“I didn’t believe in love at first sight before now,” Declan says. His voice brims with sincerity. “When Marian walked into that plane and sat down next to me, something inside me clicked, and I knew that she was the one, even before she said a word.”
I’m as mesmerized by Declan as Jason and Brooke are. I’m in awe of his acting skills. He’s so convincing that I’m beginning to believe that we actually fell in love at first sight.
“We may have rushed the wedding, but I believe that we eventually would still have gotten married.” Declan shoots me a loving stare, and I try my best to return one. He looks back at Jason and Brooke. “If I had my way, I would have married her the same day we met on the plane.”
“So, you want to tell me that the wedding wasn’t a mistake for you?”
Declan shakes his head. “I admit it was impulsive, but I never for one moment regretted marrying Marian.”
Brooke stares at me. “But when we spoke, you sounded so hysterical and frightened.”
Her statement is more of a question. I glance up at Declan, an adoring look on my face. “I wasn’t hysterical for long.” I giggle. I know I sound like an idiot, but I don’t know how else to act like a woman in love.
“This just sounds weird. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I don’t believe this. This is just not like Marian,” Jason says to Declan.
“I’m happy to know that Marian has people that care about her so much,” Declan says and kisses the top of my head.
Jason lets out a sigh. I feel bad. He looks so frustrated, and Brooke just looks confused.
“Shall we go?” Declan says. He’s the only one of the four of us who seems to be cool and calm.
Declan stores our luggage in the car’s trunk before slipping into the back seat next to me. He takes my hand, and I try to pull it away. Brooke and Jason can’t see us from the front, so I don’t see why he’s continuing with the act.
“Where are we going?” Jason says.
“My place,” I say.
The drive from the airport to my place is uncomfortable and tense. No one bothers to make conversation, and I’m glad when Jason pulls up my home’s driveway.
Declan whistles. “Is this where you live?”
“Yes,” I say, my chest filling with pride at the obvious admiration in his voice.
“Call us if you need us,” Jason says.
Declan and I get out of the car, and he gets our bags from the trunk. We stand at the driveway until Jason and Brooke drive off. I don’t fail to notice the worried expressions on their faces.
“I’m sorry about that,” I tell Declan feeling an urge to excuse my friends’ behavior.
Declan shakes his head. “I’d be the same if you were my best friend.”
“Let’s go in.”
Chapter 6
Declan
Marian’s business is doing well judging by the size of her house and the area in which she lives.
“Everything looks new,” I tell her as we pass through the living room. “And smells new.”
She lets out a laugh. “You’re very perceptive. I moved in less than two weeks ago.”
“Congratulations,” I tell her.
“Before I show you to the guest room, we need to talk,” she says. “Coffee?”
“Sure.” I follow her to the kitchen, my eyes glued to her curvy ass.
Marian’s kitchen is industrial-sized, and all of the equipment gleams with newness. I like that she’s neat and there’s nothing out of place in the kitchen.
I slide into a stool on the island as Marian gets the coffee machine going.
“How do you like your coffee?” she asks and then laughs. “Funny question to ask your husband?”
“Black, no sugar,” I say. “What about you? How do you like your coffee?”
“The same as you, black, no sugar,” she says.
“See, we have something in common.”
She raises her eyebrow and then turns away to pour the coffee into mugs.
“What did you want to talk about?” I ask her when she sits down.
“Rules,” she says.
“What rules?”
“Conditions, rules … call them what you like,” Marian says.
“OK,” I say. I’m willing to agree to anything within reason as long as Marian stays married to me.
“You can’t kiss me like that,” she says. “No, that didn’t come out right. What I mean is this: you can’t kiss me on the mouth.”
“Why? If this marriage is going to look real, we have to kiss.” That’s not true, but I like kissing her. She makes me hot, and my whole body comes alive just with a kiss. “Why don’t you want us to kiss anyway?” I ask her.
“I think kissing is going too far,” Marian says.
“I like kissing you,” I tell her.
Her gaze drops to my mouth, and I know that she also remembers how hot our kiss was.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I just said it’s going too far,” she says.
“Do you have another rule?” I ask her.
“I’m sure I’ll think up another one,” she says and smiles coyly.
“I have a rule, too,” I tell her. “We must live together as though it was a real marriage.”
“Okay,” Marian says. “But I must tell you that my business keeps me very busy. And most times, I’m also working during the weekends.”
“Understood. My own business also keeps me very busy, but we must make time to be together.”
“Fine,” she says, surprising me. I thought she would fight me on this. But I want to get to know her better. She fascinates me, and I don’t know why.
“You can show me that guest room now,” I tell her.
I carry our cups to the sink and rinse them off and then put them away.
“It’s nice to see that you’re domesticated in the kitchen,” Marian says with a smile.
“I do love cooking. I find it relaxing. What about you, do you cook?”
She lets out a small laugh. “The last time I had guests over for dinner, I bought takeout food from a seafood restaurant.”
“In that case, you picked the right guy to marry.”
Marian folds her arms across her chest, making her breasts pop out. “There’s another rule. You’re not allowed to say stuff like that. It will make me start thinking that this is real.”
I raise my hands as if in mock surrender. “All right, I won’t.”
“I hope you’ll be comfortable here.”
“It’s nice, thank you.” The guest room is spacious and the bed large. I look at the bed and imagine throwing Marian on it.
She stares at the bed too and then looks at me. The same desire I feel is reflected in her eyes.
My phone rings, breaking the sexual tension in the room. I fish it from my pocket and glance at the screen. It’s my brother, Ace.
“Hey, man, your phone has been off most of the day,” Ace says.
I think fast and decide this is the perfect moment to let him know that I’m a married man. “That’s because I was looking around my new wife’s house.”
There is shocked silence from the other end of the phone.
“I did the Vegas thing and got married.”
“I know you’re kidding,” Ace says.
I chuckle. “You can talk to her if you want.” Before he can answer, I give Marian the phone.
She takes it and smiles. “Hi, it’s Marian, and we’ve met before. I’m not sure if you remember. I’m Jason and Brooke Cooper’s friend.”
She listens for a few minutes and then speaks. “He’s not joking. We are married.” She shoots me an amused look. “Sure, I would love to come for dinner.” She hands me the phone and then with a wave, she leaves the room.
“You and Marian are coming for dinner tonight.” Ace is too bossy.
I don’t blame him. I would probably be the same way if he dropped that kind of news on me. “There’s no argument from me. You know I love Lexi’s food, and see
ing Luna is a treat.”
***
We take Marian’s car to Ace and Lexi’s home.
“Nice place they’ve got here,” Marian says.
“Yes, I like it too. They also have a place in Santa Monica,” I tell her. It’s a family-oriented condo complex that is perfect for Luna.
“You make me want to go to Santa Monica,” Marian says.
I chuckle. My love for my hometown is evident every time I talk about it. “You’ll like it. The first time Ace took Lexi there, she said they had to get a place even if it was just for the weekend.”
“Describe your place for me,” she says.
“It’s an apartment block that overlooks the ocean, and there’s a pathway that leads to the beach. I like to take a walk in the mornings when I’m in Santa Monica.”
“You’re playing with me to make me want to go,” she says, laughing.
“I’m not, I swear.”
We take the elevator to the second-floor apartment.
The elevator comes to a stop, and I take Marian’s hand, and we walk to the front door. I knock, and seconds later, it flies open. Ace stands there looking at us as if we’ve just landed from space.
“Can we come in?” I ask him.
Marian giggles.
“Hi, and welcome,” Ace says, but his gaze is on Marian. We give each other a man hug, and then he kisses Marian on the cheek. “Welcome to the family.”
Luna is at her favorite spot by the large window that overlooks the play area down below. When she sees me, she scrambles to her feet and comes running with all the strength of an NFL player, and throws herself at my legs.
Laughing, I pick her up, and she throws her hands around my neck. “Hello, baby girl,” I tell her. “I’ve missed you.”
“Uncle Clan,” she says.
Luna still can’t say my name, and she’s shortened it to Clan. Lexi appears in the kitchen doorway and comes and gives both of us a hug.
Luna tugs my hand and pulls me to her play area to show me her Barbie dollhouse. I go on my knees, and for the next couple of minutes, Luna and I are in our world as we play with her Barbie dolls, taking them to bed and giving them dinner.
After a while, I kiss her on the forehead and leave her to continue playing. I join Lexi, Ace, and Marian in the living room. I sit on the couch next to Marian.
“Marian was just about to tell us how you guys hooked up in Vegas?” Lexi says.
I turn to Marian. “Go on.”
“On the plane,” she says, her eyes laughing. “The most unromantic and unoriginal way to meet.”
“I’m surprised you two have not met before,” Ace says.
“I told her she looked familiar, but she thought that was a pick-up line.”
We all laugh at that. Lexi doesn’t speak much, and she’s quite a chatty person. This must have really shocked her.
“I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that you two met one day and married the same evening,” she says.
“I must say that your reaction is a lot better than when I told my best friends about Declan. They were not amused and thought that somehow he’d tricked me into it,” Marian says.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Ace says.
“Where is your loyalty, bro,” I say.
Lexi excuses herself to go and check on dinner.
“I’ll help,” Marian says and stands up.
When the ladies leave and Ace and I are left alone, he turns to me, a thoughtful look on his features. “This is about the trust fund, isn’t it?” He holds my gaze.
Ace is more than my brother. He’s my best friend, and the thought of lying to him makes me sick. So, I say nothing.
“I know Marian,” Ace says. “She’s a really sweet person and also very respected in the city. She doesn’t deserve to be hurt.”
“What makes you think I plan to hurt her?” I ask, indignation in my voice.
“You’re terrible at relationships, Declan. You know that as well as I do.”
I feel deflated, like a balloon that’s suddenly been popped with a sharp object. In my mind, I’d started to fantasize that maybe Marian and I could make it work. But Ace has just burst that bubble. He’s right. I don’t do relationships, and I don’t buy into all that unconditional love. People attach conditions to love, and I’ll never put myself under the mercy of a woman. I’ll call the shots when it comes to my own heart.
The ladies return to the living room and set the table behind us, putting an end to our conversation.
“I’ll take Luna to bed,” Lexi says, a sleepy-looking Luna balanced on her hip.
I stand up and plant a noisy kiss on her cheek, which makes her giggle. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
Marian and I are left in the living room alone.
“They took it well, didn’t they?” she says.
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. I don’t want to break her euphoria by telling her that Ace saw right through it.
“Lexi is very nice,” Marian says. “She’s happy for us.”
I doubt that Lexi believes it either. In the years when Ace was in Afghanistan, we became very good friends. If she doesn’t suspect already, Ace will clue her in.
But they can’t be a hundred percent because I neither confirmed nor denied it.
Chapter 7
Marian
Tension crackles between us in the car. The playful mood in Ace and Lexi’s home is gone. Declan’s profile in the semi-darkness is tense and still as he drives us home.
Seeing him surrounded by his family has ramped up my attraction for him another notch if that is possible. But his relationship with his niece Luna is the one that was an eye-opener. I understand now his hesitance in committing to my condition of him being a non-active parent in raising our baby.
A part of me wants to renege on our agreement, but I force myself to think of all the complications that will come out of having Declan in our lives. He’s an easy man to fall in love with; he’s a gentleman and sexy and kind. So many good things rolled into one.
I’ve never spent as much time with a man I’ve just met as I have with Declan. The more I know him, the more my wall of defense is chipping away. I’ve been there before. All men start like that. They’re attentive and sweet until the relationship becomes old.
I draw out my rational side. I’ve made it in the cutthroat billion-dollar wedding industry by refusing to allow my emotions to have a part in my decisions. I do this now and push my growing feelings for Declan away.
The problem, as I see it, is that he’s too attractive. Panty-melting attractive. Declan has a body that gives a woman instant arousal. Even now, just sitting next to him in the car is enough to make me ache between my legs.
As long as I remember that what I’m feeling is crazy, mad arousal, I’ll be fine. It didn’t help that Declan kissed me, and now that I’ve had a taste, I can’t help wondering how it would feel to be held in his arms. To run my hands over his muscled shoulders.
We get home too fast before I can organize my thoughts. I haven’t come to a solution.
“We’re home,” he says to me as he kills the engine. Is his voice thicker than usual, or is it just me hearing what I want to hear?
“I had a great time at your brother and sister-in-law’s house,” I tell him.
“They loved you,” Declan says.
“Thanks,” I say.
We sit staring at each other, saying nothing, the sexual tension between us growing by the second. My whole body comes alive, and it feels like every part is aching to be touched.
Declan’s hands are etched in my mind. They are big and strong. The streetlights illuminate us, and I feel as if I’m melting under Declan’s heated gaze.
I don’t know who makes the first move. All I know is that in seconds, our mouths mesh together, and time stops as we kiss as though our lives depend on it. His big hand curls along my jaw and angles my head to give him better access to my mouth.
His scent is an aphrodisiac, invadi
ng all my senses so that all I can think about is how much I want more. The low rush of Declan’s breathing matches mine. My limbs turn to water as I cling to him, helpless against the surge of arousal that swamps me.
I moan into his mouth and mutter incoherent words. Words that I am sure would embarrass me any other time. For this moment, I don’t care. My hands explore his shoulders as though they have a mind of their own.
Declan breaks the kiss, and we both breathe as though we’ve come from running a marathon.
“Let’s go in,” Declan says, his voice husky.
I nod, wide-eyed and stunned by my physical reaction to him. I feel like an explosive device that can go off any time as I lead the way to the front door. I’ve lost control of my mind and body.
Declan takes the house keys from me and unlocks the door. He holds it open, and when we are both inside, he takes my hand and wordlessly takes me upstairs.
This will complicate things, a voice screams inside my head, but it’s not loud enough. It’s not louder than the ache in my pussy. My panties are damp, and all I can think about is how it would feel to have Declan fill that ache. I’m desperate for release. I want Declan in a way that leaves no room for any arguments. I’ve never wanted a man as desperately as I want him.
My body is beyond reasoning with. I’m docile as I follow him upstairs to the guest room. He shuts the door behind us and pulls me into his arms. My heart pounds hard against my chest as he brushes his lips against mine. They are soft and slow. This time, his kiss is an exploration. He nibbles my lower lip and then captures the top one between his lips. His hands cup my face as if he’s afraid that I’ll disappear. I slip mine around his impossibly wide shoulders.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs as he trails kisses down my jawline.
A moan escapes my mouth, and as his mouth returns to mine, he dips his tongue between my lips. Our kiss grows deeper, more urgent. Declan’s hands leave my face, skim along the curves of my body and rest on my hips.
Heat sizzles over my skin, and I pull Declan closer. His erection rubs against my belly. Declan’s kiss grows more heated. His hands move to my ass, squeezing it and smashing me against his body. He growls into my mouth, and an electric current sizzles through me.
One Hot Fake: An Accidental Fake Marriage Romance Page 4
