Fake Fiance Christmas Collection: Countdown to Christmas

by Taylor Hart

  The afternoon sped by as they rushed from ride to ride. They’d even been assigned a VIP guide who helped move them along. Ty wanted to book through everything, and they were all doing their best to accommodate.

  A couple of times, when he caught Augusta limping, Ocean would stop and tell her to get on his back. At first she didn’t want to, but then he pulled her in and whispered in her ear, “Hey, this is part of it. If you don’t act comfortable with me, everyone will know. Plus, if you don’t let me carry you, I’m taking more than a church kiss.”

  He used kissing her as a threat. And it worked. She reluctantly let him piggyback her around, which she had to admit just added to the fun of running to the next ride.

  Several times Ellen waved them away while she sat out for a couple of rides, but the boys were always so concerned about her, making sure she was taken care of.

  Now, dusk was settling in and they’d all agreed to go their own ways for a bit, and Ty had insisted that his mother go with them. Augusta and Ocean found a bench in New Orleans Square overlooking the little lake next to Pirates of the Caribbean. She propped her ankle on the bench while they sat together and finished their Mickey Mouse–shaped ice cream treats, which he’d insisted on buying despite her protests. Ocean finished his, wiped his hands, and then pulled her ankle onto his lap.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, still not completely comfortable with the man just touching her like this.

  “Chill.” Carefully, he took her shoe off. “Ugh, it’s swelling.” He put her foot down on the seat and stood. “I’m getting you an ice pack.”

  Baffled, she watched him go. He took care of her even when no one was around, and it was starting to feel normal.

  Not much time had passed before he returned. She didn’t know how he had acquired an ice pack—well, strike that, she did know how. He was a Brady, and as a famous football player, everyone seemed to want to help him and please him.

  Ocean resumed his position next to her, placing both of her feet on his lap. He put the ice pack on her swollen ankle and sat back, stretching his arms out and letting out a long breath. “Good day.”

  They rested like that for a while. The park was packed, but it wasn’t too bad where they were sitting. The weather was in the upper sixties, a perfect day for a theme park.

  He closed his eyes, and she let herself watch him. The man was gorgeous without trying to be. Okay, he was an egomaniac, but he was also kind and good. All the little things he’d done and the respect he’d shown her were so at odds with what she might have expected from a fake engagement.

  He opened his eyes and turned to her. “You okay?”

  She looked down at her Mickey Mouse ice cream, which was melting. “Good.”

  “You not gonna finish that?”

  She held it out to him and giggled when he snatched it and popped it in his mouth.

  “What?” he said through the huge mouthful of ice cream. “It was melting.” He pulled the stick out and grinned at her. “Been a crazy day, huh?”

  She grinned back at him. They were playing the part of the newly engaged couple, and it was actually fun and easy. It wasn’t hard to be close to Ocean, standing in lines with him, even though they got VIP treatment most of the time. They were constantly in situations where they were close. “I am a bit tired, but it’s been a blast.” She meant it. Today was the most fun she’d had in a while.

  “Yeah, Disney is always a kick.”

  She wondered how many times he’d been, but she didn’t want to ask.

  He put his hand lightly on her hurt ankle, messing with the ice to make sure it was in the right spot. “You’ve been a trooper today. I know Ty can be a bit intense.”

  It still took her off guard when he touched her, even like this. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

  Gently, he rested his hand on her good leg. “Even though he has a terminal disease, you wouldn’t know it with the pace he keeps up, would you?”

  “No, and I’ve been reading up on it, but I still don’t know much. How long are they saying?”

  Ocean sucked in a slow breath like he was reluctant to talk about it. “Three to five years is the normal life span of people who are diagnosed with ALS. Nothing is set in stone, so the worst could hit tomorrow. Or in ten years.” He shrugged. “I read this article the other day about an ALS survivor of fifteen years. Last year, my brothers and I searched high and low for a cure. For the best in the world.”

  She nodded. “I read about Ty going with Boston to South Carolina, to the doctor that thinks he might be able to help.”

  “He’s been taking experimental treatments, but all it’s really done is make him a bit weaker at times, his immune system especially. He’s good right now, but we always worry.”

  As she talked to him like this, she better understood the weight of Ty’s illness and how much Ocean loved his brother. She could see why he had felt the pressure to make this time with the family good, so they wouldn’t focus on the fact that he didn’t have a fiancée. She smiled at him.

  He frowned, then cocked an eyebrow. “What are you thinking about?”

  The man was intuitive, which was an interesting and unexpected aspect of his personality. He wasn’t a jughead athlete. None of the Brady men were. No, they cared about people.

  She decided to be honest. “I guess, when I see you talk about Ty and about your family, it makes me see how much this has hurt you, how much you’ve carried this. It makes me think …” She put her hand on his arm where it was propped on the bench next to her. “It makes me think you might not be as much of an egomaniac as I thought you were.”

  He reached out and took her hand. “Thanks. And thanks for not being the drama queen sissy I thought you were when we first met.”

  She burst out laughing, because she had been a drama queen sissy.

  “What?” He looked confused. “Are you going to start cussing at me for saying it?”

  She laughed harder, then wiped beneath her eyes. “Okay, you just unredeemed yourself with that comment.”

  “Hey, you know you were totally drama, trying to pepper-spray me.”

  “I would have if the thing had actually worked.”

  “Yeah, you would have.”

  She held his gaze. “Uh, we don’t have to be holding hands.”

  Looking surprised that their hands were still locked together, he released her. “Right. I guess we don’t.”

  She turned to stare out at the lake.

  “So, are you doing okay? With all of this, I mean.”

  “Yeah. I like your family. They’re fun.” She shrugged. “Sorry you have to carry me around sometimes.”

  He flexed and pointed to his biceps.

  “Right, just helps your ego.”

  He dropped his voice to caveman range. “I am man. I am strong. I carry my woman around.”

  She giggled despite herself. “I guess you don’t care much about being PC, do you?”

  He shrugged. “Nope.”

  She liked that Ocean Brady just said what he thought. She liked that he took care of her, even though the rest of it was fake.

  He absently rubbed her good leg, and she tried not to jump at the contact; his touch still startled her a bit. “So tell me more about the jerk you filed a restraining order against,” he said.

  Her eyes widened. She hadn’t been expecting this question. “Well, as I said, he was a friend turned psycho.”

  “And you let him get close when your father passed away.” There was that perceptiveness again. He had been paying attention.

  “Yep.” She thought about Jason and sighed. “I—”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Look,” he said, facing the lake again to give her emotional space. “You don’t have to tell me. I’m just talking. One fake fiancé to another, we’re just chitchatting about life. All of this is just for fun, you know. I can be your friend and we can just talk. At the end of the five days, we’re done, and everything you said in f
ake fiancé land stays in fake fiancé land.”

  Unwillingly, she laughed. “Like everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

  “Yes, even church kisses.”

  Clearly, he found this whole church kisses situation frustrating. Which was a tiny bit flattering, even though it didn’t matter. As he’d just said, it was all fake. She hesitated, then decided to relax. What did she care? It was five days.

  He reached out to adjust her ice pack again. “Just talk to me like I’m a normal guy you’re friends with.”

  She could handle that. She was a normal person too, right? “Okay, so we were friends, and then my dad passed away. It was just so hard, and I felt alone and sad all the time. He would just show up like he made it his personal mission to cheer me up, and I would send him away, but he kept coming back. After a while it was just easy, and then he kept pushing to take it to the next level. And …” She broke off, closing her eyes. “I’m not proud of it, but I needed him. But when I realized what was happening, I told him enough. But I was too late.”

  Ocean’s hand stopped moving on her leg. “It wasn’t your fault. Why didn’t you report it?” he asked gently.

  She shrugged, blinking. “I somehow convinced myself that I wasn’t sure what happened and that he wouldn’t do that and that …”

  “You were trying to be the peacemaker.”

  She sniffed and met his eyes. “What?”

  “Like you said, you were always told you had to get along, be the peacemaker, but you let it go too far.” His eyes flashed with intensity. “You’re important too.”

  She stared at him, stunned that he was using her own words, words that she’d used to analyze him, against her. She forced back the memory of terror and the tears that still threatened to break free. “I did put a restraining on him when he kept creeping me out.”

  Ocean nodded. “That’s good. It needed to be done.”

  A tear dripped down her cheek.

  “Hey,” he said, taking her hand. “It’s okay.”

  Everything he said about her was true, and she hadn’t realized it until now. “I couldn’t prove anything. Plus I’d been at a bar, dancing.”

  He spoke slowly and clearly so she’d listen. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “It might not have appeared that way in a court of law. And then what?”

  Ocean’s expression turned fierce. “It’s still worth fighting for. I’m betting your father believed his land was worth fighting for, even though he lost so much.”

  “He still lost,” she retorted, and her temper flared at the mention of her father’s troubles.

  “Doesn’t matter. A man fights; that’s what he does. And a woman fights when she needs to, too.”

  Chills washed over her. He was speaking the truth. This must be what he looked like while running the ball down the field for a touchdown. Even though she didn’t watch football, she wanted to go look at the footage of Ocean to see if he was this determined on the field. “I’m an idiot.” Sucking in an embarrassed breath, she turned back to the lake and watched a little boy who was bending to pick up rocks. “I was scared. I—”

  “You’re not an idiot.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I’ve known guys who think it’s fun to do stuff like that. And you should be scared of them, because they’re awful.”

  She considered his face. “You look scary right now.”

  “I was taught not to be kind to those kinds of guys.”

  She shivered as she imagined what he and his brothers might do to those people. Her father would have done the same. “Old-school justice.”

  “What?”

  She sniffed, hating that she was kind of falling apart right now. “My dad, he liked John Wayne movies. He was kind of like you.”

  The side of his lip turned up. “Yeah?”

  “Not as tall or strong, but he kinda had that same mindset when it came to right and wrong and how a boy should act around his daughter.”

  Ocean nodded. “That’s good. Because you’re right: I’m not politically correct. I think if a man does harm to a woman, he deserves to be hurt.”

  “That’s why I finally filed the restraining order, because he would leave little presents on my door and notes and—”

  “What?” Ocean demanded. “The loser still isn’t leaving you alone?”

  She shook her head. “I haven’t gotten anything since I filed. At least if he continues, I’ll be able to do something in court.”

  Ocean sucked in a breath. “I have a different court in mind.”

  She clenched a hand into a fist. Ocean was so strong, and he could do real harm to Jason. The sad part was that even though Jason deserved it, she would feel bad if it happened.

  He picked up their hands. “Hey, is it really okay if I hold your hand? I don’t want to be the guy that’s forcing you or can’t handle being told no.”

  “You’re not. And yeah, it’s fine. As a friend,” she added in a rush, not wanting to give him ideas.

  His lips turned up, but his eyes softened. “I am your friend, Augusta, and I hope you know that. And if Jerk Face shows up again, you call me.”

  He meant it, even though all of this was fake. As she sat there, holding hands with Ocean Brady, it felt more real than anything else in her life. “Thanks,” she said. “But could we just talk about something normal now?”

  He squeezed her hand. “Yes. In fact, I have a favor I needed to ask you—”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little boy, who was bending over the rail for another rock, fall into the water. She leaped to her feet, ignoring the pain in her ankle, and rushed to the side. “He fell!” she yelled out, but there was no time to find help. She could see the boy trying to swim.

  She jumped in. The water was cold and full of icky smelly stuff she didn’t want to think about too hard, but she grabbed the boy’s hand and yanked him up.

  Ocean reached toward them from the edge of the water. “Here!”

  She grasped Ocean’s hand, and he pulled them in. He helped the boy stand on the walkway while Augusta climbed back over the fence on her own. The boy was still coughing and shivering and struggling to breathe. Ocean thumped his back, trying to clear the boy’s airway.

  Everyone was gathering around, and a mother began shrieking, “Oliver! Oh my gosh!” The mother grabbed him and held him tight. “I looked away for one second.” She turned to Augusta with tears in her eyes. “Thank you!”

  Shaking from cold and adrenaline and barely able to make words, Augusta nodded, so relieved the boy was okay. “Yes, no problem. Glad he’s okay.”

  “You’re Ocean Brady?” someone called out from the crowd. When Augusta looked up, she saw maybe ten phones pointed at them and heard people snapping pictures.

  “Crud,” Ocean whispered under his breath.

  The little boy started crying and shoved his face into his mother’s skirt.

  The woman hesitated. “Can I pay you or something?”

  Augusta balked. “No. I’m just grateful he’s okay.”

  The mother knelt in front of the boy, pushing his hair out of his face. “Oliver, it’s okay. It’s okay, sweetie.”

  They walked away together, hand in hand, and Ocean turned to brush hair from Augusta’s face. “Dang, girl. You’re Superwoman, jetting off to save a drowning little boy in spite of a hurt ankle.”

  “He’s okay. That’s what matters.”

  Ocean’s eyes narrowed. “Are you okay?”

  To her surprise, the question had her bursting into tears.

  His arms surrounded her. “It’s okay.”

  She didn’t know why she was crying. It must have been adrenaline overload or something.

  “Shh,” he said, stroking a hand down her back.

  “I’m sorry, I just—” She pulled back. “I’m so glad he’s okay.” She thought of the day she’d gotten the call about her father’s accident, of how helpless she’d felt. She was glad that boy’s mother wouldn’t have to deal with som
ething like that.

  “He is. You did good. And now I know that this egomaniac has to up his game, because you’re kinda in the superhero category now.” His eyes swept her up and down. “Gotta get you a suit. If Supergirl isn’t your thing, then maybe Wonder Woman?” He pumped his eyebrows suggestively. “Catwoman? Leather.”

  She gave a broken laugh and lightly smacked his arm. “Yeah, a suit isn’t happening. But maybe a change of clothes would be nice.”

  “Okay. New clothes. Let’s see.” He began scanning the shops as they walked.

  People still trailed behind and around them, holding their phones out. She worried that after Ocean’s reaction to being recognized, he wouldn’t like being seen with her. “Sorry you’re getting all this attention.”

  He paused and looked around, like he was only just noticing their entourage. “You think I care?”

  “I mean, you told your brothers you didn’t want to be public and …” She trailed off, feeling like an idiot. “It’s not real.”

  Ocean moved a piece of hair out of her face and smiled at her. He didn’t even glance at the circle of people surrounding them. “I’m proud to be seen with you, Supergirl. I was worried you wouldn’t want to be seen with me.”

  Somehow, the moment had turned into a scene from one of those cheesy Hallmark romance flicks that always come out during the holidays. She gave him a shy smile. “I wouldn’t care.”

  “So I still have a favor,” he said, squeezing her hand.

  The people surrounding them were piling up. She spoke up to be heard. “What’s that?”

  “Would you go on the Guardians ride with me?”

  She smiled. “Are you pretending you’re afraid of it?”

  “Nope. I’ve never done it before.”

  “What?” She goggled at him.

  He grunted. “I hate scary stuff, and I’ve just always opted out of it.”

  She gave him her best impression of a gallant knight. “Then I shall go help you conquer your fear, but I have a confession.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  “I’ve never done the Guardians ride, either.”