His Perfect Woman: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy

by Lauren Wood

  “And all of this is why we are looking forward to celebrating our three-year anniversary with you in just a few weeks. You’ll all receive your personal invitations to our big soirée as you leave today.” He nodded to the ushers waiting near the exits with stacks of envelopes in their hands.

  It was a classy touch, but I doubted it would do anything to save Lucas from the impending trainwreck. I could tell by the look in their eyes—just waiting for their chance to tear him apart—that it would take more than a signed paper invite to butter them up.

  I considered intervening. I could cut him off at his conclusion, before he had a chance to open the floor for questions, and change course. Redirect their focus to something else, but being so unfamiliar with the workings of Heartstring, I had no clue what that something else would be. I reminded myself I wasn’t technically on duty yet anyway. I was just supposed to be observing, and it would be useful to see how Lucas handled the pressure without my guidance so I could make notes for the future.

  “We hope to see you all there. I’ll take your questions now,” he stated, smiling again...as if that would somehow save him.

  Every hand in the room shot up, with a handful of them jumping to their feet impatiently. More cameras snapped. Lucas searched the crowd and picked a younger, mousy-looking girl in front. He probably thought she was the least intimidating, but I could have warned him otherwise.

  “Mr. Meadows, I’m curious to know...if love is so important to you and your family...how is it that you and your three siblings have yet to find it for yourselves?”

  I cringed inside. She went straight for it, holding nothing back.

  Before he could answer, another reporter took their chance to speak without being called on. “And if you’re such experts on matchmaking, as your app claims, how is it that you can’t find your own matches?”

  “Are the numbers for the successful matches on your site doctored?”

  “Is it true that, statistically, people are using your site for hooking up rather than actually searching for love and marriage? That seems to be your MO, after all.”

  That reporter started calling out a long list of names of Lucas’s more notorious flings—supermodels, actresses, and well-known wealthy socialites. It was long, and before he could get more than even a few names in, someone else was already speaking over him.

  “Are you profiting from preying on people’s desperation for true love while you yourself don’t believe in it?”

  Questions were firing off from every direction in rapid succession. They stopped waiting their turns and soon the whole crowd was talking over each other like an angry mob. Lucas was trying to remain calm and collected, but I could see the subtle hints of his horror hidden in his face. The kind of thing only a close friend, who also just so happened to be a PR expert, could notice.

  Sure, I was only supposed to be taking notes, but then again, they were only supposed to be asking about the anniversary celebration, not Lucas’s love life. I had no choice but to run off track right along with them in order to save his ass.

  After quickly mulling over my saving statement, I approached the podium. I was in the midst of shoving Lucas to the side and taking the whole thing over myself when I suddenly felt his hand slide across my back.

  I froze and hissed at him through clenched teeth, “What are you doing?”

  But his hand didn’t stop. It slid right across my back, around to my side, pulling me into him. Next thing I knew, I was standing there with Lucas’s arm wrapped tightly around me in the most unprofessional move I had ever seen anyone make under pressure in a while.

  I leaned up to his ear. “I know you’re nervous, but do you have any idea how ridiculous this looks!? Get off of me!”

  Despite my squirming, his strong hold didn’t let up. He leaned into the mic again.

  “I know you all have a lot of questions and comments about some things about me that are currently going around on the internet. Which makes this as good a time as any to introduce you to…” He looked down at me with scattered, uncertain eyes. “My fiancé. Victoria Sloan.”

  I choked on any possible words I could say, looking up at him with horrified, wide eyes. Did he just say fiancé!?

  While I was frozen in shock, the crowd quieted for a moment and then erupted all over again—this time with questions about me and our relationship. Our engagement.

  “How did you two meet?”

  “When did you propose?”

  “How did you propose?”

  “When’s the wedding?”

  One voice cut through the rest, silencing the room. “Victoria Sloan. You work in PR, correct? Can you tell us how you feel about all of these recent rumors? Was it hard to keep quiet about your relationship for this long?”

  “Why hide it!?” someone else added.

  I swallowed hard, staring out across them all. Public speaking never scared me. Yet suddenly my mouth was dry, my heart was pounding, and my brain was blank. I was still processing everything that had just happened...and I was in no shape to speak in complete, sensible sentences.

  Thankfully, Lucas stepped in once again. I was only thankful because it gave me a chance to break free from the grip he had on me. Maybe with some space between me and his rock-hard chest, I might be able to wrap my head around what he had just done.

  “Thank you—thank you for all of your questions. Victoria has been a close family friend since high school, and yes...recently, that friendship developed into something more.” He looked down at me again with a strange, dewy look in his eyes. “A lot more. She is the love of my life and the only woman I can imagine spending the rest of my life with.”

  The sincerity in his voice was enthralling and terrifying. He was one hell of a convincing liar, I had to give him that much.

  “We’ll be filling everyone in on the details soon enough. But for now, we hope to see you at the upcoming anniversary gala. Stay tuned to all of our social media accounts and our website for more updates about Victoria’s and my upcoming marriage. And everyone...this is just further proof not to believe everything you read on the internet.”

  The crowd laughed and started to disperse. I was screaming inside. It took everything in me not to lunge for the microphone and start telling them it was all a lie. But not only would that make me look bad by association and mark me as the worst PR person to ever represent anyone, it would be horrible for Lucas...who was now, regrettably, my client.

  I bit my lip so hard I thought it might bleed and watched everyone head for the doors. Then I spun around on my heels and stormed off the stage. I did not slow down when I heard Lucas running after me.

  4

  Lucas

  I wasn’t sure if Victoria had played along through the press conference out of shock or cleverness...but the answer became abundantly clear to me when she took off storming through the building. I chased after her, watching the unsuspecting people passing by jump out of her way, spilling coffee and dropping papers. She didn’t care. She was like a tornado ripping through with her heels clacking along the tiles.

  “Victoria! Wait! I didn’t know what else to do! But it worked, didn’t it?”

  “You didn’t fix anything!” she hissed, spinning around so fast that I nearly crashed into her. “You evaded being questioned for today. That’s it! Now what happens when there’s no engagement? No marriage? When they realize you lied!? You honestly think a fake engagement or an unsuccessful one is going to paint you in any better light than before!? No, Lucas! It’s worse, actually! Way worse!”

  She took off again, flying out the back door of the building. I grabbed her arm to try and stop her. “We can talk through this. We can…”

  “Shut the fuck up, will you!?” she snarled in a hushed rasp, yanking me back inside—into a more private room. “Are you insane!? Do you think, after what you just pulled, you want them catching us arguing in the back alley? God, you’re a PR nightmare! And whoever you’ve been working with has left you severely underpr
epared. You should have called me sooner.”

  “But you’re here now,” I argued.

  “And thanks to you, it’s already too late! I can’t believe you did that! What the hell were you thinking!?”

  “I saw you there, and...and…” I got lost in her eyes for a moment, which was exactly what had happened on that stage. Every word I said was true, just horribly out of context and wrapped up in a little fib. “It was what they needed to hear. It was the only thing that was going to fix all of this.”

  “No! It wasn’t! I stepped up to save you, but before you could even let me do my job, you threw both of our careers down the drain like an idiot!”

  “I really don’t think it has to be such a big deal,” I grumbled defensively.

  “That’s the problem here, Lucas! You don’t see how big of a deal this is! You don’t understand what you just did! Did you ever stop to consider what that might have done to my own love life? If someone I was dating was out there right now, reading the headlines they’re just now spouting off all over the internet?”

  “You said you were single,” I reminded her, crossing my arms. “And that you had no interest in changing that. What’s the harm?”

  She turned her back to me, shaking her head. “I’ve worked my whole life to be taken seriously. You know that, Lucas. I want to be seen as the professional that I am, which is exactly why I was here today. Now you’ve ripped it all out from under me and turned me into your stupid trophy wife.”

  “Can’t you be both? A professional and…”

  “Don’t say it again,” she thundered. “Don’t you dare!”

  “We’ll tell them it didn’t work out,” I offered. “In a little while. You know, after the hype of it all has worn down some. Everyone will forget about this in a few months and we’ll both be laughing about it.”

  “Don’t hold your breath,” she scoffed, starting for the door again.

  “Victoria, please. Wait. Let's talk through this. You want to be looked at as a professional, so act like one. Let’s sort this out together.”

  “Together?” She sneered. I’d never seen her so angry. “You have some balls. You weren’t so concerned with sorting things out together when you blurted all that out to save your own ass, without even considering me for a second! And I am looked at as a professional, Lucas. That’s what you don’t seem to understand. I acted like one today by not calling you out in front of everyone. But I am by no means obligated to stand here and talk to you about this for another second.”

  “Not even as a friend?”

  “I don’t want a friend who would pull something like this,” she shot back, her voice cracking.

  The full extent of the damage I had done was rapidly sinking in, and it left me paralyzed as she took off to leave. I didn’t stop her this time.

  I sat alone in that back room long enough to be certain that everyone else had left. I was in no position to put on a smiling face for anyone after that huge blow up. After a while, I called my car to pick me up around back so I could sneak out.

  I skipped going back to the office and went straight home instead, avoiding all news and media outlets. My company phone shut off, I sent a few texts to Victoria on my cell and called her several times. No answer.

  The hiss of the beer bottle I cracked open brought me a little relief, but not much. I took a big swig and plopped down on the couch, peeling off my suit jacket and yanking off my tie, followed by my shoes. A framed photo on the mantle caught my eye—Victoria and me smiling back at the camera in our cap and gowns at graduation, and another right next to it from prom night. We hadn’t attended together, but ended up partying the whole night away after our dates got too tired to keep up with us. That was another thing we had in common—work hard, party harder. No one had ever been able to hold a candle to her in that regard...or in any other for that matter.

  Flashes of the anger on her face and the hurt in her voice haunted me. She was right—I had acted impulsively. But some part of me honestly thought she’d find it funny...maybe just a little? But that seemed ridiculous now. I’d never expected her to be so pissed. She obviously hated the idea of being with me so much that she couldn’t even stomach pretending it was true for the sake of the press.

  It was a vicious blow to my ego, but one that I had seen coming for a long time. Just not in this way. It confirmed everything I’d always feared. The one girl I wanted the most, the only one I ever wanted, was the one girl who didn’t want me back.

  I couldn’t stop thinking about it all night and it was plummeting me into a depression. I knew that the next morning, I’d have to pull myself together and waltz back into the office like everything was fine. But until then, I planned to pig out on delivery pizza, beer, and ESPN.

  The sun had gone down with still no word back from Victoria. I hadn’t bothered turning on any of the lights in my apartment, and now everything was as dark as I felt inside. This wasn’t like me—to sit and sulk. I was always the first one to buckle down and try to find a solution rather than waste time wallowing in self-pity. That was what had led us to starting Heartstring in the first place.

  With that in mind, I peeled myself up from the couch and walked around to turn on all the lights. After shutting off the TV and tossing out the empty pizza box and beer bottles, I was desperate for a long, hot shower. I checked my phone the minute I stepped out and dried off, but still nothing from her.

  That’s when I started to pace, convinced I would find a way to smooth this over. We were both in predicaments of our own, and now we shared one as well. All the pieces to the puzzle—she wanted a family, but had no interest in love. I wanted my company to succeed, but had no interest in anyone but her. I just needed a family for appearances.

  Then it hit me. If I couldn’t have her in the way I wanted...maybe there was still some part of her that I could claim as my own, and not just as a fake fiancé in front of the press. If she could continue posing as my fiancé, and maybe eventually my wife...and I gave her the family she wanted in return...she would be tied to me forever, just not in the way I’d always hoped.

  I laughed at myself for a moment. It was absurd, right? Pretending to be engaged? Faking a marriage? Me essentially acting as her sperm donor? Then again...there was no one else in the world I would rather have as the mother of my children. And I had looked.

  All those one-night stands weren’t just for fun and the obvious sexual relief. Each one was a glimmer of hope that maybe someone could prove Victoria wasn’t so great and that she wasn’t the only one for me. I kept an open mind, but every single one of them proved disappointing in comparison. If I was doomed to feel this way for the rest of my life...why not go ahead and start a family with her? Even if she never did feel the same way…

  Those two pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly in my mind—and more importantly, when they came together, it also solved the mess I had brought crashing down on us earlier that day. I was convinced it was the best way to move forward for both of us.

  Now I just had to find some way to convince Victoria of the same thing.

  5

  Victoria

  I glanced up at the clock over my stove. It was after eight and I was still just as pissed as I had been earlier that day at the press conference. After heating up leftovers from last night’s dinner out, I had barely eaten a bite. I just stared at the sad-looking chicken, sauce, and pasta, occasionally shoveling them around on the plate with my fork. The dish had looked so much better freshly cooked, when it was being served up at one of my favorite restaurants. Before everything was hit by the shadow of Lucas’s big, fat lie.

  What he did was selfish, immature, unprofessional, impulsive, and stupid. I had about a million other negative adjectives rolling around in my head, too. But mostly, I was still in disbelief.

  I kept playing it over in my head, but the part that was most disturbing...was the way my heart had fluttered a little when he pulled me to his side and called me his fiancé in front of all th
ose people. Before the pounding and then the burning rage...there was a flutter. A certain giddy rise that I couldn’t shake, no matter how angry I was. It left me completely perplexed and disoriented, which I assumed was why I had zero appetite.

  I’d had all the symptoms of a crush on Lucas back in the day. Who didn’t? He was a jock, but not one of the stupid ones. He was smart as a whip, clever, funny. Loyal to his family and friends. Ridiculously built and very attractive. If you couldn’t have him as a boyfriend, you wanted him as your best friend. I never took my luck for granted.

  But it wasn’t just luck. We were kind of perfect for each other. Okay, exactly perfect for each other. We were both stubborn and impatient, but smart enough to know how to play the long game. We handled high school and college like a high-stakes game of Risk, and it was the perfect training for our careers. We looked at the bigger picture and carefully calculated our best moves, analyzing all the possible outcomes so we would always be one step ahead.

  Which was another reason why I was so baffled by his move during the press conference. When we got backstage, I half-expected him to have some kind of bigger plan I hadn’t been privy to. But nope. He’d just word-vomited whatever he’d needed to, completely throwing me under the bus.

  I clung to my memories of how it used to be. The way my stomach turned flips when I saw him come around the corner in the halls, and how clammy my hands would get when he wrapped his arm around me. I never read too much into my feelings. After a while, I got used to it. Any girl in my position would have felt the same. It didn’t mean anything.

  Besides, even back then, I had no room in my life for distractions. In high school, I was already plotting out the next ten years of my career. On top of that, I saw the way he was with other women and I decided I would much rather be his friend than another one of his casualties in love.