The Doctor's Fake Fiancee

by Victoria James

  “Our family construction and renovation company just finished a project, for a new art gallery. I did all the interior design work. It would be perfect. They’re over in Port Ryan, and that entire area is filled with artisan boutiques, studios, wineries, even a little live theater. I could talk to them—I would love to tell them about you. Maybe they’ll want to see your work. Small areas like this love supporting local artists.”

  Grace sucked in a breath. Seriously? She felt tears sting the back of her eyes at the unbridled generosity from a person she only just met. She wanted to be able to convey her gratitude without looking desperate. When was the last time she’d met anyone willing to do anything for her? What if Holly saw her work and hated it? What if the gallery said no? She’d lost her confidence. She had been fighting for years to get her work placed. And now…

  “At least let me try,” her friend said gently, as though she sensed Grace’s hesitation.

  Grace thought of Christopher, of their apartment back in the city. And then she thought how it would feel to one day be a paid artist, to tell her son that she’d followed her dreams. And he could, too. She needed to get herself together and stop acting like a ninny without a backbone. She was tougher than this.

  She nodded a second later. “I’d really appreciate that, Holly. I just…maybe I can take a few days to think about it.” More like a few days to get the courage to put her work out there. She needed to be strong enough to deal with the crushing disappointment that would come if the gallery rejected her outright.

  Holly did a semiflail. “Sure. I think this will be great. So what’s the office in Red River that you’re starting work at?”

  Grace took a deep breath, ready to tell her, when Holly interrupted, her eyes on the trail. “Oh, look, it’s my brother-in-law. I’ll introduce you; he’s a doctor. My husband’s brother is a total catch—and he’s single.”

  Grace looked over, not able to stand, shock anchoring her butt to the bench as Evan Manning slowed his jog to pick up Ella and swing her around. Holly was already walking over to Evan. Evan Manning was her only friend’s brother-in-law.

  Grace walked as slowly as she could without looking obvious. She was very aware that Evan’s eyes were on hers. Evan was still breathing deeply from his run, and she allowed herself to really look at him, her eyes safely hidden behind her sunglasses. He wiped his brow with the edge of his blue, long-sleeved shirt, revealing a perfectly flat, sculpted set of abs. He was long and lean, broad shoulders and ripped… Snap out of it, Grace. He was her employer. He had no interest in her whatsoever. Which was totally fine. Because she wouldn’t know what to do with a man like Evan.

  Her heart skipped a beat as Evan leaned down and ruffled Christopher’s hair while holding his niece. “Ella, you’re getting so tall, I can barely pick you up anymore,” he joked, pretending to drop her. His well-defined biceps were a clear indication that was not accurate at all. Ella squealed, and he placed her on the ground.

  “Hi, Grace,” Evan said with a smile. “I, uh, see you’ve met,” he said to Holly and Grace.

  “We just met,” Holly said. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

  “Grace came in to the office yesterday with Christopher, and she accepted the position as receptionist for Chalmers.”

  Holly was looking back and forth between them. “How wonderful.”

  “I think it’ll work out great for both of us.”

  Grace felt her body spark to life at the sight of that smile. Wide smile, perfect white teeth in a bronzed face. And he had the clearest blue eyes she’d ever seen. And he hadn’t shaved this morning. He was slightly scruffy. A complete contrast to the polished look from yesterday but equally delicious. She needed to get it together. There would never be anything between her and the hot doctor who dated feminine, stylish, sophisticated women. She needed to remember that, working for him this month. She needed to remember for her own sake, and for Christopher’s.

  …

  Dammit, this town was too small. And filled with too many of his family members. Evan stared at Grace, actually finding himself without words. Her hair was disheveled but shiny and full of gorgeous, slightly wild curls that were insanely appealing. She was still wearing the frumpy clothes. But she was gorgeous.

  “What a small world this is,” Holly said looking between them. Evan groaned inwardly. He could already see the machinations forming in his sister-in-law’s mind. Holly and Claire had made finding him a woman a top priority. Like he was a damn charity case.

  “Well, more like small town,” Evan answered, his eyes on Grace. Her sunglasses were off, and she was watching the kids, who were by the water again.

  “I can’t believe how lucky I am,” she said. “Dr. Manning—”

  “Evan,” he corrected.

  Her smiled wobbled slightly. “Evan here, um, offered me a job and a place to live—”

  Holly clutched Grace’s arm. “You’re going to live in the coach house?”

  Evan stifled his groan. Holly looked like she was about to go into premature labor with that bit of news.

  Grace was nodding.

  “I decorated that house. Oh, I hope you like it.”

  “I’m sure we will—Chris, what are you doing?” Grace called out. Evan tore his eyes away from hers and followed her gaze. He tried not to laugh out loud as her son and his niece attempted to push a small boulder into the river.

  “Ella, be careful!” Holly called out.

  “Mom, we need to get this rock into the water,” Christopher said, putting his hands on his hips.

  “No, you don’t,” Grace countered. “There are plenty of small stones—”

  “We need to make a gigantic splash!” Ella yelled.

  “You know, there is something to be said for a making a splash,” Evan said turning to them. Christopher turned to look up at Evan, his face lit with something that made Evan’s smile waver. Something in that little boy’s expression hit him in the gut.

  “See, Dr. Nevan knows!”

  “Evan,” Ella corrected with a shake of her head.

  “How about I help them get this thing into the water?” Evan asked, feeling inexplicably happy that the kids were now laughing and jumping up and down, clearly anticipating their victory. He would do anything for his niece and his nephew. It was odd; he’d never really been the kid type, but being around Ella and Michael always put him in a good mood. And he had to admit this Christopher kid was a bit of a character.

  “Yes! Uncle Evan is the best!”

  Grace smiled, and Evan decided he needed to focus on the kids and not how full and tempting Grace’s lips were. Or why her smile affected him like that. Or why he wasn’t noticing the boring clothes she was wearing. Maybe it was because she was one of the few women he knew who was just naturally beautiful.

  “Just this one, okay, Ella? We have to get home after this,” Holly said.

  Both kids nodded.

  “Dr. Nevan, look at these worms,” Christopher said, pointing at squirming creatures they’d just uncovered. Evan tried his best to answer the barrage of questions about slime as best he could, drawing on some of his own childhood memories of worms.

  “Mom, come see all these worms! Can we take one home?”

  “No, you should probably let the worms stay where they are. I don’t think we should be bringing worms into a new house. You give the worms one last look and then get moving that rock okay?” Grace said, her voice warm and patient. Evan liked the way she handled Christopher, noticing the way her features softened whenever she looked at her son.

  “Okay, guys, let’s get this thing into the water. Ready? One, two, three,” Evan yelled, and pushed the small boulder off the wall of rocks and into the river with a massive splash. Christopher and Ella’s exuberant jumping and cheering made him smile.

  “Dr. Nevan, you’re the best. You’re so strong. Do you think you’re stronger than Batman?”

  Evan stifled his laugh.

  “No of course not. But
my dad is,” Ella said proudly. “And then maybe Uncle Evan is tied with Uncle Jake. No wait,” she said, tapping her chin. “Maybe Uncle Evan is a superhero. You know what he did—”

  “Nothing, I did nothing. I’m not a superhero, but thanks, sweetie,” he said, cutting off his niece. He knew exactly what she was about to say. “Is Batman your favorite, Christopher?”

  Christopher nodded rapidly. “But sometimes I like Spider-Man, because I really like spiders.”

  Evan nodded, rubbing his chin. “Yeah, that’s a good point. I like spiders, too,” he said. “But I think it’s okay to keep changing which superhero is your favorite.” Christopher kind of reminded him of himself when he was a kid.

  “Hey, Mom, you know what this reminds me of?”

  Evan turned to look at Grace whose smiled dipped slightly. She shook her head.

  “It reminds me of that night I came home from the hospital—”

  “No, Chris, it does not—”

  Christopher perched his hands on his hips. “Yes, yes, it does! It’s exactly—”

  “Christopher, stop—”

  “When our apartment door had a lock on it and we couldn’t get in so—”

  The gorgeous color in Grace’s face had vanished, leaving her white. She was shaking her head, but her kid wasn’t getting it. Evan’s stomach churned uncomfortably at where this story was going.

  “My mom said we could go to the park and then camp out in our car! Isn’t that cool? So we went down to the water before it was time to sleep and threw rocks and then this crazy bad guy—”

  “Christopher, that’s a private—”

  Ella poked Christopher’s shoulder. “Wow a real bad guy?”

  He gave her a serious nod and then continued, “And Mom said if he didn’t leave us alone, she was going to—”

  “Stop it. Stop talking,” Grace snapped. An uncomfortable silence hung between all of them, holding them there while Christopher frowned at his mother. Evan hated all the missing pieces to this story. He hated thinking of what the hell had happened. But right now, the humiliation that was etched so deeply in her face bothered him, and he wanted to help her.

  “So, Grace I’ll meet you at the house at nine? I just need to grab a quick shower, and I’ll meet you there. And, uh…” He glanced over at Holly, who was standing at attention. Hopefully his sister-in-law would take the bait and the focus would be back on whatever it was she thought was going on between him and Grace and not on Christopher’s story. “Then we’ll do the shopping thing.”

  Holly lifted her sunglasses and eyed them both. “Shopping?”

  Perfect. Grace was nodding, but her face was still pale and she looked embarrassed. “We just need a few things and—”

  “And I’m going to show them around the town. That’s all,” he said. The last thing he wanted was for Grace to feel awkward and rethink everything.

  “That’s great… I can’t wait to see you again, Grace,” Holly said smiling.

  “Everything okay, Holly?” Evan asked, noticing the way she was pressing her hand into her lower back.

  “Hmm? Me, oh yeah, fine. Well, now that you mention it, I’ve been having horrid Braxton Hicks contractions for the past two weeks.”

  “You tell your OB?”

  She nodded. “She said it was normal. I just hate to think I have six weeks of these ahead of me,” she said with a groan.

  “Well, just keep monitoring them. Take it easy. Get that brother of mine to do more. Put your feet up and relax a little when you get home,” he said.

  Holly nodded. “Thanks. Okay, Ella, we need to get going.”

  “See ya tomorrow, Chris,” Ella said with a wave as she and Holly started the trail.

  “See ya later, Ella! Bye,” Christopher yelled.

  “Wait! Holly?” Grace called.

  Holly turned around.

  “Um, yes. Definitely yes. I don’t need more time to think about it. I’ll take you up on your offer about the gallery.”

  Holly beamed at her, and Evan wondered what they were talking about. He shrugged it off. He’d witnessed Holly and Claire in action countless times, never really knowing what either of those two were up to.

  “Great! I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.” Holly gave a little wave as she and Ella made their way down the path. Grace turned to look up at him and flipped her sunglasses up onto her head, green eyes glittering with something that was familiar. Awareness.

  “Mom, Dr. Nevan, look at this!” He tore his eyes away from hers to look over at Christopher. Evan felt something as he watched her son run toward them with at least a dozen worms squirming inside an empty coffee cup.

  “Ugh, Chris, what is this? Isn’t this my coffee cup?”

  He gave his mom a sheepish grin, and Evan felt some of the tension leave his body. Her little boy was pretty hysterical. Evan glanced over at Grace who was shaking her head, a smile tugging at the corner of her lush mouth as she looked at her son.

  “Look,” he said shoving the cup at Evan. Evan held the cup for him while the little boy pleaded with his mother.

  “We are not bringing these to a brand-new house,” Grace said, with a laugh.

  “What if I leave them in the backyard?”

  Evan tilted the cup in Grace’s direction. The kid’s smiled widened, and he clasped his hands together like he was praying for a miracle. He totally knew how to work his mom. She let out a big sigh. “Fine. But nowhere near the back door.” Evan handed him the cup, laughing.

  “Yes!” Christopher yelled, jumping and almost chucking the contents of the cup at them.

  Grace backed up a step, frowning as she watched him regain his balance.

  “We really should get going, Chris,” she said.

  Evan tried to ignore the odd feeling that came over him when the little boy looked up at him. “But we’re going to see you again soon, right?”

  Evan cleared his throat. “Yeah. We’ll probably be seeing a lot of each other.”

  “This is turning out to be the best day of my life!”

  Evan didn’t know whether that was the cutest thing he’d ever heard or the saddest. A feeling of dread trickled through him. He remembered Grace’s words in the office yesterday, about Chris getting attached to him. The last thing he wanted was to mislead him. And yesterday, it had seemed impossible. But now, he was finding himself intrigued by them. He rolled his shoulders, attempting to regain some focus, some perspective. Instead, he just found himself wanting to know more about Grace.

  Chapter Five

  “This place is so cool!”

  “Stay there, Chris!” Grace yelled as her son bounded out of the car. He stopped and waved her over. Grace’s insides liquefied as Evan stepped out of his shiny, black BMW. His dark hair was slightly rumpled, damp, and he was wearing a pair of low-slung cargoes that gave him a touch of badass that she never would have expected. His long-sleeve T-shirt was worn, stretching over his wide chest and loose around his middle. It had a University of Toronto logo on the front. His alma mater, no doubt. It reminded her that he was young for someone who’d accomplished so much. Which only made her feel more pathetic.

  Her reaction to him was not promising for her productivity. She’d seen this man all of three times, and he looked completely different every time. This look…was a little too mouthwatering. He wasn’t buttoned up and perfect. Well, he was perfect. He walked over to her car with the confidence of a man that knew his self-worth. Evan Manning was about as hot as a man could get. She was feeling so out of her element that a part of her just wanted to run, thank him for the position, and go back to their life in Toronto. But when she looked at her son, who was currently doing acrobatics around the massive front yard, she knew that would be impossible at this point.

  “Dr. Nevan, this place is like a castle!”

  She shut her eyes and placed her forehead down on the steering wheel with a sigh as Chris barreled into Evan. His deep voice carried across the open yard and she could hear the amus
ement in it as he spoke to her son. By the end of this, Evan Manning would have a very good idea of just how bad off they were. She was going to have a word with Christopher about appropriate topics to discuss in front of people. The way she’d snapped at Christopher made her feel like the worst mother—and then for it all to happen in front of Holly and Evan…

  She needed to join them before Evan realized she was cowering in the car like a woman who hadn’t been around a gorgeous guy in…how many years? She opened her eyes a moment later to take in the property. There was a large, New England-style home perched on a small hill with a winding drive. She knew that must have been the main house, and they were standing near the carriage house to the left of it. The grass was a vivid green, cut and kept beautifully. Dark green hedges lined the driveway and rows of oak trees and evergreens were scattered about the grounds. Sure beat an old apartment building in the wrong part of the city.

  This house was a smaller version of the main one, with cedar shingles and pale blue siding. There were oversized iron coach lights beside the navy front door and two large, square urns filled with pansies. It was something she would have painted. The backdrop of the calm river made it almost too beautiful for her to enjoy it, knowing they would have to leave in a month or so.

  Evan and Chris were standing on the front porch, peering into what used to be her coffee cup, no doubt discussing the worm situation.

  Get out of the car, Grace. Maybe she’d cross off a few items from her To-Do list and then go. Yes, that would calm her down, give her some control back. She dragged out her notepad and orange crayon, smiling as her son yelled out, “Slime,” and Evan’s deep laugh carried across the yard and through her open car window.

  After crossing off, “Meet Evan at new house,” she added, “Buy new portfolio case for possible gallery interview.”

  “Making a grocery list?”

  Grace yelped, orange crayon snapping in her hand as Evan’s deep voice seemed to come out of nowhere. He was leaning against her car, arms splayed out on the hood as he watched her. He still hadn’t shaved. She stared into his aviator glasses and checked her reflection to make sure she wasn’t drooling. She needed to remember what he’d asked… She scrambled with her seat belt. “Yeah, but I’m good. All set.”