfully, pushing away my worries.

I was a little surprised to see a man standing there. But I shrugged it off. Guys sometimes came in to buy something for their wives or girlfriends. Now that I was selling children's clothes, I would probably get even more dads shopping for their daughters.

I wrapped my tape measure around the back of my neck and approached him. “Is there anything in particular you're looking for today?”

He turned toward a rack of dresses and began to sort through them. “No, just seeing what you have.”

I smiled. “Okay. Let me know if you need any help.”

I moved to the sales counter where I had left my laptop and began to scroll through my bookkeeping for the week. Cooper’s lessons about staying on top of my financial records had sunk in. He was right—I hadn’t been paying enough attention to the flow of money.

Suddenly, I noticed the guy was looking at me. Something about him gave me the creeps.

“You been in this location for long?” he asked.

“Three years,” I said.

He looked at the racks I had pushed to the side to make room for the children's section. “Are you moving things around in here?”

I walked around the sales counter and approached the kids’ section. “Yeah, I’m expanding the girls’ section. I had to make room for it.”

“What made you decide to do that all of a sudden?”

I looked at him. Why was he asking all these questions?

I swallowed, suddenly wishing I wasn’t alone in the store. “Just turning over a new leaf.” I put my hand on the rack and fidgeted with a hanger.

Suddenly, it all clicked.

This guy was the private eye.

And my engagement ring was off my finger. I had taken it off because the diamond had a tendency to snag the fine linen and silk I was working with today.

His eyes darted to my left hand. I quickly hid my hands behind my back, where I clasped them together.

The guy noticed my movement and gave me a smile. He had seen everything.