Jill chucked a piece of popcorn at Kate. “I did not get it on. We made out, that’s it.” Like she was going to tell her friends they’d dry humped in the hallway, right in front of a portrait of Grammy. Not one of her finer moments.
“First base. Dude, when you said you were starting from scratch, I didn’t think you were that serious.” Mia snickered.
Kate waved off their friend’s statement with a dismissive hand and said, “So you agreed, right?”
“Yeah, what else was I supposed to do, let him get buck-ass naked in my mama’s foyer?”
“I’d pay good money to see the look on her face if she caught him.”
“Me, too.” In fact, if her daughter hadn’t been there, she might have taken it a bit further. Maybe agreed to Aaron’s offer to take her to his truck. Just being around him made it feel so urgent.
“I still can’t believe he sat down and endured an entire dinner with Deborah Michaels.”
Jake had never once had dinner with her family. Wasn’t interested in getting to know them—made apparent by his disappearing act when Emily was born.
Mia tapped the table, taking Jill out of the train of thought heading straight for the Jake Hate Society. “Oh no, are you thinking about him again?”
“Who?” She took a sip of her drink, washing away thoughts of her ex. He had done one thing right—given her their daughter, but that was the extent of his good deeds.
“Jake.” Mia tapped Jill between the brows. “You get a couple lines right here, and your eye does this twitchy thing.”
Jill absentmindedly smoothed the skin between her eyes. “Does not.”
“It so does,” Kate agreed.
“You guys suck.”
“Because you’re in such a state of duress, I won’t even bring up how well you set yourself up for that sucking comment.” Kate took a sip of her margarita. “Don’t give Jake another thought. Not every guy is going to leave like he did.”
But Aaron was leaving. He’d said so. What was the use of going on another date if all it did was switch her hormones to horny teenager mode?
“Give the guy a chance. He’s obviously crazy about you.”
“Fine. What could one date really hurt?” Right?
“Honey, it’s not good unless it hurts a little.” She lifted a suggestive brow.
“You guys are sick.” But maybe her friends were right. What was wrong with one more night? She started to go down that old road where she put Aaron in the safe category, but she realized that maybe she’d been wrong about that, too. Because the feelings churning inside her were anything but safe.
Chapter Six
“What are you doing tonight?” Aaron asked. He felt so damn stupid. He’d made himself that fucking promise years ago—Never get involved, Aaron. Stay away from anything other than a one-night stand. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to settle down. Eventually. But he didn’t even know where he was going to be next week, let alone long-term. And yet, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. The way her hair fell over her shoulders in soft waves. How her smile made his chest squeeze. Hell, she walked into the damn room and he could barely breathe. And when he heard about that will? The thought of her hooking up with some random guy to get money didn’t sit well with him. Not that he could do anything about it. There was one thing that he could control, though. And it started with picking up the phone and holding her to her agreement to another date.
Yep. He was fucking stupid.
“I didn’t have much planned,” said Jill. “Just taking Emily to dance at four, and then I’m free the rest of the night.”
He took a deep breath. He’d long since shed the gawky teenager persona. “Can you get a sitter tonight?”
A long paused lapsed on her end. “Why?”
“I’m taking you out to dinner.” It wasn’t a question. He wasn’t giving her an easy out. He needed to prove that he wasn’t like the rest of them, that she could trust him, even if only for one more night. He didn’t give himself time to think about why it was so important to him.
Just the way she responded to him, he could tell she hadn’t been doted on in a very long time. He may only have one more night with her, but he’d treat her like the queen she was.
“Is that so? You didn’t even ask nicely,” she teased.
“I didn’t think you liked when I asked for things nicely.”
Her throat cleared on the other end of the line, and Aaron smiled, pleased to know he could elicit a reaction over the phone.
“I’ll put a few calls out and see if I can find someone to babysit.”
Aaron frowned, thinking about how much work it was for her just to go out to dinner. So much responsibility on her shoulders. The conversation about that stupid will kept playing over in his head. If she was that strapped for cash, he’d gladly lend her money, although Jill would be too proud to take it. Maybe he’d bring it up tonight at dinner, because it never hurt to offer.
…
Aaron fixed the top button on his dress shirt for the fifteenth time and stretched his neck, staring at the doorbell. As his sergeant had always hammered into him, talk was cheap. Let your actions speak for themselves. He’d forgone his typical T-shirt and jeans and went with a button-up and khakis. He’d tried to put Jill’s problem in the back recesses of his mind, but he’d just gotten more pissed the more he thought about the situation.
He jammed his finger onto the doorbell and shoved his hands in his pockets while he waited for her to open the door. Aaron’s breath lodged in his throat as the door swung open, revealing Jill in a pencil skirt and a red top that dipped into her cleavage, the swells of her breasts on full display.
He was staring. But dammit, he’d never seen anyone so beautiful. Say something, asshole.
“You look amazing,” he said, his heart pounding in his chest.
“Not too bad yourself. A button-up just for me? I’m impressed.”
“I can clean up when the occasion calls for it.” This was what he’d been missing with other women. The comfort. The back and forth that he could keep going.
“I’m ready if you are.” She held out her hand.
He took it in his own, her palm so small and delicate beneath his.
She looked up at him with those big, brown eyes, and he swallowed hard. You’re getting in over your head, asshole. “Do I get any hints on where you’re taking me tonight?”
“It’s a surprise.” In fact, he’d never let anyone know how long he’d debated over where to take her.
“This isn’t where you take me to a dark alley and steal my worldly possessions, is it?”
“If I wanted to do that, I’d just walk into your house right now. No need to waste my gas.”
She swatted his chest. “Ass.”
He smiled. Her easy banter had always made him smile.
After helping her into the truck, he got in on his side and started down the freeway. Any other guy might take her out to a fancy Italian restaurant, but they’d be making a cardinal mistake—she hated Italian. Or at least, she did when she was in high school. He reckoned her taste buds hadn’t changed that much since then.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that had been a favorite of theirs when they were teens. In fact, he hadn’t been there since graduation night. The next morning, he shipped off to basic training and hadn’t looked back.
He glanced over at Jill, decked out and way too fancy for a dive bar, and wondered if he’d made the wrong choice in taking her here.
His doubts faded when she eyed the sign and a smile spread across her face. “Iguana Mia! I haven’t been to this place in years.” It still held the same sun-faded sign. The neon lettering below was still missing the “M” in the name. The food more than made up for the building’s tacky facade.
“Figured it’d be nice to singe off at least a few of my taste buds while I’m in town.” He breathed in the maize, spices, and savory meats that were cooking in the kitchen toward the ba
ck of the building.
Iguana Mia didn’t have a hostess, so Jill and Aaron chose a booth in the corner.
As he sat there across from her, it finally sunk in. Shit, he was on a date. An actual date with Jill. He clutched his menu harder. Hell, he’d decided what he was going to order before he even entered the restaurant, but needed something to do with his hands. His heart rate ticked up several notches, and Aaron gritted his teeth, cursing that he’d knotted his tie too tightly. Calm the hell down. It was dinner, not security detail. This should be a piece of cake.
A server brought chips and salsa and two glasses of water, and left them to figure out their order.
Jill took a sip of her ice water, and that furrow between her brows returned. What was going on in that head of hers? He hadn’t been at this level of alertness since his tours overseas. Which was ridiculous—he wasn’t going to war. He was on a date. They’d grown up together. This shouldn’t be awkward. “I’m glad we’re doing this,” she said.
“Me, too. Last time ended a little abruptly.”
“Which time? Where you valiantly saved me from car troubles, or when you terrorized me in my Mama’s house?”
He folded the menu and flattened it on the table. “I’d hardly say I terrorized you.” If so, that wasn’t his intention. Her breathy moans and the slickness between her thighs told a different story. His dick turned to granite at the thought. He cleared his throat and chose a safer topic. “How’s your car?”
“It’s been running great the past week.” She mashed her lips together and looked up at him through thick lashes. “Thank you, by the way.”
“Because it’s not on death’s door anymore,” he mused. “It was really no trouble.”
She worried her bottom lip. His thumb itched to reach across the table and release it from her teeth. To take her mouth in his own. To press every inch of him against her soft curves.
“You’re always there for me—you know that?” she said. “These past few months have just been a head-fuck. With Grammy getting sick, Emily’s new school, and starting a second job, it’s been a whirlwind. So, thank you for taking my mind off that for a few minutes.”
“If it’s cash you need, I’m more than happy to lend you some.”
Both brows shot up her forehead, like she couldn’t believe someone would offer that up to her. “I can’t take your money.” Her voice hitched on the last word.
He saw it in her eyes. How damn tired she was. The look of someone defeated. He’d seen that look on soldiers halfway through tours and after video chats with their families. And even if he’d known that answer was coming, he still couldn’t shake the feeling he needed to help her. This woman deserved a fucking break in life.
“C’mon, Jill. No strings attached, I can loan you whatever you need.”
“I can’t. I just wish there was some way to get around this whole will thing.”
It was pride holding her back from taking him up on his offer. He just couldn’t sit back and watch her work herself to the bone, and the thought of her hooking up with another man to get her grandmother’s money grated against him like steel on steel. He’d rather put his hand in a blender than see her do this to herself. He couldn’t let that happen. There had to be a solution.
And then it hit him.
“Marry me.” What the hell just came out of his mouth?
Her eyes bugged. “What?”
Shit. Abort mission. “I—” He couldn’t take it back now. He’d said it aloud. And even if it was only a half-formed idea, it was an actual solution. A stupid one, but one nonetheless. “Grammy dealt you a shit hand with the will…” He trailed off. This was insane. Certifiably fucking insane. It overstepped on so many levels, and yet, the words were coming out of his mouth. “Let’s just do it. You’ll get the money fair and square, no loans.”
She stopped chewing her chip and gaped at him. “You—want to marry me?”
“It’d be a means to an end. It’s a shitty situation, but why not capitalize on it if you can?” He slid his hand down the droplets of water on his glass. This was not how he saw getting married, or asking someone to marry him. Then again, he hadn’t exactly been planning on asking her.
She finished chewing her chip, took a sip of water, and a long moment passed where she stared him down. “That is the shittiest proposal I’ve ever gotten.” Aaron realized how very stupid it was to offer. Jill wasn’t one to take favors. He was surprised she let him fix her car. She cleared her throat and said, “And that’s saying a lot, because Lenny had Frito breath when he asked me in high school.”
“Lenny didn’t know his dick from his asshole. I’m surprised he could stop looking at himself in the mirror long enough to ask you properly.” Jill had horrible taste in men. Besides Mia and Kate, Aaron had been her shoulder to cry on. He could fill a damn swimming pool with the number of tears she’d spilled over boys.
“He might have had a pocket mirror behind me, who knows.” Her lips twitched. “All joking aside—are you serious?”
He saw the questions swirling in her eyes. Why are you doing this, Aaron? What’s in this for you?
She’d been burned by enough men in her lifetime; it wasn’t surprising she didn’t trust many people. Weren’t they a damn pair.
“I’m serious. I’ll be there for you, no matter what, you know that—no strings attached.” It killed him to say those three words, but he wanted her to say yes. Needed her to. This woman needed a break in life, and dammit, he’d be the one to give it to her.
She waved a chip around. “Then you’re going to have to do better than that. Even a fake, impromptu proposal should have some grandiose element to it.”
He chuckled and got down on his knee. “Fine. You’re right. Where are my manners?” He grabbed his straw wrapper, made a loop, and twisted it into a makeshift ring, tucking in the ends. He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. “Jillian Jane Michaels, will you take me to be your fake husband for an undetermined amount of time? It’d be my honor to cheat the system with you.” He slipped the wrapper onto her ring finger.
Before she even had time to answer, Mariachi music blared through the sound system set up in the corners of the small restaurant and the employees came out clapping, donning sombreros. Everyone in the restaurant clapped, and Aaron realized what a bad idea it was to do this in public. Of course, people loved proposals.
“Oh, a happy couple, congratulations! Let me see the ring!” one of the servers said.
Jill turned a deep shade of red as she displayed her left hand and the wrapper.
The server turned her gaze to Aaron, and he didn’t need to be a mind-reader to know what she was thinking behind the daggers in her eyes.
“Spur of the moment decision,” Aaron added as the server gave him a speculative look. Yeah, lady. If the time comes when I’m actually ready to settle down, there’ll be a big rock on my woman’s hand. This wasn’t that time.
After the music stopped and everyone went back to eating, and they’d finished their own meals, the server brought an empanada for the two of them to share.
Jill took a bite with her fork and groaned. “We should get engaged more often. Maybe we can do it at Chipotle? You think they’d throw in free guac?”
“You’re taking this working the system mentality to a whole new level.”
She took another bite of the dessert and smiled. “Why think small, my friend?”
“You’re right. Next time I’ll think on a larger scale. We’ll con the entire food industry.” He set down his fork and swiped at his face with his napkin, just to give himself something to do. “You never gave me an answer. Are you agreeing to this?” The thought of having a wife scared the shit out of him, even if this thing was a sham.
She scooped up a dollop of whipped cream, and Aaron unapologetically stared as she licked it off the tines of her fork, thinking about what she’d done with her tongue while his cock had been in her mouth. His dick twitched in response. Maybe this whole thing didn’t
need to be terrifying. There had to be some perks.
“It depends,” she said, sucking off the remnants from the tines. Dammit, did she know what she was doing? He’d take her here on the table if he thought he could get away with it.
“On?” he managed to say.
“What do you get out of the deal?”
He shook his head. “I don’t need anything.” He ignored the bruise to his ego that she didn’t even trust him. Even if he did just spring this on her, it wasn’t like he was in this to fuck and then run at the first opportunity.
She raised a brow. “Bullshit. Everyone has ulterior motives. Even a saint like you has to have some reason for getting roped into such a crazy scheme.”
He laid his palms flat on the table. “Nothing.”
She raised a brow. “Absolutely nothing?”
“Well, I mean, if you throw in a few shortbread cookies, I wouldn’t object.”
She drummed her nails on the mottled surface of the table, taking a moment to process. Jill never did things the easy way, especially negotiating anything. It took them at least forty minutes of back and forth to decide on where to eat when they were kids. “Not buying it. You’re a good man, Aaron. But even good men want things in return.”
The hesitation in her eyes was a sucker punch to the chest. Her resignation to bad men coming in and out of her life made Aaron want to beat down every last person who did her wrong. Even if this whole situation was jacked, he didn’t want to be lumped into the same category as the other guys.
“Jill, I don’t know what I can say to make you think otherwise, but I’m here for you. I mean, I’m all for the perks if you are.” He lifted a suggestive brow. “But only if you want it.”
The way her face flushed, pink blooming from her cheeks down to her neck, she liked the idea of that. She mashed her lips together and played with the straw wrapper still on her ring finger. “I suppose there could be some benefits. But I have some parameters of my own.”
“Name ’em and they’re yours.”
“I’d like to keep Emily out of this as much as possible. She hasn’t had a father figure around, and no offense, but I don’t want her getting attached.” A fire blazed in her eyes, and he knew without a doubt she’d burn the world down if someone fucked with her kid.
Falling for the Fake Fiance (Snowpocalypse) Page 8
