The Hookup Hoax (Entangled Lovestruck)

by Heather Thurmeier

  All good.

  “What time is it?” she mumbled.

  “You’ve got twenty minutes.”

  “Twenty minutes?” she squeaked, bolting upright. Throwing back the blankets, she sprang from the bed.

  Sawyer rose beside her, taking in the landscape of her long legs, slim waist, and perky breasts along the way.

  “My head.” She moaned and swayed on her feet. Instinctively, he slipped an arm around her body to steady her.

  “You might be a touch hung over. Hopefully a nice hot shower will help. While you’re in there, I’ll fix you a coffee and some breakfast. Eggs?”

  She groaned again. “I might be sick.”

  “So no eggs then.” He helped her walk to the bathroom, where she splashed cold water on her face.

  Droplets fell from her chin as their eyes locked in the mirror’s reflection. “I can’t believe I did this.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Everyone drinks too much sometimes.”

  “True. But does everyone go to their second day of work hung over?” She pressed her cheek to the granite-topped vanity, sighing. It didn’t look like the most comfortable position to be in, although it wasn’t bad for an observer. “I suck at this whole working thing. I should go back to being a nomad, where I rarely made an ass of myself.”

  At her reference, his gaze darted below her waist. Her ass looked pretty damn good in those little shorts. “You have no reason to be embarrassed.”

  “Really? Day one, I basically see my boss naked. Day two, I’m hung over. Very professional.”

  He laughed. “I happen to have it on good authority, your boss is a nice guy who may or may not have forgotten to lock the bathroom door before getting naked, therefore he’s taking partial blame for the incident. And rumor has it he even once showed up to work so hung over, he might have actually still been a little inebriated. I’m sure he’ll cut you some slack.”

  She smiled weakly, squinting and rubbing her forehead. “Maybe the boss guy also has a hangover cure? Or a few pain relievers?”

  “Done and done. Shower. I’ll bring you everything.”

  While he waited for the coffee to brew, he scrolled through his schedule for the day: back-to-back meetings, as usual. Clicking to his monthly calendar, he checked any notations for the upcoming weeks. One caught his eye immediately—the gala.

  The gala he attended every year was rolling around again. Dread filled him at the thought of going to yet another one alone. Every year he went because it was a good opportunity to work on his client relationships, and maybe even forge a few new ones. And every year, halfway through the night, he wished for an excuse to leave. It would be way more fun if he had someone with him—someone who always seemed to have fun, no matter what the situation.

  Olivia would be the perfect date. Not only did he like her company, she might also enjoy a fancy night out. He couldn’t imagine she’d had many opportunities for those in the last few years while she traveled. They usually had a good band and delicious food.

  He’d give anything not to attend, but this year it was more important than ever to be there. Cultivating and maintaining his clients was a priority if he wanted Sterling Enterprises to be around next year.

  Olivia would probably do well networking for her next job while they were there, too. He’d seen how quickly she’d won over his family and the people at work. She’d have no problem schmoozing with possible contacts for an evening. Hell, if she used any of that natural charisma on his clients, half of his worries would be over. At least with her by his side for the night, he had a hope of enjoying it this year. Now he just needed to convince her to join him.

  He filled a mug with coffee and wandered to the bathroom with his arsenal of hangover supplies. He found her at the vanity where he’d left her, only now she was dressed, her hair pulled back into a tight twist. “Take the pills with the water first, then work on the coffee.”

  With her first sip of coffee, she sighed and let her eyes flutter closed. When she opened them again, she smiled. “You are the best boss ever. Next time you need something at work, I’m your girl.”

  He liked the sound of that. “Actually, there’s this fancy, sort of stuffy, yet kind of over the top gala that I go to every year. The food is usually pretty good and the band is decent. I’d like it if you would be my date for the evening.”

  “Well, when you sell it like that, how could a girl refuse?” She laughed then cringed as if her head ached. “When is it?”

  “Two weeks.”

  “Will anyone who needs to believe our scam be there?” she asked, sweeping mascara along her lashes.

  “I have no idea, but if anyone gets word that our relationship isn’t real, it could travel back to my family. It wasn’t that long ago that my grandfather ran the business. For all I know, some of his old buddies will be there. I thought it’d be a good way for you to start networking, too. There are usually a lot of big name CEOs attending. Never know where you’ll meet your next boss.”

  The thought of her working for someone else settled like a lead brick in his stomach. He’d only worked with her for one day so far, but he liked having her at the office. She brought a certain quality to the atmosphere that hadn’t been there before. It was hard to describe in words. It was more of a feeling, like a bolt of lightning had hit his building and Sterling Enterprises was suddenly electrified with new energy.

  She rubbed her temples then took another sip of coffee. “Okay. Sure.”

  “Great. You’ll probably need a new dress, since I can’t imagine you would’ve had room in your backpack for one. You can use my company credit card when you’re ready to shop, and I’ll bill it as a business expense.”

  “Gotta love free clothes. I’ll probably need jewelry, too.”

  He smirked, happy to see her sense of humor returning. “I’m sure you’ll find beautiful accessories. One more thing. It’s out of town, so you’ll need to pack an overnight bag.”

  Her mouth dropped open into an O-shape and her eyes met his in the reflection. Yep, that was an important detail.

  His breath caught in his throat. Don’t say no. The thought of going alone was even more unappealing now that he’d imagined taking her.

  “Okay.”

  “Great!” His response was louder than he expected and he quickly cleared his throat, hoping she hadn’t noticed how desperate he sounded. He realized with a mix of trepidation and anticipation, a weekend away with Olivia sounded better than he thought it would.

  Chapter Eight

  Olivia swallowed nervously. She had no reason to be nervous—it was only soccer practice—but even if her brain knew that, her body refused to listen. This was the first time she had to pose as Sawyer’s girlfriend around his friends.

  With his family and work, at least she knew their relationship and affection toward each other would be pretty conservative. But here, with his closest friends, she didn’t know what to expect. Were they the “grab their girlfriend’s ass in public” kind? The “compare sex stories” kind?

  The thought of having to participate in a conversation about her and Sawyer doing it, made her heart pound. Fictional or real, sex with him made her knees weak.

  “Why is your palm so sweaty?” he asked, taking her hand in his as they walked into Chelsea Piers.

  Of course that’s the thing he notices. Not the laid back yet put together outfit that took her almost an hour to achieve.

  Nope. That was overlooked.

  How could she say she was nervous about what she might have to talk about while hanging out? That sounded ridiculous. She sighed. “I’m nervous about meeting your friends.”

  She tried to take her hand back so she could wipe her palm on her pants leg, but Sawyer held strong.

  “You have nothing to worry about. It’s just a few guys running around a field after a ball. Actually, I think you’ll like hanging out with the other women. They’re all pretty nice. At least they seem nice. I haven’t hung out with them that much, s
ince I never have anyone on the sidelines watching me.”

  “What, you’ve never socialized with other girlfriends? I knew you were a lifelong bachelor, but that seems a little extreme, even for you.”

  “I’ve hung out with them after practice or a game, sure, but I’ve never had a girlfriend sit on the sidelines watching. I don’t do the girlfriend thing. No need to be snippy.”

  “I wasn’t being snippy. I was teasing.” Olivia was halfway through a satisfying eye roll when she stopped herself. “How many more of these ‘I’m annoyed with you’ couple’s spats are we going to have? If this were a real relationship, I’d say we’re mildly toxic together.”

  He stopped and faced her. “Listen, I’m probably more uncomfortable than you are. This is huge for me. Gigantic. I don’t bring girls here because I don’t usually care enough about any of them to bother.”

  “Wow. I would probably feel special after that little admission if I didn’t know the real reason I’m here. No worries. If anyone asks why you’re off your game today, I’ll tell them it’s because I kept you up too late last night, fooling around.” She tried to laugh it off, but sounded as fake as their relationship.

  He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again without speaking, then led her into the building and directly to the soccer field. A group of guys were already huddled together, while a cluster of girls sat off to the side, drinking iced coffees.

  The women eyed Olivia as she walked up with Sawyer. “Hi, ladies. This is Olivia, my girlfriend.”

  She didn’t miss the obvious expressions of disbelief. He hadn’t been kidding about never bringing a girl around before. The knowledge that she was the first sent a little flash of pride through her.

  “Hi,” she said with a tiny wave.

  “Get your ass out here!” Aidan called from the field.

  “Olivia, this is Nina, Stacy, Kennedy, and April. I gotta go. Be nice to my girl.” He pointed at the women as if he were scolding them, and then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before jogging out to join the guys.

  She wasn’t sure what shocked her more, the quick kiss or that he’d called her “his girl” with a genuinely possessive tone. Feeling a little stunned, she smiled and sat down with the women.

  “Girlfriend?” Stacy tilted her head inquisitively.

  “Yep. That’s me.” She tried to channel her inner cool girl, who wouldn’t be fazed by meeting new people. Apparently, that girl slept in this morning. “Which guy out there is yours?”

  “Chad and I are newlyweds. Nina is with Jason. April just started dating Kevin. And Kennedy is with TJ, this week at least.”

  “I have trouble picking one,” Kennedy said, with a wicked smile playing on her lips. “They’re all so hot when they get sweaty.”

  She didn’t know how to respond. The thought of Kennedy and Sawyer fooling around instantly set her nerves on edge.

  “Don’t worry, she hasn’t gotten to Sawyer.” Stacy laughed and patted Olivia on the shoulder.

  “Yet,” Kennedy said, eyeing the guys on the field and making little noises in her throat as if the other girls weren’t around to hear.

  “Kennedy! Be nice. You’re going to scare her off.” April shook her head. “Really, you’d think the girl was sex-starved or something, which she’s not.”

  “Glad to hear it?” Olivia said, not sure if she found their banter funny or problematic. “I guess I should start coming every week if I want to hold onto my man, huh?” She hoped her tone was teasing and playful. It felt strange to joke around with girls again. This wasn’t something she’d done much of while backpacking.

  “If you’re not coming, that could definitely be a problem for you, and doesn’t say much about Sawyer’s skills either.”

  “Kennedy!” both Nina and April shrieked.

  Olivia’s cheeks burned and she giggled uncomfortably. This was exactly what she was afraid of. Bedroom talk. But she’d never guessed it would be the women who initiated the conversation.

  As if he knew she was talking about him, Sawyer caught her eye and smiled, his arm flexing as he waved. He filled out his soccer shirt well. Really well.

  “We have to tease a little since Sawyer’s never had a girlfriend here before,” Stacy said.

  “Ever,” Kennedy added.

  April nodded enthusiastically. “It’s a little weird, to be honest.”

  Either she would fit in right away, or not at all, and if she had to sit there with these girls on a regular basis, then she may as well do everything she could to be accepted by them, starting with breaking the ice about the whole girlfriend thing. The sooner they all got over that issue, the better. “I guess I took his relationship virginity, huh? He’s doing pretty well, for a first-timer.”

  The girls sat stunned for a millisecond then burst out laughing so loudly the guys on the field turned to stare.

  As conversation continued on to other, non-Sawyer-related topics, Olivia relaxed. She seemed to fit in with the dynamic of the group easily, chiming in with stories about her travel. Before she knew it, she felt as if she’d been friends with these girls for months, not minutes.

  Maybe she shouldn’t have been so nervous. If she had to do this more often, maybe it wouldn’t be such a terrible thing after all. First his family had accepted her, and now his friends. Fitting into Sawyer’s life was easier than she’d expected. But was that good or bad, when she knew that these real friendships she formed would all be gone when her fake relationship expired?

  ...

  Sawyer kicked at the ball as it rolled past him, but he underestimated its speed and missed, gloriously. He almost lost his balance as his leg flung out spastically. “Damn it.” He’d been playing like shit all practice long.

  Normally he was solid on the field. No matter what else was going on in life or at work, when he ran out to play, he was focused and determined to win. But it wasn’t every day he had Olivia on the sidelines watching him either. Today he was sloppy and distracted.

  It started when he’d seen and heard the girls laughing. He’d glanced over to see if Olivia was laughing with them or if they were laughing at her. Thankfully, even from across the field, he’d been able to see the smile on her lips. But then, instead of going back to focusing on drills, he started thinking about how great it was to see her getting along with the other women. She’d been clearly nervous that morning, but he knew she’d be fine and fit in with everyone.

  “Let’s take five before we do our scrimmage,” Jason said, as he turned to trot off the field. As team captain, it was up to him to call the breaks. Sawyer was happy not to have the extra responsibility. He had enough stuff to think about without adding soccer to the list. On the field, he got to relax and enjoy the sport for the fun of it.

  When he jogged over to the bench on the sidelines, Olivia handed him a fresh cold bottle of water and a granola bar, scooting over on the bench to make room for him beside her. It was nice having her there, doing girlfriend-type things. He’d seen it many times before, but had never been on the receiving end. He’d have to be careful not to get too used to this.

  He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and looked around at his buddies. They were all touching their girlfriends in some way. A hand on a knee, an arm around shoulders. A sudden wave of stupidity washed over him. Why was it so unnatural for him to treat her like a girlfriend should be treated? Because he sucked at being a boyfriend.

  Shaking off the feelings of inadequacy, he leaned back and rubbed his hand up and down Olivia’s spine. As soon as he made contact with her body, calmness passed through him. His heart rate slowed and a smile came to his lips.

  She turned and grinned at him. “You’re amazing out there.”

  “What about me?” Aidan asked, nudging his sister in the side.

  “You’re fine, too,” she said, moving closer to Sawyer and a little farther from her brother’s reach. He’d have to remember to thank Aidan later for that.

  “Thanks,” he said, e
njoying her vote of confidence in his soccer skills. “I wish you could’ve seen me last week. I pretty much stink this week, comparatively.”

  “Yeah. What’s up with you today?” Aidan asked. “You couldn’t hit the ball if it was attached to your foot.”

  “I haven’t seen you play this bad since…” Chad paused, tapping his fingers on his chin. “Since ever.”

  “I don’t know. I’m tired I guess,” he said. There was no other reason he could give them. He certainly couldn’t tell them he was distracted because he kept thinking about his fake girlfriend.

  “Here I thought you’d be eager to show off for your girl,” Jason said.

  “Guess you’re not good at performing under pressure.” Chad laughed. “Your poor girlfriend.”

  The guys laughed, except for Aidan and Sawyer. It wasn’t cool to bring up his sex life with Olivia, even if it was only fictional. “Watch it. I won’t have you talking bad about me around my girl.”

  The guys cheered and nudged each other.

  “Defensive Sawyer. This is new,” Kevin said.

  “And don’t forget she’s my sister,” added Aidan.

  Chad held up his hands defensively. “No offense intended, Olivia. I’m sure you’re worth performing for.”

  The guys fell silent and Sawyer held his breath, praying she wouldn’t be offended by the teasing. The guys were jokers, but their hearts were usually in the right place. Their minds, however, were often in the gutter.

  “Oh, I am,” she said with a wink over her shoulder at Sawyer. “And he hasn’t had any trouble performing. Even his encore is top notch.”

  The guys all hollered again and slapped Sawyer on the shoulder as they headed back out to the field. He beamed with Olivia’s praise, even if it wasn’t based on firsthand knowledge. The fact that she could think fast on her feet, and wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself, or him, was a super sexy quality.

  The girls he’d dated in the past had always been a little light in the smarts department and now he wondered why he’d ever bothered with girls like that when strong, confident women like Olivia were so much more engaging. Every time he thought he’d seen all sides of her personality, she surprised him with something new and interesting. Somehow he knew he could be with her every day for ten years and always learn something new about her.