“Why not?”
“Because…people would find out.”
“What’s wrong with people thinking we’re married?” I frowned. “Are you embarrassed by me?” I wasn’t sure what made me feel that, but there was something in her attitude that had me thinking she thought there was something wrong with me.
She looked over at me. “Not by you, no.”
I frowned, sitting up but not getting dressed yet. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m not comfortable with all this. I’m just going to have to come clean to Meredith and face the consequences.”
“What are those consequences going to be? You’ll lose the money for the library. Will she tell people about this? You’re afraid of them thinking you’re married to me. What will they think when they find out you were fake married to me?”
She pressed her hand to her face. “I don’t know. All I know is I can’t do this. I just can’t.”
Now I felt like shit as she cried again. I stood and found my clothes. I tugged on my pants without fastening them and slipped on my shirt. Adequately covered, I went to her, rubbing my hands up and down her arms.
“I’m sorry Holly. I really thought I was helping.”
She let out a sigh. “You were Tucker and I’m sorry I’m being such a bitch. You were great. I know she liked you.”
“She likes you too, Holly.” Knowing there wasn’t anymore I could do, I kissed her head, in a friendly manner. “I’ll go. If there’s anything else I can do to help fix this for you, let me know.”
“You’ve done quite enough already.”
Her tone didn’t seem upset, but I took her words as being annoyed. I studied her for one minute as I fastened my slacks and buttoned my shirt.
“Sorry.” I shook my head and walked out the door, wondering if maybe the woman I’d met through text wasn’t her. Or wasn’t the real her. This woman was more guarded. More fearful of life. And clearly, she didn’t want me, our second bout of crazy sex notwithstanding. The woman I’d been attracted to was funny, smart, clever, outgoing. Holly looked like the picture of the woman I’d received, but she was a shell of the women who’d been texting me. I wanted to bring the texting woman out, but maybe, like many things done online or through digital means, how people act with the buffer of anonymity is different in real life. Perhaps it was time to accept that my texting-Holly was a fake persona just like this marriage.
12
Holly
The next day, I arrived at school early to avoid Tucker, which added to my guilt that I’d gotten him into all this and then was upset when he’d delivered exactly what I’d wanted. He must have thought I was a complete mental case and tease. Cripes, I jumped him and then told him again we couldn’t be more than friends. I was a complete mental case.
I wished I could be the woman he’d texted with over the summer. His fun, friendly, humorous way was clear from the get go, and I was drawn to that. Rick had really taken the sails out of me when he left. The people in Salvation were sympathetic about my being dumped at the altar, but I hated their pity. I cringed thinking that they were probably wondering what was wrong with me that a man I’d been with for so long had simply left town, left me, on the day of our wedding.
Tucker didn’t know me. He didn’t know my history. He could only take me as I presented myself. So when we texted, I’d opened up. I didn’t share my baggage, but I’d allowed myself to be free. God, I’d even sent him a picture of me when I’d finally gotten the energy to dress up and go out at Becky’s urging. Something had changed in his texts after that. Sure, we’d been flirting before, but it seemed more than flirting after that and I ate it up. As much as it bothered my feminist sensibilities, I needed him to boost my confidence. And he did. He’d wooed me just as he had Meredith.
But when he arrived in town, the freedom that came from communicating through a device in separate cities left. Now he was here in front of me. And he was only twenty-four. All of that made my new found freedom crash and burn, leaving me feeling much the same way I had when Rick left. Empty.
The day after our disastrous dinner with Meredith, I taught class and when it was time for lunch, I stayed in my classroom. I couldn’t face Tucker. I couldn’t face anyone. When they found out what I’d done, their jaws would drop. I had to figure out a way out of this that would save as much of my reputation as possible, if it was even possible.
I should have never lied in the first place. That’s where it had all gone wrong. When Meredith asked about my husband, I should have said he left me at the altar. Maybe she’d have sympathized. Who knew? Now I wouldn’t ever know. From now on I’d be the crazy lady who tried to dupe Meredith out of her money by pretending to be married to a younger man.
There was a knock at my door, and Tucker peeked his head in. God he was so handsome. And so sweet. Why he kept coming around was beyond me.
“I saw you weren’t eating so I brought you something.” He held up a tray from the cafeteria.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
He closed the door and walked over to my desk, setting the tray down in front of me. “You should eat something. There’s protein for long term energy, and a few carbs to boost it when the kids come back.”
I shook my head and smiled. How was he always so light hearted?
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. What’s really going on? Is this about last night? Because if it is, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you no when you jumped me.”
I looked up at him, and he flashed me a grin.
“Next time I will,” he said.
I shook my head. “You’re difficult to dislike, Tucker.”
He sat on the edge of my desk. “Why would you want to try?”
“No reason.” I blew out a breath. “I’m trying to figure out what to do about Mrs. Reynolds. When I tell her the truth, I’ll lose her support. But also, I might lose the support I’ve already received. She might turn the town against me.”
“First, that seems impossible. People like you Holly. They know all you’ve done for this town. The fact that you got involved in a fake marriage is proof of that.”
I shrugged. I wasn’t sure the good people of Salvation would see it that way.
“Second, I really think the solution is to carry on with the plan.”
I gaped. “It’s not possible. We can’t pretend to be married for months.”
“I disagree.” He took a breath. “If it’s about being platonic, I can do that. As much as I like having sex with you, if it’s a problem, I won’t. Even if you want me to.” His cheeky grin was half-hearted. Like he was trying to be light, but not making light of the situation. “And I’ll find a way to get Meredith out of the planning as quickly as possible. You’ve seen me. I can be persuasive. We’ll give her a few choices, make her think all decisions were hers, and then thank her and move on. Eventually, she’ll get bored or find a new pet project anyway, right? Plus, the holidays are coming, that always distracts people. The point is, we really won’t have to pretend for as long as you think. When she moves, I’ll move out back to my own place and we’ll be right here where we started.”
He made it sound so easy. Knowing him, his life was easy. Not in a financial way, but in that he was able to move through life with little resistance or disappointments. His attitude toward life was a big part of that. He truly believed that we could pull this off. But he wasn’t from Salvation. Sure, his part in the ruse might hurt him too, but this wasn’t his hometown. He hadn’t been born and raised around these people. He had a place to go back to in Chicago if this blew up in his face. I didn’t have that.
On the other hand, this was going to blow up in my face no matter what I did. If I came clean, everything I was afraid of was going to happen. People would look at me funny for engaging in a fake marriage. Meredith would accuse me of trying to dupe her, and possibly use her influence to have me fired. The donors I’d already garnered could withdraw their support. My stomach burned with regret an
d embarrassment that I’d ended up in this position. I wanted to blame Tucker, but this had all started by my not telling Meredith the truth when she assumed I was married.
In light of all I was about to lose, maybe the fake marriage was my only chance to get out of this without losing my reputation, my friends, and my job. If Tucker was right in that Meredith would get bored with the project, it could work. Maybe. Possibly.
As he sat on my desk waiting for my response, it was clear, his way was the only one that could prevent my utter destruction of my life, as long as it worked.
“I suppose I don’t have much choice,” I said.
“There’s always a choice, Holly. You have to decide what you want and what’s the best way to get it. This can still work if you really want the library. And if we pull it off, which I totally think we can, you won’t have to endure whatever fallout you’d have by coming clean now.”
He was right. It was why I didn’t really have a choice, but I didn’t argue that. “I guess we’ll continue the plan, then.”
He smiled. “I’ll bring my stuff over tonight.”
Good God, had I really agreed to this? Was Tucker really going to be in my home? I was certain we could pull off being married. We did have a certain chemistry. But how would I avoid touching him? How could we maintain our friends without benefits? And what would happen if we were found out?
13
Tucker
I’d never lived with a woman before. Well, that’s not true. I lived with my mother, and for a short time I had a roommate who was a woman. But I’d never lived with a woman that I wanted to sleep with. So, I was a little discouraged when I arrived at Holly’s house and found an air mattress in a room that had been her home office.
“We can get a bed if you want,” she said, with a look that suggested she knew her accommodations were a bit lacking. I considered suggesting we share her bed, but I didn’t want her changing her mind and kicking me out before we had a chance to get started.
I’d already brought in a box of things I thought would be useful in the kitchen, and a couple of doo-dads for the living room.
“It needs to look like this is my space, too,” I explained when I put a picture of me and my mom skydiving on a shelf in the living room.
I brought my bag into the bedroom, discovering the air mattress that I was sure was too short for my tall frame. I pulled out my shirts and slacks and brought them to the closet to hang. I pulled open the door, and noted that it was hanging off-kilter.
I went back to my car, remembering that I’d brought my toolkit. If her porchlight and kitchen was any indication, odds were more areas of her home would need repairing.
“I’m sorry it’s all a bit run down. We had high hopes for fixing it up—”
“We?” I asked as I studied the door to figure out what specifically was the problem.
“Me and Rick, my ex.” She leaned against the bedroom door frame, looking down as she mentioned Rick’s name.
“He left you at the altar and with a new mortgage on a teacher’s salary?” What a dick.
She shrugged. “I’m on all the paperwork now, and I never gave back his part of the down payment.”
I grinned. “It’s the least he could pay for being an asshole.”
“The point I was making is that now that I’m the only one paying for the house, I don’t have a lot left over to fix it up. Or time.”
I nodded. “I get it. Thank goodness you have a handy husband like me.”
She flinched slightly, clearly not liking me referring to myself as her husband. She’d have to get used to it if Meredith Reynolds planned to hang around a lot.
There was a knock at the front door.
“I wonder who that is?” she said straightening from the doorframe. “I’ll go check.”
“I’ll be fixing the door,” I said as she headed back up the hallway.
I finished examining the door. The top hinge was loose and I hoped a simple tightening would fix it. If the threads pulled through the wood door, I’d need to get longer screws or refill the holes and then re-screw in the screws. Ten minutes later, the door was hanging straight and closing without rubbing.
I left the bedroom, going to the living room to see who was at the door.
“Thanks so much for being willing to have a ‘Sinclair for Mayor’ sign in your yard,” Sinclair said. She was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee while Holly was sitting in the chair across from her.
“Of course. I’m happy to support your campaign. Whatever I can do to help, I will. In fact, I’ll talk with the local teacher’s union and PTA about having you come to share your platform. We’d have to invite Wallace too, but I know you’ll appeal to teachers and parents more.”
Sinclair shook her head. “Goodness, I should take you on as my campaign manager. How do you have all the time and energy for everything you do?”
“I don’t have a husband and child,” Holly said. She smiled but I heard sadness in her tone. Her ex really messed up her hopes and dreams, I realized. I nearly stepped into the room with my hand raised saying I’d sign up for the job, but she was skittish just to date me. Besides, I had some time to use this fake marriage to show her how good a real one might be.
I stopped for a moment as I realized what I was thinking. I’d never lived with a woman before, and now I was thinking of marrying one who didn’t want me. Cupid sure had a mean sense of humor.
“Oh hey,” Sinclair said when she saw me. “Tucker, right? You’re Brooke’s friend.”
I nodded.
“Tucker works with me,” Holly said.
Sinclair nodded to the screwdriver in my hand. “Supplementing your income by doing handyman work?”
“I’m the man of the house now. It’s my job to fix up all the little problems.”
Holly winced. Sinclair arched a brow as she looked over at Holly. Then she smiled. “I like him better than Rick already.”
“It’s not like that,” Holly said, surprising me. The idea of a fake marriage was that it may not be real, but to the outside world it needed to appear real.
“We’ve taken a page from your and Wyatt’s handbook of fake marriages.”
Sinclair’s eyes narrowed. “God, is Stark after you too? Is he going after the school or teachers?” She was really incensed.
Holly waved her hands. “No. It’s really silly…and I wouldn’t be doing this but I dug a hole I can’t get out of.”
“Can I help?” Sinclair asked.
I couldn’t explain why I was getting agitated by Holly’s explanation of our situation. I suppose it was the idea that she felt she had no choice. I was here because I cared for her and wanted to help her. Holly, on the other hand, didn’t want me here. That stung a bit.
“It’s about the library. I pitched Meredith Reynolds for a donation. She didn’t realize that Rick left me at the altar. She thought I was married.”
“Ah, hence the fake husband,” Sinclair said with a glance at me. “You must think Salvation is the oddest place. I mean, your friend Brooke—” she stopped.
“I know about her and the mayor's marriage to save her father’s land,” I said. “Whose shoulder do you think she was crying on when he kept pushing her away?” I glanced at Holly. “Or when her coworkers were less than friendly.” This time I looked at Sinclair.
Sinclair’s gaze held mine for a moment. “I can see you’re a good friend, Tucker. Better than Rick, and you’re fake.”
I’m not, I wanted to say.
“In my defense, I was being a good friend to Mo when I was less than friendly to Brooke. And Trina, well, she’s less than friendly as a matter of course. But we love her anyway, don’t we Holly.”
“She seems happy with your brother,” Holly said.
“He’s definitely smoothed out some of her rough edges. They were fake too. They seemed to think that having a fake marriage was easy. Wyatt and I told them not so much. Apparently, they proved us wrong. And look how it turned out. We’re all
happily married.” Sinclair looked from me to Holly and I wondered if she was thinking perhaps, we could have a similar outcome. I wanted to urge Holly to consider that.
“I just hope Meredith ends up supporting the new library,” Holly said, shifting like she didn’t like the idea of a true happily ever after for us. That irked.
“I don’t get the connection. Why not just tell her you aren’t married,” Sinclair asked.
Holly looked down. “I should have, but she’s so traditional. She basically called me a spinster and went on and on about how important marriage and children were to societal stability.”
Sinclair was nodding her head even before Holly finished. “She thought I should have put Alyssa for adoption.” She looked at me to explain. “I was an unmarried eighteen-year-old accidently knocked up by my secret boyfriend who left town for ten years.”
I nodded. Brooke had told me that story.
“I think she wanted to adopt her, and while I sympathize with her and Jamison’s infertility, I was seriously miffed when she’d talk disparagingly about me. Even more when she’d say things about Alyssa. I might be biased, but you know her. She’s a great kid.”
Holly smiled. “She is Sinclair. You did a wonderful job.”
“Damn right!” She stood. “Listen, if you need me to spread your marriage around—”
“No. I just need Meredith to feel comfortable supporting the library through a stable married woman.”
“You have my support for that, you know that.” Sinclair hitched her purse over her shoulder. “I’ve got to get home. Wyatt will be coming in from dealing with the cattle and I’m sure Alyssa has homework. Although she seems to have less. Are you giving less?”
Holly glanced at me briefly. “Yes. When she’s home she should be spending her time with you and Wyatt, not doing homework.”
I arched a brow, ridiculously flattered that she’d adopted my philosophy of giving kids more time for themselves and their families when they’re not in school. I figured, if I did my job right, they didn’t need to do more work at home.
Fake Marriage (Contemporary Romance Box Set) Page 69
