Apparently, he was the living, breathing version of the strong and silent type. That could actually work in their favor. If he agreed to her admittedly bizarre plan.
Uncomfortable, Sara toed the gray chunks of gravel with her right foot as she continued. “My family’s . . . different from me. High achievers. Type A, to the extreme. All successful doctors busy saving lives. While I . . . I’m . . .”
Her ability to form words failed her as her old nemesis self-doubt poked its head out of the dark hole where she doggedly tried to keep it buried. Its beady eyes bore into her psyche like a mangy prairie dog refusing to stay underground.
Luis’s dark gaze slowly traveled from her head, down to her toes, and back up again. Heat spread through her as if he’d physically touched her.
She was used to people watching her, taking pictures at conferences and speaking engagements. Some were looking to find fault. Plenty others were awed. In her line of work, she invited the interest. The more likes and shares and followers, the better.
And yet, with Luis, his perusal felt different. Personal.
Her request would make it even more so.
“While you, what?”
His deep, warm voice rumbled over her. It reminded Sara of lazy mornings snuggling in bed after a night that left the sheets tangled and bodies sated.
She shivered at the seductive image. Then quickly reminded herself she had no business entertaining such thoughts. Not when she was about to make him what she hoped to consider a business proposition.
Well, crap. Proposition wasn’t quite the word she wanted to use. It sounded suggestive. Too lurid. Too—
Doubts screamed like banshees in her ears. Pressing a hand to her forehead, Sara squeezed her eyes shut, grasping for one of the tools she had learned in therapy when her mind threatened to spin out of control. Positives. Think about the positive angles here.
She ran a successful small business. Hired people for short-term contracts all the time. Granted, they were typically photographers or stylists, but the role of a fake boyfriend could potentially be considered along the same lines as an extra in a photo shoot. Couldn’t it?
Oh my god, what the hell was she thinking?
“Sara, how are you different from your family?”
Luis’s soft question broke into her mental downward spiral. The kind of spiral that had gotten her into trouble in the past.
Lowering her arm, she peeked at him through her lashes.
He’d crossed his jeans-clad legs and relaxed against his truck’s front bumper. One dusty black work boot rested heel to toe on top of the other. A man with time on his hands, if what he’d said earlier was true.
In spite of her undoubtedly odd behavior, his whole demeanor remained calm, patient. It vibrated off him, weirdly quieting her misgivings.
“How am I different?” she repeated his question, keeping the let me count the ways to herself when he nodded.
For someone who projected confidence and poise to those who followed her career, it was uncanny how easily talk of her family could suck those traits right out of her. It didn’t, however, mean she couldn’t fake them when needed. She’d had plenty of practice with that over the years.
Tossing her head so the humid breeze would comb her hair out of her eyes, Sara answered, “Let’s just say, unlike my family, the closest I ever came to being a doctor was the Halloween I dressed up as a sexy physician for a sorority social my sophomore year at Arizona State.”
After a stunned second, Luis threw back his head and laughed. The deep, throaty sound startled a white and gray pigeon pecking the ground nearby. The bird flew off, wings flapping as it soared over the cream stucco building.
A nervous giggle pushed up Sara’s throat. She pressed her fingers to her mouth as if that would stop the awkward sound from escaping. Luis’s laughter slowed to a deep chuckle. His dark eyes sparked with amusement. The crow’s-feet crinkling their corners merely added to his rugged charm.
“I’m sorry.” He knuckled the moisture from one of his eyes. “Really. I’m not laughing at you. I just did not expect you to say that.”
“Believe me, my highly respectable parents, one of whom is Chief Pediatric Surgeon on medical leave and the other Chief Cardiothoracic Surgeon, both at Phoenix General, did not find the pictures too amusing.”
Luis tucked his thumbs in his front pockets, one dark brow quirked at an angle she found oh, so sexy. “I’m betting you looked pretty hot in that outfit, though.”
“Damn straight. It won me best dressed at the party.”
His answering chuckle loosened the knot of stress tightening her chest. If all else failed, she could thank Luis for the momentary distraction that had quieted the negativity in her head.
Angling her body to the side, she stared off in the distance, past the parking garage in front of the tiny airport. Across an expansive grassy area, a small redbrick fortress lush with vegetation sat on the edge of the main road that butted up against the open ocean. A sailboat floated on the water, a lone figure standing near the mast. The white sail billowed in the breeze as the ocean wind pushed the boat farther away.
The idea of sailing off into the sunset, not facing her parents’ . . . really, her mom’s . . . disappointment and guilt held intense appeal. She was so tired of chasing her mother’s approval. Angry at the unhealthy decisions that chase had led her to make. And yet, the longing for that approval remained. Needing that validation was what had first driven her to start—
No!
Shaking her head, Sara halted thoughts of her disorder and the circumstances that led her to think those decisions were the answer. They no longer held sway over her. Sure, she may have backslid a little while her mom was going through chemo. Fear of losing her, of never having another chance to make her proud, had triggered the beginnings of a spiral. But no one other than Sara’s therapist knew about the slipup. She planned to keep it that way.
“So, your medically-inclined family is about to descend and your boyfriend—”
“Ex-boyfriend,” she emphasized, swiveling her head to face Luis again.
He met her gaze, his features set in that serious, calm expression she was coming to associate with him.
“Your ex-boyfriend”—he added the same emphasis she had—“is a no-show for the fun. Not sure I’m seeing the gravity of the situation. Sounds like the guy needed to be cut loose anyway.”
“That he did. Only, I’d been hoping he’d stick around until after this trip to appease my family. Assist with covering up a minor lie of omission I may, or may not, have slipped my mom.”
The sting of guilt had Sara making a quick sign of the cross. Her practice of the faith Mamá Alicia had instilled in her, another area that set her apart in the Vance scientifically minded household.
“The plot thickens,” Luis mused. “Tell me, are we still on the short version of your story, or have we moved into the longer one?”
Sara shot him a playful are you kidding me? glare.
The grin he flashed transformed his angular face from ruggedly handsome to boyishly charming.
Oooh, he was dangerous, this one. Far more attractive and appealing than she should be getting involved with right now. What she had in mind was temporary. A few days. Maybe a week, tops, if they didn’t pretend he had to leave early on business.
If anything, this mess with Ric was a sign she should sideline her dating life and focus on her career. A big change was around the corner if she could get everything to fall into place. And she would.
First, she needed to get through this week, without upsetting her mother, which would annoy Sara’s older sister, inevitably disappointing her father, and basically ruining everyone’s vacation. Making Sara feel like persona non grata within her family. Again.
Off to her right, a large passenger airplane rumbled down the runway, a glaring reminder that she had less than three hours to figure something out.
The ticking clock forced her hand, precipitating her bold plan.
“Long story short. Or longer,” she said, once the plane had lifted off and the jet engine noise faded. “In my family’s eyes I’ve never really been thought of as capable of living up to the Vance potential. Things that came easily to my siblings were harder for me, academically speaking. In my mother’s words, sometimes expectations have to be lowered. You know, to avoid disillusion.”
She waited for the telltale disquiet to flare. The burning deep in her belly that usually spurred panic clawing at her chest, sucking the breath out of her. Pushing her to make those bad decisions.
Only, the burning didn’t appear. A dull ache pressed on her heart. Painful, but manageable. She sucked in a cleansing breath like she’d been taught. Finally able to subdue the trigger.
It had taken her a long time to reach a place where she could talk, even think, about the memories and behaviors that had originally spawned her symptoms without fearing the unhealthy repercussions she brought on herself. Kudos to her therapists, and Sara’s own hard work, for her ability to speak so frankly with Luis now.
“That’s gotta hurt,” he said. “I mean, no kid, even an adult one, gets feel-good vibes from a loved one who’s busy drawing attention to their shortcomings rather than their talents.”
She nodded.
Luis rolled his lips together, compassion evident in his gentle expression.
“They don’t mean it in a hateful way,” Sara explained, knowing she wasn’t supposed to make excuses for others, but also aware of her own role in their messed-up family dynamics. “I know my family loves me. They just don’t ‘get’ me and what I do. Happens with a lot of people.” Elbows bent, she spread her palms up and gave a self-deprecating shrug. “I mean, I’m not a physician, but I’m supporting myself with a successful small business. One I’m working on expanding in the near future. So, it’s all good.”
“What exactly is this non-potential-reaching career of yours?”
“I’m a social media influencer.”
A confused frown wedged Luis’s brows together. His head tilted like he was trying to make sense of something, and she practically heard his unspoken huh?
“I have a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blog that’s tied to my own YouTube channel and Instagram,” she clarified. “We hit over five hundred thousand followers earlier this year.”
He blinked, but his lack of recognition remained obvious.
Interesting.
Sara tucked her hair behind her ear, considering Luis in a new light.
With most people, at this point they’d start peppering her with questions, often asking for tips on taking selfies. If they followed her, there was typically a favorite post, product, or location they wanted to know more about. Of course, there were also those angling to see how her name recognition could help them in some way. She’d learned the hard way to steer clear of them.
The idea that Luis didn’t fall into any of those categories added another notch in his favor. A small measure of relief for her nervous qualms over the request she sought.
“I guess tough-guy firefighters with monster trucks aren’t really my target demographic,” she admitted. “So, it’s doubtful you would have seen my Insta ads or promo come across your feed.”
He shook his head. “Naw, I don’t have a feed. I’m not really into social media. Too much hype and oversharing.”
“Great,” she muttered. “You’ll get along marvelously with my family then.”
“Meaning.”
“In their eyes, my career lacks stability.” She waved a hand nonchalantly, as if their disregard didn’t matter. She knew better. “They think it’s time I settled down. Found a partner with a more reliable career. Preferably someone who meets with my parents’ approval, who they think can take care of me. Which I don’t need but does lead to my current predicament. And you.”
She tipped her head toward him.
Luis squinted up at her. The strong and silent bit she’d found appealing earlier now had her anxious and uncertain. The man’s even-keeled demeanor made it very difficult to tell what he thought about the gross amount of oversharing she’d practically word vomited at his feet.
Rolling her suitcase off to the side, Sara stepped closer to him, desperation pushing her to up her persuasive game. “Here’s the bottom line. My invincible mom has been battling a nearly invincible foe for a while now. But she finished her chemo and was recently declared ‘cancer-free.’ Her doctors have ordered rest and relaxation. Two things she’s not the best at doing. Ever. For some reason this health scare has made her up the pressure on me to find someone steady and reliable. Someone I would invite to a family vacation celebrating my mom’s good news. Someone, maybe like—”
She broke off, her bravery suddenly failing her.
Instead, she pleaded with her eyes, her gaze locked with his. Praying the good-guy vibes Luis Navarro emitted were for real.
Over in the secure area of the airport, voices called out. Two airport employees sauntered past on the other side of the chain-link fence. Sara followed them until they moved out of sight, mainly because she was losing her nerve here.
The gravel crunched under Luis’s boots, his long shadow stretching across the ground as he rose to his full height. Even at five foot nine she had to tilt her chin to meet his gaze.
“You can’t possibly be thinking what I think you’re thinking. Are you?” Disbelief colored his tone, stamped his angular features.
Sara stared back at him, resolute in her bid for him to say yes. “I need a pretend boyfriend for the next seven days. Maybe less if we invent some business trip you suddenly have to take. This will keep my family off my back, and allow my mom to have the relaxing, stress-free vacation she deserves and needs. The one my dad, who is never the heavy when it comes to my parents, practically threatened the rest of us to attend. At the end, they’ll all fly home to their busy lives in Phoenix.” She flung out her arm, emphasizing her point. “And I’ll head back to New York. After a few weeks, I’ll simply tell them things didn’t work out with Ric and me.”
Luis scrubbed a hand over his closely cropped hair, the muscles in his arm rippling with the motion. “Wow, you’re actually serious.”
“Yes, I am.” Seriously tired of being the bane of her family’s expectations.
“No puedo creer esto,” he murmured.
That made two of them. She was having a hard time believing she’d concocted this crazy plan herself.
Luis shook his head. She hoped more in disbelief than in rejection of her idea. “This is like something out of a movie my kid sister would watch.”
Probably The Wedding Date. Sara had seen the rom-com multiple times. Only, her real-life version didn’t involve a male escort and a huge family wedding, thank God. And she certainly wasn’t counting on the Hollywood-style romantic comedy ending.
“What if we think of this more as a business transaction?” she suggested, rushing on before he could flat out reject her. “I hire local photographers and stylists all the time when I’m traveling. This could be the same. A simple contract job, and I’ll pay y—”
“Eh-eh-eh!” Luis swiped a hand in the air between them, effectively stopping the flood of words pouring out of her mouth like a hose without a spigot on the end. “I have never been paid to spend time with a woman in my life. And I do not plan to start now.”
Sara blanched, embarrassed by the crassness of her offer when he put it like that. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
His mouth a grim line, Luis stared at her for several heart-stopping seconds before turning to gaze out at the strip of runway visible between the fire station and airport on either side of them. The muscle in his square jaw tightened, and Sara cursed the nervousness that had made her blurt everything out so rashly.
God, she needed him to say yes.
She could not spend the next seven days feeling as if once again she’d brought worry and discord into her family circle. It was one thing to be the person who didn’t fit in. The surpris
e baby born thirteen years later who sometimes wondered if the stork had dropped her on the wrong front porch. The child raised and mothered by a nanny because of her parents’ time-consuming jobs and her siblings off at college before she even hit kindergarten. But it was quite another to be the adult child stressing her parents out because of her eating disorder. The one who, even now, after years of therapy, still couldn’t seem to get her personal life on track.
She might not make it through this vacation without backsliding under the pressure of not measuring up, and that was simply not an option for her. No, she’d do whatever it took to convince Luis to say yes.
“You already mentioned that you have a few days off,” she said, working to keep a measure of calm. A little less the sky is falling doom in her voice. “I’m not sure how many that is or if you have other plans. But, as crazy as this sounds, and I will admit that it does, I’m asking. I have to ask. Would you consider pretending we’re a couple? Just while I’m in town.”
The intense, squinty-eyed look Luis slid her way had probably caused men twice her size to cower. Not her. She didn’t have the luxury of backing down.
“If you’re not comfortable with me paying you for your time, how about if I make a donation to a fund the fire station supports? Or something along those lines? I know I’m asking a lot. So, I’m willing to do something in good faith as a thank-you. That’s only fair.”
He shook his head, and Sara’s heart sank. Without thinking she grasped his forearm, anxious to reach him. “Luis, please,” she whispered. “I wouldn’t ask this if I wasn’t desperate for your help. Please, don’t say no.”
Something flared in his eyes at her ragged plea. Something dark and intense. Conflicted. The muscles in his arm flexed under her fingers as he clenched his fist.
“I’m not saying no to you,” he finally answered. “More like to the sane voice in my head telling me there are a hundred reasons why this is a terrible idea, and only one that makes it right.”
For the first time since Ricardo had bailed on her, the sinking sensation in the pit of Sara’s stomach changed course and buoyed.
Island Affair Page 3
