Just One Fake Date: A Contemporary Romance (Flatiron Five Fitness Book 1)

by Deborah Cooke

  His eyes became more green. “Only one place is home, Shannyn, and it’s the one with your mark all over it. Take me home with you tonight.”

  “You just want Fitzwilliam to jump on you in the morning.”

  “I don’t mind if he does.” Tyler raised a brow. “Although I am thinking about that third thing you like about living with a man.”

  “Not just any man,” Shannyn said. “You.”

  Tyler brushed his lips across hers. “And I didn’t even have to use my secret weapon.”

  “Which one is that?”

  “The fluffy bathrobe in the trunk of my car.”

  Shannyn laughed at him. “I asked Derek about fixing my garage next.”

  “Good plan. Everything finalized with your mom?”

  “All arranged, and she can’t wait to meet you. You two are going to plan circles around each other.”

  Tyler lifted his phone and gave her a wicked smile. “Then let’s do it.” And Shannyn smiled as he pushed Send.

  Epilogue

  Lauren didn’t know how anyone could imagine that Shannyn and Ty didn’t belong together. The heat between the pair of them was enough to boil asphalt in their vicinity. When Ty had led Shannyn into the church, Lauren felt like lightning crackled between them. Watching them together over the course of the day made her own toes curl.

  It was intoxicating to see two people so wildly in love, especially her big brother. She’d always known that if and when Ty lost his heart, he’d fall hard.

  And she’d been right.

  His happiness should have made Lauren happier than it did. Instead, it made her realize how empty her own marriage was. It wasn’t as if Mark was interested in anything she might say or do. He’d shown more fascination with his dinner than anything else, and she was beyond even expecting a duty dance from him.

  Lauren had noticed that Shannyn spent a lot of time with her phone during the day, and had thought she was just one of those people who treat a cell phone like another appendage.

  But by the time the speeches were underway, Lauren suspected that something was being orchestrated. If Ty and Shannyn were as perfect for each other as she suspected they were, something was in the works.

  Lauren wanted to know what it was.

  Not for the first time, Shannyn paused in her tapping and cast a sidelong glance at Ty. Jared’s best man was giving his speech. Ty started, then reached for the interior pocket of his tux, the one where his phone was. He pulled it out of the pocket just enough to read the screen, then glanced at Shannyn, his look hot enough to singe her panties.

  He smiled a secretive smile, then quickly tapped a reply and dropped the phone back into his pocket.

  Lauren heard Shannyn’s phone chirp. Shannyn had it under the table and then she smiled a similarly mysterious smile. She bit her lip, flicked a glance at Ty, and nodded minutely.

  Ty looked satisfied, if not smug.

  What were they up to?

  Lauren wouldn’t know until ten that night, when the dancing was well underway and the happy couple had departed for their honeymoon. Shannyn and Ty were dancing together, laughing at some private joke. That just made Lauren feel more lonely. She was still watching them and having yet another glass of wine. Mark had disappeared somewhere, possibly down the hall to the bar where the game was playing.

  Ty pulled out his phone and tapped once, then put it away.

  And the music was interrupted by the chirping, ringing, beeping and music emitted by fifty cell phones receiving a message simultaneously. Ty and Shannyn grinned at each other in triumph and kept dancing, maybe a little closer than before.

  Lauren pulled out her phone, and knew she shouldn’t have been surprised that it was a wedding invitation, from Ty. He and Shannyn were tying the knot on September 16, apparently, and the arrangements had been made. The ceremony would be held someplace called Harte’s Harbor, and there was a hotlink to a hotel and a map, as well as a date to RSVP.

  This was what Shannyn had been doing.

  Evidently, the two of them had planned it out in advance. Lauren saw her mother’s disappointment that she wouldn’t be organizing the festivities. She watched Ty and Shannyn dance, so delighted with each other that it made her heart ache.

  Her brother had taken his time, but he’d found his perfect partner.

  As glad as she was to see Ty so happy, Lauren wished she could have said the same thing for herself.

  Sign up for My Newsletter, Heroes & Happy Endings

  For More Contemporary Romance and Romantic Comedy!

  My Heroes & Happy Endings monthly newsletter features my Deborah Cooke contemporary romances and romantic comedies. Subscribers get the first peek at new covers, a look behind the scenes at what’s coming, special offers and content only for subscribers, as well as notifications of sales and new releases - and more!

  Sign up for Heroes & Happy Endings today!

  An Excerpt from Just One More Time

  Flatiron Five Fitness #2

  Kyle wants it all...

  Kyle Stuyvesant doesn't believe in love and romance. His parents taught him that there's no such thing as forever, and he took the lesson to heart. After all, there's only one woman who ever tempted him to more than a single hot night together. Fortunately for his convictions, she's married to another guy. Problem solved—until Lauren's marriage collapses and Kyle isn't just the bearer of bad news, but the man she turns to for comfort.

  Lauren demands it all...

  When Lauren's marriage implodes, she wants to lose herself in pleasure and sensation. Who knows that territory better than Kyle, the eternal playboy, who seduced her so deliciously years before? It was a night Lauren never forgot, and now that she wants to forget everything, Kyle is the only man she wants. Will she be able to accept his terms of no love or romance? Or will Lauren convince Kyle to take a chance on wanting more?

  Excerpt from Just One More Time

  Copyright 2017, 2020 Deborah A. Cooke

  A little more than three weeks after Kyle had given her the bad news about Mark’s infidelity, Lauren stood in Times Square, letting the city flow around her. For the better part of a month, she’d felt raw, but now she felt empty.

  Desolate.

  Lonely. Marriage had turned out to be an exercise in futility and she felt stupid for her optimism. It was bad enough to have wasted five years on a man who didn’t deserve her respect, and to have tied up her dreams with a husband who clearly didn’t share them, much less intend to fulfill them. It was a slice of hell to be alone and single again on a perfect summer evening in New York.

  But the worst part was that she felt like an idiot for believing in happily-ever-after in the first place.

  Weren’t dreams supposed to come true if you believed?

  Lauren couldn’t stay in the apartment, even though she’d kicked Mark out. She didn’t want to eat alone in a restaurant. She didn’t want a date, a walk, a coffee, or a gossip with a girlfriend. She’d thought she might go to a movie alone but hadn’t been able to choose from the ones playing at the multiplex. She didn’t want to spend the money on a show, given that she might not really see it.

  She supposed it wasn’t an accident that she ended up standing across the square from the enormous poster of Kyle. Twenty stories high, he was more gorgeous than in real life. Lauren wouldn’t have believed it possible, but she’d checked on the billboard multiple times in the past few days, just to be sure. He looked like the perennial surfer boy, his hair tousled and his skin wet, a laugh just beginning to curve his lips. Honestly, she could see the twinkle in his eyes even from here.

  Get wet at F5F.

  Didn’t she wish.

  Lauren remembered the weight of those hands on her skin as if it had been yesterday, not more than twelve years ago.

  She thought again of the fury underlying Kyle’s words when he’d told her about Mark. She hadn’t believed that Kyle could be impassioned by much of anything. It seemed to be his personal policy not to care about an
yone. She hadn’t thought he even remembered her much.

  She wouldn’t think of that day at F5F when he’d turned away, as if she was a stranger. How could recalling that instant still make her heart break?

  How could his recent confession be true? She’d replayed his words in her thoughts a thousand times since he’d spoken them.

  That night was the very best night of my life, and you were the very best thing to ever happen to me.

  She wanted to believe him, even though she knew better.

  She wanted to call him.

  Lauren knew what to expect. She knew what Kyle could give—and what he wouldn’t give. It would be sex. Good sex. Probably even great sex. But there wouldn’t be any romance. He wouldn’t engage emotionally. It wouldn’t be forever.

  It would only be for now.

  But the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that might be enough.

  Lauren pulled out the business card that she’d worn to softness and turned it over. She didn’t really need to look at the number. She’d memorized it weeks ago. She liked the way Kyle wrote. Every stroke of the pen was filled with his confidence and vigor.

  She wanted some of that.

  She needed some of that.

  Lauren punched his number into her cellphone before she could change her mind, and her heart leaped when he answered.

  “Kyle here. What can I do for you?”

  “You didn’t look at who was calling,” Lauren accused and felt his shock when he recognized her voice.

  He recovered well, of course. Kyle always did. “No. I would have answered faster if I had, Lor. Where are you? It sounds noisy.”

  “Times Square.”

  “Oh.” It had to be the first time ever that she’d heard Kyle at a loss for words. Of course, he knew where the billboard was. He must have been in that marketing meeting at F5F. For all she knew, he’d suggested the location.

  He’d almost certainly suggested the slogan.

  Could he be embarrassed? It was an unlikely possibility.

  “I’ve just been thinking that sometimes one thing of beauty isn’t quite enough to provide joy forever,” she said, her voice husky. “I’ve just been thinking that another one would be good.”

  His voice dropped low and she wondered where he was. “You know I can’t give you what you want, Lor.”

  “I know that tonight you can give me what I need,” she replied. “I feel dead, Kyle. I hate it. I want to be alive again.”

  Again there was a pause, and she hoped he decided to do what she asked. She was gripping the phone too tightly, her heart in her mouth, but she didn’t care.

  “Your place?” he suggested and relief flowed through her.

  “No. Mark is circling like a dog, double-checking where he crapped.”

  Kyle laughed as if she’d surprised him. “Not my place. No one comes there.”

  “Maybe it’s time to change that,” she said, pushing him just a little. Her pulse was fluttering. “I’m taking a chance. How about you?”

  He didn’t think about it long, much to her relief. He immediately gave her an address on the west side. Hell’s Kitchen, probably. She’d bet it was that shiny new building south of the Javitz. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he said, some of her own urgency in his tone. “And if you change your mind, Lor, it’s okay.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind,” she said. “I’ll be there.” She ended the call and looked up at the billboard, welcoming the flicker of excitement in her veins. Simmering. She hadn’t even seen Kyle yet, but she already felt herself coming back from the dead.

  She knew that was just a hint of what was to come during the night ahead. Lauren smiled for the first time in weeks as she stepped to the curb to flag down a cab.

  Just One More Time

  Book #2 in the Flatiron Five Fitness series

  Available now!

  About the Author

  Deborah Cooke sold her first book in 1992, a medieval romance called Romance of the Rose published under her pseudonym Claire Delacroix. Since then, she has published over fifty novels in a wide variety of sub-genres, including historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, fantasy romance, time-travel romance, women’s fiction, paranormal young adult and fantasy with romantic elements. She has published under the names Claire Delacroix, Claire Cross and Deborah Cooke. The Beauty, part of her successful Bride Quest series of historical romances, was her first title to land on the New York Times List of Bestselling Books. Her books routinely appear on other bestseller lists and have won numerous awards. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. In 2012, she was honored to receive the Romance Writers of America’s Mentor of the Year Award.

  Currently, she writes contemporary romances and paranormal romances under the name Deborah Cooke. She also writes medieval romances as Claire Delacroix. Deborah lives in Canada with her husband and family, as well as far too many unfinished knitting projects.

  Visit Deborah’s Website and Blog

  Visit Claire’s Website and Blog

  More Contemporary Romance by Deborah Cooke

  The Coxwells

  THIRD TIME LUCKY

  DOUBLE TROUBLE

  ONE MORE TIME

  ALL OR NOTHING

  Christmas with the Coxwells

  Flatiron Five Fitness

  JUST ONE FAKE DATE

  JUST ONE MORE TIME

  JUST ONE NIGHT TOGETHER

  JUST ONE HOMETOWN HERO

  Two Weddings & a Baby

  JUST ONE SECOND CHANCE

  JUST ONE SILVER FOX

  Flatiron Five Tattoo

  JUST ONE SNOWBOUND NIGHT

  JUST ONE VACATION NIGHT

  JUST ONE UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT

  JUST ONE CHRISTMAS NIGHT

  Novellas

  A Berry Merry Christmas

  Learn more about Deborah’s paranormal romances at

  The Dragonfire Novels

  The Dragons of Incendium

  Learn about her Claire Delacroix

  historical romances on

  Claire’s website.