The Fake Engagement Favor

by Charlene Sands

  Gianna woke up in the guesthouse bedroom, the scent of coffee brewing in the kitchen oddly not rattling her too much. She felt at home here, and she barely remembered what had happened last night, other than Gage showing up at the bar. Things were fuzzy after that. Had he picked her up bodily and carried her out of Eddie’s? Had he brought her here and tucked her into bed?

  She smiled.

  He had.

  He was here now, attempting not to make noise in the kitchen.

  Her head ached, but it would’ve ached more if she hadn’t taken the pills that had magically shown up on her nightstand. And her stomach ached, too, but only a little. She’d endured most of the cramping in the wee hours of the morning.

  She moved slowly, putting on a big old gray sweatshirt, setting her glasses on her nose and twisting her mop of hair at the top of her head.

  This was who she was in all her comfortable glory. She had to remind Gage of that.

  She made her way to the kitchen. Gage was pouring coffee into two cups. She stood at the edge of the room, eyeing him. He was in the same clothes from last night, looking rumpled and gorgeous.

  “Tell me something, Gage,” she said, and her heart stopped when he looked up, coffeepot in hand. There was a light shining in his eyes, a blue beam of emotion that struck her instantly.

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t you believe in roses and candy? Or sweeping a girl off her feet? And I don’t mean picking her up bodily and carrying her out of a bar. What kind of guy goes on national television to profess his love? Why, with you, are cameras always rolling?”

  “Good morning to you, too, Gianna. How do you feel?”

  “Better than I did last night. I guess I got lucky this time.”

  “Come and have some coffee. It’ll be good for you.”

  “Answer my question, Gage.”

  He set the coffeepot down and strode over to her, capturing her gaze. Goodness, she could melt right into those intense blue eyes. “You’re not the roses and candy kind of girl, sweetheart.”

  “I’m not?”

  “No, you’re way more than that. You’re the kind of woman that gets into a man’s head until he can’t think straight.”

  “I am?”

  “The kind of girl whose brains are ultra sexy.”

  She gulped. “Ultra?”

  He nodded.

  “I don’t even have a plan for my life now, Gage. I’m lost, I don’t know what way to go.”

  “You’re not lost. You haven’t lost anything. Not your job. Not your friends. Not anything.”

  “How can you say that?”

  Tenderly, he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. The sweet caress streamed all the way down to her toes. “I can say that because I’ve spoken with the president of Fairmont U. He doesn’t want your resignation. He never did.”

  “And how much did that cost you?” she asked, her mind kicking into high gear.

  “Not a penny. They love you. They want you to come back. Gianna, after I explained my part in the charade, the president understood everything.”

  “You mean, I have my job back?”

  Gage’s grin wiped out all her doubts. “You never lost it, sweetheart. But I do suggest that you take a leave of absence.”

  “Why?”

  “For one, I declined the role in Sunday in Montana.”

  “You did? But that’s why we entered into the charade in the first place. For you to get that role.”

  “I don’t need that gig. I’m a musician, not an actor. I can’t believe how relieved I feel about that. I don’t want to be away from you for three months.”

  “No?”

  “No, can’t do that. I’d miss you too much. Besides, we’re going to Europe as soon as we can arrange it. I hear Italy and Greece are beautiful this time of year. And I think we can both use some time away.”

  “You do, do you?”

  “Yeah, I do. Fact is, I pretty much have everything I want. That is, if I have you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, you, sweet Gianna.”

  Gage stared her straight in the eyes and then lowered down on one knee and took her hand. “You’re beautiful, Gianna, inside and out. I love you. With my whole heart. I’ve never been in love before, so it took me a long time to recognize it, but I can’t imagine my life without you.”

  “Gage,” she whispered. Was this really happening? Her heart filled with joy.

  “I want you by my side, always. I want everything with you. A home, a family. I want us to grow old together. I want to take you on that trip to Europe and go to the opera with you. I want all that, but I have only one condition. You go as my wife. Gianna, will you marry me?”

  Tears dripped down her cheeks. “Oh, Gage. I love you, too. And yes, I’ll marry you.”

  Gage stood then, and she fell into his arms. He hugged her tight and brought his mouth to hers. The delicious taste of him filled her senses. The kiss was as perfect as the man she was going to marry.

  She put her hand on his stubbly cheek, and her heart swelled. “I was wrong about you, Gage. You’re nothing like my father. I’m sorry to have compared you to him. Can you forgive me?”

  “I do. I will admit, I gave you reason to doubt me. But never intentionally. I guess I am a brickhead sometimes.”

  She smiled. “You’re a good, good man, Gage Tremaine. And I’m never going to hear the end of it from Lily. She’s been in your corner the entire time.”

  He laughed. “That’s good to know, sweetheart.” He brought his lips to hers again, this time more urgently. This time with a promise of what would come later tonight. She could hardly wait.

  “You’re my fiancée for real this time,” Gage said, stroking her cheek gently.

  “And I am yours. We’re really engaged now.”

  “I’ve never been this happy, Gianna.”

  “Neither have I, my love.”

  She smiled. Their future was secure now.

  With no cameras rolling.

  * * *

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  CHAPTER ONE

  Ashiya scanned the numbers on her computer screen and grinned. Another profitable day for her consignment store, Piece Together. Another day that she’d kept the store she’d opened on a whim from being considered a contender for best dramatic performance by a Robidoux family member. Another day she’d taken that whim and turned it from “that little store,” as her mom referred to it, into the place to shop in Jackson Falls for quality, preowne
d designer clothes, with a healthy helping of fashion tips and perfect accessories on the side.

  She shimmied her hips in the chair as she hit Enter to save the day’s profit numbers in her bookkeeping software. Six years ago, when she’d decided to open her store, she hadn’t believed she’d be here for this long. Honestly, she hadn’t believed she would be able to make it work. She might have grown up in the mix of the Robidoux family with all their drama, fighting for control, and business acumen, but she’d never wanted any of that. She wanted to live life on her own terms with little interference from her family.

  Piece Together was something she’d known her mother, cousins, and uncle wouldn’t care about. They’d let her “play around,” and she’d get peace and quiet. Who knew she could actually run a business successfully?

  A knock on the office door snapped her from her internal celebration. She glanced up from her computer to the door of her office in the back of the store. Lindsey, the store’s assistant manager, stood there. She’d been one of the first people Ashiya hired to help run Piece Together when she’d opened. Lindsey, with her no-nonsense personality, straightforward style, and keen eye for fashion, had stayed by Ashiya’s side through those early, lean years when Ashiya hadn’t been sure the store would survive. Short, with a cute face, and an upturned nose that reminded Ashiya of a pixie, Lindsey could easily pass for one of the college kids in town despite being thirty-one.

  “Hey, I’ve finished straightening up the front of the store. How much longer will you be here?” Lindsey pulled back her normally brunette hair, which was now colored a soft pink, into a ponytail at the base of her neck.

  They always tried to walk out together. Downtown Jackson Falls wasn’t a dangerous town, but that didn’t mean they liked to tempt fate. Their parking lot was behind the building, poorly lit and after eight p.m. served as the overflow parking for a few bars in the area. They preferred to be safe rather than sorry.

  “I just finished up.” Ashiya hit the Save button one more time just to be sure she cemented the success of the day. “I’ve got to get out of here anyway.”

  “Hot date?” Lindsey asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

  Ashiya barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a hot date. Not since she finally came to her senses and told her on-again, off-again boyfriend since college to get the hell out of her life. Every time she thought about the time and effort she’d wasted on that relationship, the good things she’d let pass her by, she wanted to slap herself. She would pay whoever invented a time machine all six years’ worth of Piece Together’s profits for the chance to go back and tell twenty-two-year-old Ashiya to stay away from that manipulative asshole and to remember that good sex did not equal love.

  She pushed aside thoughts of her wasted years and sighed. “No hot date. My cousin Elaina’s celebrating her engagement.” Ashiya powered down her computer and stood.

  Lindsey crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. “So she’s really getting married, huh?”

  Ashiya barely contained her chuckle at Lindsey’s dubious tone. “She is, and I actually believe she’s happy.”

  Lindsey raised her brows again. “Good for her.”

  “I know, right?” Ashiya said. “I’m happy for her. I hope this marriage works out better than her first one.”

  Lindsey crossed her heart, pressed her hands together as if in prayer and lifted them to the sky. She wasn’t overly religious, but Ashiya appreciated every bit of good vibes for a better relationship for her cousin. “I hope so, too. She can be…intense, but everyone deserves to be happy.”

  Ashiya walked across the small office, which was actually a former storage room that she’d converted into an office for her store, to the coat rack, where she’d hung her purse. A small black Louis Vuitton bag she’d found at a thrift store in Charleston the year before and today had paired with a simple white T-shirt and gauzy leopard print A-line skirt. She lived for finding deals like that.

  “Now that she’s engaged and happy,” Ashiya said, putting the strap for the purse over one shoulder, “she’s also making an effort to hang out with the family more. Tonight is ladies’ night to toast to her good fortune.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Lindsey said with what came across like forced enthusiasm.

  Ashiya grinned. “It will be. I haven’t gotten a chance to hang with my cousins in a while. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I’m waiting for the day your family convinces you to quit running the store and start working at that huge corporation they own.”

  “I wouldn’t abandon you like that.” Ashiya flipped the lights off in her office.

  “I wouldn’t consider it abandonment. Just remember if you ever decide to go and start making big deals instead of scouring thrift stores for premium goods, I’ll understand and take over the store for you.”

  Ashiya wrapped an arm around Lindsey’s shoulders as they walked toward the front of the store. “Not gonna happen, but if I ever change my mind, I know I’ll be leaving this place in good hands.”

  They did one more check of the front before locking up the store. This wasn’t the first time Lindsey teased her about potentially leaving Piece Together to work for Robidoux Holdings. Lindsey believed Ashiya would take the skills she’d utilized to turn Piece Together and use them for bigger payout working for her family’s larger holding corporation. Ashiya appreciated her friend’s support, but she wasn’t about to deceive herself into thinking she was smart enough to run anything bigger than this store.

  She and Lindsey said their goodbyes as they left the store and got into their cars. As always, Ashiya waited until Lindsey had driven off before exiting the parking lot. She made a left and eased into the late afternoon traffic toward the Jackson Falls Country Club for ladies’ night.

  Honestly, she wasn’t sure how much fun this would be. She didn’t dislike Elaina, who was remarkably more pleasant now that she’d taken over control of Robidoux Holdings and found happiness with herself and in her love life, but that didn’t mean Ashiya immediately thought of Elaina when she wanted to go out and have fun. Thankfully, India, Elaina’s younger sister, was going to be there as well. Ashiya refused to turn down any opportunity to hang out with her favorite cousin. Byron’s new wife, Zoe, would also be there. Ashiya liked Zoe well enough and believed she was the reason Elaina had agreed to the night out in the first place.

  Ashiya was happy for all her cousins. They’d found love and were living their best lives. She, on the other hand, was single again for the first time since the age of twenty-two. She didn’t know what to do about her relationship status. Well, she knew what and who she wanted, but she’d burned that bridge, and there was no turning back.

  She blasted the latest Megan Thee Stallion song on the radio to get her mind right for a night of fun, but her ringing phone interrupted the beat. A number she didn’t recognize popped up on the car’s console. She considered ignoring it, but she’d learned her lesson the hard way about ignoring phone calls. Even from unknown numbers.

  Ashiya pressed the button on her steering wheel to accept the call. “Hello?”

  “Hello, I’m trying to reach Ashiya Waters?” a woman’s cool, professional voice asked.

  Ashiya rolled her eyes. Telemarketer. Hadn’t she put her number on that list that told them to leave her the hell alone or something? “Sorry, I’m not interested.”

  “Ms. Waters, this is Brianna Winters. I was your grandmother Gloria Waters’s personal assistant,” the woman said in a rush before Ashiya could end the call.

  Ashiya frowned at the screen. Her Grandmother Gloria? Why would her grandmother’s assistant call her? Ashiya hadn’t had anything to do with her father’s side of the family since they’d disowned him for marrying her mother. Resentment about her mother pursing her father to gain access to her grandmother’s then-growing beauty compa
ny went long and deep. Ashiya vividly remembered being eight or nine and overhearing her Grandmother Gloria telling Ashiya’s mother that she wasn’t going to get a red cent of anything that would have gone to her son.

  Ashiya kind of understood her grandmother cutting ties after learning the truth behind the reasons her mom pursued her dad. That didn’t stop Ashiya from being hurt when her father’s family didn’t want anything to do with her. She loved her father and knew the estrangement hurt him, too, but she also loved her momma. Ashiya couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be close to someone who hated her mom. As she’d grown, and the animosity festering from her parent’s bad marriage and unresolved issues infected Ashiya’s life in ways that still hindered her.

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “Why are you calling me?”

  “Because you grandmother died two days ago.” Brianna spoke in a direct manner with only the barest hint of sympathy.

  Ashiya sucked in a breath. She squeezed the steering wheel. Every single memory she had of her grandmother involved her telling her dad he never should have married that raggedy whore in the first place whenever they visited. Eventually the visits stopped. That didn’t mean Ashiya had wished her dead.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said truthfully.

  “I’m calling you because the reading of the will is this Friday.” When Brianna spoke this time, her voice was warmer. “You’ll need to be there?”

  “Why would I need to be there? I’m pretty sure I’m not listed.”

  Brianna cleared her throat. “Actually, you are.”

  The thought of being in her grandmother’s will was so absurd, Ashiya laughed. Probably not appropriate after receiving news of a deceased relative, but she didn’t believe anything her grandmother left for her required her to attend the reading of the will. “Okay, so she left me a clock, or my dad’s high school clothes. Can’t you just mail them to me? I don’t have to show up for that.”

  There was a pause before Brianna spoke again. “You’re getting a lot more than a clock. Ms. Waters, your grandmother left you her entire estate. You are now the majority shareholder of the Legacy Group. If you’d like to avoid having your cousins contest the will, I’d suggest you be here.”