Best Fake Day by Tracey Rogers Read Free Book Online Page B

head into the table, but when you walked away I knew I had to wait for the police to convict his ass.”
    “And they can, can’t they?” She shuddered at the thought of him doing it to someone else.
    “Yes. We have footage of his actions and your drink is being tested so the results can be used as evidence.”
    “So some good came out of this.”
    “Are you for real? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?”
    “Of course I do!”
    “Then you know it was by no means worth the risk of that stupid stunt you pulled tonight!”
    “I needed to talk to you,” she said weakly. She had been stupid. She’d put herself into a situation that could have gotten them both hurt. But was it wrong that even though the flash of anger in his eyes made her regret her actions, the fact he’d protected her, and cared for her, made her …hopeful?
    “It could have waited.”
    “Could it? Maybe for you, but I know I wouldn’t be able to sleep with all of those zeros looming over my head. And then there’s your fake wedding plan. It was too much hanging over me with no way out.”
    “There is a way out. Go through with the fake wedding and it will all be over.”
    Fake it. How could anything be fake with Jack? “But why should I, Jack? Why should I have to suffer the consequences for Ellie’s actions? I shouldn’t have to do these things for her anymore.” But she always would.
    “Then don’t do it for her—do it for me.”
    After everything that had happened the night before, and the connotations of what could have happened, it was the plea in his voice that shredded her insides. Tears pooled, just reaching that brim, the threat of a breached dam wall only nature could control. Her body was telling her to let go, to seek comfort in her release, but she couldn’t let Jack see her cry.
    She wanted to flee, to run from his disappointment and whatever pain he carried inside. She knew if she didn’t she would be climbing on his lap, straddling the strength of his thighs, trying to find her release from him, and doing her utmost to make him feel better. Loved like he’d never been.
    But where were her clothes?
    Izzy tugged the sheet. She needed to move now, before she broke into huge wracking sobs. But tugging was getting her nowhere. The weight of Jack’s body pinned the sheet into place. There was no option of using it to protect her nakedness now. Not that it mattered anyway, because he still saw her as that quirky child, so what would he care about her lack of clothes? If it came to a choice between breasts or tears, she was sure her tears would affect him more.
    She considered the shortest route. Sucking in a breath, Izzy spun her legs to the side in one swift move and stood, naked except for her lacy black knickers. Too slow. Instead of running, she froze. She didn’t have to see him to know he was looking at her, she could feel it. Turning her head to look at him sent her heart racing. Jack’s gaze touched over every curve as hot and scorching as if he was touching her with his hand. That gaze blazed with...something. Some emotion that she couldn’t quite discern, or understand.
    “Bathroom,” she mumbled as she turned on the ball of her foot and walked as casually as she possibly could while resisting the urge to flee.
    * * * *
    Jack flopped back onto the bed, lips pressed into a tight line. One arm rested over the bare skin of his abs where his t-shirt had risen and the other arm was placed over his eyes. He didn’t want any image to replace the one he’d surely just imagined. Because he hadn’t really just seen Izzy stand in front of him with that glorious creamy skin unadorned except for a tiny scrap of black lace, had he? His heart was pounding in his chest as he replayed that image. And he knew it was wrong. Very wrong. He had promised David, her father, that he wouldn’t take advantage of his girls. That he would look out for them. After everything David and Beth had done for him over the