Vote Then Read: Volume I

by Carly Phillips

  Grinning a wide smile that crinkles the corners of his eyes, he nods to Sophie and tells her to collect their belongings. After bouncing her eyes back and forth between us, she narrows a warning stare at me and regretfully storms off toward the bench.

  There are kids who just seem wise beyond their years—old souls trapped in a child’s body. From her hostile reaction, I wonder how many actual souls she’s collected and trapped in there.

  With the two of us standing there awkwardly staring at each other, he finally extends an arm and holds his hand out by way of a formal greeting. “By the way, I’m Niall Mackay.”

  Don’t tell him your name. Do not tell him your name.

  “Laken Cavanaugh.”

  Shit.

  “Don’t worry, Laken,” he says, giving me a wink. “It’s just chocolate ice cream. I don’t pull out the chloroform and gags until the second date.”

  “Very cute. This is not a date; it’s a peace offering,” I assure him, taking a few steps toward the bench where I’d thrown everything to run after Preston. “And besides, I’m a vanilla kind of girl.”

  “Suit yourself.” Collecting Sophie, he high-fives an overly-excited Preston and glances at me over his shoulder. “Oh, and about the chocolate? Never knock something until you actually put it in your mouth and taste it.”

  His words reignite the flush from earlier, and I feel my cheeks heat on impact. Images of what he’d look like underneath those tight jeans and T-shirt instantly dry my mouth and then make it water. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I grab Preston’s hand and speed walk to catch up with him.

  Slap my face on a milk carton… I’m in.

  4

  Niall

  I stare at Laken Cavanaugh, the perfect woman who seems to be the answer to all my problems. Life doesn’t work out this easily, does it?

  Tucking her unruly hair behind one ear, Laken darts her tongue out as she tentatively licks the chocolate ice cream on her spoon. Within seconds her face scrunches up like she just sucked on a lemon.

  “Still not a fan?” I ask with a chuckle.

  She sips her soda and shrugs. “I’m just a creature of habit, I guess. I’ve stuck with vanilla so long I don’t see any reason to stray.”

  I can’t help it. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mess with her.

  Leaning forward, I flick a lock of her golden hair away from her face. “So, are you strictly vanilla in all things?” Heat crawls up Laken’s neck, staining her cheeks a scarlet red. It’s adorable, and I have an insatiable urge to run my tongue along the fringe of her blush.

  “Are you always so forward with women you’ve just met, or is it just ones you plan on chloroforming?”

  Grinning, I drop my spoon into the banana split bowl and grab the book sticking out of her open backpack. Giving the cover a once over, I raise an eyebrow across the table. “Business law? Do you go to NYU?”

  She nods, her long blonde hair falling over one shoulder. “Grad school, for now.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  Shrugging, she wipes Preston’s mouth with one hand while grabbing the book out of my hand with the other. “I’m a marketing major who has been trying to get an internship for over six months with no luck. It’s just hard to see the finish line when everything is two steps forward three steps back.”

  It couldn’t be this simple, could it? She needs money and a foot in the door at a marketing firm. There has to be a way to finagle this girl an internship with Vince or Navarro in exchange for her help with Gloria. I have friends in some powerful positions. All the pieces are fitting.

  “How so?” I ask, leaning in for emphasis.

  “Well, I had to take a year off before college to”—she pauses, swallowing hard—“take care of some things. Sometimes things happen in life you don’t plan on.”

  A down on her luck, single mom, graduate student. This just gets better and better. My problem is about to solve itself. All I need to do is bait the hook and reel her in. Giving her a sympathetic smile, I nod. “Of all people, I can understand that.”

  She shakes her head as she licks her spoon. “I wasn’t handed everything like most college students. I’ve worked for everything I have.” Raising her blue eyes, she stares at me a moment before muttering under her breath. “I got enough financial aid to get me through undergrad because my mom is crazy and walked out on me.”

  Although I sympathize with her plight, I smile, thinking of my own free-spirited ma back in Ireland. “Most mothers are crazy.”

  She grimaces and looks down, not returning my smile. “No, my mom is actually crazy. I moved from Florida to New York City to literally start a new life.”

  “I’m sure you think so, but—”

  Laken swings a gaze back at me. “Have you ever heard of Whitesnake?”

  “The eighties hair band?”

  “Oh, so you’re a fan?” She smirks.

  I shrug and sit back in my chair. “I wouldn’t say a fan, I just know of—”

  Dropping her spoon, she folds her hands across the table and pins me without the slightest hint of amusement in her eyes. “You want to know why I’m alone in New York, making my own way? My pothead mother walked out on me to tour the country as a Whitesnake groupie along with my aunt.”

  “That’s a joke, right?”

  “Nope. She left me in the care of my senile grandmother for a life of head banging and roadie blow jobs.” Sighing, she lifts a hand and swipes her hair out of her eyes. “I spent my childhood at the senior center overseeing Bingo games and eating dinner at four thirty because my mother found sucking on blunts and dicks more desirable than being a parent. Now do you think she’s crazy?”

  “I guess so.” I nod toward Preston and smile as he and Sophie switch ice cream cones halfway through their own conversation. “Even with all that, he seems to have adjusted well.”

  Laken lifts her head, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion. “Who?”

  “Preston.”

  Her forlorn expression changes the instant her eyes lands on him. Her mask cracks with obvious affection. “Oh, well, yeah. He’s great. He’s been through a lot.”

  She doesn’t have to explain anymore to me. I get it, I’ve raised Sophie on my own for eight years since the ripe old age of twenty-two. My parents still live in Ireland, and while my Scottish grandparents have a brownstone in the city, they’re well beyond retirement and too set in their own ways to help me care for her. While I love my daughter with all my heart, sometimes I wonder what life would’ve been like if I’d been able to live it as a normal twenty-something.

  While other bucks my age spent their nights at bars and left with a different girl every night, I spent my nights at home with the same one who screamed bloody murder every time I stopped bouncing her. Other bucks had nameless women dropping to their knees and sucking their cocks. For the first year of Sophie’s life, the only thing that got sucked around my apartment was my youth.

  Not that being a dad stops me from getting my rocks off. I’m a father, but I’m still a man. A willing woman isn’t hard to find. Sane women, well, that’s a different story.

  But this girl…

  When I woke up this morning, I had two objectives; take some pictures to sell for some extra cash and try to figure out how to get the black widow off my arse—not necessarily in that order. The last thing I expected was for a solution to fall in my lap by way of my overly aggressive child.

  And then Laken Cavanaugh happened.

  I watched her behind the lens of my camera long before she saw me. I studied the way she chewed on her full lips as she read from her book, the way she twirled her long, curly blonde hair around her index finger, the little line that sank deep between her eyebrows when she concentrated extra hard, and the carefree laugh that lit up her face when she called out to her son. I wouldn’t be a man if I hadn’t also noticed the tight, little yellow shirt she wore and the cut-off denim shorts that showed off her long, tanned legs.

  I spent a goo
d half hour trying to figure out a way to talk to her. It had been a week since my conference room run-in with Gloria, and I was running out of time to ensure Sophie didn’t get kicked out of Ravenhill, and my impetuous outburst didn’t cost me my job. Luckily, my kid’s temper finally worked for me instead of landing my arse in the headmaster’s office, trying to explain why she pushed another kid.

  Sophie isn’t a bad kid, and I’m not a bad father. We’ve both just been through a feckin’ ton of shite and are still trying to navigate our way through it all.

  But back to Laken.

  I’d spent all morning wracking my brain, trying to think of women who’d be possible candidates for my fake fiancée. My problem is that I have nothing to offer them in return except for me—and that’s one offer I’m not willing to put on the table. No, I need someone who has something else to gain from this business deal. Someone who would agree to my terms, see the value for what it is, and then when the night is over, walk away with a handshake.

  That’s why Laken Cavanaugh is perfect. She’s just the type of date I need to keep Gloria off my back and my job safe. However, getting her to say yes to my outrageous offer is a different situation entirely. How does one proposition a woman into a fake engagement without getting smacked?

  “Hi, so, I know my daughter just beat the shite out of your son, but how about we pretend to be engaged for a night?”

  The whole idea makes me look like an arsehole. What woman in their right mind would agree to that? I have a few dollars and an “in” at Trask and Payne. It’s not a lot to sweeten the pot, but as long as she’s into that sort of thing, it might work. It’s not as if being on my arm is a fate worse than death. I’d be lying if I said I don’t know I possess a certain appeal. American women are a sucker for a foreign accent, and being a native Irishman gets me more pussy than I know what do with.

  I never go back for seconds, though. My choices don’t just affect me, they affect Sophie. I have to be smart and keep my nocturnal activities casual and attachment-free. However, I need to approach this endeavor in a way that won’t make Laken feel as though I’m buying her.

  Which is exactly what I’m doing.

  The perfect solution to my problem stares back at me with the most amazing blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Plus, the fact that Laken has a son makes her willingness to help me more probable. I have to appeal to her maternal instincts and make her an offer she can’t refuse. One night is all I need to back up my story and make this whole mess go away. My job will be safe, Sophie’s future will be secure, and maybe if I play my cards right, the night could even end with this girl on her knees.

  Hey, a man can hope.

  There’s only one way to do this. If I don’t come right out and ask, I’ll never see her again. I may get slapped, or she may go for it. Either way, I have nothing to lose. Digging in my pocket, I hand Sophie a couple of dollar bills and tell her and Preston to go play video games. Laken eyes me curiously, as if she doesn’t trust me.

  Smart girl.

  “So, how about you let me make this whole thing with Sophie and Preston up to you.”

  She motions toward the melted bowl of ice cream and smirks. “What do you mean? Isn’t this your grand apology? Fattening my ass with ice cream and whipped topping?”

  You have no idea what else I could do with that whipped topping, Laken Cavanaugh.

  I glance down to appear genuine. “Well, it’s a start. But I’m thinking of appreciation on a larger scale.”

  “I’m listening.”

  I look up in time to see Laken twirl her tongue around the straw of her soda and all the blood in my body rushes south. Clearing my throat, I swallow hard and continue. “Well, you mentioned that you work a low-paying job, and you’re putting yourself through grad school, right?”

  “Go on…”

  “Well, it just so happens that I have this problem—”

  She smacks the table with her palm and points a finger at me. “A catch. I knew it. There’s always a catch. Is this where you whip out your camera and ask me to pose for a few pictures that’ll never ever be posted on the internet?”

  Cocking my head, I sigh heavily. “Are you going to listen or insult me?”

  “Fine. Continue.” Picking up her discarded spoon, she drags it through the melted mess in her bowl and takes a lick.

  “Before I go on, you aren’t involved with anyone or have an abnormally large fiancé you aren’t telling me about, right?”

  “I don’t like where this is heading, Niall…”

  “Just answer the question.”

  “No.” She draws out the word slowly while pursing her lips.

  Exactly the answer I want to hear.

  “Good. Do you want one?”

  Laken blinks at me, the spoon dropping from her hand and clinking on the Formica table. “Excuse me?”

  Giving her a wicked grin, I relay the story concerning Gloria and her indecent proposal, leaving out important details such as names just in case she tells me to go to hell.

  An incredulous laugh breaks from her lips. “So, let me get this straight. You want me to attend a company party with you, pretend to be your fiancée, and then lie to your boss about it just so she’ll leave your dick alone? Have I pretty much covered it?”

  “No, smart-arse.”

  She raises an eyebrow.

  “She’s not my boss, but she could make my life hell. I just need her off my back.”

  Laken gives me an accusing stare, as if I have some grand scheme in choosing her. “Why me?”

  Feckin’ hell. Okay, I have a grand scheme, but that’s beside the point.

  “Why not?”

  “That’s not an answer,” she argues, shaking her head. “What’s in it for me?”

  “Look, you said you need an internship, right? I have connections where I work, and I can get you in front of people who make those decisions for my company.” Frustrated this isn’t going as easily as I’d hoped, I throw my hands up and slump into my chair. “Hell, I could ask a lot of other women and they’d do it just for the chance to walk into a Trask and Payne party.”

  Laken stills, her face paling. “I’m sorry, did you say Trask and Payne?”

  “Yeah, I’m one of their photographers, and for some reason, I also want to help you. I think you deserve a break.” I let out a harsh breath and pack up to leave. “But if you aren’t interested, then—”

  “Yes!” she screams, causing more than a couple of patrons to glance our way.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to think about it?”

  “It’s just one night, right? It shouldn’t be that hard. A few hours of pretending to like each other won’t kill me.”

  I scowl at her. “You’re amazing for a buck’s ego, you know that?”

  “So how do we do this?” she says, ignoring my jab. “Do we just meet there and make out on the dance floor?”

  This going to be more work than I anticipated. “While you make it sound quite enticing, it’s a little more involved than that.”

  “How so?”

  I study her for a moment. What we’re doing is risky and walking into the lion’s den unprepared is stupid. “Give me your number. I think we should get to know each other a little. We need to be able to rattle off personal details about each other.”

  Laken sucks in a deep breath as if I just asked her to swim naked in a tank of starved piranhas. “You want to go out on a date?”

  “Okay, we really need to work on you not making that face every time you think about spending time alone with me. It’s kind of a dead giveaway.” I squeeze the bridge of my nose in frustration. “Damn, Laken, have you never played poker in your life?”

  “I’m a business major, Niall. Not a gambler.”

  “Ante up, Miss Cavanaugh. The stakes are about to be raised.” Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my cell phone and punch in her name. “Now give me your number.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, she finally gives it to me, and I type that
in as well. Once I hit enter, I follow it up with the call button and her phone rings. Raising an eyebrow, she digs it out of her backpack and answers.

  “Hello?”

  “This is Niall Mackay. Now you have my phone number. Program this shite in as My Big Dick Fiancé.”

  Laken wrinkles up her nose and makes a face. “You’re disgusting.”

  “Aye, the loving way you talk to me is why I fell in love with you, my future fake wife.”

  Only a real man can handle pastel painted nails.

  It’s true. If you see a man with Pure Baby Bliss #6 on one hand and Blue Mermaid Shimmer #9 on the other, don’t question his masculinity. It takes a huge set of balls to carry that shite off.

  That’s exactly what I keep telling myself as I sit in front of the coffee table in our small Chinatown apartment as Sophie sticks her tongue out of the corner of her mouth and concentrates hard at turning my hands into feckin’ cotton candy. I wanted to watch a movie. Sophie wanted to play dress-up.

  Two guesses who won, and the first one doesn’t count.

  “There,” Sophie announces, blowing on my newly pink glittered thumbnail. “Don’t move or you’ll mess it up.”

  Right. Especially since that’s the first damn thing I plan to do when she goes to bed.

  Even hours later, the whole situation with Laken still seems too good to be true. While I’m not thrilled with the idea of introducing a woman I barely know to my bosses as someone I’m vowing to love and cherish till death do us part, this shite with Gloria leaves me no choice.

  “Hey, Soph?” I ask, watching carefully as she closes the nail polish bottle. “What did you think of Laken?”

  She tilts her head, drawing her eyebrows together. “Who?”

  “Preston’s ma. The lady from the ice cream shop.”

  She shrugs. “She’s okay, I guess. Why? Are you going to marry her?”

  “What?” Startled, I take in her wide brown eyes, a complete mirror image of my own. “No, why would you say that?”