My Fake Fiancé by Lisa Scott Read Free Book Online

“Sam, no one’s ever done anything like this for me.”
His voice was thick.
    I pulled back so I could look at him. “I
believe in you.”
    “Thanks. And this is going to make my mother
so happy.” He frowned. “How am I going to break up with you
now?”
    I felt a stab to my gut. “We don’t have to
worry about that just yet.”
    He sucked in a breath and nodded. “Let me
call my lawyer and get the ball rolling.”
    And then we ended up in bed again. He might
have been my fake fiancé, but everything in the bedroom sure seemed
real.
     
    ***
     
    I had a bad feeling I was going to get burned
when this whole thing with Sam ended. I wasn’t what she wanted, and
she’d realize it soon enough. But for now, our supposed engagement
and the business deal were keeping my mother happy.
    Mom had cried when I told her Sam and I were
opening the catering business together. And she was thrilled to
spend her time leafing through bridal magazines hoping to come up
with suggestions and play a part in the whole thing. When she asked
me to stop by on my day off, I figured she was going to bombard me
with information on reception sites or wedding cakes. But when she
opened the door, the life was gone from her eyes. “What’s
wrong?”
    Her lips quivered as she led me inside, and
she folded her hands on her lap when she sat down on the couch. She
let out a long sigh. “The cancer’s back.”
    Bile slicked my throat. “So we do chemo
again. You can beat this.”
    Her shoulders slumped. “The doctors give me a
fifty-fifty chance. I’m afraid I won’t be much help with the
wedding.”
    “We’ll push it back. We need to concentrate
on you.”
    She gripped my arm. “No. All these wonderful
things happening to you? It’s the only thing keeping me going. I
need that wedding, Justin.”
    It felt like a punch to the gut. It was like
I was twelve again and Rob Myers had landed a blow square to my
stomach because we lost the football championship. “We would have
won if your stupid father hadn’t screwed Mark’s mother and gotten
kicked off as coach.” Then he’d hit me again while everyone
watched, and I hadn’t even fought back, because it was true. Dad
did screw up everything. Dad did ruin our season and our family. I
couldn’t argue that; I had to take Rob’s beating. But now it was me
who’d done the same thing. Mom was pinning all her hopes on a big
wedding and it was all my fault. This felt worse than any pummeling
Rob could have given me.
    I choked back a sob. “I’ve got to talk to
Sam.”
     
    ***
     
    We had to find a way out of this. My mother
expected a wedding, and I wasn’t going to be able to deliver. I
asked Sam to meet me at the bar after a wedding I was working
Saturday night. I was afraid if I invited her to my place, we’d
sleep together again instead of disentangling ourselves from this
mess. It’d been a month since we started this whole fake engagement
and we were still playing the part—in public and in private.
Clearing off the last table in the ballroom, I shook my head,
disgusted that I’d let this spiral out of control.
    Sam met me in the bar outside the ballroom.
Guests were finishing up from dinner and hitting the dance floor. I
had a drink waiting for her as she walked up to me. I hadn’t
realized it, but I’d fallen for her. She was funny and kind,
beautiful and passionate, and she believed in my business plan. She
was everything I wanted. But I knew I wasn’t the dream guy she had
in mind.
    “I’ve been thinking more about the name for
your business,” she said. “How about Justin Time Catering?”
    I grinned, despite the bad feeling in my
stomach. “That might work.” I took a deep breath, ready to give her
the bad news about my mother, when a guest from the ballroom walked
up. She looked familiar.
    “Can I help you?” I asked
    “Excuse me, this is going to sound silly, but
are you dating Samantha Cooper?”
    That’s when it clicked. It was Carrie, from
the wedding.