Fake Fiancee Mate - Single Shift

by Raines, Harmony

  You’re willing to make any bargain, his bear reminded him.

  That’s what worried me, Travis admitted. I’m willing to give her anything to make her stay.

  “I will. We just need to agree on the contract you have to sign.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you want me to call a lawyer?”

  “Not really.” He gave a short laugh. “The fewer people who know about this the better.”

  “Okay, I’m happy to let your lawyer deal with it. It’s similar to your NDA but with a few added extras.” She turned away from him and started walking.

  “Do I get to know what those added extras are?” Travis asked as he fell into step with her. They were heading down to the water’s edge, where the gentle waves lapped the shore. He loved the sound of the sea, it soothed him, and he often walked out here alone as the sun set. But he never wanted to be alone again. He wanted Kate by his side every moment of every day even though he knew that was impossible.

  “I don’t want this to ever become public knowledge. If you ever write your biography…”

  “I won’t,” he said quickly. “Ever. I’m a very private person, Kate.”

  “Good.” She nodded. “The money.” She looked out to sea.

  Travis’s stomach lurched. Was his mate about to bleed him dry? “How much do you want?”

  She stopped walking and stared at the waves as they rolled in. “I don’t really want any of it.”

  “But you need it for your brother.” Travis breathed out slowly with relief. She wasn’t a gold digger.

  “I do.” She nodded thoughtfully. “Jon said you would cover all of his legal fees.”

  “That’s what we agreed to. I’m good for it if that’s what concerns you.” He gave a small laugh. “It’s one of the few things I am good for.”

  “Don’t say that,” she told him sharply. “You shouldn’t ever put yourself down.”

  “Habit, I guess.” He hooked his thumbs through the loops of his jeans. “I’ve done plenty that I regret.”

  “Life isn’t worth living if you don’t have a few regrets stowed away somewhere.” She inhaled deeply. “The sea air is incredible. I can see why you like it here.”

  “I love it, but for this to work, we’re going to have to move back to the city.” He dug his toe into the sand. “We’re going to need to be public and I want this place to stay private.”

  Kate placed her hand on her stomach. “The reality of what I’m about to agree to just hit me. My picture is going to be in the papers and all over social media.”

  “It is.” He glanced sideways at her. “You’re beautiful, and you have a good heart. They’ll love you.”

  “They won’t know me,” she replied. “Not the real me.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” Travis told her, his tone businesslike. “We can feed certain information to the papers. It stops them from making it all up.”

  Kate put her hands to her cheeks and blew the air out. “I don’t know if I can do this. What if I have skeletons in my closet I’ve forgotten about? What if they dredge up some old school friend who I was mean to?” She turned her anxious face to his. “How do you deal with this every day?”

  “You get used to it and you get used to not believing all your own press. Good or bad.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders and she tensed but didn’t pull away. “If at any time it becomes too much, you can just end it.”

  What are you saying? his bear asked.

  It’s our job to protect our mate. If that means she walks out of our lives, then so be it. Travis swallowed down the panic that rose inside him. Could he really live by that rule?

  “If I make a deal with you, I’ll keep my end of it. No matter what. I’m not a quitter, Travis.” She tilted her head to one side and looked at him closely. “And neither are you.”

  “That’s what got me to the top of my career,” he admitted. He didn’t add that he’d buried himself in music and in work to help him live with not finding his mate. He’d have given it all up if Kate had walked into his life sooner. He’d have taken the money he’d made and moved them somewhere quiet and secluded where they could have raised their family away from the spotlight.

  Unfortunately, now that he had finally met his mate, his life was complicated and moving away and living his dream life wasn’t possible. Not until he adopted Izzy. Because Izzy was a part of his family, a part of his life, and he could not abandon her.

  Even for his mate. But at the same time, he had to protect his mate. If that meant her leaving, then he’d let her go.

  But not forever. That was impossible.

  Chapter Six – Kate

  “So, we have a deal?” Travis stood with his hands on his hips and his feet a couple of feet apart as he looked at her with those eyes that had melted a thousand female hearts and probably a ton of male hearts, too.

  “How can I resist?” She held out her hand. “We have a deal.”

  His hand slipped into hers and there was a flash of recognition in his touch that she hadn’t expected. It was as if they had a history, a relationship older than the ninety minutes which was how long it had been since she walked into his house.

  “We should plan our first date.” He didn’t let go of her hand and she could not drop her gaze. It was as if he’d caught her and trapped her and did not intend to let her go. Not that she wanted him to.

  This was where she belonged.

  “What did you have in mind?” She forced herself to tear her eyes from his and look out at the rolling breakers. A breeze had picked up and the calm ocean was growing fiercer. Step too far out into the waves and you could get caught and swept away.

  She could not allow the same to happen to herself. This was fake and no matter how much she wanted to get lost in Travis, it would only lead to disaster. For them all. Kate could never forget that this was way bigger than two people. If this went wrong, then Marl and Izzy would suffer, too.

  “I thought dinner in a quiet restaurant. Then back to my townhouse.” His eyes darkened. “You would leave in the morning.”

  “In the morning?” Her breath caught in her throat. “There’s one more thing I wanted to be added to the contract.”

  His mouth curled up at the corners and his eyes danced. He was laughing at her. “Don’t worry. Sex is not part of the deal.” He turned and began walking back toward the house as she let out a long sigh. “You sound disappointed.”

  He was teasing her, but she rose to it. “No, not at all.” Who was she kidding? She longed for Travis to wrap her in his strong arms and cradle her to his hard-toned chest. But that was a complication neither of them needed.

  “Well, I’ll counter that point.” He stopped suddenly and swung around to face her. Kate nearly walked smack into that hard-toned chest.

  “Which is?” Her voice was breathy and high, like one of his most adoring fans suddenly faced with her idol.

  “If you instigate it.” All humor left his expression and he was deadly serious as he looked down at her.

  “If I instigate it?” Her eyes widened and her fingers twitched at her sides, longing to reach out and do just that. Longing to trail down his chest and lower, much lower. “Never going to happen.” She wagged her finger at him. “Ever.”

  “I think the lady doth protest too much.” He cracked a grin and his eyes danced with humor once more. Damn, he was hard to read. One minute she thought she had him all figured out, the next he left her confused.

  And hot. So hot.

  Her cheeks burned and she turned her head to look out to sea. The cool breeze swept over her, and she shivered. Not with cold but with excitement. It was as if Travis was waking a part of her she didn’t even know existed.

  “Yeah, well, I can assure you I will not be instigating anything.” She flattened her hand and arced it through the air. “I have my eye on the game. You need to adopt Izzy and I need to clear my brother’s name. Anything else is a needless complication.”

  “Whatever you say.” His flippant tone irrita
ted her.

  “Travis Cooper, you might be able to make most women drop their panties for you, but not me. I assure you.” Her tone was flint hard and meant to cut deep.

  “I didn’t mean to offend you.” There he went knocking her off-kilter again.

  “You didn’t offend me.” She pressed her lips together feeling like a petulant child. “I just…”

  “Just what?” His voice was calm and smooth, all teasing gone.

  “I need you to take this seriously. I’m putting everything on the line for this. If the truth got out… If you withdrew the money because the truth got out and you didn’t need me anymore…” She hiccupped and her throat constricted.

  “That isn’t going to happen.” He placed his hands on her upper arms and a sense of calm, a sense of belonging swept over her. “Put that in your contract. If our story gets blown, then I will still cover the costs of your brother’s defense.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice was a whisper on the breeze, she didn’t trust herself to say any more. It was as if she were drowning and the only person who could save her was Travis Cooper. Only she wasn’t sure if he were a safe haven or a rock she would crash upon until he broke her.

  “My pleasure.” He lowered his head, his lips so close she only had to tilt her chin up and…

  “Glad we’ve got that straight.” She half-turned and slid past him, not wanting to make this more complicated than it already was.

  Who was she kidding? She wanted to make this extremely complicated. But common sense along with a desire for self-preservation stopped her.

  “What food do you like?” Travis took a couple of long strides and caught up with her.

  “Surprise me.” She glanced sideways at him. “Do you have a place you usually take women for dinner? Like a seduction plan?”

  “A seduction plan!” He laughed and shook his head. “I think you have me confused with some other rock star.”

  “You don’t?” She arched an eyebrow, her eyes fixed on his face as she put pressure on him not to lie. “There’s no special restaurant where you take all your first dates where the owner knows you and seats you in a secluded table?”

  “Nope.” He grinned and shook his head once more. “I’m not the man you think I am.”

  “I’m going to have to take your word for that while you provide me with evidence.” She glanced toward his house which was only a couple of hundred feet away. She didn’t want the afternoon to end. Talking to Travis had pulled her out of the hole she’d gotten herself stuck in mentally, if not physically. For weeks, her brother’s case went around and around in her head as if she were stuck on repeat.

  “I will.” He spoke with confidence and she was inclined to believe him. If it wasn’t for those photos and a plethora of new stories about Travis Cooper and his wild ways. But fake news ruled social media and the press to some extent. If Travis countered every story that was ever written about him then he would spend his days defending himself rather than writing music.

  Hadn’t she also gotten firsthand experience about how people got blamed for something they didn’t do? That was why Marl was in prison accused of a crime he did not commit.

  “A penny for them,” he said gently.

  “What? Oh. Sorry.” She inhaled deeply. “I guess this is it. I get in my car and drive back to the real world. Then we go on our date and I’ll get caught up in your world.”

  “My world is real, too,” Travis replied. “Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s any less real. I’m not fake, Kate.”

  “No, but our relationship is.” Kate looked back at the ocean, unable to meet his eyes. A sudden panic hit her. She didn’t know if she could do this. Keeping Travis Cooper at arm’s length was going to be tough. No matter how much he told her he wouldn’t make a move, his eyes said differently.

  She jumped as her phone rang and she ducked her head and rummaged through her purse. Feeling the familiar vibration of the phone, she curled her fingers around it and pulled it out, glancing down at the number.

  Her heart stopped beating for the time it took her to press the answer button and put the phone to her ear. “Hello.”

  “Kate Rodgers?” the voice on the end of the line asked.

  “Speaking.” Her heart thudded in her chest as it began to beat once more. “Is there a problem with Marl?”

  “I’m afraid there has been an incident. Marl has been moved to the prison clinic where he was examined by the doctor” The voice didn’t sound apologetic or in any way concerned. However, Kate wasn’t comforted by that fact. The prison guard probably made similar calls most days of the week, but it wasn’t his baby brother who had been involved in an incident.

  “Is he okay?” Kate asked quietly, aware that Travis had moved closer to her. As she looked up at his face, his expression was one of open concern.

  “He’s got a few cuts and bruises. Possibly a broken rib. But aside from that, he’s fine.” The guard shuffled some papers around. “He’s been transferred to the local hospital for an X-ray just to confirm there are no serious injuries.”

  “Can I come and see him?” she asked, her heart breaking at the thought of Marl in pain. From a young age, she’d been the one to pick him up and dust him off before sticking a Band-Aid on his injuries. “Please.”

  “You can visit him at the hospital. He’s scheduled to visit at six this evening and will be there for an hour or so while they do tests.” There was a pause. “He’ll be cuffed, and two officers will be with him at all times.”

  “Thank you.” The line went dead as the prison guard ended the call, but Kate held the phone to her ear while her brain tried to make sense of what happened. “I won’t be able to have dinner with you this evening. My brother is in the hospital.”

  A tear rolled down her cheek and her hand shook as she put her phone back in her purse and dredged up her car keys. Turning away from Travis, she headed back toward the house. She needed to get out of there. This whole thing had been a fantasy, now faced with real-life, she realized she had made a mistake.

  “Kate, I’ll come with you.” He reached for her and his hands grabbed her upper arm, his touch gentle but firm as he pulled her around to face him. “Let me drive.”

  “No.” She dragged a hand through her hair. “No.”

  “Kate, you’re in shock.” His eyes filled with worry. “I’ll drive you.”

  She shook her head. “Marl’s been beaten up. He’s not the kind of guy who gets into trouble. He’s easygoing, friendly…”

  “You think he was targeted.” Travis nodded and rubbed his hand over his chin. No doubt he’d realized that she was trouble and not the kind of woman he’d want any kind of a relationship with. Even a fake one.

  “I do.” She nodded. “It’s been great meeting you, Travis. And under any other circumstances, I would have loved to be your fake fiancée.”

  “You’re leaving?” He didn’t let her go.

  “You said I was free to leave at any time. Well, this is it.” She brushed a tear from her cheek. “You don’t want to get dragged into this. You need to focus on Izzy and what’s best for her. I’m just going to distract you and it would break my heart to be the reason you lost your custody battle.”

  “And that is why you are the perfect choice,” he told her. “That is why the deal is still yours if you want it.”

  “Travis, I can’t.” She shook her head and bit down on her bottom lip as they reached the security gate leading to his house and waited while he input the code.

  “I can.” He opened the gate for her and held it as she walked through. “And I don’t think you can afford to say no. If you want to get Marl out of prison, then you are going to need my help. My money.”

  “It’s not a good idea.” She sobbed as she walked through his garden toward the house.

  “What’s not a good idea is you driving while you are upset. At least let me come to the hospital with you. I’ll wear a baseball cap and sunglasses, no one will recognize me. It’
s the least I can do.” They reached the house and he placed his hand on the door, stopping her from opening it. “Let me do this for you.”

  Her stomach roiled with fear for Marl. Ignoring the nagging voice in her head reminding her there would be consequences, she nodded her head.

  Chapter Seven – Travis

  “This is crazy.” Kate glanced sideways at him as they drove toward the hospital. She’d left her car back at his house, which meant she’d have to go back home with him later. Which prolonged the amount of time he would spend in her company.

  Was that the only reason he’d offered to help her?

  No. He’d offered because she needed him. She needed someone by her side. The way her hands trembled as she talked on the phone told him she was scared. Scared about her brother. Travis liked to think he’d have done the same for anyone who genuinely needed his help.

  Hadn’t he used his fame and fortune to help those in need? Not with the intention of grabbing attention for himself either. Any donations he made to charities or those in need of a boost to get themselves back on track were always done anonymously.

  “I’ve done crazier.” He tried to lighten her mood. “It’ll be okay. Then, after we’ve seen your brother, I’ll take you to dinner.”

  “And put your plan back on track.” There was an edge to her voice.

  “No, because you look like you need something to eat. You’re pale.” He chewed the inside of his cheek as he kept his eyes focused on the road. All he wanted to do was stare at his mate but that would be one sure-fire way to end up in a ditch.

  “I’m sorry I snapped.” She raked her hand through her hair.

  “It’s okay. I understand how worried you are.” He sighed. “Thanks for letting me drive you.”

  “Don’t want your fake fiancée to die in a ditch before you have a chance to show me off to the world?” Her tone was lighter, and the color was returning to her cheeks.

  “Something like that.” He checked his mirrors and then turned right, taking them onto the highway.

  “I do appreciate it.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I get defensive.”