A Fake Marriage Romance Collection

by Victorine E. Lieske

  “Thanks,” she said, trying to breathe normally. “We’d better make the rice.” She had to stop acting like a schoolgirl around him, or he’d think she had a goofy movie-star crush on him. Which was ridiculous. She had no such thing.

  Chapter 8

  Rick stabbed a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. Tara looked at him expectantly. “Any good?”

  The salty flavor made him spit it back out into his napkin. “Ugh. It’s terrible. I did something wrong.”

  “It can’t be that bad.” She put a bite in her mouth and immediately spit hers out as well. “Oh, way too much salt.” She pushed Kylee’s plate away from her.

  “I’m hungry,” Kylee said, reaching for the plate.

  Nice. He ruined dinner and now the kid was going to starve. He stood. “I’ll order pizza.”

  “Pizza!” Kylee clapped her hands.

  Tara took the girl’s plate and scraped off the chicken into the trash. Then she gave it back to her. “You can eat the rice and green beans.”

  Rick pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed his favorite pizza place. It wasn’t until he was in the middle of ordering that he realized he didn’t know what the kid liked. He turned to Tara. “What does Kylee like on her pizza?”

  “Plain cheese.”

  “Really? Plain?” He raised an eyebrow, but ordered it anyway after Tara nodded.

  When he hung up the phone, Tara laughed. “You must not know many kids.”

  “Nope.”

  Tara tried to coax Kylee into eating her green beans, but the girl was shaking her head, lips pinched tight, pigtails swinging. “No, I want pizza.”

  “The pizza is coming. You can have some if you eat your green beans.”

  Kylee clamped a hand over her mouth and shook her head again. Rick held in a smile. There was no way Tara was going to get her to eat them.

  Tara blew out a frustrated breath and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. When she wasn’t looking, Rick reached over and snatched a green bean and plopped it in his mouth. Kylee dropped her hand and her mouth formed a little ‘o.’ Rick winked at her and put his finger up to his lips while chewing up the bean.

  Kylee giggled and Tara looked between them. “What did you do?”

  He swallowed, put on an innocent face, and shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t do anything.”

  Tara looked away again and he plopped another bean in his mouth, exaggerating his chewing. Kylee laughed hysterically and Tara snapped her head around, her hands on her hips. “Now I know you’re doing something.”

  He swallowed and shrugged again. “What?”

  She looked down at the plate. “What are you doing with the beans? There were seven.”

  “Kylee must have eaten them.”

  Tara gave him a flat look, while Kylee shook her head and pointed at Rick. “He ate them!”

  He opened his mouth in mock shock. “You told on me.”

  She giggled and Tara whacked him on the arm. “You’re undermining my parenting.”

  He shot her an apologetic look. Then he got an idea. “Hey, Kylee. If you eat one, I’ll eat one, and we can keep doing that until they are gone, and then your mom won’t be mad at me anymore.”

  Her pig tails bobbed as she nodded and stabbed one with a fork. She popped it in her mouth and mimicked his exaggerated chewing. He chuckled. “Very good.”

  He ate another one, and waited for her to do the same. They took turns until they were gone, and Tara smiled. “Thanks.”

  He liked the way she looked when she smiled at him. He vowed to make her do it again. “You’re welcome.”

  Tara washed the rest of the dishes; he dried and put them away. The pizza arrived, and they ate it in the kitchen. When they were done, Tara wiped the sauce off Kylee’s mouth.

  “You ready to see my theater?” he asked Kylee.

  “You have a theater in your house?” Her eyes grew big.

  “Yep. Come on, I’ll show you.” He reached his hand out and Kylee hopped down from the stool and took his pinky finger.

  His theater was down a set of stairs, and he turned on the floor lighting when they got to the bottom. The room had an aisle down the middle, leather recliners in rows on either side. He led them to a cabinet in the back of the room. “What do you want to watch?” He opened it to show them his collection of DVDs.

  Tara frowned at his case. “Not many kid-appropriate movies in here.”

  He pointed to one. “Wizard of Oz?”

  “Too scary.”

  “The Avengers?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Too violent.”

  He lifted one shoulder. “We could stream something.”

  “Good idea. That’s what I was going to do on my laptop.” She pointed to the giant screen. “But this will be fun for Kylee.”

  They went to the front row where his leather couch sat. Rick picked up the remote and scrolled through the kids movies until Kylee pointed and grew excited. “That one!”

  Tara sighed. “You want to watch that one? Again?” She was obviously displeased with the choice.

  “Yes!” Kylee crawled up on Rick’s lap. “Please?”

  Rick leaned over and whispered in Tara’s ear. “What’s wrong with Frozen?”

  “Nothing. The first twenty times.” She gave him a tired smile. “But that’s okay. Go ahead.”

  He clicked on the movie and it began. He had the strangest urge to put his arm on the back of the couch, like an awkward teenager watching a movie with his crush. What made that pop into his head? Was he thinking he’d put the moves on Tara? Sure, she was pretty. Beautiful, even. But she’d made it clear their relationship was not to be physical.

  Kylee snuggled into his chest, her head tucked under his chin. He put his arms around her, mostly to keep them occupied and away from back-of-the-couch urges.

  He enjoyed the movie more than he thought he would, and when it was done, Tara leaned over and whispered, “She’s asleep.”

  He peered down and sure enough, Kylee had fallen asleep curled up on his lap. She looked like an angel, all sweet and innocent.

  Tara stood, and he followed suit, cradling Kylee to his chest. Tara reached out for her daughter, but he shook his head. “I’ll carry her,” he whispered. She nodded and turned to walk up the aisle. Silently, he followed Tara up the stairs to the guest bedroom and laid Kylee on the bed.

  “I’ll get her in her pajamas,” Tara whispered.

  He nodded, and went into the hallway. He was about to head to his room when he found himself turning back to Tara. “Hey.”

  She looked up at him.

  He didn’t know how to tell her the evening meant something to him. Cooking the meal together, even though he’d messed it up, had been fun. He’d felt like they’d shared something. But how could he put it into words? He ended up just saying, “Thanks.”

  He wasn’t sure she would know what he meant, but she smiled. “Sure thing.”

  He lowered his gaze. “Good night.”

  Tara shut the door and dimmed the light. Spending the evening with Rick had been nice. Different than she had thought it would be. He was more down-to-earth, somehow. She enjoyed messing around with him in the kitchen. In fact, it had felt a lot like flirting.

  But that was silly, and she needed to put those thoughts out of her head and act more like a responsible adult. She slipped into her pajamas and crawled into bed. Maybe marrying Rick was impulsive and stupid, but she couldn’t go back now. She could, however, stop acting like a fool. He was a movie star and she was nobody. A year from now, he’d go on being a star and she’d go back to Iowa.

  She closed her eyes but didn’t fall asleep for over an hour. And even then, consciousness was right at the surface. Her brain didn’t want to stop thinking about her evening with Rick.

  Tara woke the next morning when someone small crawled on top of her. She opened her eyes to see Kylee two inches from her face. Morning light peeked in the curtains. Kylee put her hands on Tara’s cheeks. “
Mommy? Are you awake?”

  “I am now.”

  Kylee didn’t respond to her sarcasm. “Good. What are we going to do today?”

  Her half-awake brain couldn’t think of anything spectacular. “Take naps.”

  Kylee screwed up her face in disgust. “I don’t want to take naps.”

  “I do.”

  “Can we go to the zoo?”

  The thought of walking around the zoo in the summer heat didn’t appeal to her. “I don’t think so.”

  “The children’s museum?”

  Indoors. That had more promise. “Maybe.”

  “Yippee!” Kylee jumped down from the bed and ran into the bathroom. When Tara set out her clothes, Kylee frowned. “I want to wear my ladybug shirt.”

  “That’s fine. Go get it out of the drawer.”

  Kylee ran to the dresser and pulled the bottom drawer out and grabbed her favorite red shirt with black polka dots. It was getting small on her, but Kylee loved it, and Tara didn’t have the heart to give it away just yet.

  When they went down for breakfast, Kylee ran up to Rick who was sitting on a kitchen barstool. “We’re going to the children’s museum!”

  Tara folded her arms. “I said maybe.”

  Rick smiled down at Kylee. “Ooh, that sounds like fun. Can I come?”

  “Yes! You can play on the boat with me.”

  Tara sighed. “I guess we’re going.”

  Rick turned puppy dog eyes on her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to undermine you.”

  “That seems to be happening a lot lately.” She couldn’t get angry, though, and she smiled to show him she wasn’t upset. With Rick going along to help her with Kylee, the children’s museum sounded like it might actually be fun.

  Her phone chimed and she pulled it out of her purse. A text from Bobby showed on the screen. She opened the text.

  I want to see Kylee today. I have the day off. Call me.

  She gritted her teeth. What was he doing? He couldn’t text out of the blue and demand to see Kylee. He was supposed to take her last month so she could train for her new job. He hadn’t had any time then. What made him think she would drop everything and rush Kylee over to him today?

  Rick must have seen the look on her face, because he hopped off his barstool. “Everything okay?”

  “No. I have to make a phone call.”

  Chapter 9

  Rick watched as Tara walked into the other room, her movements stiff. From the look on her face, she was about to chew someone out. He didn’t want to eavesdrop, but . . . oh who was he kidding? He wanted to eavesdrop. Slipping into the hall behind her, he followed her until she went into the library. After a moment he heard her speak.

  “Bobby. It’s me. What do you think you’re doing?”

  She was talking to her ex. What did that creep want from her? He leaned closer to the doorway, his hand resting on the marble table in the hallway.

  “You can’t see Kylee today. We have plans.” She blew out a breath of frustration. “I know you have a right to see your daughter. I just don’t understand why you would suddenly text me that you have to see her today.”

  She listened for a minute, silent. “I know.” More silence. “No, I don’t want to go back to court.”

  He was threatening to pull her back into court? What a vile man.

  “We’re going to the children’s museum.” A pause. “Yes, I guess you could meet us there.” Another pause. “Okay. We’ll see you.”

  She sounded like she was getting done with the call, so he turned to go back. A pair of large brown eyes peered up at him. “What are you doing?” Kylee asked, her head cocked to the side.

  He put his finger to his lips, then he picked her up. “I’m just making sure this is stable,” he whispered as he tapped the table. “You can’t be too careful with tables.”

  “Yes,” Tara’s voice said behind him. “It could tip over and hurt someone.”

  He turned around and put on a sheepish grin. “It might.”

  She gave him a flat look, but then turned to Kylee and forced a smile. “Your daddy is coming to play with you at the children’s museum.”

  Kylee squealed. “Daddy’s coming?” She clapped her hands together, and Tara’s smile grew tight.

  “Yes. So let’s be on our best behavior.”

  Kylee put her hands on Rick’s face and turned him so he was looking at her. “You’ll play with me and daddy, right?”

  Sure. Just what he wanted to do. Spend the afternoon with the jerk that dumped Tara. “Of course.”

  Kylee wriggled and when he set her down, she ran. “Let’s go, Mommy! I want to see Daddy!”

  “Okay, let’s eat breakfast first.”

  Tara couldn’t quite hide the frown on her face, and Rick wondered exactly what Bobby had put them through. Rick had his shortcomings, but at least he knew he wasn’t a family man, and he didn’t create one just to leave them on the side of the road. He clenched his jaw and shoved his fists into his pockets, then followed Tara back into the kitchen.

  They ate cereal while Kylee told him about all the things at the children’s museum. Some of the words he didn’t understand, but he smiled and nodded anyway. She seemed most excited about getting dressed up and putting on a stage production for him. He admitted, by the time they were done eating, he was looking forward to it as well.

  Since they weren’t looking for publicity, he put on his favorite baseball cap and sunglasses that allowed him to blend into the crowd. Tara gave him a thoughtful look when he came out of his bedroom, but didn’t say anything about his getup.

  “You ready to go?”

  He nodded. Kylee held her stuffed animal in one hand and grabbed his finger with the other, tugging him toward the stairs. “Come on, Rick. Walk faster.”

  Tara stopped them. “Kylee, we should leave Winnie the Pooh home. You don’t want to leave him there.”

  Kylee clutched her stuffed animal to her chest. “But I want him with me.”

  Tara bent down. “Kylee, remember when we left him at McDonald’s? We had to go back and you cried the whole time. You don’t want to lose him again, do you?”

  Kylee shook her head and handed Tara her toy. “No.”

  Tara put the bear in the other room and they were on their way. By the time they arrived at the museum, Kylee could hardly contain herself. “Where’s Daddy?” she asked when they walked in the door.

  Tara glanced around. “I don’t think he’s here yet.”

  A frown appeared on Kylee’s face. “But he’ll miss my play.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Tara swallowed, and Rick didn’t miss the worried look she tried to hide. While they stood in line to pay, Tara glanced around every few minutes.

  After they were admitted, Kylee tugged them toward the stage. “Is Daddy here yet?”

  Tara shook her head. “Why don’t you go get dressed up and check back in a few minutes?”

  “Okay.” Kylee ran behind the red curtain.

  A boy in a diving mask pranced about the stage pretending to be underwater. A tired-looking mother clapped her hands in between trying to wrangle a toddler from escaping her grasp.

  Rick and Tara sat on an empty bench and waited for Kylee. The boy in the diving mask ran backstage.

  Rick nudged Tara. “Do you think Bobby will show up?”

  “He was adamant about seeing Kylee today. I can’t imagine he’d change his mind, but you never know with him.”

  “Why does he want to see Kylee?”

  Tara twisted her fingers together. “I don’t know.”

  Before he could think it through, he put his arm around her. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him hurt her.”

  “All he has to do is cancel and it will crush her.”

  As if on cue, her phone chimed, signaling a text message. She threw him a look, and then dug her phone out of her purse. Relief showed on her face. “He’s here.”

  She fiddled with her phone, probably telling him where they were, becau
se a moment later Bobby came strolling up to them. He stuck out his hand to Rick. “I’m Bobby Goodwin.”

  Rick stood and took his hand, simply because there was nothing else he could do that wasn’t completely rude. “Rick,” he said, introducing himself.

  Bobby ignored Tara and sat down on the bench next to Rick. “Yes. I know who you are. I hear you and Tara are getting hitched.”

  The look on Bobby’s face sent alarm bells through his head. What was this guy up to? Was he trying to get out of child support? “Yes.”

  At that moment Kylee came rushing out on stage wearing a tall princess cone on her head and a pink gown that was two sizes too big for her. When she saw Bobby, she squealed, “Daddy!”

  Kylee ran to Bobby and embraced him. “You get to see my play!”

  Bobby nodded. “Of course. Go up on stage.” He shooed her away.

  Kylee’s smile looked like it would stretch off her face. “Okay!” She climbed back up on the short stage. The boy came out from behind the curtain wearing a green frog costume. A hood covered most of his head, sporting frog eyes and a wide mouth. He crouched down and began hopping around the stage.

  “No, you have to stay by me,” Kylee shouted to the boy.

  Bobby turned to Rick. “So, what are you working on right now?”

  Kylee hiked up her long dress and marched over to the boy, who hopped out of the way. “Stop! I have to kiss you and make you turn into a prince.” The boy kept hopping and Kylee chased after him.

  Tara laughed and clapped her hands. Rick smiled. “Bravo!” he shouted. A few passersby stopped to watch.

  Bobby ignored the stage. “You involved in a film?” he asked, trying again.

  Irritation swept through Rick. Wasn’t the guy here to see Kylee? “No.”

  The frog gave up hopping and ran away from the princess, who was desperately trying to kiss him. A small crowd had formed around the stage and everyone laughed.

  “Wait!” Kylee yelled. “You have to let me kiss you!”

  The frog gave a panicked expression to the crowd and zig-zagged out of her way. Laughter filled the room.

  “I’m between gigs too,” Bobby said. “This industry is tough, isn’t it?” He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.