by Helen Cooper
Four Week Fiancé
Helen Cooper and J. S. Cooper
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This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2015 by Helen Cooper and J. S. Cooper
Cover Design by Louisa Maggio of LM Book Creations
Editing by Lorelei Lodgson
What would you do if the hottest man on earth made you an offer you couldn’t refuse?
What if it was the offer of a lifetime? The sort of offer that would make you blush as he offered you whatever you wanted to make you accept. What if the offers were so spicy, so naughty, so scandalous that you wouldn’t even want to tell your best friend?
If you were me, you would say yes.
There are three things you should know.
His name is TJ Walker. He’s 28, hot as can be and he’s my brother’s best friend.
TJ asked me to be his fiancé for four weeks.
I’m hoping to make the engagement real.
I know. I can’t believe it either. What am I thinking? There are so many things that could go wrong by accepting to be TJ’s four week fiancé? But, I can’t stop thinking that there are also so many things that could go right.
Acknowledgments
They say that no man is an island. And I say that no writer does it all by themselves. Four Week Fiance has been in the works for years. It was originally intended to be a four book novella serial and now it is a full-length two-book series.
I want to thank all the readers that messaged me for Mila and TJ’s book throughout the years. If it wasn’t for your encouragement and want of this book, I’m not sure it would have happened.
I would like to whole-heartedly thank my beta readers: Tanya Skaggs, Katrina Jaekley, Kathy Shreve, Stacy Hahn, Barbara Goodwin, Emily Kirkpatrick, Cathy Reale, Cilicia White, Chanteal Justice, Kanae Eddings, and Tianna Croy, for all of your help. Your feedback and support has meant everything to me and has helped me to write a better book. I consider you all readers and friends.
To the members of the J. S. Cooper and Helen Cooper Street Teams, thank you so much for everything you do to support me emotionally, mentally and physically as a writer. It makes me feel amazing to know I have so many awesome women in my corner.
To my cover designer, Louisa Maggio, thank you for all you do and for being a friend.
To the readers, thank you for reading my books. Thank you for loving my characters and for emailing me and telling me so. It’s hard to be a writer and waiting for feedback, but it is the reason why I love going to work so much.
To all the bloggers that have showed me support and helped to promote my books, thank you for what you do for me and other authors. You read because you love to, but you spread the word because you want to help and you’re excited about books. Keep being excited and keep spreading the joy that you feel. I know all of us authors appreciate you.
And last, but not least, thanks be to God for all of my blessings.
Jaimie
XOXO
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Note to Mila
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
A Note to Mila
The sun sets late in the corners of my mind.
I think of you when I go to the lake.
I think of you when I close my eyes.
I think of the girl who changed my world.
I think of the heartbreak that changed your world.
And I’d make one wish to take all your pain away.
TJ Walker
Prologue
TJ
Present Day
“I can’t make your decision for you, Mila.” My voice was deep, some might say husky, as I looked down into her wide eyes. She was gazing at me with a question in her big brown eyes and her lips were slightly parted. “What’s your answer?”
“Why are you doing this?” she asked me softly as she stepped towards me, licking her lips nervously. Her long blond hair hung around her shoulders and small runaway wisps blew into her eyes. I leaned over and moved them gently behind her ear. She blushed at my touch and I made sure to let my fingers linger on her cheek for a few seconds. I could feel the heat emanating off of her skin onto my fingertips.
“I want you to experience the happiness, the joy, the goodness that you deserve.” My voice sounded too serious and I wasn’t altogether sure why I’d chosen those exact words. I wasn’t really sure why I was here myself, with her, about to do something I knew I shouldn’t do.
“I wish I could control what happens next,” she said, her voice breathless. I gazed down into her eyes and my heart stopped as I saw the emotion there. She was letting me in, baring her soul to me in a naked, vulnerable way. Her eyes reminded me of a young, innocent doe I’d seen in the woods one year when I’d gone deer hunting with a friend’s family. I’d felt guilty then and I felt guilty now as well.
“There’s not much that is going to happen next.” I sounded harsher than I’d intended. I didn’t know how to tell her that I was mad at myself, not at her. She wouldn’t understand my inner turmoil. “We’re going to kiss and then you’re going to dump that loser of a boyfriend.” I put my hands on her waist and stilled them from going higher.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she squeaked out as she closed her eyes and lifted her lips up to me, waiting. Her shoulders were thrust back indignantly and I stared down at the curve of her breasts and down to her long legs. She’d grown into a beautiful young woman. A very beautiful young woman that I knew I shouldn’t let myself indulge in.
“You’re damn right he’s not,” I growled before bending down and lightly pressing my lips against hers. They were so soft and sweet, and she kissed me back eagerly as her fingers fumbled with my shirt. I grabbed her hands and clasped them in mine as I deepened the kiss, allowing my tongue to enter her mouth and taste the delicate hint of freshly picked strawberries that she’d just eaten. She moaned slightly as I sucked on her tongue and my hands let go of hers and moved up her waist, making their way up to her bra. All thoughts of Cody warning me to stay away from his sister were far from my mind.
“Oh, TJ,” she said as she grabbed my hand and moved it up and pressed it against her breast. “Oh, yes.”
“Oh, no.” I stopped and pulled back. Her eyes blinked open and she looked at me with a slightly bewildered and lost expression. She looked hot and flustered and I loved it, though I kept my grin to myself.
“What are you doing?” She pouted. “Why did you stop?”
“You didn’t think it would be this easy, did you?” I said with a smirk, feeling hot and bothered myself. “Nothing happens until I get your decision.”
“But, I just can’t pretend to be your fiancée, TJ. That’s not right.” She licked her lips nervously.
“You can’t?” I said softly, allowing my fingers to trace the cur
ve of her lips. “Or you won’t?”
“I read the contract,” she said and swallowed. “What you’re asking—it’s too much.”
“For you or for me?” I asked, my eyes never leaving hers. “What’s four weeks, Mila?” I said as I pushed the tip of my finger into her mouth and watched as she sucked it gently. She just stared at me, thinking, and I could see her mind racing. She had no idea what to say or do. I’d beaten her at her own game and she knew it. Now I was ready to take my prize. And I was going to take it whether she became my fake fiancée or not.
Chapter One
Mila
September 19th, 2008
Dear Diary,
I’m in love. I want to marry TJ Walker. He’s Cody’s best friend. He has dark brown hair and big green eyes and he’s the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in my life. He stayed over last night and I saw him coming out of the bathroom in only his boxer shorts. I had thoughts I shouldn’t have at 15, but I don’t care. He gave me a lazy, sexy smile and ruffled my hair like I was some kid. How annoying. He only sees me as a goofy teenager. He doesn’t know that I’m ready to date a college man. Even one that’s stupid enough to be friends with Cody, but I’ll forgive him for that. One day, hopefully soon, I’m going to make him fall in love with me. And when that day comes, I’m going to show him this diary. Perhaps. Until that point, I’ll continue to flirt with Harry Jonas, my lab partner. He’s kinda cute too. Just not as hot as TJ. Even TJ’s name is hot. And Mila Walker sounds a lot better than Mila Jonas. Oh, how I hope to be Mila Walker one day. A girl can only dream.
Mila
XOXO
P.S. Mom, if you’re reading this, you are dead to me!!!!!
Thursday, Two Weeks Ago
His name is TJ Walker. He’s 28, hot as can be and he’s my brother’s best friend. Which means he is off-limits to me. Some may say 28 is too old for my 22 years, but I beg to differ. Guys my age are just way too immature. I need a man, not a boy. And the man I want is TJ Walker. Only, I can never have him.
Not that he wants me. To him, I’m just Cody’s little sister. I’m a girl in his eyes. Not a woman. And while I was in high school, I accepted that maybe I was too young for him. But now that I’m out of college and older, I’m willing to do anything to change his mind. At least, I think I am. I mean, it’s easy to say you’re willing to do anything when there is nothing on the table. But who knows what I would do if presented with some real situations?
I’m not exactly a femme fatale. Or at least I haven’t been up to now. It doesn’t help that TJ and I constantly spar every time we see each other, or that I want to slap him as much as I want to make love to him. Yes, I want to make love to him. If you saw him, you would know why. He’s one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s tall and stocky just like I like them, about 6'2" and 200 pounds of lean muscle. He’s got short, silky dark-brown hair and dazzling emerald eyes. He must work out quite a bit because his legs are muscular and his arms are strong, and would be capable of holding me in obnoxious positions for long amounts of time, if you know what I mean.
Yes, I have dirty thoughts, but I’ve never really been able to act on them. Well, not yet. The only man I want to do all the dirty things I have in my mind to is TJ. I want him to make love to me until I can’t even remember my own name. Or his. Though, let’s be real, it would be very hard to forget TJ Walker’s name, especially when you’ve been crushing on him for as long as I’ve been. Don’t get me wrong, though, I’m not just waiting around for him to realize he loves me; not anymore, at least. I have a plan that I’m hoping to put into action.
If you haven’t figured it out as yet, I’m a realist and a pragmatist, while also being a dreamer. Don’t ask how that works. I don’t really know. My best friend, Sally, says that I’m an enigma. I tend to agree with her. I don’t even understand myself sometimes.
But enough about me, let’s get back to TJ. Like I said before, he’s hot. Like really, really hot. Tall-dark-and-handsome hot. Or, as Sally would say, take-off-your-pants-and-fuck-me-tonight hot. Of course, I wouldn’t say that—well, not out loud I wouldn’t. Though, I’ve had many dreams where I’ve said that and more to TJ. “Take me now, TJ,” being the phrase most often uttered in my dreams. And he always rises to the occasion. If you know what I mean. And it’s not just about his looks, or the fact that he’s rich. I’m not one of those types of girls. I like TJ because he’s a good guy. He helps feed homeless people at Thanksgiving and he’s a Big Brother to this kid who is pretty bratty. And I know he’s not a psychopath, or at least I hope he’s not. I’ve known him since I was a baby, so I would hope I would have seen the signs.
You may be wondering, if I like TJ so much, why don’t I just go after him? Well, for one, he’s my brother Cody’s best friend and has been for 20 years. So he’s known me since I was a little kid with snot in my nose, and I guess that makes him think of me as his little sister. But I sure don’t think of him as an older brother. And I’m determined for him to notice me as more than a little girl.
There’s just one problem, though. There are parts of him that I don’t really like. I mean, I think he’s hot and sexy, and I have dreams about him, but in real life, sometimes he’s an arrogant asshole who thinks he’s God’s gift to women, thanks to the many hot women who throw themselves at him daily.
So, yeah. I have a bit of a moral dilemma on my hands. Should I go for it, knowing he’s an asshole, or should I leave it alone, because he’s an asshole? And to make it perfectly clear, TJ doesn’t care who knows that he’s a player. That’s one of the reasons why Cody told him that if he ever laid a hand on me, he’d find his two front teeth knocked out on the floor. That didn’t exactly help my cause when I was younger and openly flirting with TJ.
So now I’m at a crossroads and I’m not really sure what to do. Why is it so important for me to decide now, you ask? Well, he’s going to be spending the weekend with me and Cody and the parents at our lake house. It’s a tradition in my family to go to the lake house every fall, right before winter hits. And TJ always comes because, as I said before, he’s practically a part of the family.
I know, I know—I shouldn’t be fantasizing about my brother’s best friend like this. I grew up with him, he’s an asshole who teased me mercilessly, and I know he’s a player, but all I can say is he’s hot and I can’t help that my body catches fire when I see him. He’s all that I can think of every night before I fall asleep, and so I’ve decided to see if I can take our relationship to the next level. I mean, we did share a special kiss when I was 18. It was hot. But it freaked him out. He was 24, and to him, kissing me was akin to being a pedo. However, I’m no longer 18 and I want him to know that in every way possible. That’s why I’m planning on trying to seduce him this weekend. It will be hard with so many people around, but I’ve come up with a plan.
“That’s our bestseller.” The sales lady beamed at me as I fingered the sexy underwear. “It’s called the Lacy Suspender set. It’s guaranteed to get your man all hot and bothered.”
“I can see that.” I grinned back at her as I played with the soft, flimsy material. “It’s very hot and sexy.” And it really was. The only worry in my mind was what my parents would think if they saw me cavorting around in this get-up. It was a bit risky to attempt to wear sexy underwear on a family trip, but what option did I have? It wasn’t as if TJ and I hung out on the regular. I didn’t really see him unless there was a family event he was invited to, and Cody didn’t invite me to hang out with him much outside of that.
“Yes, it is.” She winked. “But then again, all of our stuff at Agent Provocateur is sexy.”
“That’s true.” I nodded as I looked back down at the barely-there bra and panties with matching suspenders. “How much?”
“Only one hundred and ninety, miss.” She continued smiling at me as my stomach dropped. $190? For almost non-existent underwear? I bit my lower lip as I stood there. That would almost deplete my bank account and I knew I couldn’t use
my parents’ credit card. Not here at a lingerie store. Especially because I was only supposed to use it for emergencies, now that I was an adult and out of college. I knew that they wouldn’t think that seducing TJ was an emergency. “Will that be cash or credit?” The sales lady’s voice was sharp, and I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was worried she’d just wasted the last twenty minutes with a customer who might not be able to pay.
“I’ll use my debit card,” I said and grabbed my wallet from my bag, my heart beating rapidly. Bye bye, $200, but hello to TJ in my bed.
***
“Sally, my parents are going to kill me. Nonno is going to kill me. This might be the last time you talk to me. I think they’re going to send me back to Italy.”
“First off, why would this be the last time I talk to you? They do have phones in Italy. And secondly, how can they send you back to Italy? You’re not from there. And lastly, your nonno is not going to kill you. You’re his favorite granddaughter.”
“Yeah, I’m his favorite, but when he figures out what I did, he’s going to have a heart attack,” I muttered as I stared at myself in the mirror. “He’s going to wish he was back in Napoli.”
“He never lived in Napoli,” Sally said matter-of-factly and I groaned loudly.
“You know what I mean. They are going to be upset.”
“What exactly did you do?” Sally said impatiently. I could imagine her rolling her blue eyes as she waited to hear about the latest situation I’d gotten myself into.
“I went and bought some sexy underwear, and now I’m kinda broke,” I said softly, dreading telling my story.
“Sexy underwear?” Sally’s voice was dry. “Not for this weekend with your parents at the lake house?”
“You know who will be there. I need to make my move before it’s too late.”
“Mila.” Sally laughed. “I don’t know if this is a good weekend for you to try your Basic Instinct moves.”
“I wish I had Basic Instinct moves.” I groaned and wondered if I had time to watch the movie before I got my stuff ready for the trip.
