The Pretend Husband: Romance In the City, Book 1

by Declan Rhodes

  “That sounds promising, Mark.”

  “And he’s handsome, too. How was your weekend?”

  “Before I say anything about that, I have a serious question to ask you.”

  A look of confusion passed over Mark’s face. He asked, “A serious question. What’s up? Is something wrong?”

  “How did you find out that Liam and I got married?”

  Relief quickly replaced his confusion. Mark said, “Oh, that. Well, I don’t think I ever told you, but my grandfather has gotten to know Liam through the museum. He thinks highly of Liam.”

  I asked, “Your grandfather?”

  Before Mark replied, I began piecing everything together. It seemed improbable, but it had to be true. Mark said, “My grandfather is Hubert Linton. I have dinner with my grandparents once a week, and he was just bubbling over with good comments about Liam. I mentioned that I knew him, and Grandpa asked, ‘Did you know he was married?’”

  I tried not to appear too surprised and listened to Mark’s story while I kept an eye open to follow Chester around the park.

  Mark said, “I was shocked, but I immediately knew that if he eloped and got married, it had to be you. You’re such a good couple.”

  I pulled Mark toward one of the park fences where I knew that we were out of earshot of other people. A little chihuahua looked up at us and growled, but he immediately responded to a call of, “Raul! Come here, right now!”

  I said, “Mark, I’m not proud of this, but I have some relevant information to share with you. Liam is okay that I tell you.”

  “Wow, you are intense this morning. What else do you want to know?”

  I whispered, “We’re not really married. We made that up, but nobody else can know, at least not yet.”

  Mark said nothing for a few minutes. He only stared at me. I was worried that he might just stomp off in a huff, and I would never see him again. I’m not sure that I would blame him.

  Instead, he said, “You’ve been good to me, Alex. I won’t say anything.”

  I said, “Well, we still might get married. We’re talking about that.”

  Mark reached up and scratched his head, but he seemed to be following the storyline. He said, “Well, Grandpa said that you didn’t get to have a honeymoon when you got married before, and he had a suggestion. I guess it might still stand if you’re going to do it for real.”

  “For our honeymoon?”

  “Yes, he has a cottage up north. It’s one of those cottages that is actually a mansion, but that’s what they call them up there. I think it has eight bedrooms.”

  “Oh, wow.”

  “It is gorgeous,” said Mark. The windows of the master bedroom look out over a big lake, and there are bicycles, boats, and anything else you might want to use to have fun outside.

  “This time of year we might need snowshoes.”

  Mark chuckled and said, “I bet he has those, too.”

  “Mark, there is one more thing that you might be able to help with if you aren’t already terribly frustrated with Liam and me.”

  “Frustrated?” asked Mark. “Not really, but you’re right. If Grandpa finds out, he won’t be happy, and he does have a lot of power. For me, I think it’s all funny. You and Liam are smart guys, and for you to do something like that, there must have been a good reason.”

  I sighed and said, “Or a stupid late night conversation.”

  Mark grumbled, “That’s how I ended up with Max. I agreed to a blind date at 2:00 a.m.”

  “I’m glad you got out of that, and before I tell you why I need help, I have more news to share.”

  “Do you have a baby, too?” asked Mark.

  “What makes you think that?”

  Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. You faked getting married. I won’t be shocked if you’re pretending to be a dad, too.”

  I started to make a snarky comment in response, but then I realized that I deserved it, and probably a lot more. I said, “Okay, enough about that, but I’m not going back to St. Paul.”

  Mark’s jaw dropped in shock. “Really? Are you going to stay here in Milwaukee, or did you find a way to go to Arizona?”

  “Going to Arizona would be good, wouldn’t it? Nobody would know us there, and we could just start the whole relationship thing over again.”

  “But I wouldn’t get to see you,” said Mark.

  I said, “Don’t fear. I’m staying here in Milwaukee, at least for now. The only problem is that I do need a job. I can’t keep freeloading on Liam.”

  Mark rubbed his chin. “Unless you get married.”

  I shook my head vigorously. “No, not even then. So, if you hear about anything for a well-educated guy that is certified to teach English literature in high school, let me know.”

  “You’ll be the first to know.”

  I exhaled long and slow. “Wow, thank you. That all went better than I feared.”

  “Are you sure you don’t have something else to tell me?” asked Mark.

  “I don’t know what it would be.”

  Mark smirked and said, “Then make something up. You’re pretty good at that.”

  25

  Liam

  I held Alex and stared into his forest-green eyes, and I thought it looked like those little brown specks were dancing. He was excited, and so was I. I asked, “Are we going to do this?”

  “I think we are. I’ll get down on my knee and ask if we need to make sure we cover that part.”

  “I guess it would have been nice, but I think the moment has passed. I mean, we already have rings and everything.”

  Alex pulled the fake wedding ring out of his pocket and turned it over and over letting the glass “stone” sparkle in the light from the ceiling fixture. He said, “I hope I get a better one than this eventually.”

  We were both bubbling over with feverish anticipation. We made the mutual decision to make our marriage official. I took a day off from work letting my assistant at the museum know that I was recovering from the weekend up in Door County. It was just a little white lie. Instead of recovery, I was heading to the county courthouse to apply for a wedding license with Alex.

  “Where are we going to have the ceremony?” asked Alex.

  “I don’t know. We have to wait a week from when we get the license, so we have a little lead time. We don’t have time to find a normal wedding venue.”

  “Well, how many people will be there?”

  I held out a hand and started counting on my fingers. “I can’t imagine more than eight or ten that I think need to be there. Maybe not even that many.”

  “Why don’t we get married on the beach?”

  I said, “It’s cold outside.”

  “That’s part of the fun,” said Alex.

  I would usually think someone was ludicrous to suggest getting married on the beach in Milwaukee in late October, but everything about marrying Alex was preposterous. I said, “That’s just bizarre enough that it might fit everything that has happened so far.”

  “Who do you think needs to be at the wedding other than Sarah and Mark?” asked Alex.

  “I know some people that would be upset.”

  “Won’t they get over it? There are always people frustrated about weddings. The more people that come, the more drama, at least in my family.”

  I kept my arms wrapped tight around Alex while I thought about a tiny wedding with just me, Alex, a minister, Sarah, and Mark. It sounded fun. We could go to a hotel downtown for our wedding night, and it would all be over and legal.

  I said, “I think I like that idea.”

  Alex added, “I’m still finding it hard to believe that Mark is a Linton.”

  “I guess he’s always dressed nicely even when he was feeling lousy about his old boyfriend. You never asked his last name before?”

  “It’s Schroeder. His mom is Hubert Linton’s daughter.”

  “That’s why you didn’t have a clue. And you said the Lintons want to send us on a honeymoon?”

&nb
sp; Alex smiled and said, “Yes, according to Mark. They have a big mansion up on a lake in the northern part of the state. He looked it up on his phone and showed me a picture. It has eight bedrooms and six baths. The master bedroom has windows that look out over the lake.”

  I asked, “Did you say yes?”

  “We hadn’t formally decided to get married yet.”

  I paused before I said, “I have an idea.”

  “I wonder if you’re thinking what I’m thinking,” said Alex.

  “Wedding at the Linton mansion?”

  “Bingo! We could bring both Sarah and Mark, and they could have a nice weekend there while we still have our private wedding night and honeymoon. We could even give the minister somewhere to stay over if he wanted a fun weekend. Should I ask Mark?”

  I laughed and said, “It’s so ridiculous that it just might work. Yes, ask Mark.”

  “Can we do this without your parents?” asked Alex. “My parents would only bring disruption and disapproval.”

  I said, “It’s just like we’re eloping, and it wouldn’t count if we invited our parents. Mine would have to fly all the way from California anyway. We’re saving them the trip.”

  Alex asked, “Wait, what do we say to the Lintons? We still have the problem that Hubert thinks we’re already married.”

  I asked, “What about…we were happy with the Vegas wedding, but we wanted something more formal here in Wisconsin. We didn’t want anything big, but we wanted to make it feel even more real.”

  “I think it just might work. Are you ready to go downtown?”

  “Are you ready to be mine?”

  Alex locked his gaze on mine and said, “I’ve never been more ready for anything.”

  I kissed Alex’s soft lips and slipped my fingers through his hair. My thumb touched the collar of his shirt. I pulled back and asked, “Are you wearing all clothes that were mine?”

  “I’m not wearing your underwear.”

  I laughed and said, “I guess we’ll count that as okay.” We kissed again. There was nothing else I wanted to do for the rest of the day. I wanted to take Alex to bed and kiss in each other’s arms for hours. I would be happy for the entire rest of the world, except for Chester, to just go away. Instead, we had a project to accomplish.

  “Wow, your kisses, Liam,” said Alex.

  “There’s more to come when we get back from downtown.”

  “I certainly hope so.”

  “And then thousands more kisses to last a lifetime.”

  26

  Alex

  My phone rang. It was still dark out, and Liam was sound asleep at my side. I picked up the phone to look at the time. It was 6:15 a.m. and the call was from Sarah.

  My mom always told me that any call after midnight or before 7:00 a.m. wasn’t good news. I thought, Please, let Sarah be okay. She can’t be sick or hurt today. I didn’t manage to answer the phone before it stopped ringing.

  Liam was sleeping so soundly that I wasn’t sure if he woke up at all. He was facing the opposite edge of the bed, and I watched his side slowly rise and fall with each breath. Gripping the phone in my hand, I slipped out of bed. Chester raised his head for a split second and then laid back down and closed his eyes. I pulled a bathrobe off the hook on the back of the bedroom door and made my way to the bathroom.

  I wasn’t ready yet to face the dawn, so I leaned against the bathroom counter in the darkness with the door closed to avoid waking Liam. I dialed Sarah’s number on the glowing keyboard and listened to the phone’s ring.

  She answered on the second ring. She was whispering like she was concerned that she might accidentally wake someone. “Alex, I’m going crazy. What should I wear for the wedding today? Liam told me not to buy a new dress, but I need to look good.”

  I let out a long, slow, exasperated sigh. I asked, “Sarah, what time is it? And why are you whispering?”

  “I didn’t want to wake Liam.” She paused and then laughed saying, “Oh, he’s there with you. He can’t…”

  I said, “Right.”

  She said, “I think it’s about 7:00 isn’t it?”

  I growled, “6:15.”

  “Well, this is an emergency, Alex. Liam is my best friend, and you’re a great one, too, and wedding photos are forever. The children of your adopted kids, your grandchildren, are going to look at those photos and say, ‘Grandpa and Grandpa look awesome, but who’s that unfortunate woman who didn’t know what to wear?’”

  I spoke slowly and tried to be alert enough to stay focused on my message. “Sarah, every single time that I’ve seen you, you look great. You know what to wear. Just dress up a little. Unfortunately, it won’t work to borrow Liam’s clothes as I do.”

  She dropped her voice down to a whisper again like we were sharing precious secrets. “You wear Liam’s clothes? That’s hot in a charming way. I guess I thought some of what you’ve been wearing looks familiar, but I just thought you shared the same good taste.”

  I said, “My secret is out.” I tried to think about the nicer dresses that I’d seen Sarah wear. I said “You have a sexy, sleek blue dress. What about that?”

  “You like that one?” asked Sarah.

  “I do, and there’s one with bright color blocks that I like, too.”

  “That might be a little too loud. I don’t want to distract from the grooms.”

  “Then blue it is unless something comes to you at the last minute.”

  Sarah whispered once more asking, “Can I share a secret with you, Alex?” Before I could answer, she added, “It’s not so much a secret as something you should know.”

  “Of course you can. I don’t leak.”

  “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Liam. I’ve only known him for three years, but he tells me all his private thoughts. No one else he’s dated holds a candle to you. Alex. You are his happily ever after.”

  A warm sensation swept through my body. I said, “I hope so, Sarah. It’s a good thing I don’t have to feel any pressure after that kind of comment. It’s not like I was already nervous about today.”

  She laughed softly and said, “You’ll be perfect. You have nothing to worry about, Alex. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

  We planned to leave to head north at 9:00 a.m. I thought that I still had a few minutes to climb back in bed beside Liam. When I returned from the bathroom, he was lying on his back awake. He asked, “Sarah?”

  “Yes. How did you know that?”

  “On big days like this, she falls apart. I’ve had the 6:00 a.m. phone calls before.”

  I slipped between the sheets and kissed Liam’s chest. “She’s wearing blue.”

  * * *

  The Linton house was enormous. It was the most massive log house I’ve ever seen, and it nestled into a hillside with a prodigious concrete and stone front terrace. A staircase led down from the veranda to an expansive lawn and a drive where visitors parked their cars. Beyond the private road, a dock jutted into the sparkling blue waters of a private lake.

  Hubert and Beatrice Linton arrived the night before. Liam, Sarah, and I rode together. Mark drove his car, and our hired minister came alone as well. Pastor Carlson, the minister, made arrangements to stay for a fishing weekend in the opposite wing of the house from Liam and me.

  I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen such a massive display of flowers indoors, not even at a funeral. Hubert and Beatrice met us on the front terrace and escorted us inside. Flowers in a rainbow of colors decorated the parlor of the house. Two grand staircases, to the right and the left, led up to the second floor.

  Beatrice clutched the jewels around her neck and said, “Hubert and I haven’t been this excited for a long time. We’ve never hosted a wedding at The Timbers, that’s our name for the house.”

  Liam said, “It is just amazing, Beatrice.”

  “Why don’t you just drop your things here in the parlor and follow me to the kitchen. We have refreshments and anything you might need right now while we wait f
or Mark and Pastor Carlson.

  I noticed extra cars parked down near the lake, and we met their owners as we filed into the kitchen. A man and a woman were busy preparing food. Beatrice said, “This is Jason and Cecile. They will take care of anything you need for the weekend. I’ve included the phone number you can call to get their attention on the nightstand in the master bedroom. Sometimes it’s easy to lose each other in a house this size.”

  The entire experience was unbelievable. I wound an arm around Liam’s back and kissed him. At least his lips were real, and his presence was helping carry me through our little dream world.

  Beatrice said, “Cecile is an outstanding cake decorator. We will see her special talent on display later.”

  From the parlor, we heard shouts of, “Grandma! Grandpa! I’m here.”

  Beatrice smiled. “That’s Mark. We can begin shortly as long as Pastor Carlson arrives.”

  Sarah spoke up and asked, “Beatrice, is there somewhere that I can freshen up.”

  “And we need to dress,” said Liam. “The tuxes are still in the car.”

  “Oh of course,” said Beatrice. “Jason will show you the way. I must go to greet Mark.”

  For the next hour, Chester bounded on the lawn down by the lake with Hubert Linton, dressed in an immaculate pale gray suit, keeping a close watch. Sarah flitted back and forth from the bathroom she was assigned for dressing to Liam and me. We faced endless questions about her appearance. Finally, Liam reassured her saying, “Sarah, you are perfect. You couldn’t be better. We’re so honored to have you here.”

  She let out a deep breath and said, “Thank you. Your wedding is my first time serving as a maid of honor, and I don’t want to screw it up.” She looked at each of us and said, “Traditionally, it’s bad luck for the groom to see his bride before the wedding, but since we don’t have a bride, I guess we can ignore that.”