by Lexi Cross
Mr. Scott was tall and thin with salt-and-pepper hair. His straight posture and composure demanded attention and respect. He always wore the most expensive tailored suits. He may have come up from nothing, but he sure wasn’t afraid to show off the wealth he had amassed over the years. I noticed that his daughter lived very modestly by comparison. She wasn’t going to squander her wealth, not that her father was ever going to be in any danger of spending too much. The man had more money than God.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the guests of honor have entered the room and are being seated as we speak. As you all make your way to your seats, please join me in welcoming my beautiful daughter, Brooke, and our hometown football star, Jake Hall.”
The room filled with the sound of applause as we nodded and sat at the table.
“Do we have to sit facing everyone?” I asked Brooke as we sat down.
She smirked. “I wish we didn’t, but yes, for tonight we do.” She patted my hand again.
I wondered what I had gotten myself into. This arrangement just seemed to be getting bigger by the moment. All I needed was someone to pose as my girlfriend. Judging by the size of the announcement dinner, Mr. Scott wasn’t going to let us off with a small wedding. He was going to milk this for all it was worth.
I laughed and shook my head. I had been in some pretty tight positions before. I had found my share of trouble over the years, but this situation with Brooke could easily turn out to be the most complicated.
“Is everything alright?” Brooke asked.
“Yeah, I just really didn’t expect all of this. Everyone is going to know we’re getting married,” I told her.
“That’s part of the plan. One of the reasons I didn’t fight for a smaller dinner was because I figured the attention could help you with your image for the team as well,” Brooke explained.
“Yeah, I guess,” I sighed. It was going to be a long night.
As everyone took their seats, Mr. Scott’s kitchen staff began serving dinner. The steady hum of voices quieted down as the guests all turned to their food. I tried to enjoy my food, but I could only think about the coming announcement. I knew that once everyone was settled, it wouldn’t be long before we were called upon to speak.
Again, the ting of silverware on a champagne glass rang out through the dining hall. Mr. Scott stood up from his chair to make an announcement.
“Friends and family, I have gathered you all here tonight because my beautiful daughter has an announcement to make.” He looked so proud.
The room applauded as Brooke stood up in her gown with a glass of champagne in her hand.
“You’re all too kind,” she said. “I really wasn’t expecting this kind of turnout for tonight, but you know my father. He doesn’t know how to go small.”
The guests laughed. Even her father had a good chuckle.
“As my father has said, I have a special announcement to make tonight, and I have someone I wish you all to meet.” She looked down at me and nodded for me to stand next to her.
I rose to my feet with my glass in my hand. I took advantage of the situation and slid my arm around her narrow waist. I felt her press herself to my side. The show had begun, and I began to think it wasn’t going to be too much trouble after all.
“Jake Hall and I are getting married,” she announced simply, holding out the engagement ring she had bought herself.
I gave her a squeeze and turned her to face me. I leaned in for a kiss, but just as our lips were about to meet, her father interrupted us.
“We will begin planning the wedding immediately,” he announced. His voice bellowed through the dining hall. “We are going to have a huge wedding, one for the tabloids.”
I groaned and relaxed my hold on her waist. I smiled for the dinner guests and drank from my glass of champagne. I sat back down and kept my remarks to myself while Mr. Scott began planning the huge wedding he wanted.
I could see the distaste for his idea in Brooke’s face as well. She kept a courteous smile on her face, but I could see it in her eyes. Her patience with this whole thing was beginning to wear thin, but through it all she was able to keep up appearances. Our arrangement was in good hands with her.
“Yes, it will be one for the papers,” she said, flashing her beautiful smile. She cut her eyes back down to me before sitting down.
“A toast,” her dad called out, standing back up to take the floor. He wasn’t giving up.
We raised our glasses, but we didn’t stand back up. She placed a hand on my leg, just above my knee, and squeezed to let me know she was about as pleased as I was that her father was still talking.
“To my wonderful daughter and her fiancé, Jake Hall. Jake, son, I knew there was something special about you the night you showed up to take my darling Brooke to prom during your senior year. Everyone!” He threw his hands up and turned to address the guests.
“How much has he had to drink?” I asked Brooke under my breath. It would have been amusing to watch him mortify his guests of honor if we hadn’t been them.
“Stop it,” she hissed, fighting back a giggle.
“To Jake and Brooke!”
We held up our glasses and nodded gratefully. We took a sip of our drinks, and the rest of the dinner party went back to their plates of food.
“I need to talk to you,” I said quietly to Brooke, turning my head away from the other people at our table.
“Okay,” she said. She pushed her chair back and leaned forward to tell the people across from us at the table, “We’ll be right back. I just need to show him the bathroom.”
“I hope that was family,” I told her as we walked away.
“I don’t know who they are,” she said with a laugh. “My father invited them.”
“Comforting.”
She led me away from the dining hall to a small balcony overlooking the pool. Her father really spared no expense in his home. The patio and the pool were well lit. The light from the pool danced on the wall of the house as the water seemed to be in perpetual motion, even with no one in it.
“No one can listen in on us here,” Brooke said as she pulled me outside and closed the glass door to the balcony.
“But we’re outside,” I argued.
“And everyone else is inside, so it works. What’s on your mind?”
“This is just business right?” I asked. “You’re not going to let all of this big wedding talk go to your head, are you?”
“No, of course not. In fact, once this is over, I’m going to sit him back down and find out why he’s talking about hosting a huge wedding. I’m going to remind him that we decided on something small. I don’t want him to spend a lot of money on a big wedding, especially since this is just for business,” she assured me.
“Well, see to it that you change his mind,” I told her, maybe a little more forcefully than I intended. I was starting to get nervous about our arrangement, but I didn’t want to tell her I was worried about anything. I wanted to seem in control, or like I could at least take charge when things got out of hand.
“Yes, sir,” she said facetiously. She straightened her back and gave me a fake salute.
“Okay, maybe that sounded a little more commanding than it should have,” I admitted, “but I really don’t want to do anything too big. I’ve got a reputation to think about off the field, and you need to save up for a real wedding one day.”
“Hey, isn’t that reputation why you’re having to do this in the first place?” she teased.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t remind me.”
In the light coming up from the patio, she looked good enough to kiss. I caught myself wanting to pull her to me and plant my lips on hers. We hadn’t kissed once yet. It seemed to me we were missing out on a great opportunity to take advantage of our arrangement.
Then again, it was just business. If I wanted more, I knew I would probably have to go find it discreetly.
“You should probably make a quiet exit tonight,” she told me, obviously catching the
look in my eyes. “Otherwise, you might be here all night. I’ll cover for you and let my father know you weren’t feeling well. Come, I’ll see you out.”
I didn’t think leaving was a great idea, but staying didn’t seem like one either. I took the lesser of the two evils and let Brooke walk me to the door, where my car was waiting for me just outside.
I hugged her and considered kissing her again, but the moment had passed. We were back on official terms.
“I’ll let you know what he says,” she told me as she pulled away from the light, superficial hug and sent me on my way.
I was starting to feel unsure about our arrangement again, but at least Brooke and I were on the same page. I knew that had to count for something.
Chapter Five
Brooke
I needed to talk my father down. I knew there was no use in talking to him the night of the big dinner, so I waited. I needed to talk to him soon, though, because I could tell Jake was starting to get cold feet after hearing my father’s declaration that we were going to definitely have a big, flashy wedding.
I couldn’t allow him to run off my one chance at getting the company. I had to remind him that we had agreed to a small, comfortable ceremony. I also wanted him to save his money for when I really got married.
I came back to the house the next afternoon to find my father sitting at the desk in his personal office. He was reviewing paperwork spread out neatly in front of him, obviously reviewing some legal documents related to his will or to the company.
“Brooke,” he welcomed me warmly. “Please, have a seat.”
I pulled back one of the chairs in front of his desk and sat down, obeying my father.
“It’s a shame your fiancé had to leave like he did last night,” my father stated.
“Yes, but he wasn’t feeling well, and he had an early practice today,” I lied. The truth was I had sent him away just because I could tell he wasn’t comfortable hanging around much longer.
“I hope he can stick around long enough to make it to the wedding,” he added. It felt like he was taking a jab at my arrangement, hinting that he didn’t actually buy the sudden engagement and coming marriage.
“I think he was expecting something a little more intimate last night, honestly,” I finally admitted.
My father laughed smugly. “Isn’t he a big shot football star? He should be used to big events by now. He’s certainly been to plenty of them, I’m sure.”
“True, but he likes to keep his personal life private,” I argued, and I could see that my father was considering what I was telling him.
“Either that or he doesn’t want everyone to know he’s getting married. Maybe he’s keeping secrets, Brooke.” He looked right at me with a serious tone in his voice and a stern look in his eyes.
“Think about it. When have you heard anything about Jake Hall’s personal life in the news or on TV? The only thing you ever see from him is his performance on the field or what he does for the team off the field. His personal life is usually left out. Not even any scandals.” I tried to reason with the old man.
“That just means he has more to hide,” he insisted stubbornly.
“Fine. My future husband is hiding things. He’s a big-time professional athlete who probably has women waiting for him in every major city where the team plays,” I said, waving my hand dismissively at my father.
“I’m serious, Brooke. If he doesn’t want people in his business, it’s probably because he’s up to something he shouldn’t be.”
I sort of hoped Jake was up to something shady. I hoped he had girls in every city just waiting for him to come back through so they could have another night of wild passion. I hoped he had some sort of drug problem or something that would make it easier to divorce him when the time came.
I couldn’t believe what I was thinking! On paper, Jake was the perfect candidate for what I was trying to do. He was going to make the perfect fake husband, and I was going to be his perfect fake wife. Together, we were going to have a perfectly staged life that would allow us to keep everyone off of our backs.
At the same time, I was intrigued. I knew my father was probably right. There had to be a reason why someone with such potential to be a big celebrity tried to keep his personal life quiet. My interest was piqued.
“While that may be true,” I said after a moment’s contemplation, “I think you should honor our wishes. We both would like to have a small, private wedding. We just want to invite our closest friends and family, and I don’t mean invite every wealthy socialite in the city. We just want a handful of people there.”
“You want a small wedding? But it’s your wedding! This is supposed to only happen once in your lifetime. It’s supposed to be a big deal,” he argued.
“It’s supposed to be the way the bride wants it,” I told him flatly. “And I want it small.” I was afraid he was going to challenge me on it until I had no choice but to admit to him that it was just a staged marriage anyway.
“What kinds of thoughts has that fiancé of yours been putting in your head?” he asked with a hiss.
“None.” I sighed. “I’m not like you. I don’t like these grand gestures that you like to make about everything. Sometimes, it’s nice just to relax and enjoy life without having to put so much effort into everything.” While it was true that I felt that way, I did not feel that way about my wedding. I wanted a big wedding, but I wanted that for my actual wedding. I wanted something small so that there would still be money left for my real wedding, but I also wanted it big enough that there would be witnesses to our blessed union. What good was getting married for show if there wasn’t some kind of show?
“Fine, if you want a small ceremony, you can have one,” he finally said. “Just don’t expect me to fork over the money for a big one when you find the right guy and realize that marrying the football player just because he was available was a bad idea.”
“Thank you,” I said graciously as I got up from the chair in front of his desk.
“That’s all you wanted?” he asked.
“That’s all. Is there anything else you had for me?”
“No, but make sure he doesn’t run out on your engagement the way he ran out on dinner last night. You can’t get your inheritance unless you actually go through with the marriage,” he reminded me.
“Thanks. I know.” I turned and walked out of his office. Part of me had hoped that he would have at least started moving things around for me once I was engaged, but his last statement made it clear he was going to hold out until I actually had the ceremony.
While I was thinking about all the stipulations, I went home and looked over the document he had prepared for me. It did say that I had to be married prior to having ownership of the company shifted into my name. It did not, however, say how long I had to remain married. I knew Jake would love to know that, and a new plan started brewing in my mind that would please both of us.
I called Jake up.
“Brooke!” he answered, surprised to hear from me.
“Hey, I’ve got some news for you. Meet me at that café again,” I told him.
“Sure thing.”
We hung up and I hopped in the car. I wanted to give him the news in person and tell him my new plan. I wanted to see his reaction. Hell, to be honest, I just wanted to see him, to know that we were still on for the engagement and wedding. I didn’t want to imagine him running off and finding another fake girlfriend somewhere, someone who didn’t require so much of him.
Jake greeted me with a hug at the same table where we sat before.
“I’m glad we didn’t run you off last night,” I joked with him as we sat down.
“It takes a lot more than that to scare me,” he said. “What’s the news?”
“Oh, you’re going to love it, but let’s order some coffee first.” Instead of waiting for someone to come by the table, I hopped up and went to the counter to order a couple of coffees for both of us. They were prepared right there in f
ront of me, and I took them back to the table.
I had a caramel mocha latte, and I ordered just a plain latte for Jake. I preferred a little extra flavor in my coffee. He enjoyed his pretty straight up, just cream and sugar.
“So, what’s the news, Brooke? You’re killing me here,” he persisted.
“Alright. I was able to talk my father down. He said he’ll pay for us to have a small wedding.”
