by Eliza Boyd
“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with your outfit,” he said in a hushed voice, leaning toward her.
“Then why can’t I wear it to the school?”
“I just think…” He’d started this off on the wrong foot, so he fumbled around to figure out the most tactful way to approach this. “It’ll be best if I buy you some clothes to wear to the meeting. That’s all.”
Her brow furrowed even deeper than before. “What are you, a billionaire or something?”
As she held his gaze, words failed him. It’d been almost three years since he’d inherited his father’s money, but he still didn’t feel like it belonged to him. And he didn’t like how people changed the way they treated him when they knew. Roger was a prime example. Jude had mostly remained the same, but Roger acted like Evan wasn’t the same guy they’d gone to school with. With every second that passed, though, she mentally assigned each zero in his bank account solely to him.
“Oh my goodness.” Nicole dipped her head and quieted her voice. “You are, aren’t you?” she asked, her brow unfurrowing as her eyebrows rose.
He pulled his chair in for nothing more than to do something with his hands. “I don’t want to talk about it if that’s okay.”
She gave him a surrender pose, smirking. “That’s fine. It’s none of my business.” After adjusting her position in her chair, she picked up her water glass and said, “But I guess it’s not the solution to all problems if you have that much money and need me to be your pretend wife.”
Something about the way she’d said it—or maybe the words themselves—made him laugh. It started small, but then it built to a decibel too loud for the quiet restaurant. She caught the wave and giggled with him too, nearly spilling her water all over the table.
“It is ridiculous, isn’t it?” he said, his laughter dying down. On a sigh, he picked his napkin up and draped it over his lap. “Believe me. I tried to pay them. Hadley’s education felt worth an extra two zeroes added to the tuition. I bargained with another zero, but they wouldn’t budge. It’s this ‘strongly family-oriented society’ policy they have.” Shaking his head, he said, “So I need a pretend wife, and you seemed to need a job.”
Nicole’s mouth fell open as she scoffed at him in a playful tone. “Uh, yeah. After you got me fired!”
“It’s good to see you laughing about it already,” he said before sipping his own water.
“Yeah, well…” She put her own napkin on her lap too. “Someone’s paying me a lot of money to do him a favor, so it’s kinda funny.”
Evan agreed. This whole situation was crazy. But he had to admit he was having fun.
The waiter brought their food, and Nicole immediately dug in. She looked like she was enjoying the food, her eyes closing every so often after a bite. But soon, her enjoyment took a turn toward seriousness.
Her fork clattered against her plate as she looked him in the eyes, worry shining in hers. “Evan, are you sure about this? It’s a lot of money, a billion dollars in your bank account or not.”
“Like I said,” he told her, cutting into his food. “My daughter is worth every penny.”
“And she’ll never know about this, I assume.” She picked her fork back up.
Evan shook his head as he chewed. “No. She can’t. She’s already been through enough. This would be…” Trailing off, he searched for the right phrase. He thought about what had happened with his ex, but he didn’t want to get into it over this nice meal when they’d just met. Nicole didn’t have to know about that part of his life. So he finished with, “Too much.”
But it was clear by the way she slowed her chewing and watched him that she was curious. “Something else you don’t want to talk about?” she astutely guessed.
Slowly, he nodded. “Thanks for understanding.”
“I get it,” she cryptically said. “I’ve had a life I don’t want to talk about too.” After a sympathetic smile, she went back to her meal.
Then they ate the rest of their food in silence.
Once he’d paid the bill, he stood and gestured for her to go first. When they were outside, she thanked him and started to leave. But he reached a hand out to stop her.
“One more thing,” Evan said, digging into his pocket. When he produced the ring, her eyes flared wide. “To make it believable.” He held it out to her, waiting for her to take it.
Nicole hesitated, tentatively extending her arm until she could pluck it from his palm.
“Just make sure to remember to wear it to the meeting on Tuesday,” he said. “It’s at four p.m.”
With the ring between her fingers, she nodded. “I’ll be there.” After placing it her left hand, she stretched her right one out to him. “It’s a deal.”
His lips tilted up as he reached his hand out to hers. Shaking her hand, he sealed the deal with a nod. “See you then.”
The pain in Evan’s chest lessened as he thought about Hadley getting into Pemhall Prep with this woman’s help. But then a different feeling took its place.
One that liked Nicole Ballinger more than he should.
4
“You can do this,” Nicole muttered to herself as she slipped Evan’s ring onto her finger.
It wasn’t how she’d imagined getting engaged for the first time, but it wasn’t like this was real. It was for her father, so she could take care of him the way she should have always been doing. It was for family.
It wasn’t because she was attracted to Evan. Nope. Nope nope nope. That wasn’t it at all.
He didn’t have dreamy eyes and a great haircut and a heart of gold. No, he didn’t.
“Ugh.” She groaned, getting out of the Uber and continuing to lie to herself.
In the clothes Evan had had delivered to her house—a much fancier cream sweater than the one she’d worn to the restaurant, form-fitting designer jeans, and boots that probably cost more than her dad’s mortgage payment—she strode up to Pemhall Prep, ready to impress the headmaster of the school.
She didn’t at all care what Evan thought about her in this outfit. Nope, she didn’t. Nuh uh.
Ever since their lunch, Nicole hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. Of course, that had a lot to do with the fact that she had everything riding on this deal of theirs. The fact that he’d even asked her had been a miracle itself. But she found herself intrigued by him. And it had nothing to do with the money he was offering her.
It had everything to do with him.
They’d texted all weekend, going back and forth about everything there was to know about Hadley and the other things fiancés should know about each other. She now knew he couldn’t make his daughter a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without cutting the crusts off—but it wasn’t because she didn’t like the crusts. It was because she wanted to eat them first, without the bread part getting in the way. She knew that her favorite movie was ET, which had been her favorite movie as a kid too. And Hadley’s idea of fun was painting and having tea parties.
But she’d asked a lot about him too. She knew that his favorite movie was The Aviator, though he also liked less artsy movies like superhero films. He enjoyed cooking chili even when it wasn’t cold out, and he loved his daughter more than anything in the world. He hadn’t had to tell her that part. She’d figured that out on her own.
Yet she still didn’t know where Hadley’s mom was or what had happened there. She hadn’t asked, either. Perhaps she should have in case the headmaster asked about it, but in times of doubt, she could defer to Evan. It’d be fine.
He was right inside the main doors when she walked in. Next to him was a stout woman with chestnut skin and dark, curly hair, dressed in a professional outfit. She had glasses resting on the top of her head. But that was all that registered before Evan came right up to her, slipped an arm around her middle, and kissed her cheek.
“Hi, honey,” he said. “You made it.”
Nicole wasn’t supposed to be surprised by that, but it’d come out of nowhere. They had
n’t talked much about physical contact. In fact, they hadn’t talked about it at all. But they were supposed to be a couple in love enough to be engaged, so she swallowed her shock down and tried to act like that was natural.
She didn’t, however, have to act like she enjoyed having him that close. Her heart’s quicker beat with him that near helped her out just fine.
“Hello.” The headmaster stuck her hand out to Nicole. “I’m Etta Jamison, headmaster of Pemhall Prep. It’s so good to meet you, Mrs. Charleston.”
While shaking the headmaster’s hand, Nicole said, “Oh, I’m still Miss B—”
But Evan squeezed her tighter to him, cutting her words off. “Was traffic bad?” he asked, gesturing for them to start walking.
“Am I late?” She checked the gold watch that had come with the outfit as they walked down a hallway. “I got caught up at work. Sorry about that.”
Mrs. Jamison paused at a door, putting her hand on the knob. “You still work?” she asked. Then she opened the door and swept a hand out for Nicole and Evan to go inside.
“I do,” Nicole answered. She took a seat next to Evan and set the Coach bag he’d included in his clothes package on her lap.
“I guess I assumed you wouldn’t have to,” Mrs. Jamison said as she rounded the corner of her desk.
“After the wedding,” Evan answered for her as she floundered next to him. The idea of not working had never occurred to her—not even in her wildest dreams. “If she wants to quit her job, she can, but until then, she’s chosen to work.” He took her hand in his, threading their fingers and bringing their clasped hands to his thigh.
“Oh, right,” Mrs. Jamison said, sounding like she’d just remembered something. “I must have written my notes down wrong. I thought you both were already married, being Hadley’s parents and all.”
Nicole opened her mouth to set this woman straight. But sooner than she could speak, Evan squeezed her fingers tight enough to make her knuckles white. All she could do was pinch her lips shut before she said something Evan didn’t want her to.
A minute and a half in and she already felt like a fish out of water. These weren’t the things they’d discussed in their text messages. She hadn’t been prepared to deal with this woman thinking they were already married. Or for her to assume she was Hadley’s mom. Evan hadn’t been very clear about what he’d told the headmaster about his fake relationship, but this wasn’t what she’d been expecting.
Two things kept her from leaving before she said something to ruin Evan’s charade: the thought of her father getting the medicine and treatment he needed and Evan’s face when he talked about his daughter.
Plus, holding his hand wasn’t a hardship or anything. So she decided to sit tight and keep her mouth closed. This would be over soon.
“So, when’s the wedding?” Mrs. Jamison asked, flipping through a file on her desk. When she looked up at the two of them, she smiled.
Luckily, this was something they’d discussed, so Nicole answered confidently, a beaming grin taking her whole face over. “Two months from now.”
Mrs. Jamison gave them a warm expression. “That’s fabulous. I’m sure Hadley’s so excited to see her parents get married.”
Nicole’s beaming grin turned tight. “She sure is,” she said, forcing the words through her lips.
“We’re excited too,” Evan said, almost sounding like he meant it.
“And where’s the honeymoon?” Mrs. Jamison asked, a little too eager to hear about their fictional private lives.
Evan gripped her hand, clearly unsure about what to say. They hadn’t talked about this part. But Nicole didn’t skip a beat. She’d been thinking about her own honeymoon since the second she’d come out of the womb. She’d even had this discussion during her last relationship, but she couldn’t let her heartbreak ruin Evan’s chances of getting Hadley into this school. So she let the words naturally tumble out of her mouth.
“Belize. They have much better weather in April than we do here in Colorado.” She stretched a smile across her face to really sell it.
Evan’s fingers tightened around hers, and he flashed her a wide-eyed, thankful look. Then he faced the headmaster again, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “It’s going to be wonderful. Hadley will stay with her grandmother, my mom, for the week.”
“Two weeks,” Nicole corrected, shooting him a playful look. “We extended it, remember, honey?” Then she swung her head back to face the headmaster, who appeared enthralled with this conversation. “This has been a long time coming,” she told the woman, shaking her and Evan’s clasped hands in the air, “so we thought we’d really go all out.”
“That’s great.” Mrs. Jamison jogged the stack of papers on her desk and closed the file. “Then I’ll get down to it. Hadley is a wonderful child and Pemhall Prep would be honored to have her attend. I do, however, have to process the rest of her admission paperwork with the rest of the board to see if she’d be a good fit here. So as soon as that is ready, I’ll give you both a call.” Before they could get up, she squinted and pulled her glasses down to rest on her nose. Then she opened the file, dragging a finger down until she found the spot she was looking for. “Actually, I don’t have any contact for you at all, Mrs. Charleston.” She took a pen from the holder on her desk and hovered it over the paper. “I’m ready when you are.”
Nicole glanced at Evan, unsure of what to do. Worry was likely written all over her face. Did she hand her contact information over? Make up something? She didn’t think it would be used anyway, but she couldn’t appear reluctant to answer the woman. So she blurted her real information out in a rush.
“Thanks,” Mrs. Jamison said as she scrawled the last digit of Nicole’s phone number down in the file. “We’ll call one of you as soon as we complete her application.” Then she stood and gave them a warm smile. “Thank you both for coming in.”
After they all shook hands, Evan escorted Nicole from the office. She kept a quick gait down the hall, the heels of her boots thudding against the carpet. She glanced behind herself to see if Mrs. Jamison had followed them out, but luckily, there was no sight of her. Still, she continued to book it out of the school before she started laughing at the ridiculousness of that meeting.
Evan opened the door they’d entered and let her exit first. Free to let out the emotions she’d been suppressing in the headmaster’s office, Nicole burst into a fit of giggles the moment she stepped outside. She had to hold her stomach with one hand and her mouth with the other to keep it down and not disturb the students inside. Soon, they were at his Jeep, far enough away from ears who shouldn’t overhear the conversation they were about to have.
“Oh wow,” Evan said, surprised awe in his voice. Hidden behind his SUV, he pretended to wipe his brow. “We survived that. I can’t believe it.” He bent at the waist, bracing his hands on his knees, laughing too.
Nicole’s cheeks hurt as she replied between chuckles, each puff of air a white cloud in front of her lips. “We did. I wasn’t sure we would. But we did.” She put her back to the side of the Jeep and rested her head against it, relief flowing through her.
He craned his neck up to look at her, and when she caught his gaze, he didn’t say anything. Or look away. He just watched her as he straightened his spine and rose to his full height. She thought he had gratitude shining in his eyes, but she hoped for something else there. Something that matched the emotions curling their way around her veins. Something that equaled the attraction she was starting to feel for him.
As she tried to shove that away, she realized that their deal was over. She’d held up her end of the bargain, so it was his turn now. A part of her didn’t want it to end as she twisted the band around her ring finger. She’d have to give that back, even though she liked the way it fit on her hand. She cleared her throat, intending to do just that while, at the same time, wishing this didn’t have to end so soon.
“Hey,” he said, dipping his hand into his po
cket and removing his keys. “Are you free for dinner? Hadley’s with my mom tonight. I wasn’t sure how long this was going to take, so I have the night off.”
Unable to do anything but blink—her wish had come true so fast—Nicole hesitated before answering. Sooner than she could though, he spoke again.
“Oh, sorry.” He waved the hand with his keys in the air between them, dismissing the idea. “That wasn’t part of the deal, though I’d be happy to pay for it. Not like a date or anything,” he added in a rush. “Just like a meal between friends. You know. If you want to. Unless you don’t. That’s okay.”
She tried to hold her smile back. It was cute how endearing he was. How out of practice he was at asking a woman out. Though this wasn’t a date. He’d said so. It was just a meal between friends.
“A meal between fake fiancés, you mean,” she said.
His teeth gleamed white as his mouth spread into a gorgeous, breathtaking smile. “Yeah. That.”
“I’d love to.” She adjusted the purse—the one she’d give back to him the next day, along with the rest of the clothes—on her shoulder. “I think you owe me anyway for going off-script. I’m her mom? Really?” She let out a playful scoff. But it was only to hide her happy grin as she spun around and opened the passenger’s-side door of his Jeep.
Maybe it wasn’t a date.
But it meant that this wasn’t over yet.
5
At the diner on Arapahoe, Evan opened the door and gestured for Nicole to go inside first. She held up two fingers at the lady in the back, who directed them to sit anywhere they wanted. In the car, Nicole had insisted they go there since they hadn’t over the weekend. She’d claimed he’d love their vegan burger, though he’d never heard of such a thing. He’d kept his skepticism to a minimum, but he wasn’t really looking forward to it.
Instead, he was looking forward to extending his time with her.
Even at a diner with sticky floors and plastic menus.
