Free A Bad Boy is Good to Find by Jennifer Lewis Page A

way that made him look more handsome. “I said I’d marry you, and I will…”
    “And we let the media in on it.” She leapt to her feet, hands on hips. “Is that so much to ask?”
    “Yes, if you plan to get a divorce right after it. That’s not a marriage, it’s scam.”
    “Okay, maybe we won’t get divorced after it. Maybe we’ll fall madly in love and live happily ever after. Oh, wait, I forgot… You’re not capable of love. Bummer.” Christ, she could use a drink from that minibar.
    Con ran a hand over his face. “I care about you, Lizzie.”
    “So you keep saying. If you care about me so much, then help me out with my little plan. Heck, maybe no media will be interested. In that case, you’re off the hook. Okay?”
    Con looked mildly relieved. “Okay. If no one’s interested, you’ll forget all about it?”
    “Deal.”
    Some research time on a hotel computer and several phone calls later, Lizzie had been politely turned down by People magazine, the National Enquirer and Entertainment Tonight . She was waiting for a callback from Access Hollywood and the CBS Early Show , but the production staff she’d spoken to did not sound optimistic. Con whistled cheerfully as he shaved in the shiny marble bathroom.
    “Don’t be so chipper. They all took my call. I’m going down to the computer to do some more research.”
    “You’re not going anywhere without me.” He switched off the razor and ran a hand over his smooth chin. Her traitorous stomach jumped.
    “Your lack of faith in me is so inspiring.”
    “Just protecting you from yourself. Maybe we can go out and grab some dinner.”
    “The Desert Palm has a rather lovely little restaurant, I hear.” She was in the midst of attempting to wind her hair into some kind of bun and it fought back with vigor. She stuck pins in to stab it into submission.
    “I was thinking more along the lines of a Big Mac.”
    “Such a romantic. I’m Lizzie Hathaway, you know. I don’t eat Big Macs. Especially not now I’m slim.” Well, okay, not actually slim . The full-length mirror in the bathroom had made that clear, even with a flattering sheen of steam on it. Slimmer. And planning to stay that way.
    “Alright, Lizzie Hathaway, how about a veggie sandwich from Subway?”
    “Oh, be still my heart.” She placed her hand over it. “It’s the kind of date I always dreamed about.” Her hair exploded from its knot and fell over her shoulders.
    Con’s face cracked a smile. “You look beautiful with your hair down.”
    “Still with the charm. You don’t give up, do you?”
    The mirror had also made it clear she was still no beauty without her makeup. Right now she wasn’t wearing any, just to spite him.
    “I’m not trying to charm anyone. You just make me smile.” Humor gleamed in those infuriatingly seductive eyes. Lucky they had no effect on her any more.
    “Are we going down to use the computer or what?”
     
    Lizzie teetered on the edge of the heart-shaped mattress, sleep still a distant fantasy. The pan-seared salmon she’d insisted on churned in her gut like dying pigs. At the time it had seemed like a point of honor, now it just felt like an indigestible extravagance.
    All her life she’d hated snobbery and expensive status symbols. Now suddenly she was insisting on “the best of everything” just to get back at Con? It only made her feel worse when he went along with it, emptying his wallet to give her things she didn’t really want.
    Did he have to breathe so loud? How offensive of him to sleep deeply when she couldn’t catch a single wink. And sprawled arrogantly over his side of the bed as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
    Every time she thought she might be close to drifting off, a stray thought bloomed out of nowhere and scattered her fluffy sheep. A renegade memory of how safe she’d felt with Con’s warm arms around her. Never again . The thought of her proud father with an ankle bracelet under his crisp pant cuff and bored law