The Ruse that Bounds

phone calls. Lily and I stumbled into a kind of rhythm, living our engagements as if we were a couple who would

toic businessman got hooked to the small-town baker. My investors were ecstatic. It added a volume to my brand with the proper exposure and more and

erating in some ways, but there was something else there, perhaps some spark there that is indescribable. Whatever it was, maybe

e, her eyes virtually scouring the room. She looked absolutely beautiful, as always, but tonight she had on a dress that somehow made her look a

Her arm was draped across mine, and I could feel the tension between us, the nagging unsaid truth th

ne. "I've had some practice," she said, the faintest hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Small-to

hinking about her word

"That would be pretending

lp but agree that maybe, just maybe, somewhere deep down, Lily had that point. Sure, I'm pretending for the cameras, but there were moment

a tap on the shoulder. I turned and found a guy who worked for one of those b

gement to Ms. Monroe. There's been quite a buzz regarding how you acquiring Sweet Crumbs has become very much r

state of engagement, perfecting her smile and appearing very poised. I

art. Lily's a remarkable woman, and I wanted to ensure that the bakery remained a part

hdrew into her practiced warmth parenting that was being performed with so

ers that the two of you are planning a wedding sooner t

not meeting my gaze. The question hung there as a

nd tightened my grip on Lily's hand for effect. "Our f

details being revealed by her. But he nodded and asked his next qu

, and so had Lily. I couldn't shake the feeling that the walls we were building were slowly closi

y tired at the end of the night. The PR team had done well, at least

ent behind us. For a moment, Lily and I stood silently, ou

is long," she said softly, breaking the

ed the back of my

could keep this up, anyway. The line had become permanently e

n what happens after?" I

, her eyes searching

r the lie. When ev

her eyes - something unspoken. "I don't know," she whispered,

oth knew the truth: the longer we kept pretending, the harder it would