Beauty and the Brit by Poppy St. James

STERLING

I’ve never been this uninterested in a date before in my life. And I can’t figure out why. Bianca is attractive and engaging; so, what in the hell is wrong with her?

She’s not Camryn.

It’s at this precise moment, over calamari and pints of cold beer, that I understand that I’m truly buggered off. If I can’t date because I’m falling for my matchmaker, that means I can’t marry. And if I don’t marry, I don’t get my inheritance, which means I can’t take care of my mum. Rock, meet hard place.

Nodding along to something Bianca’s saying, I stifle a yawn behind my fist.

I want to tell Camryn everything. I want to date her, want to see if it can lead to something real, but if I tell her all of that, I run the risk of scaring her off. I don’t know that she wants to be Mrs. Quinn. It’s also possible it won’t work between us, in which case I’m royally screwed.

Deciding it’s a risk I just can’t take, I know what I need to do. Play along with Camryn’s plan long enough to get her to fall for me.

Discreetly checking my watch again, I calculate exactly how long until Camryn’s in my arms again.