Lucky This Isn't Real: MacBride Brothers Series St. Patrick's Day Fake Fiance Romance

by Jamie Knight

  But I did need to heal from it. Obviously, it was still causing me a lot of pain. And I liked Dr. Benoit enough to come back. I was just hoping I wouldn’t need to.

  Chapter Six – Maggie

  Later that morning, I was feeling better than I had felt in ages, and it wasn’t from any kind of French magic that had happened in my therapy session with Dr. Benoit. Or at least, it wasn’t only from that, and it probably wasn’t mostly from that.

  I actually started whistling “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.” I’d asked Alexa to play some old-time Irish music, and I listened to it on the way into work.

  There was a definite spring in my step, my Doc Martens, the tops hidden under the legs of my suit pants, barely touching the ground. It would have been quite fair to say that I was finally having a good day for the first time in ages, and it showed.

  That was something I was sure I would be teased about by my coworkers, but I could handle it.

  I truly felt better than I had in months. Clearly, meeting Gavin had worked wonders on my mental health as well.

  “What are you so happy about?” Darcy asked, as I sat at my desk across from her at the office.

  I suddenly felt bad for neglecting to inform Dr. Benoit about the power of friendship that had helped me out in the past six months. But not bad enough to ruin the great mood I was in.

  “I think I met someone,” I nearly sang.

  Her eyes widened.

  “Really? When? Last Night?”

  “This morning!”

  “What? Before work?”

  “Yeah, that’s why I was late. It was amazing. Like something out of a fairytale.”

  “Sounds more like a RomCom. Where did you meet him?”

  “In the waiting room, of all places.”

  “Oh yeah. The therapist appointment,” Darcy said, remembering our past conversations about how scared I had been to go to a therapist for the first time.

  Ironically, that part had turned out to be a piece of cake compared to seeing my ex and stepsister in the lobby beforehand.

  “Yeah, but that wasn’t even the most interesting part…”

  I started to rush out a bunch of words all at once in an attempt to describe my crazy morning, telling Darcy everything from Raquel and Kenny’s upcoming nuptials to my make-believe wedding in Big Sur.

  She grinned at my happiness.

  “Your tongue gets very loose when you’re in love.”

  “Oh,” I said, feeling my cheeks get warm. “I mean, come on. I just met him. I wouldn’t call it more than a silly crush.”

  She tapped a fingertip against her lip.

  “So, you met at the therapist’s office? Both of you were seeing a shrink? That’s the perfect opening to a modern-day romance story if I ever heard one.”

  “Not exactly. It was one of those all-in-one office buildings. He could have been there for any number of reasons. I was called in before he was, so I never got to find out why he was there.”

  “So, what’s he like? Bangable?”

  “Darcy!” I said, feeling my cheeks burn.

  “Oh, he is, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah, okay, he’s very hot. We’re going to Raquel and Kenny’s engagement party together.”

  “Oh, do you really think that’s a good idea? Flirting in a public place is one thing but, like…” She made a face. “What if he’s a serial killer? You don’t know anything about him.”

  “I will soon.”

  I typed Gavin’s name into Google, suddenly driven to disprove her skepticism. The first thing that popped up was an IMDB link. Interesting— he was an actor. I clicked on the page and handed my phone to Darcy.

  “Holy sex bomb, Batman!”

  Darcy fanned her hand in front of her face, her tortoise-shell glasses almost actually steaming up.

  She liked to come off as pretty nerdy, but she was actually sexy under it all. She had shown me some glamour shots from when she had been a model. I suspected that her current style was at least partly a deterrent to the attention that she had no doubt always received in the past, not all of which was welcome.

  “I know, right?” I beamed, feeling like the cat who’d gotten into an entire bowl of cream. “He really helped me out of a horrible situation. He was a perfect gentleman.”

  “Seems like a keeper and not a serial killer,” Darcy said, handing the phone back.

  I wasn’t quite sure I had him yet, but he was pretty insistent on getting my phone number, and I was pretty sure I’d seen him glance, very subtly, at my chest, which, even though it was a bit difficult to miss, made me think that he might want me, too.

  We had a date, of sorts, and who knew what might happen after that?

  Sure, this whole thing was meant to be a fake engagement to get Raquel jealous and save me from looking like a complete idiot around her and Kenny, but that didn’t mean that we couldn’t also eventually have a real relationship.

  It was a bit like being in the movies, and we had both played parts. I would often see the same actors in different films and notice their chemistry. While I didn’t believe that they were really together for a second, I wondered if they were friends.

  Like, did they hang out and go to dinner and stuff while having a job where they would kiss and have fake sex in the context of a real relationship? I knew the on-set and off-set worlds were vastly different.

  Gavin was an actor, so I guessed he would be able to compartmentalize similarly. We could very well have our fake engagement that we put on ‘on-set’ and a real dating relationship that we were still working through ‘off-set.’

  Strange as it might seem to be actually dating while pretending to be engaged, it would give us some good practice if things ever got that far in our real relationship— or at least a girl could hope, right?

  Maybe our fake relationship would end in a real marriage.

  Just the thought made me feel warm inside.

  But I told myself to reign in the fuzzy feelings.

  I didn’t want to be let down.

  Yet it was still fun to hope, for once.

  I left work feeling almost as happy as I was when I had been going in. Rather than heading home, I went further downtown, fully intending to buy a dress for the engagement party. Something sexy that showed off my assets.

  I tried not to think about the actual occasion while looking for the dress. The thought of Kenny and Raquel’s upcoming nuptials made me feel angry all over again, so I blocked that part of it from my mind.

  I wondered what Dr. Benoit’s recommended self-help books would have to say about that tactic. I had a feeling they wouldn’t approve, but it was what worked best for me at the moment, so that was how I handled it.

  The dress I settled on was a bit daring, but I went with a semi-medieval number. A lovely skirt flowed down to the floor, and very fine lacing at the front mimicked a corset. There was also a deep neckline. The arms went down from its long, slender sleeves and fanned out massively into huge triangles at the cuffs.

  I took a sharp intake of breath when I glanced at the price tag, which amounted to two full paychecks at my assistant’s job. I would have to go further into my inheritance, but I didn’t feel too bad, though. Dad had left it for me to do with what I wanted, and I had tried to be responsible, as though frivolity would be an insult to his memory.

  He never really went in for fancy materialism. He didn’t hate it, but he just didn’t believe we needed things to be happy.

  In a lot of ways, I could see his point. Though the dress felt different. It could have only been my own justification for spending the money, but I felt like I was kind of representing the nature culture in which he had tried to raise me: beautiful, but also ancient and simple. All things that could have been applied to the dress itself.

  Besides, buying this dress was in service of helping me rediscover love and romance. Both were things that he had never made light of, holding them in high regard as part of the values he tried to instill in me.

  I
wasn’t sure where my recent aversion to love had come from– I guessed the incident six months ago had really messed with my psyche– but I felt it melting away as I looked at myself in the mirror.

  I had to admit that I looked great. Tasteful and sexy. Gavin would love it, I hoped, and more than likely would want to jump my bones just as much as I wanted to jump his.

  I was so turned on that I could barely walk straight by the time I got home. I was incredibly happy as well as excited. Thinking about getting to possibly have sex with Gavin had left my pussy dripping wet.

  Putting the bag with my new dress in the wardrobe, I stripped off my work clothes as quickly as possible and flopped down on the bed, opening my legs wide.

  When I was relaxed enough, I gently cupped my mound, breathing out as I pushed down, getting used to the pressure. I had lost my virginity at sixteen, but I was still really tight and super-sensitive when I got excited, and I needed gentle handling. Something Kenny would go along with but seemed to resent.

  I started moving my fingers in gentle circles around my outer lips, the pleasure already rushing through me. I thought about Gavin, of course– it had been impossible to think about anyone else since this morning.

  I had only spent a little time with him, but the image of him was etched in my mind. I thought about the bulge of his massive cock pressing up against the zipper of his jeans, yearning to be free. I tried to picture his dick, which I knew would be absolutely magnificent.

  Continuing to stroke circles around my clit, I imagined getting down on my knees in front of him and wrapping my hand around his throbbing shaft. After giving it a few gentle strokes, I imagined opening my mouth and sucking him in, swallowing his cock inch by inch, until the head hit the back of my throat. I would keep my eyes locked on his throughout the entire time.

  Sliding a finger into my pulsing channel, I imagined sucking him hard until he shot all his cum into my mouth. After taking a moment just to savor its thick sweetness, I would swallow every drop down.

  Slipping another finger inside me, I imagined turning around and getting on all fours, giving my pussy and ass up to him, not caring which one he decided to use, the very fact of his entering me making me feel amazing, no matter how he did it. To make sure I was ready, Gavin would bury his face in my pussy and lick masterfully until I screamed.

  I imagined myself collapsing and panting after a mind-blowing orgasm. I was now doing some pretty hard panting in real life. Taking me gently by the hips, Gavin would lift me back into doggy position and stroke the warm head of his cock against my pussy.

  I automatically took a deep breath in and let it slowly out as I pictured him easing the flared head of his gorgeous cock deep into my pussy and fucking me like our lives depended on it.

  I slipped another finger into myself and pounded like I imagined Gavin pounding his cock in, bringing myself to orgasm on the bed as I imagined reaching orgasm on his cock, his precious nectar filling my most delicate spot.

  It felt so good I wanted it to come true. And I had a feeling it would.

  One way or another, Gavin would make sweet Irish love to me.

  Chapter Seven – Gavin

  Reality could be a funny old place sometimes. I had the fortune of learning that lesson young and was adjusting to it fairly well, making it my default position. As such, it really did take quite a lot to genuinely surprise me these days, not in the least because of the absurdity I grew up in during the tail end of The Troubles.

  When the fish and chip shop up the street had a roughly forty percent chance of being bombed on any given Friday (known as “Fish Friday” among Catholics) by people whose religion was different from yours, you got used to absurdity pretty damn quick. Bomb scares and controlled explosions were a daily part of life, as was seeing British soldiers out on daily patrols through the streets.

  I was glad The Troubles had mostly ended by the time my younger brothers were making their way up in the world, and the least they had to worry about was getting jumped by low-level thugs and drug dealers with makeshift weapons. People made Los Angeles sound dangerous, but they had no idea.

  Then again, America hadn’t quite had the streets paved with gold like I had been led to believe. More like sidewalks scattered with people. Or maybe that was just L.A.

  I had heard enough jokes about “Hell-A” to know not to judge the entire country, or even the entire state, by one example. I certainly knew what it was like to be stereotyped. Besides, there were lots of good things, too, such as the fact that L.A. was where a career in acting could be made, and it was also where Maggie lived.

  This was admittedly a new addition to the positive column on my list of good points but it was also a noticeably big one. I couldn’t get the girl out of my mind. She was so perfect for me.

  It seemed almost like a dream. The somewhat absurd circumstances of our meeting didn’t help to ground it in reality.

  I might have actually thought it was a dream had it not been for the quite physical evidence of the piece of paper with her name and phone number burning a hole in my back pocket. I wanted to call her so bad I could taste it, but I didn’t want to come across as desperate.

  I was desperate, of course, not only to get into her panties and feel her sweet, tight little pussy, but also to talk and laugh with her again. But there was no reason that she needed to know that. I had to play it cool.

  Pulling myself back to the cruel, mad world in which I found myself living, I checked my voicemails.

  The first message was from my agent.

  “I have good news and bad news, Gav. You didn’t get the movie roll you tried out for,” he said. “I’ll let you know for learning purposes why you were turned down. Despite your recent impressive resume, you were too tall, apparently, and your accent was too hard for them to understand.”

  Too hard for them to understand?

  The part was for an Irish gangster from Dublin.

  It wasn’t as if I was trying out for the role of some regular American dude.

  “The good news is that you scored the part in the sitcom. Welcome to the big leagues, son. Everyone is saying the success of this show will be reminiscent of Friends. I hope you’re ready for your life to change. Come in tomorrow around ten, so we can go over the contracts. There’s a nice signing bonus. And when I say nice, I mean you’ll be living on Easy Street for a while.”

  I punched the air. Today was my fucking lucky day, and I put that all down to meeting sweet Maggie. Not only had I met the girl of my dreams, but I’d also landed the job of my dreams. Nothing would bring me down from cloud nine.

  I tapped on my messages to send a text to my brothers and let them know my good news. But my heart sank once I looked at the screen.

  There was a text from Eoin.

  Crap.

  I could almost hear him sobbing. Our dad had OD’d again and was in the hospital.

  Eoin didn’t remember the first three times dad had OD’d and had yet to draw the same conclusion that I had, which was that if dad was going to die, Satan would have to bloody well come up here and do it himself. This was a sentiment that even my old man had expressed in his more lucid states on more than one occasion.

  Still, I felt incredibly down until I remembered that it wasn’t such a horrible day after all. I’d landed a job and had met the amazingly hot Miss Maggie Sanders, and we had set up a date, or a sort of date.

  Granted, it was to her ex’s engagement party to her stepsister, but I intended to make the most of the occasion and help her have the best time possible. And by that, I meant that I intended to help her make Raquel the Revolting as miserable as possible. It wasn’t going to be very hard, since seeing Maggie with me clearly bothered Raquel.

  Karma can be a real bitch, bitch.

  I picked up my phone and dialed the most familiar number I knew. It took several rings for anyone to pick up, which made me wonder if things back at home might be worse than I thought.

  “Gavin?” Eoin said, his voice sou
nding worried and frantic. “Hi. Hello.”

  “Hello yourself.”

  “You got my message?”

  “Aye.”

  “It’s really bad, this time, Gavin,” Eoin said.

  “How bad?”

  “They had to use the paddles.”

  “His heart stopped?” I asked, not expecting that.

  “For ten seconds.” Eoin’s voice cracked. “He was dead for ten seconds, Gav.”

  “And then he was resuscitated?”

  “He was.”

  “Praise science!” I said, with all the evangelical fervor I could muster.

  “Stop. He might hear you,” Eoin said, panicked.

  “You’re there with him?”

  “Aye.”

  “Look. I’m sorry but there really isn’t much to be done,” I told him. “I’ve known the man longer than you. He has a head harder than cobblestone. All I can suggest is that he gets his arse into rehab. The fact that he nearly died permanently might just be enough of a kick up the arse this time. It’s up to him after that.”

  “Aye, you’re right. I know you are. But getting him there will be a battle.”

  “I know it will be, but if he’s going to do it for anyone, he’ll do it for you. Love you, brother.”

  “Love you, too.”

  I hung up and closed my eyes for a brief second. Guilt at not going back to Ireland to fix the mess my dad was in sucker-punched me, but I knew that if I went back, I would never leave. I would just get sucked into the quicksand that was the constant MacFerguson Family drama, thanks to our pathetic excuse of a father.

  I blinked my troubles at home away and tried to cheer myself up by letting my mind wander back to Maggie. She hadn’t been wearing a particularly sexy outfit when we’d met– just a plain black pant-suit– but I could still tell she had a really nice figure underneath.

  I imagined what she would look like naked, my cock instantly hardening.

  I thought about her getting down on her knees in front of me, without a stitch on, and gently sucking my cock, her eyes locked on mine, while she rubbed her soaking wet pussy.