Fake It_A Fake Marriage Baby Romance

by Mia Ford

  I knew that this was risky but I couldn’t help myself. Isabelle was all too eager with me and I slipped a hand into her hair and held her still, kissing her harder.

  The phone rang, making us both jump as Isabelle pulled away. I reluctantly asked her to move to I could answer it, surprised to hear my uncle’s voice on the other end. Isabelle waved and headed back to her desk with a smile, and I watched her hungrily. “Mason? Are you there?” Ken asked as I blinked.

  “Yes, I am I was just telling my assistant something before she left. Continue.” I urged him as there was a pause on the other end.

  “I heard that it didn’t work out with Brianne. How is the new one?” Ken asked as I smiled to myself.

  “We work well together. I hope that she lasts,” I told him, meaning the words in more ways than one.

  “Good. You have a lot of work on your plate.” Ken replied as we moved on to the holidays. Our families spent them together apart from Logan and it was a big affair. I thought about Isabelle and her daughter, wondering what they did. Maybe they went home to be with her parents, which was a good thing. We ended the call about a half hour later and I pulled up my email to see what was in the queue. I knew that Isabelle would be finished with her current project soon and decided to pull something off the list to start until then.

  We met back in my office before it was time to leave for a goodbye kiss. I longed to ask her to go out to dinner even if it involved bringing her daughter, but I knew that she wouldn’t do it. I didn’t know if Isabelle ever would and I watched as she pulled away and looked at me. “I have to go get Kendra. I’ll see you tomorrow.” One more soft kiss and she left before me to pull any attention from us leaving together. I stepped out of my office a few minutes later and took the elevator down, seeing Isabelle speaking to one of the guys that worked at the coffee stand, her face creased with worry. I looked at him, closer to her age and clearly into her as he smiled and said something to her. Isabelle glanced at her watch and said something before leaving, a small smile on her face.

  Did she like the attention?

  I walked to the door and followed behind her a bit as she hurried to her car, hopping in and leaving the garage. I started my car and wondered what kind of future this might offer me if any. Did I want a future that involved a child?

  I pulled out and headed home for the night, making some pasta before I sat down to watch some football. I normally didn’t mind being along but tonight I kept thinking about Isabelle. I pictured her coming for me again, her face twisted in pleasure as she rocked forward against her hand. I could see that it was a meaningful release for her and wondered if it was due to the amount of time that it had been for Isabelle or the fact that it was with me.

  Jesus. I sounded like a teenage boy and I thought back to the days when everything was casual in my life. The betrayal of my girlfriend and brother had hit me hard although more from him than Lana. I didn’t want anything more than that until I met Isabelle.

  I also didn’t want to risk my job or hers. Isabelle needed it with a daughter and I was trying to work my way to replacing Ken when he retired. Isabelle could get another job with her skills but it might not be as good as this one, leaving her to struggle. I sighed and wondered if I should end this thing between us. She was beautiful and would find someone that was worthy enough to meet her daughter and move into their lives. Isabelle had a bright future ahead of her, full of accomplishments and hopefully someone to love her.

  I pushed away the nagging thought that I already might. I didn’t know her that well and we’d only fooled around a few times. We never went out together one-on-one and that was probably going to be rare. Was that what I wanted?

  I fell asleep on the couch, missing the win. I woke up in the morning and went for a run before showering for work and getting dressed. I was sore from my sleeping position and walked through the building feeling irritated. I noticed that Isabelle wasn’t at her desk yet and kept walking into my office as my phone vibrated. I set my coffees down and checked it to see a message from Isabelle explaining that she had a hard time waking Kendra up. She apologized and promised that she would be here as soon as possible and I told her to drive carefully.

  I set her cup on her desk and turned on my computer to start the day. I hoped that she was all right and worried about her daughter as I opened up my programs. Was she getting sick again?

  CHAPTER 13

  Isabelle

  I pulled my hair back into a ponytail as I called to Kendra to hurry. I was going to be late to work, and I wasn’t even there three weeks yet. I missed Mom so much in this moment as panic filled me, knowing that she handled a lot for me when I lived there.

  I checked my gray shift dress and flats before I walked through the house to see Kendra pulling on her boots. “I’m sorry, Mommy. I couldn’t sleep last night.” She gave me a sad look as I walked over and gave her a hug.

  “Is everything okay?” I knelt down and pushed away the worry about arriving even later. “We all have trouble sleeping sometimes, Kendra. It’s okay.”

  “I was just having bad dreams. I kept waking up, and it was hard to go to sleep again.” Kendra told me as I smiled.

  “If you need to talk at any time, come get me. I don’t want you sitting in your room like that. I went to talk to Grandma all the time when I was little. I loved it.” I knew that Kendra had a special relationship with my mom and missed her. “I think that we should go see her again. Maybe next weekend?” I knew that I could pay for plane tickets with my job, assuming I didn’t get fired today. My probation was six months long, and I wanted to do my best.

  “Can we?” Kendra asked as I nodded. I would look for deals over lunch and hopefully get there for under three hundred dollars. I knew that we were going for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well and looked forward to relaxing in my childhood home again. We finished getting ready and went to the car as I wondered what Mason did for the holidays. He had family here, so he probably spent it with them. I thought for a fleeting second of a time where we would be there with him, sitting close on the couch as I felt like a part of his family.

  I turned on the radio and pushed that image out of my head. This was not going to turn into that. We’d probably end badly since we worked together and I just hoped that he would help me with a job like he promised he would. I dropped off Kendra with a hug and a kiss and got on the freeway, groaning at the brake lights in front of me. I called my mom on blue tooth and told her about the morning to distract myself from my growing anxiety. “Oh, sweetie. Is she okay?” Mom asked as I narrowed my eyes at the inch that I moved.

  “I guess. She stayed in her room so I had no idea that anything was wrong at all,” I told her. “I told her to come talk to me anytime the way that I used to do with you. I thought that she knew she could.”

  “I think that Kendra is probably still adjusting a bit. This is all new to her, but she’s handling everything well otherwise.”

  “I told her that I’d look for plane tickets for next weekend. Is that okay for you?” I asked as Mom told me that I could come for a visit anytime. She was home a lot and her and Dad only traveled at certain times of the year. “I am going to get a new car as soon as I can so we can drive but I didn’t think that Gert was going to make it here the first time.”

  “How is work?” Mom asked me as I struggled with my answer.

  “It’s going well. I love reading for a living and I’ve had the chance to sit in on client lunches as well. I feel like I’m learning a lot, assuming I don’t get fired today. I am still on probation.” I sighed and pulled forward as traffic started moving.

  “They know about Kendra, right?” I assured her that most did. “Life happens. I’m sure they’ll understand that you are going to have bad days. You’ll be fine. Stop worrying, Belle. You’re going to give yourself a heart attack,” Mom told me, knowing me all too well. “How do you like your boss?”

  “He’s great. We seem to work well together,” I stammered as Mom laughed
.

  “I looked up the company online. He’s quite handsome, isn’t he?”

  “I guess. I am there to work and you know how I feel about dating,” I reminded her softly as Mom went quiet on the other end.

  “Isabelle, Kendra is six now. She’s in school and you’re working and you deserve to have a life for yourself. You’re still young. I know you won’t be out every night partying or anything but it would be okay to date. Kendra could handle that.” Mom told me as I thought about Mason.

  “I don’t want her to meet anyone until I am serious about them. Her own father walked away from her and I can’t risk that again,” I told her as Mom told me that Kendra didn’t know Jackson. She accepted what we’d told her fine and Mom told me that she would be fine with me dating someone. I didn’t tell her that Kendra had hinted around to having a Daddy.

  “Let me see if I still have a job, Mom. I’ll find a man tomorrow,” I joked as she laughed and I exited the freeway. “I am just a few minutes away. I’ll call you later.” I drove through the streets and parked in the garage, noting that I was an hour late. “Damn it,” I muttered as I got out of my car and hurried towards the building. I waved at Stan as he called out to me, getting on the elevator without even making eye contact. I practically ran down the hallway to my desk, feeling sick when I saw the coffee waiting for me. I paused and took a deep breath for a moment before tapping on his cracked door. He told me to come on and I pushed it open and gave him a small smile. “I am so sorry. She had trouble sleeping last night and was a bear this morning. I had to have a pep talk with her. I still have a job, right?”

  “Of course. Things happen. Is she sick again?” Mason asked as he leaned forward to look at me.

  “No, I think she’s just adjusting. I promised her a quick trip to visit my folks this weekend.” I glanced towards my desk. “Thanks for the coffee, even if it’s probably cold by now. I’ll get to work and skip my lunch to make up the time? Maybe come in early tomorrow?”

  “Either option works for me, Isabelle. Mason stood up and walked over to me, glancing at the closed door before kissing me softly. “The company has a jet. I could fly you two to San Diego that way once I check the schedule.”

  “A jet? Are you serious?” I asked as he smiled and nodded.

  “We travel a lot. It made sense.” Mason assured me as I backed up towards the door. I was already late, and I felt worse staying in his office this long. “I’ll check and let you know.”

  “Thank you,” I told him as I walked to my desk and dropped into my seat. I sipped the coffee, finding it spicy and still warm before turning on my computer and getting right to work. Mason was a good man, and I smiled as I pulled up the email for a new read. I saw that he was working on something new so I selected a different story and pulled it up as I settled in my seat.

  I worked through my lunch, nibbling on the sandwich that I’d packed as I kept reading. I preferred to cover my time right away, and the book was so good that I enjoyed staying at my desk. Mason left for lunch, shaking his head at me as he walked by. I went to make coffee and came back to a small pink bag at my desk. I sat down and opened it to find some chocolate truffles inside and looked at his door for a moment.

  I picked up my phone and considered what I should send him.

  Me: Do you do this for women all the time?

  I hit send and winced as I imagined him reading my thoughts.

  Mason: No. I just feel like spoiling you a little. You work hard and deserve that. If your daughter likes chocolate, bring one for her dessert tonight.

  Me: She does. Thank you.

  This might not be serious but Mason was treating me better than anyone ever had before. I wonder if it was the fact that he seemed to have the money. His family had a jet. I shook my head and went back to the story.

  I felt better at the end of the day when I left to get Kendra. Mason never made me feel like a bad person for being late and I walked out with him to our cars. “I swear this won’t happen again.” I looked at him, licking my tingling lips from the kiss inside of his office.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Mason walked towards his car and I took the elevator to mine since I was late. He told me that the plane was free and the times the pilot could fly us. I was overwhelmed with this and wondered what to tell my parents.

  I picked up Kendra, and we went to get some pizza after the long day. I ate at the restaurant with her and we sat at a small booth as she told me about school, eating cheesy slices of the pizza in between stories. She seemed better, but I reminded her to come and talk to me anytime that she needed to. We headed home to get homework done and a bath before bed.

  I fell asleep on the couch in front of Grey’s Anatomy. I was so tired after stressing earlier and couldn’t help it, but I woke up at two and checked on Kendra before continuing to my own bed. I crawled under the covers and passed out again, waking up on time with relief when Kendra popped out of bed. We left the house on time and I pulled into the garage early, running over for coffee for both of us. I went into the building and set mine down, walking his into his office as I watched Mason standing by the window. He was knotting his tie, and I stared quietly for a moment, mesmerized by his flawlessness. He glanced over to see me and I walked over to join him, handing him the coffee as I looked over the city. “I love this city,” I said softly, taking it all in as he stood behind me, his hand around my waist.

  “Me too. There’s something about it that makes me feel alive, rain and all.” Mason pulled me against him. “Thanks for the coffee.”

  “You deserve to be spoiled as well,” I assured him as I smiled.

  “You are a different kind of woman,” Mason told me as I turned to look at him.

  “I am?”

  “You are,” he assured me as we stood together and looked over the beautiful view. I made my way to my desk and pulled up the current book, sipping my coffee as I started to read it. This was a dream for me and I smiled to myself as I took notes on a plot gap, suggesting something to bring it all together.

  Mason sent me a message telling me about another client lunch on Friday, this time at a sushi place. That made me smile as I thought about the lunch in his office where we just talked and got to know one another better. I told him that sounded great and worked until lunch, deciding to get a sandwich from a deli down the street. My paycheck was great and I could afford to splurge a bit.

  CHAPTER 14

  Mason

  I made arrangements for the plane to leave at seven on Friday evening, returning at five on Sunday night. I had a friend that lived in Carlsbad and checked into visiting myself, deciding to surprise Isabelle by joining them on the flights. I was looking forward to seeing her interact with her daughter a bit.

  The week passed quickly with a few new projects coming in and I was heading out to get Isabelle for our lunch on Friday before I knew it. She was wearing a cute full black skirt and a purple blouse with heels and I could see the excitement in her eyes over the trip.

  We took a cab to the sushi place on the water and met with the clients in a back booth. Isabelle sipped green tea and listened to their plot idea with a small smile, distracting me with her beauty. The clients had a few books under their belt already and I thought their idea was great but I was moving forward to the luggage in my condo and the long weekend away. I might not be spending it with Isabelle but I could spend time on the plane with her.

  We finished lunch and went back to the office for the few hours that we had left. Isabelle was planning on going to get Kendra and their bags and meet me at the airport so I could get them on the plane. She had no idea that I was flying with them and I smiled as I assured her that I’d see her there.

  We left together and walked to our cars as she chatted about her parents. Kendra had been talking about the trip all week and I smiled as Isabelle waved and walked over to her car. I drove home and changed into jeans and a t-shirt as my phone chimed. I glanced down to see a message from a girl that I saw occasionally and
read her proposition for tonight with a bored expression. I told her that I was busy and checked my luggage and house to make sure everything was set before I caught a cab to the airport. I pictured Isabelle and Kendra in their own car, excited and talking about the trip as they got closer to my surprise.

  I got out and paid the driver before going to the back of the airport where we were to board the plane. It was a lot quicker than traditional travel and I looked around for Isabelle. I was a bit early, and I set my bag beside me and kept an eye open for her. I saw her after a while, still wearing her outfit from earlier as she pulled some luggage behind her and holding Kendra’s hand. Her daughter was beaming, and I pushed away from the wall as I watched them together, feeling warmth wash over me as Isabelle looked up and saw me. She waved and walked over, looking nervous as she introduced me to Kendra. The little girl looked shrewdly at me for a moment as I cleared my throat. “I am flying with you, if that’s okay. I have a friend in Carlsbad that I am going to hang out with.”

  Isabelle looked surprised as she looked down at Kendra. “That’s fine. It is your plane after all.” We walked out to the plane as she looked around in wonder, telling Kendra that this was a special treat. We stepped into the cabin where there were seats for twenty as well as a bed to sleep in for longer flights. Isabelle opened her mouth in surprise, making me want to kiss her as I watched her look around. “This is incredible.”

  “It makes flying a lot easier for everyone. You can sit anywhere and there’s snacks on board once we’re in the air. This is a short flight, but it is going to be comfortable.” I assured the girls as Kendra walked over to a seat by the window, setting her backpack down to pull out coloring books and crayons as Isabelle chuckled.

  “Well, then you look like you’re set,” she said as she looked around, choosing a seat right across the aisle from Kendra. “She’s flown a few times.”

  I took the seat beside her as Isabelle gave me a long look. She glanced over at Kendra but the little girl was making herself quite at home. “I am not going to do anything inappropriate.” I said softly as Isabelle smiled weakly.