The Accidental Boyfriend. Maggie Dallen

way to her fuzzy brain. Guilt was the first emotion to deliver a sucker punch. Here she’d been daydreaming about Jack while she was supposed to be hunting down her soon-to-be fiancé for a romantic surprise. What kind of almost girlfriend did that make her? A terrible one.

      And then the rest of the sentence clicked into place in Holly’s brain. Humiliation washed over her in a tidal wave. She struggled to catch her breath. Oh no. Not only was she an idiot of the first order but this man—Jack Everett, of all people—knew it. He knew that she was here chasing after the man she couldn’t even call boyfriend. How much had Ivy told him?

      “Oh God,” she muttered. She picked up her glass and took a gulp of wine.

      When she set it down she found Jack watching her with…ugh, was that pity? That was not acceptable.

      She took another large sip of wine and forced a grin. “Guess that’s what I get for being romantic,” she quipped. “So how did Ivy know that—”

      “Your mom.”

      “Right, of course.” She’d never fully understood the desire to be swallowed up by the ground until that moment.

      Jack picked up a fork and toyed with it. “Ivy wasn’t sure when you would call again or check your emails and she didn’t want you running all over Paris on a wild goose chase.”

      Holly had to laugh at that. That was exactly how she’d describe her day. She’d been on a wild goose chase to find a wannabe boyfriend who wasn’t there. Jack seemed to loosen up considerably when she laughed. He was grinning at her as he reached for his glass. He was probably just relieved she hadn’t burst into tears at the news.

      “Thank you,” she forced herself to say. “For going out of your way to save me from…” Save her from, what? Herself? Heat rose to her cheeks. There was no sign of pity in his eyes but she was certain she felt it oozing from him under the guise of good intentions.

      “No problem, it wasn’t out of my way.”

      “Well, I guess it was my good luck that you were in Paris during my time of need.”

      She forced a smile. He was lying. She wasn’t sure how she knew but it was obvious. He was a good liar but she was better. She’d been able to see through his charming little white lies from the first moment they’d met, when he’d introduced himself to her at the rehearsal dinner. He’d told her he loved weddings and she’d called him out on the lie.

      She almost called him out on this lie but stopped herself. She appreciated the lie for what it was—he was trying to make her feel less pathetic.

      Nice try. The reality of her situation was slowly sinking in and she tried not to let the horror show on her face. Her stomach roiled and for a moment, she thought she might be sick. She had blown so much money to come here and it was all for nothing. Plus, she’d missed out on another chance to win Benjamin over. And now, all the world—well, her family and Jack, at least—had witnessed her desperation. And that’s what it was. Desperation. Up until that point she had been able to convince herself that it was a romantic gesture but now…

      “Are you all right?” Jack asked.

      Holly’s head jerked in a nod and she took another sip of wine. The waitress set down some bread and she lunged for it. She needed to sober up otherwise she would never be able to control the emotions that were threatening to eat her alive.

      “So this Benjamin guy—” Jack started.

      Holly winced. “I’d rather not talk about it.” She was embarrassed enough, the last thing she wanted to do was talk about her infatuation with Benjamin…and certainly not with Jack, of all people.

      “Fair enough,” Jack said. “But I really am glad I got an excuse to see you….”

      Truth. She could be a human lie detector around this guy.

      “I’m glad we had a chance to clear the air about…that night,” he finished.

      That night. There it was again, larger than life in her mind, like an incredibly vivid dream that lingers long after you wake.

      “Me too,” she said. “I mean, we’re going to be seeing so much of each other.”

      “Right, between Danny and Ivy and now the new baby, we’ll be seeing each other all the time.” Holly’s heart rate picked up speed. He was right. There was no escaping it. Jack would be a constant in her life.

      He looked so eager to make things right, to make her happy, that she went along with the jovial attitude. “At major holidays and life events, at the very least,” she agreed.

      “Right. So I’m glad we had a chance to clear the air,” he said again.

      She forced a bright smile. “And thank God we didn’t…you know.”

      He blinked at her in surprise for a moment before quickly agreeing with her a little too wholeheartedly. “Yeah, I mean…yes. Absolutely. So true. That would have made things really…complicated.”

      “And awkward,” she added.

      He nodded as he reached for the cheese plate the waitress set down. “Oh definitely. So awkward.”

      She told herself she should not be offended that he was so enthusiastically happy they didn’t have sex. She’d said it first, after all. But still. His eager agreement wasn’t exactly good for her ego.

      She raised her glass, “To the best mistake we ever avoided.”

      He clinked his glass against hers, “Amen to that.”

      * * * *

      The relief Jack felt at having gotten the apology off his chest was tempered by the fact that it had apparently been completely unnecessary.

      She had left him.

      He watched her tear apart the bread and shove a piece in her mouth. He didn’t know whether he should be relieved or angry. Though he was glad he hadn’t hurt her feelings, his ego was more than a little bruised. He had been so sure she was into it—into him. He thought they’d had something special that night and now it turned out she’d run away from him as soon as his back was turned.

      The waitress headed toward them with steaming plates of food and Holly’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. She was more beautiful than he’d remembered. He’d started to think he was exaggerating her charms, but then he’d spotted her in the dingy hostel. His memory hadn’t done her justice. No picture or mere memory could capture her larger-than-life charisma or her zest for life. She practically glowed with an innate joy, a youthful excitement that had nothing to do with age and everything to do with the way she viewed the world around her.

      And then there was the fact that she was just plain hot. She had killer curves, wild blond curls, and big blue eyes…eyes that were currently ogling the meat and cheese selection the waitress set before them.

      Everything about this woman screamed sweetness and light. She was the type of woman you take home to meet the family. She was clearly long-term girlfriend material, it was no wonder she’d run from him that night. Isn’t that why he’d fled as well? They both knew that she deserved better than him.

      The food had arrived just in time. He was starting to think of ways to bring up Benjamin again but he was saved by the distraction that food provided. He didn’t know how much he really wanted to hear about this other man. Clearly Holly had feelings for the guy but did he really need to hear the details?

      Ivy didn’t like Benjamin, that’s all he needed to know. Ivy had good judgment in men—after all, she just married one of his best friends. If she didn’t think Benjamin was good enough for her sister, neither did he.

      Of course, Ivy hadn’t come out and said she didn’t like him but he knew his friend well and it was obvious that she had her misgivings. That was good enough for Jack to thoroughly dislike him.

      He