The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  I shrugged. "My mom used to bake with it a lot. I thought it would be a little different. Sometimes twists are good."

  Garth grinned widely as he reached into the bag and pulled out a hamburger. "I couldn't agree more."

  My heart skipped a beat. I took a burger from the bag, and Alyssa took one as well. I tore into mine and took a huge bite, not having realized how hungry I was until I took that first bite.

  It seemed all of us were starving. Even Alyssa didn't talk while we ate our dinner.

  The second I was done, I started cleaning up. I wiped down the counter again with Garth's eyes on me the entire time, a wide smirk on his face.

  It took everything I had not to call him out on it.

  The couple arrived at 5:23. Alyssa was eager to be by Garth's side as he opened the door and greeted them. I stood back, staying in the kitchen as they gave each other their names and Alyssa complimented the woman.

  As soon as the tour started, I stepped outside, taking my purse with me and making my way towards the car. I slipped into the back seat. I guess I could take the front if I really want. No.

  I'd let her think I was being nice. In other words, I'll look good. My mom would probably give me shit if she knew I'd thought something like that, but you know what? You gotta be a little bitchy every now and then. Me? I was going to kill Alyssa with kindness.

  I thought back to what she said. The girls said you were a basic bitch. Does that mean the girls at the office? All of them?

  Even Nikki? Was Nikki acting with me, or Alyssa? Or both? Maybe she was trying to pin us against each other and slip between the fight. My brow furrowed. When did I start doubting everyone? I shook my head trying to clear it. It didn't help.

  Either way, I knew I couldn't trust any of the girls in that office. And that's fine. I'll do just fine without them, I thought as I saw the door open. The couple exited the house, wide smiles on their faces, but the little girl did not look happy.

  As they pulled out of the driveway, I saw the door open again. Garth and Alyssa stepped out of the house and headed for the car. The second Garth climbed in I spoke.

  "Well? How did it go? Did you sell it?"

  "It went well. They loved the decor, and I think even their daughter liked the room we did up for her. It's amazing how when you know a little bit about someone, you can make it work to your advantage."

  Alyssa beamed. "Ally, why didn’t you stick around? I'm sure I could have learned something from you." Her eyes locked on mine. Cold.

  I shrugged. "I thought three people trying to sell a house was a little excessive. I didn't want to make the family feel pressured and didn't want to put you in a situation where you felt like you should step back. I mean, you just got back! It would be a shame if you couldn't sell a house on your first day." I gave her a soft smile; it took everything I had to try and make it genuine.

  "That is so kind of you."

  Garth pulled out of the driveway and headed back to the office. It wasn't a long drive, but by the time we got back, I wanted nothing more than to get out of the car. I'd spent the whole day with her and didn't want to spend another second.

  We headed into the office as I glanced down at my watch. Almost quitting time. I looked around, surprised that the other cars were still here. They must want to know how it went, I thought as we headed into the elevator and made our way up to the office floor. I stepped out onto the floor and stopped dead in my tracks.

  I stared at my desk. A blush covered my face, burning from my cheeks to the tip of my ear.

  A huge bouquet of flowers sat there. Rainbow roses. My favorite.

  "Flowers," Garth said, his voice monotone. I turned to see his eyes sparkling.

  "Someone's lucky," Nikki said. Her eyes sparkling. "Who are they from?"

  "Unless of course," Alyssa piped in, "you can't tell us."

  I padded over to the roses and pulled out the note.

  It didn't have a name, just said: Heard these were your favorite the other night.

  I turned to Garth. A wide grin spread across his face. My jaw dropped as I stared down at the note, then up at him.

  "You were eavesdropping on my date?" I said it before I even thought about it.

  A loud laugh passed through his lips. "Of course, I was. I had a chance, why not take it?"

  I shook my head at the man in front of me. He had been spying on me when I went on a date with someone else!

  "H-how did you know we were going to be there?"

  "I didn't. I was taking Brent out for dinner when you two showed up ... well, like I said, why not take the chance, right?"

  I looked at the flowers. My mind raced, trying to process everything. They sat in a large black vase, but still the amount of flowers in there were overflowing. I turned back to Garth and closed the distance between us.

  I could feel their eyes on me but didn't care. My arms wrapped around his neck, my lips crashing against his.

  If he'd cared, he wouldn't have had them delivered here, right?

  He didn't pull away.

  His arms wrapped around my hips, pulling me closer, picking me up in the air.

  It was like something out of a book.

  Butterflies filled the pit of my stomach as I felt him spin me around. I laughed, not daring to break the kiss. I pulled away from him as he put me back down on my feet.

  Garth cleared his throat. "Alright, back to work." His eyes sparkled. "And make sure you take those fucking things home." He pointed to the flowers. "I don't want them to be a distraction in my office."

  "Yes, sir." I grinned widely. I couldn't help it and felt like a stupid teenager who had just been told someone had a crush on her for the first time. I didn't care.

  His eyes shone as he glanced around the rest of the room. "Ladies, I will see you tomorrow." He nodded before heading into his office.

  As soon as the door shut, I could feel all eyes on me. I turned to look at the flowers. My brow furrowed as I crossed over to them and moved them off my desk. He was right, they would be distracting. Instead, I moved them over to where the couch and the coffee table were. Placing them in the center of the coffee table, I padded back to my desk.

  No one said a word to me. Alyssa looked like she wanted to murder me, but she just stared at her computer screen.

  What am I supposed to say? I thought. Was there even anything I could say? No. I don't need to explain myself to them. There is nothing to explain. I was sure there was nothing against us dating; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent me flowers or even admitted to having sent them. If it could get him in trouble, he wouldn't have taken that risk.

  Why did he take that risk? I wondered.

  It didn't matter. It would have to wait. I was still working.

  I managed to catch up on the last of my emails quickly, packed my purse up, shut my computer down, and headed for the elevator—after grabbing my flowers—just as Nikki and the blonde stepped into it. To my surprise, they reached out, stopping the door from shutting so I could step in.

  "Thanks." I smiled as I stepped in and the elevator headed to the main floor.

  "So, you two have been together for a while?"

  "Not long. .." I didn't really want to answer questions about my relationship with Garth.

  "Alyssa isn't going to take it well," Nikki almost sounded worried.

  I shrugged. "What's she going to do? Try to split us up?" I wouldn't worried about her. She was nothing more than a high school drama queen.

  "You're not worried about her at all?"

  "No." I shook my head. "I mean, I hope she's okay. I think she has real feelings for Garth that she hides behind a selfish motive." I thought about the hurt in her eyes today and then thought about what she said about the other girls. They called me a basic bitch.

  No. I don't know if that is true or not.

  It was stupid; I knew it shouldn't offend me so much, but it did. I wasn't basic and didn't want to be. I worked hard and busted my ass.

  I headed out to
my car without another word to them.

  My phone beeped as I put the flowers down on the passenger seat.

  Head to my place. PD wants to talk to us about something important.

  My heart skipped a beat as I stared down at it. What could he want to talk to us about? I bet it’s about contracts and terms. Right. He’d mentioned something about that, right? After he finished running a background check on information. My heart skipped a beat, knowing that this was all finally going to get taken care of.

  When I pulled into Garth's parking lot, I found a parking spot, turned my car off and slipped the key from the ignition. I looked up just in time to see Garth pull in. He glanced at me, a smirk across his face.

  I grinned back as I stepped out of the car, grabbing my flowers along the way, and walked slowly as he parked and got out of the car.

  "Flowers! Those are pretty!" he called as he jogged to catch up with me.

  "Yea, some guy ordered them for me. Had them sent to my work place, it made all the girls jealous."

  His eyes sparked. "I gotta admit, I'm a little jealous. I mean, some guy sending you flowers. He must be pretty special."

  "Oh, he's very special." I nodded, my eyes sparkling. "And very cute and very rich."

  "Ahh, I see." He pulled the door open for me, a grin spreading over his lips. "You're just with him for his money."

  I laughed and couldn't help it. "Of course, how did you know?" I shook my head. "No, I'm with him because he's great in bed, too."

  A loud laugh escaped Garth as we headed for the elevator. We stopped waiting for one to come get us. He reached out, his fingers brushing a strand of hair from my face. His lips touched mine for a fraction of a second. "I hope I didn't make it too hard on you. You know, with the girls in the office and everything."

  I shrugged. "Like I said, I told Nikki and what's-her-face; Alyssa doesn't scare me."

  "She didn't seem happy about it." I shrugged. My brow furrowed as we stepped into an elevator. "You know, we were talking today ... She said the girls in the office called me a basic bitch."

  "A what?" Garth stared at me with total confusion.

  I shook my head, letting out a deep breath. "It's stupid, but it pretty much means ... you know ... the same as any other girl."

  I expected him to laugh or maybe make fun of me for being bothered by it, but he didn't say anything for a couple of seconds. As the elevator opened and we stepped out, he finally spoke.

  "And what, you believe them?"

  I stared at him.

  "Well ... I mean ..." Yes. I believe that's what they thought of me.

  "Babe, do you think I would send six dozen rainbow roses to a basic bitch?" I could tell he felt stupid saying it. His nose wrinkled as he said it.

  We came to a stop outside of his condo.

  "I don't know, would you?"

  Garth shook his head as he opened the door and motioned for me to go inside. "I can't believe I'm even having this conversation with you," he muttered.

  I grinned as I stepped inside and padded to the island where I put the flowers before dropping my purse.

  "I'll take that as a no."

  "Why does it even bother you?"

  "Because ..." I took a deep breath. "It just does. I mean, they all treat me like ... I don't know ... and then they call me that. I mean, I work hard. I bust my ass. I've scratched and clawed to get where I am." I took a deep breath. "And don't get me wrong, I'm proud of that ... but I just wish other people saw how hard I worked."

  "You don't think I do?" He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think I like you, Ally? It's not because of you being gorgeous, you are. I can walk down the street and see a dozen women I find beautiful. I won't lie, I'm not picky. But you’re a fighter. You work so hard. When you prepped that first house for me, I sent you off on your own because I wanted to see how you would do. And you blew me away. When I came in and you had your shoes off and your jewelry in your purse, I was impressed. That is what made me like you."

  My cheeks flushed. I stared at him, not sure what to say.

  "So no, I don't think you're a basic bitch, and even if they do, I don't care what they think. You shouldn't either."

  I knew that. I really did, but that didn't mean anything. Not really.

  Before I could say anything, there was a knock on the door.

  Garth gave me a smile. "Sorry, it's probably John. We can talk more later if you like."

  Without another word, he headed for the door and opened it. I heard them talk for a couple of seconds as I strode into the kitchen and got the kettle going, and then I heard the door close.

  "I'll make it quick," John was saying. "But I thought we should talk in person."

  This doesn't sound good, I thought. I took a deep breath, trying not to worry about it. Maybe he normally sends the contacts via email or something. Yes. In this day and age, that wasn't a crazy thing to think.

  I took a deep breath. The two men came into the room, and I gave John a smile. "Hi," I swallowed dryly. "Would you like some tea?"

  "No, thank you." He turned his attention to Garth. I could see how nervous Garth looked and didn't blame him.

  My stomach turned. What was going on here?

  "I'm sorry to say this but ... well something has come up, and I feel it would be best for my safety, as well as my family’s, not to take on your case."

  "What?" I gasped.

  "What do you mean, your safety?" Garth stared at him.

  John looked down. "My wife and I received a package today, an hour before I called you. It contained a human ear in it." My eyes widened. I felt my stomach turn and for a split second, thought I might puke. "Along with it was a note, er, suggesting I not take your case. For safety reasons, of course." John's cheeks turned a shade of red. "Normally, that would only fuel me, but I at this point ..." He paused, blowing out a deep breath. "You have to understand. I have a little girl at home. She just turned six months old."

  "Of course." Garth didn't sound the least bit disappointed. "I understand. You need to make sure your family is safe. I wouldn't ask you to take this case. But thank you for telling me in person."

  "I thought it would only be right."

  "What will you do? If you don't mind me asking."

  "The family and I are going to go away for a little while. My wife has always wanted to travel."

  Garth nodded. "A good idea."

  "I called the police the second it happened, I'm sorry, but I mentioned you had spoken to me about us working together. I ..." John trailed off.

  "Don't worry about any of it." Garth reached out and touched the man's shoulder. "Go away with your family for a couple weeks. Spend some time with your daughter. I would not ask you to do anything differently."

  The way he spoke, it was so comforting. I had no clue how he could be keeping it together like this. I wasn't keeping it together, that much was for sure.

  I felt like I wanted to puke. How had the killer found out that Garth was going to hire someone? How had they figured out who it was?

  I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm. I didn't want to have a panic attack in front of John. He already seemed so guilty for not being able to help Garth.

  The kettle popped behind me, and my heart skipped a beat.

  Garth cleared his throat. "Let me at least walk you to the door."

  The two men spoke quietly as they headed for the door. I didn't pay much attention to it. What are we supposed to do? I wondered. How are we going to get through this without anyone on our side? I poured us each a mug of tea, my hands shaking the entire time, and spilt boiling hot water all over the place, but I didn't pay much attention to it. Even against my skin, I hardly felt it. I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. We are so fucked, I thought.

  "Officer," Garth said suddenly. My heart skipped a beat.

  "Hi," Rebecca said. "How are you doing?"

  "I'm alright, I'm guessing you're here to speak to me about John?"

  "Yes."

&n
bsp; My heart raced. Was she going to come inside? Was Garth going to invite her in?

  "What would you like to know?"

  "I'd like a list of the people who you told." Garth was quiet for a couple of seconds.

  "I didn't tell anyone unless they needed to know."

  Neither of them said anything for a couple seconds, and then I heard the door close. My heart raced. I could hear them talking outside but couldn't make out what they were saying.

  I closed my eyes trying to listen and made out Garth saying 'she' a couple of times, but that was it. After a few seconds, the door opened and Garth came back inside—alone. I blew out a deep breath, not wanting Rebecca to know I was here; otherwise, she’d catch on pretty quick that Garth and I were more than just working together. I didn’t want to hurt her like that. She didn’t deserve it—she was a nice girl. I just … had someone else when I met her; otherwise, it might have been different. I might have been able to keep going out with her.

  I heard the door open and close again and glanced up from the teacups as Garth came back into the condo.

  "What did she want?"

  "Just a couple questions about the case. I thought you said she had asked to be removed from it."

  "I did ... that's what she told me when she asked if I'd like to get dinner."

  "I hope you don't mind me talking to her outside. I thought it would be best if she didn't see you here, with your favorite flowers."

  "No, I completely agree with you." He was right, and I didn't want Rebecca to feel used. I hadn't ever meant to make her feel used when I went out with her, but in retrospect, I could see how she might.

  I took a deep breath, trying to come to terms with everything. "So ... are we going to try to find someone else to take on the case?"

  "No. I can't put people in danger like that." Garth shook his head. "This can be something the cops deal with."

  "And what if they don't do anything about it? Hell, what if the person involved has them on the take?" I felt like it was a line right out of a movie, but what else was I supposed to say.

  "Actually, I've considered the person might be a cop."

  "What?" I snapped.

  Garth looked away from me as he took the tea and padded into the living room.