“And that’s why you’re my favorite brother.”
“I’m your only brother.”
“True.” Stacie sighed. “I wish you would’ve told any of us that you were in a serious relationship. Mom may have still invited Jillian since she’s an only child and has no one to spend the holidays with, but they wouldn’t have their hopes up that you two might finally get together.”
Ah man. Now that his sister put it that way, he knew he couldn’t ask Jillian to leave. “I feel sorry for her too, but it doesn’t mean I’m in love with her.”
“Ahh, I can’t believe my brother is in love,” Stacie teased. “When are you all getting married?”
Married? Kade swallowed hard, feeling like a pill was stuck in his throat. He almost denied he was getting married but then remembered that’s usually what happened once someone got engaged. “I don’t know.” He swallowed again. “We haven’t decided yet.” He didn’t like lying and had to remind himself that he was doing this for Presley. Kade helped people. It’s what he did every day he was on the job.
“Well, it better be soon. I look cute-pregnant right now, but I know I’m going to pop any day now.”
“We just got engaged, so it’s not happening anytime soon,” Kade said, feeling a cold sweat break out on his forehead.
“Shoot, that means I’ll probably look huge. Nursing does the opposite to me, and I can’t lose weight until I wean the baby. My boobs will be big too.”
“Geez, Stace, thanks for the TMI.” Kade shook his head. Sometimes his sisters forgot he was a guy and not married. They frequently discussed their menstrual cycle and other women things that he didn’t want to know about.
“Sorry,” she said with a laugh. “I guess we can discuss dates when you all get here.”
“Please don’t,” he said, seeing Presley standing at the register. “We plan on taking things really slow.”
“You’re no fun.”
Kade knew his sisters would be all over him about setting a wedding date. He needed to get their minds on something else. “Hey, so I will need your help. The network wants to film me proposing to Presley Christmas Eve.”
“I thought you already proposed?”
“Yeah, but they want it live.” With the time crunch, the producers decided they had would only film the proposal. “Presley and I don’t want anything elaborate, just romantic.”
“How did you propose to her the first time?” Stacie asked. “Just do a repeat.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to work. Not sure America would find the fake fiancé thing very romantic. “It just kind of happened.”
“Kade, that’s terrible. Every girl deserves an awesome proposal.”
Presley was coming out the doors, so Kade quickly finished up the conversation. “Hey, I need to get on the road before the snow hits.” He waved at Presley. “Keep this on the down-low, and then we’ll talk about it when we get there.”
“I’m so excited,” Stacie said with a girly squeal. “Oh, and don’t forget my chocolate covered cinnamon bears.”
“Got it.” Ending the call, Kade climbed out of the car. “Hey,” he said, coming around to open the passenger door for Presley. “I need to run inside for a minute and get something for Stacie.”
“Is she okay?” Presley asked as she brushed past him. His body buzzed from the brief contact as the subtle flowery scent that was all Presley wafted on the air. “I was worried about her,” she said, settling onto the seat.
“She’s good.” Kade knew he had to tell Presley about Jillian and that his mother’s obsession that he marry her. He wasn’t sure what she would do but guessed Presley would make him take her home. He decided not to tell her until they were closer to the cabin. “Yeah, just craving chocolate and needs a fix.”
Presley’s full lips parted into a sweet smile. “I totally get that, and I’m not even pregnant.”
Hearing her talk about being pregnant someday triggered some repressed fantasy. As if someone had just turned on a movie, a vision of a radiant Presley carrying a child—his child—flashed in Kade’s brain. The mental image stole his breath as he nodded and stepped back to close the car door. Someday Presley would get married and have her husband’s child. Kade was disturbed by the thought but not as disturbed by how much he wanted that guy to be him.
Chapter 7
Presley felt sick to her stomach as the GPS declared their final destination was ten miles away. Kade had been really quiet for the past thirty minutes, making her feel worse. She was putting him in a really bad situation and felt selfish. It wasn’t too late. They could always say she had nowhere to spend Christmas, and Kade felt sorry for her and invited her to be with his family. Or he could drop her off somewhere, and she could call for an Uber to take her back home.
“So,” Kade said, letting out a big breath. “I need to tell you something.”
Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good. Maybe he was trying to think of a nice way to get out of this and that’s why he’d been so quiet. “Okay.” She placed a hand over her stomach, wishing she hadn’t eaten so much candy. She avoided junk food when she was training, but Kade had come out of the convenience store with a bunch of treats, including two bags of chocolate covered cinnamon bears. “I’m listening.”
Kade flicked his eyes at her before focusing on the road again. Then he drew in another deep breath. Presley couldn’t stand to see him so stressed out. “We don’t have to go through with this.”
“What?” he asked, shooting her another quick look. “Are you getting cold feet already?”
“Isn’t that what you have?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what’s going on?” Presley asked although she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer. “You’ve been very quiet, and I can’t help but think you want out of this deal.”
“No.” He ticked his head to the side like he was cracking his neck. “Stacie knows we’re engaged.”
All the air in Presley’s lungs whooshed out with a gasp. “You told her?” she choked out.
“You okay?” Kade asked, giving her a worried look.
“Fine.” Presley wheezed in a breath, wondering if she was having a panic attack. “Just give me a sec to catch my breath.”
“Should I pull over in case you need mouth to mouth?”
Mouth to mouth? What was he trying to do? Kill her? “No mouth to mouth!” she said a little too loudly. Embarrassed by her outburst, she gently cleared her throat. “Really, Kade. I’m fine.”
His lips twitched, and she could tell he was on the verge of laughing. Thinking of his mouth pressed to hers made her realize they had yet to discuss what level of intimacy they planned on having while engaged. “By the way, I’m not sleeping with you.”
“What?” Kade jerked his head and looked at her, making the car swerve. He quickly straightened the wheel out and then shot her another look she couldn’t quite decipher. He appeared angry while at the same time flustered. “Where did that come from?”
“I meant, we aren’t sharing a bed. Or a room.”
“Yeah, I planned on sleeping separately.” His fingers curled around the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles blanched. “Again, where did that come from?”
How did she explain herself without sounding like even more of an idiot? “When you said mouth-to-mouth, it made me think about kissing, and then I realized that we hadn’t talked about kissing or, um, other stuff.”
“Other stuff?” he asked with amusement.
Presley plucked a chocolate covered cinnamon bear out of the bag Kade had opened and threw one at him.
“Hey,” he said with a laugh. “Driving here.”
“Just forget what I said.” She wanted to chuck another cinnamon bear at him when his grin widened. She refrained since it had started snowing about an hour ago and was now sticking to the road. As irritated as she felt, she didn’t want to cause an accident.
He glanced over at her and grinned. “You’re cute when you’re mad.”
Pres
ley’s stomach dipped at the wicked grin on his face. Did he know what that kind of talk did to a girl? He winked, letting her know he was perfectly aware his flirtatious comments were making her all hot and bothered. Narrowing her eyes, she threw another cinnamon bear at him. It hit him on the side of his head. “Bullseye,” she said with a wicked grin of her own.
“Would you stop throwing things at me?” He slowed the vehicle down and glanced over his right shoulder before merging into the far right lane. “We need to get back on topic.”
Oh, yeah. He was about to tell her something important. “Okay, so you told Stacie we’re engaged. Why exactly did you do that?”
“I think I better pull over just to be safe.” He eased the SUV off the road to a wide space for emergency vehicles and put on his flashers. Presley’s insides swirled like her Vitamix when he turned to face her. “I told Stacie about the engagement after she told me my mother invited my ex-girlfriend to spend Christmas with our family.”
The contents of Presley’s stomach threatened to spew out of her mouth as the blood drained from her head.
“Take a deep breath,” Kade said, flipping the temperature of the heater to cold. “Do you need an emesis bag?” he asked, turning the vent toward her face as fresh air blasted her.
“Why do I need an enema?” she asked, questioning his skills as a paramedic.
Kade’s eyes widened before he burst out into raucous laughter. After a few seconds, he composed himself long enough to explain that emesis was another word for vomiting. She wondered how funny he thought it would be if she puked all over the front of his shirt.
“I’m not going to throw up.” She tucked a loose curl behind her ear and adjusted the air vent, so it wasn’t directly blowing in her face. “I was just shocked that your ex-girlfriend is going to be spending Christmas with us.”
“Welcome to the club.” Kade shoved a hand through his dark hair, leaving it rumpled and sexy. “That’s not all.” He paused, looking like he might need an emesis bag. “My mom and Jillian’s mom have been best friends forever. They’re actually more like sisters, and they also decided a long time ago that they want Jillian and me to get married.”
Presley felt sick inside all over again. What was Kade trying to tell her? That he was still in love with this Jillian and now pretending to be engaged to her was going to screw it all up? Before she could ask him, he explained about Jillian’s parents and why his mom had invited her to spend Christmas with their family. That made Presley feel a tiny bit better until he mentioned that his mom was determined that he and Jillian get back together.
“Is Stacie the only one who knows about me?”
“Yeah, but I can’t guarantee she hasn’t told my sisters yet.” His brow furrowed, making her want to reach across and smooth her finger over the lines. “Why?” he asked with concern.
Presley didn’t want to cause any problems. What if Kade’s feelings had changed, and he wanted to get back together with his old girlfriend? He certainly couldn’t do that with Presley hanging around.
“You don’t have to go through with the engagement thing. I’ll figure something else out.” She let out a shaky breath. “Just drop me off somewhere, and I’ll take an Uber home.”
“No way,” Kade said, the lines on his forehead deepening into a scowl. “I am not putting you in some stranger’s car and sending you home to spend Christmas alone.” Before she could come up with a valid argument, he added, “And I need to be engaged now more than ever.”
He did? “You…you aren’t interested in getting back together with Jillian?”
“No, she and I tried dating for a few months, but it wasn’t right.” The muscle in his jaw flexed. “Jillian agreed, and we parted as friends, but my mom and Jillian’s mom are still holding out hope we’ll get married.”
And now he was pretending to be engaged to Presley, which was bound to cause all kinds of problems. If they were really engaged, then Presley could try to win his mom over. But they weren’t engaged, and there was still a chance Kade might still have feelings for Jillian.
“I can tell what you’re thinking, Presley, and you’re wrong,” Kade said. “I don’t want to get back together with Jillian, but I don’t want to hurt her either. My mom is dead set on me marrying her best friend’s daughter. If I’m engaged, then Jillian won’t get her hopes up.”
“But we’re not really engaged.”
“Technically, we are because we both agreed to it.”
Presley tried imagining what this Jillian looked like. She bet she was gorgeous and exactly Kade’s type. She had to give him an out in case his feelings changed once he saw her again. “Will you promise me something?” Presley asked, biting her lower lip, so it didn’t quiver.
“Depends on what it is.”
“If you find that your feelings have changed for Jillian, then you need to tell me, and I’ll end things between us.”
“Presley…”
She held up her hand. “Promise me.”
“Fine, I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“So, are we still engaged?” he asked, running a hand across his darkening whiskered jaw. Firefighters had to be clean-shaven so that their masks fit properly, but she’d noticed in the past that when Kade was off for more than a few days, he’d let his beard grow into a sexy five-o’clock shadow. Presley’s fingers itched to caress that square jawline. Her eyes drifted to his mouth. Kade’s lips were perfect, full but not in a feminine way. She’d bet her meager salary along with Brynlee’s that Kade Hunter knew how to thoroughly kiss a woman, too.
Her gaze flickered up, and Presley nearly went into full cardiac arrest. Those silvery blue eyes of his were filled with a hunger that made her feel breathless again. She might not be too experienced when it came to men, but she was fairly certain Kade wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him.
Her body swayed toward him. Just as Kade leaned toward her, a diesel flew past them, swirling up snow and making the windows of the car rattle. It was enough to snap both of them out of whatever the heck had just happened.
“All right,” she said, holding out her hand. “The engagement is still on.”
“Okay.” A sinful smile spread across his face as Kade pressed his palm to hers. Instead of shaking on the deal, he brought her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips across her skin. Spirals of heat spread through her like an out of control fire as their gazes locked.
“Ready to go?” he asked, lowering her hand but not letting go. His thumb made a slow circle in the center of her palm.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said in a breathless tone. Honestly, Presley was an elite athlete in top physical condition. She shouldn’t feel like she’d run a marathon by simply holding Kade’s hand.
The next ten minutes flew by far too quickly. She and Kade went over their story again, but still never addressed whether they were going to kiss or not. When he pulled in front of his stepdad’s cabin, Presley snorted a laugh as she stared at the enormous house made from stone and logs. “That is not a cabin,” she said with another laugh. “That is a freaking mansion.”
“It’s a cabin.” Kade glanced at the structure and unclicked his seatbelt. “But now you know why we won’t be shacking up.”
“Um, we wouldn’t be shacking up even if there weren’t twenty rooms to choose from.”
“Twelve,” he said. “Thirteen, if you count the Murphy bed in the family room.”
“It’s so…”
“Over-the-top?”
“Gorgeous,” Presley said, her eyes skimming over the entire house. Single candles with flickering bulbs were in each windowsill. A lighted garland draped across the large porch with red bows at each post. A tall Christmas tree stood in front of a picture window, the colored lights muted by the glass. “It looks like one of the houses in Brynlee’s Christmas village.”
“My mom has one of those too. It takes her a month to set up.”
“I can’t wait to see it.” Presley had
always wanted a lighted Christmas village but never had the money. Even when they were priced at seventy-five percent off during the after-Christmas sales, it was a frivolous cost she couldn’t afford. Brynlee’s village was small with only a few houses, but it was still magical to look at. Someday Presley would buy her own village. Maybe if she won the Ninja Champions, that would be her first purchase. She wouldn’t even have to wait for a sale.
“I might need an emesis bag,” she said after Kade opened her door and helped her out. “Are you sure you want me here?” Presley looked up at Kade when he didn’t respond right away. She expected him to make a wisecrack about enemas or something. Instead, he was gazing at her with a simmering and intense look. Electricity swirled in the air around them, and every inch of her skin buzzed at his nearness.
“Wanting you isn’t a problem for me,” he said in a gruff voice.
Oh. What exactly was he saying? That he wanted her here or he wanted her?
“Uncle Kade!” a child’s voice cried out just before a little boy plowed into them, hugging Kade’s legs and pushing Presley away. Since when had they gotten so close?
“We’ll finish this later,” Kade said, his eyes a smoky gray.
Presley didn’t have time to ask for further clarification as more children joined in the Uncle Kade hug fest going on. He was very popular with his nieces and nephews. Really adorable nieces and nephews with an equally handsome uncle. She bet Kade would make pretty babies too.
Presley didn’t dwell on that thought too long. One of the adult’s ended the ridiculously cute reunion between the uncle and his little entourage. Seriously, how was Presley supposed to resist completely falling for Kade?
“Kids,” a woman hollered out. “It’s freezing out here. Let Uncle Kade come inside.”
“I get to hold his hand,” a little girl with curly blonde hair said. Presley recognized her as Maddie, Stacie’s four-year-old daughter.
While two little girls that looked exactly the same fought over his other hand, Presley glanced at the front porch to see the adults filing out of the house. Butterflies the size of hummingbirds flitted around inside her stomach as she scanned each face. She’d air-dropped Kade’s family picture to her phone and had studied it on the drive up, memorizing names and faces and who belonged to who. Identifying all three of Kade’s sisters was easy, but she had trouble pinpointing which man they were married to. Three guys were huddled together on the other side of the women, watching Kade and their children. Presley couldn’t really see their faces because of the low lighting.
Her Stand-In Fake Fiancé Page 6
