A Fake Marriage Romance Collection

by Victorine E. Lieske

  Harrison covered Penny’s hand with his own. “Yes, romantic. That’s what we were going for.”

  Patrice didn’t look convinced, so Penny looped her arm around Harrison’s. “This really has been a crazy twenty-four hours. But I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else.”

  Patrice raised her eyebrow in a classic ‘Oh, really?’ gesture, which irked Penny. Who was she to imply they weren’t in love? To prove it, she leaned over and kissed Harrison full on the lips.

  The kiss must have surprised him, because he started to jerk his head back, which totally would have given them away.

  So Penny wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on like a suckerfish.

  At first, he just sat there, unmoving. It was like kissing a statue. Well, a statue that smelled amazing. But then he probably realized he needed to do something or she’d never let go. He pulled her close and moved his lips against hers.

  The kiss started out lukewarm but quickly turned fire engine hot. Tingling sensations zipped through her and she grew light headed. His lips were warm and soft, but sent lightning through her wherever they touched. It was both thrilling and enticing. When she finally ended the kiss, both women were staring at them with wide eyes.

  Trent was trying not to laugh.

  Josephine fanned her face. “Well, I say, they most certainly look like they’re in love.”

  Patrice didn’t say anything, but sat with pinched lips.

  Harrison stared at Penny, like he was seeing her for the first time. Then he stood. “Thank you for tea, Mother. It was a delight, as always. We must go unpack.”

  Patrice stood as well. “A pleasure to meet you, dear.” She grabbed Penny’s hand, her talon-like fingernails digging into her skin. “You will be joining us for supper, won’t you?”

  Penny tried to jerk her hand away, but the woman had it in a vice-grip. “Yes,” she said, hoping the old bat would let go if she agreed to eat with her.

  “Good. We shall see you at six o’clock then.” The woman gave her one more squeeze, digging her nails in deeper, pulling Penny closer. Before releasing her, she hissed in her ear, “You’ll regret this.”

  Chapter 5

  Penny swallowed a yelp and pulled away from the crazy woman. No one else had noticed. Her hand throbbed, but she didn’t want to make a scene, so she put it behind her back. Harrison turned to leave, and Penny followed close behind. When they were out of earshot she nudged him, holding out her hand.

  “Look what your stepmother did to me.” The fingernail marks were an angry purple against her skin.

  Harrison grabbed her hand to examine it. “She did this?”

  Penny nodded.

  “She’s gone too far this time.” He clenched his jaw and turned toward her.

  Penny grabbed his arm. “Wait. Don’t.”

  “I can’t let her get away with this.” The anger and concern on his face on her behalf touched her.

  She smiled. “Oh, I have no intention of letting her get away with it. But now isn’t the time.” She patted his hand. “I’ll deal with her later.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What are you going to do?”

  She had no idea, but the old witch had declared war. “Something I’ll probably regret.”

  To her surprise, Harrison let out a laugh. He put his arm around her shoulders. “Life is never boring around you, is it?”

  He led her past a huge Christmas tree decorated with gold ribbon and white lights. They went up the stairs, down a hall past several doors, and into a bedroom. Dark wood tones were accented with deep reds, which gave it a masculine feel. A king sized bed took up half the room, and a cozy recliner sat by a glass door leading to a balcony. The house must have been built on a cliff, because the view overlooking L.A. was amazing. She opened a door and found a huge walk-in closet. She stared at the shelves and racks of clothes. His closet was larger than her childhood bedroom.

  “You can take the left side.”

  Penny didn’t realize Harrison had followed her in, and she whipped around, running into his chest. A rock-solid chest. Oh, boy. She took a step back to try to clear her head. “Okay.”

  His lips twitched like he was trying not to smile. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

  She stared at him. What was he doing, flirting with her? Maybe that kiss had given him courage or something. It had been pretty hot. But didn’t he realize that she and William—her thoughts stopped abruptly. There was no ‘she and William’ anymore. The reality of it hit her and tears sprang to her eyes.

  Harrison’s eyebrows pushed together and he lifted her chin. “Hey, I was only kidding. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “I know.” She blinked the tears away. “I’m just missing William.”

  He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself. Instead, he pulled her close, wrapping his strong arms around her. “I’m sorry.”

  Her heart thundered in her chest as she breathed in his cologne. Conflicting feelings overwhelmed her and she backed out of his embrace. “Don’t be. I’ll get over it.”

  She left the closet and wandered over to the spacious bathroom. There was a shower, a tub, three sinks and two full-length mirrors. Man, she could probably fit her entire graduating class in here. Granted, she grew up in a small town, but really, who needs a bathroom that can fit fifty people? “Nice Jacuzzi.”

  Harrison nodded but didn’t say anything. What was he thinking? Probably that she was a nutcase. She sure felt like one.

  “So, um.” Harrison rubbed the back of his neck. “You can have the bed. I’ll sleep in the chair.”

  That’s what he was thinking about. Sleeping arrangements. Nice of him to give up the bed again. Chivalrous. Like something William would do. Another twinge of pain rippled through her. “Thanks.”

  She needed to stop thinking about him, that’s what she needed to do. She grasped at anything to get her mind off William. “How many bedrooms does this place have?”

  “Twelve.”

  “Wow. Who all lives here?”

  Harrison walked over to the sliding glass door. “Just my stepmother and me. Trent lives over in Beverly Hills with his wife.”

  Seemed pretty wasteful to have such a large house with hardly anyone in it. But that would have been rude to say. “What about your servants?”

  He chuckled. “Servants? You mean the staff?”

  Oops. She had called them the wrong thing. Heat flushed her cheeks, but she ignored it and nodded.

  “Antonio lives in an apartment above the garage. The rest of the staff have their own homes.” His eyes twinkled with a hidden smile.

  “You grew up here?” She sat down on the bed and slipped off her heels.

  “Yes.”

  There was a sadness to his voice, but she didn’t want to pry. “How come you’ve never moved out?”

  He lifted one shoulder. “I always planned to, after I got my trust fund.”

  “But you have to be married to get that.” She cocked her head to the side. He was handsome, and rich. Surely he didn’t have to resort to marrying a stranger. “Why are you doing all this, anyway? Wouldn’t it have been easier to find a real wife?”

  He sighed and shoved his fists in his pockets, turning to look out at the view. “I did.” He clenched his jaw. “It didn’t work out.”

  Seeing him in obvious turmoil made her heart ache. “Divorced?”

  “No. Thankfully, I found out what kind of woman she was before the wedding.”

  “Well, that’s good.”

  He turned to her, a pained expression on his face. “An hour before, actually.”

  “Oh. Not good.” The poor guy. She felt bad for him but was too curious not to ask. “You find her with another man?”

  He cringed. “The best man.”

  “That’s horrible. What did you do?” She ran her hand over the soft coverlet on his bed.

  He frowned. “She begged me not to tell anyone. Said it would ruin her socially
. She pleaded with me, and I felt bad for her. So I walked away. Everyone thought I left her at the altar.”

  “What? You got blamed for it?” Indignation arose in her.

  “Yes. The wedding was kind of a big deal. Lots of publicity. Leaving her at the altar was not looked upon very favorably. Let’s just say I haven’t been on many dates since then.”

  “I can’t believe she did that to you.”

  He shrugged. “She cared more about her reputation than mine.”

  Penny tried to imagine what it would be like to have everyone think you did something horrible when in fact, you were the one hurting. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, and she stared down at her hands. How awful it must have been for him. She could tell by his body language―back straight, his fists clenched―that he was still bothered by it, even though he tried to act nonchalant.

  She hopped off the bed. “Come on, let’s do something fun before dinner. You guys have a pool, right?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”

  “Let’s go swimming. It’s totally warm outside.”

  A frown pulled down the corners of his mouth and he folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not really the swimming pool type.”

  He didn’t use his pool? For some reason that bothered her more than the unused bedrooms. “Well, you’re going to be today. Get your swim trunks on.”

  She didn’t wait to see if he obeyed. She walked into the closet and shut the door, then dug through her suitcase until she found her faded suit. It had seen better days, but it still fit so it was difficult to justify buying a new one. She slipped it on and called out to Harrison. “You decent?”

  “Yes.”

  She opened the closet and peered out. Harrison stood facing the sliding glass door, his casual clothes still on. She huffed. “Why aren’t you in your swim trunks?”

  “I thought you were kidding.” He turned and his gaze froze on her.

  “No, I wasn’t. Get your suit on!”

  He sighed, but walked to his dresser and opened a drawer. “All right.”

  She waited while he went into the bathroom to change. Her phone sat on top of the dresser, and she picked it up. There were a few messages from William that she’d missed. He was pleading with her to forgive him. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she blinked them away.

  She slid open the balcony door and stepped out, clutching her phone. Two patio chairs faced the amazing view, overlooking LA. A light breeze carried a woodsy scent mixed with a lighter floral smell.

  A noise sounded below and she peered down to see Patrice on a stone walkway. The rail thin woman glanced around as if she was nervous someone was following her. Then she continued toward the garage.

  What was up with that? Penny assumed Patrice could go anywhere she wanted. Why was she acting all sneaky like? Whatever.

  Penny sighed and plopped down in one of the chairs. William lived in Santa Barbara. Just an hour and a half away. She stared down at the phone in her hand.

  “Nice view, huh?”

  Harrison’s voice startled her, and she jumped, then felt guilty for being caught thinking about William. “Yeah.”

  He sat down on the other chair, and she choked back a gasp. Who knew under that suit he was so ripped? He wasn’t body builder material or anything, but his well-defined muscles made her heart pound in her chest. Holy cow, she needed to get out more.

  “I like to sit out here in the evenings.” He steepled his fingers and tapped his chin. “It’s peaceful.”

  She tore her gaze away from his chest. “I can see that.”

  They sat for a minute in comfortable silence. Then Harrison shifted in his seat. “You still going to drag me down to the pool?”

  “You betcha.” She hopped up and grabbed his hand. Electricity zinged through her, and she dropped it. “Come on. Last one in is a loser.”

  He stood, his eyes hiding a smile. “You don’t even know the way.”

  “How hard can it be? I’ll bet I can be in the pool even before you’ve left your room.”

  He arched a brow. “Sounds like a challenge.”

  They stared at each other for a second before they both took off, running through Harrison’s bedroom and down the hallway. Penny’s bare feet slapped against the marble tile as she tried to get in front of him. She was faster on the stairs and ended up being several feet ahead. Not knowing quite where to go, but following her instinct, she took off toward the west end of the house.

  She ran through several rooms―a sitting room, one with a piano, a formal dining room―but when she rounded a corner she collided with a woman carrying a tray of dirty dishes. Teacups and saucers clattered to the floor and the woman shouted something in Spanish.

  “Oh! I’m sorry!” Penny turned and Harrison ran smack into her, knocking her on her behind. Harrison’s face almost made her laugh out loud, his eyes were so wide.

  The Spanish woman set the tray on the counter and began picking up dishes. “Lo siento, señor Williams!”

  Penny scrambled to help her. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been running.” She picked up a broken teacup. “I hope this wasn’t valuable.”

  “The set has only been in the family for a hundred years.” The cold voice was unmistakable, and Penny cringed. She looked up to see Patrice staring down at her, contempt darkening her eyes.

  Heat rushed to Penny’s cheeks and she rose. “I’m sorry—”

  “Save your apologies for the stupid. I’m not blind. I know what’s going on here.”

  “Patrice!” Harrison stepped between them, shielding Penny from his stepmother. “You can’t treat my wife this way.”

  “Your wife?” She spat the word out like a spoiled piece of meat. “You mean this hussy? She’s simply a mistake that will soon be rectified. And you will not disrespect me. I am your mother.” She pointed a long red fingernail in his face. “I may not have birthed you, but I raised you.”

  “You mean you paid the nannies who raised me,” he said under his breath.

  “Don’t sass me. I won’t stand to be mocked in my own house.” She turned and left the room, and Penny swore she heard a crack of thunder as the woman departed.

  Harrison turned to Penny. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think she would react this way—by attacking you. Are you okay?”

  She was too stunned to speak, so she just nodded.

  “She’s been bothering me to get married for years. One would think she’d be happy about it.” His frown deepened. “Come on. I’ll show you the way to the pool.”

  “I wasn’t headed there?”

  His laugh lines crinkled with his smile. “Not even close.”

  Chapter 6

  Harrison sat on the side of the pool, dangling his legs in the water. It had been years since he’d been swimming. It was surprisingly relaxing. He and Penny had swum a few laps, then she’d gotten out of the pool to pump up a floating lounge chair. He watched her get in the water and struggle to get on it. She’d get one leg on, and then the whole thing would float out of her grasp. He chuckled, then realized he was staring at her legs. She had curves in all the right places.

  The third time she fell off the lounge he jumped in the water and swam over to her. “Here, let me hold it. That’ll be easier.”

  “Thanks.” After she was on, she grinned like a little kid. “This is fun. You should get on.”

  “That’s a one-person chair.”

  She giggled, and something stirred in him.

  He liked her. He couldn’t deny it. When she’d kissed him, he’d been surprised to find himself attracted to her. More than that. Something had awakened in him that had been dead for a long time. He hadn’t wanted to stop kissing her. And now he needed to tear his gaze away from her lips. She was speaking. What was she saying?

  “You’d fit. It’s a huge floaty.”

  He laughed. “I’ll make it tip over.” Even though it was ridiculous, he suddenly wanted to climb up there with her. He’d have to snuggle pretty cl
ose to keep it from capsizing. The thought made him smile.

  “No, you won’t.” She scooted over then patted the seat. “Come on, I dare you.”

  He grabbed the sides and heaved his upper body up, which bounced Penny and she squealed. “Hang on,” he said while getting another hold on the sides. In order to keep the chair afloat, he basically had to climb on top of her.

  She giggled again when he maneuvered to lay beside her. The chair rocked dangerously, but didn’t tip over. “You did it.” She smiled up at him.

  He propped his head up on his hand and stared at her lips. What would she do if he kissed her?

  Her eyes met his, and she blushed under the intensity of his gaze. “What are you thinking about?” Her voice was so quiet, he could barely hear her.

  His desire to kiss her overwhelmed him. How would she react? The kiss they’d shared at tea had been amazing. Would every kiss with her be like that? There was only one way to find out.

  He half-shrugged. “About you.” He moved closer. “About this.” He brushed his lips across hers, and she closed her eyes. He took that as a good sign and deepened the kiss. Sensations washed over him as he let instinct take the lead. Penny pressed her hand against his chest, her touch sending heat through him. Kissing her was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Sure, there’d been passion with Carol, but had been a tiny flame compared to this raging fire.

  Penny’s pulse raced as Harrison kissed her. Dang, he knew how to kiss. She had to use all her will power not to wrap her arms around him. She couldn’t. She wasn’t over William yet. It was stupid to love William, she knew that. But she couldn’t help it. He’d been her best friend for two years. Kissing Harrison was wrong. And she was going to stop. Any minute now.

  Her phone called out “Text Message” by the side of the pool and she jerked her head back, scrambling away from Harrison. Unfortunately, the movement caused the chair to rock, sending her over the side with a yelp. Cold water doused the flames that Harrison had ignited and startled her out of the haze she’d been in.