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Lisa Marie bit her lip nervously as she glanced around at her surroundings. Fortunately, the hotel hallway was momentarily deserted. For that, she was grateful. Anyone who knew her who would see her at the door to Matt Hardy's hotel room would be suspicious, as the two of them had never been friends.
Quickly, the raven-haired woman raised her right hand to rap on the door with her knuckles. She was here perfectly on time as well, at little after two in the morning.
The door opened, and the elder Hardy gave her a crooked half-smile, half-smirk.
"Get in here," he said, not bothering with a greeting. He ushered her inside and shut the door, locking it as well.
"Well," Lisa Marie said, a deep breath emerging from her lungs, "here I am... Exactly on time, like you requested."
"So I noticed," Matt said with a nod. He gestured toward the small table near the heavily draped window.
The diva made a beeline for the chair farthest away and sat. She couldn't quite comprehend her nervous feeling as she was here in the man's presence. After all, she had no idea what he was going to propose to her.
Matt crossed over to the table, taking the seat across from Lisa Marie Varon. He templed his fingers, elbows propped up on the table as he squarely met her dark eyes.
"So..." he began. "... you still love him, don't you?"
"Wh-what...?" The woman's mouth ran dry, her heart beating impossibly fast in her chest. She was about to go on when she realized it would pointless to dispute Hardy's words, which had been more a statement than a question.
"Y-yes... I do," she admitted reluctantly, ducking her head in shame.
Matt laughed, which caused Lisa to lift her head, question marks in her brown eyes. Why the laughter? What exactly was it that he found so funny? She was beginning to feel offended.
"We're in the same boat," Matt announced, "because, as much as I *hate* to admit it, I still love Amy myself." His expression soured, and he shook his head. "Damn her to hell... Damn her for ever leaving me."
Lisa Marie's eyes widened at the softly spoken rant. How could he say such things? How could he say he still loved his ex-girlfriend, and yet in the next breath, have such hatred in his voice and use such words about her? She didn't understand. She could never harden her heart against Adam, no matter *what* he did.
There was a brief, awkward moment of silence between them. Matt eyed the dark-haired woman, fully knowing she felt uncomfortable around him. He had nothing against her and in fact knew he could relate to her. That was the very reason he'd approached her in the first place. At the wedding, when he'd been watching her, he saw the very same emotions doing battle inside of her that he felt within himself.
"Okay then," he said suddenly, slicing the tension and silence between them. "The reason I asked you to meet me... Well, here is what I propose we do." He began to explain his elaborate, very well thought out plan, not skipping over a single detail of his ideas.
Lisa Marie's eyes widened in shock as Hardy spoke. Her jaw dropped, mouth wide open in vast surprise as well. This couldn't possibly be something he'd thought up only mere hours ago when they'd been at the wedding. What Matt was proposing was more in depth, totally scheming, a full on plot! And she could hardly believe her ears.
Lisa Marie spoke.
"I can't do this," she said, shaking her head. "There's no way!"
"You're backing down?" Hardy demanded, his tone not quite as harsh as his facial expression.
"It's... It's too much," the raven-haired woman said. "I can't... I *couldn't*."
"Oh, come on... It's really not all that bad," the elder Hardy brother retorted.
"But it's *illegal," Lisa Marie reminded him. "It's illegal and it's immoral."
Matt laughed, as though finding her reasoning to be absolutely ridiculous.
"We're talking about *kidnapping*," the woman said, hardly able to believe she had somehow gotten mixed up with this seemingly unbalanced man. "If the plan fails *or* succeeds, it could mean prison time!"
"That's a chance I'm personally willing to take," he replied, the stern expression returning to his face. "Well?" he asked after a moment. "Are you in?"
Lisa Marie remained silent. She could not believe what she was hearing. It felt like she was trapped in some crazy nightmare.
"Do you want any chance at all of getting Adam back?"
Her gaze shot up, instantly meeting his dark eyes. She hated the way he was trying to use her emotions against her. She didn't reply.
"I need an answer," Matt said evently. "Now, give it to me straight - are... you... in?"
Lisa Marie blinked, lowering her gaze to the table, then again met his eyes. Her heart was hammering, her mouth had gone ash-dry, and she felt about three seconds away from vomiting as she finally gave him an answer.
"Yes... Yes, I'm in."