Dear Phoney Fiance
Alexx Andria
Copyright © 2018 by Alexx Andria
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
To my bestie Jaycee because it’s her birthday and I can’t think of a better gift than to release a book on the day she graced the world with her presence. Love you girl!
Acknowledgments
Big shout out to my sister Kamrin for being the brain behind my creative engine. She helps keep the gears moving when I stall out. She was an integral part of the creation of this sweet story and I am forever grateful for her calm and linear energy!
Contents
Back cover blurb
A Note From Alexx
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Epilogue
Also by Alexx Andria
About the Author
Back cover blurb
IT’S JUST A TEMPORARY ARRANGEMENT…RIGHT?
Cara Harris is smart, funny, insanely beautiful — and not looking for anything remotely serious.
Once I explain my messed-up situation — that I need a fake girlfriend to get back at my soul-sucking ex — she’s more than willing to help me out.
The plan is going great, except my feelings are getting real. And hers? I have no effing clue.
What happens when it’s time to go our separate ways? Because one thing is for sure — I’m not ready to say good-bye.
****
Valentine’s Day comes once a year…but the Amazon best-selling authors who brought you the #resolutionpact is at it again.
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Skip the box of chocolates — it’s time to devour FIFTEEN steamy, stand-alone stories set in a shared world.
A Note From Alexx
Oh, this is going to be fun! I love sweet romances with a steamy twist! I had so much fun with this novella it was hard to keep the characters from growing into a full-blown novel! However, I think this is a fun, satisfying read and I hope you agree.
Grab a cozy blanket, something warm to drink and settle in for a fun read. If you haven’t already picked up the rest of the #matchmaker series, please do! This is a series you don’t want to miss!
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“You did what?” I stared, the last bite of my yogurt skidding to a halt half-way to my mouth. “No, seriously, say again? You did what?” Rachel Brennan and Daisy Eckles, my roommates and besties, grinned like hyenas about to maul a wildebeest and I knew I hadn’t misheard them. I dropped the spoon back into my bowl. “C’mon, are you kidding me? Have you both lost your mind? Started doing drugs or something? I mean, what we were you thinking?”
“Okay, hear us out,” Rachel said, trying to calm me down because I wanted to hyperventilate and pass out. “The thing is, you’ve like seriously checked out from life and that’s just not you. I mean, yeah, take some time out to regroup and all, you suffered a tragedy but it’s time to get back on that horse if you know what I mean and you didn’t seem like you were budging in that arena and we were really worried.”
“So you signed me up for a dating website?” I shot back with an incredulous snort, unable to believe my best friends had done something so intrusive. “I’ve never even heard of this site before, ‘What The Heart Wants’ what is it?”
Daisy jumped in, “Actually, it’s really sweet, which is why we thought it would be something you’d be into. You have to write love letters to each other. I mean, it’s kinda like retro, you know? It’s a lot of work,” she grumbled beneath her breath before gesturing brightly, “but for someone like you — a communications major — we thought you’d be into it.”
“If I’d stumbled onto it organically, maybe, but c’mon, this feels weird,” I complained, tucking my feet beneath me, casting a dark look at both conspirators across the table in our tiny kitchen. They made it sound as if I were some emotionally crippled social outcast who needed help connecting to her fellow human beings. I wasn’t that person. I was an extrovert for fuck’s sake. Under normal circumstances.
But what was normal anymore?
I didn’t know.
The thing was, since discovering the love of my life was actually a scum-sucking cheating bastard I’d kinda lost myself. I definitely wasn’t “living my best life” and I couldn’t deny that the worry I saw in Rachel and Daisy’s eyes wasn’t misplaced but it stung to know that I’d sunk so low that my friends had felt the need to cobble together a desperate profile in the hopes that some poor dude might rescue me from the cocoon I’d created for myself.
On the upside, I’d discovered a shit-ton of really great television. Whoever said we were in the golden age of television wasn’t lying.
But I wasn’t ready to date and it wasn’t fair to anyone who might have the misfortunate to stumble on my dating profile and find it interesting enough to click or heart or whatever you’re supposed to do to make a connection so I wasn’t going to go through the motions.
“I appreciate the gesture and the intention — even if it makes my hair curl — but I’m just not ready,” I said, trying to let the girls down gently. “I’m going to try to look past the part where you thought I was sad enough to need your help but I love that you love me that much to try.”
Rachel pushed her iPad toward me. “Just look at your profile. Check out the hits you’re getting. You’re pretty popular.”
I refused to let the flattery go to my ego and shook my head. “Nope, not gonna fall for that. Besides, haven’t you read the statistics on dating sites? Most of those guys are probably married or already have a girlfriend. Men are pigs.” I pushed the iPad back toward Rachel. “I’m good. Actually, I’m enjoying being single. I never have to consider anyone else’s feelings when I make a decision and I can starfish on the bed without being called a bed hog. Honestly, it’s kinda blissful.”
But Daisy’s expression was calling bullshit. She knew my heart still hurt. In private moments, I still cried. Okay, sue me, I was all for I-am-woman-hear-me-roar but this woman’s heart was broken into a million pieces and the memory of walking in on my boyfriend getting a blow job by someone other than me…yeah, that still hurts like a motherfucker. So…fuck, yeah, I guess some of my cheerfully single propoganda was just that — bullshit.
And Daisy knew it.
“Not all guys are like Drake,” Rachel said.
I fake smiled and chirped a little too quickly, “I know. “
“Do you?” Rachel wasn’t sure. “I know you thought you guys were going to ride off into the sunset together but high school sweethearts rarely do. You had a good run but maybe it was a blessing you found out what he was all about before you had a couple of kids with the dick head. Blessings in disguise, right?”
I hated that logic. “Yeah,” I said, just wanting the conversation to be over. It wasn’t like I hadn’t heard that particular adage a million times. My older brother had said as much but he hadn’t said it quite as nicely. He’d never really liked Drake much but older brothers weren’t supposed to like the guy shacking up with their little sister, right? Ugh. The whole thing gave me a headache, which was why I avoided thinking about it. “Thanks but I’m going to pass. Go ahead and delete the profile.”
“Here’s the thing�
�”Rachel began, exchanging a look with Daisy that immediately made me suspicious. “We’ve sort of made contact with someone on the site and he wants to meet you.”
My eyes bugged. “Oh no.” Things had gone from bad to worse. “You pretended to be me and told this stranger I’d meet with him?”
“He’s a really nice guy and he’s really cute. Just take a look,” Daisy insisted, pushing the iPad toward me again. I pressed my lips together, feeling coerced into something I didn’t want to do. “Please? I think you’ll really like him. What’s one dinner? If you don’t hit it off, you don’t have to see him ever again and you delete your profile and forget this ever happened.”
“I shouldn’t have to be doing this at all,” I said, glaring. “What if I had done this to you?”
“We just want you to be happy again,” Daisy said in earnest. Even though I was mad I believed her. I reluctantly opened the app and clicked the inbox where the messages awaited.
I didn’t want to admit it but they were right, Jace Nolan, was hotter than I expected him to be. Dark hair and eyes, slight stubble, nice white teeth, an easy smile that hinted at a glint of mischief under the right circumstances, I found myself hesitating. Why? I glared at the girls even harder for my own hesitation. “What have you gotten me into?” I asked.
“Just dinner, I promise,” Daisy answered.
“This is ridiculous,” I said but my gaze strayed to Jace’s profile again. “He probably has a long-term girlfriend and he’s just messing around behind her back. He’s too good-looking for his own good.” I was being judge, jury and executioner — that was pretty much my new role these days when it came to guys — but guys like Jace were used to getting girls to fall at their feet.
“Oh, c’mon, look at him,” I said, gesturing toward Jace’s smiling mug. “You can’t tell me that this guy probably isn’t swimming in illicit pussy. Don’t hate the player, hate the game, right?”
“Are you always going to blame every guy for what Drake did?” Rachel asked, point-blank “because, if so, you might want to invest in that crazy-cat-lady starter kit now.”
“I’m not blaming every guy, I’m just not going to be so Pollyanna about guys from now on,” I said.
“Drake was a dick. Everyone saw it but you. We’re not saying this guy is Prince Charming but for fuck’s sake, Cara, you’re not going to know what he is if you continue to barricade yourself in this house away from the opposite sex for the rest of your life.”
“You’re being a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” I said but my voice had lost some of its conviction. I had spent an inordinate amount of time locked in my bedroom. I didn’t go anywhere but work and home. The truth was I was kinda afraid of running into Drake at some point, even though we didn’t live in the same city.
Staying home seemed easier than dealing with the potential drama (and trauma) of starting all over with someone else.
“You’re too young to be this maudlin,” Rachel said, rising.
I raised an eyebrow. “I see you’ve been putting to use that ‘Word of the Day’ desk calendar I bought you for Christmas.”
Rachel turned briefly to stick her tongue out at me then said, “Prove us wrong. Go to dinner with this guy. If there’s no chemistry, you’re not out anything, delete the profile and I promise we’ll let you continue your self-induced exile into celibacy.”
I sighed, resisting the urge to glance once last time at Jace’s profile. It’d been six months since that awful day. Maybe they were right. I guess I had to rip the bandage off at some point but it should be at my choosing, not theirs.
However, it wasn’t Jace’s fault that they’d played him.
Playing the devil’s advocate, if by some chance, he was innocent and not some horny asshole looking for a side piece and really hoping for an actual connection, the least I could do was to let him down in person.
“Send me the login information,” I said, seeming to give in. Daisy let out a tiny squeal as she clapped her hands in victory. “When is this date supposed to be?”
“Tomorrow night,” Daisy answered.
Good God.
I tried not to panic.
Lifting my chin, I rose from the chair with as much dignity as I could muster when I felt myself trembling. “I need to find something to wear.”
Rachel called out after me, “Wear something cute!”
I saw her before she saw me. Cara Harris was everything her profile picture promised her to be — tall, long dark hair, lean features — yet there was a sharp intelligence to the way her gaze scanned the busy restaurant as if she were there on business instead of meeting someone for a potential date.
To be honest, she was damn near perfect for what I was looking for and the reason. Hot damn, I could use a win in my current frame of mind and I wasn’t above grabbing that fucking opportunity with both hands.
I smiled as I rose from my seat like the gentleman my mother raised me to be. “Cara Harris?”
“Unless you were meeting another Cara Harris tonight,” she quipped with the flash of a smile appropriate to the biting wit of a response before taking the seat opposite me. She didn’t try to lean in for a quick peck on the cheek or a hug, nothing overtly flirty or friendly. Everything about the energy flowing around us felt distinctly businesslike, which suited me fine, actually. It would make me seem far less like a dick when I came clean about my intentions. Ahhh, was that citrus and cucumber? Something fresh and breezy like the ocean on a brisk day teased my nose and I resisted the desire to press forward for a deeper inhale, my interest level in Cara already going up several notches.
“My calendar only had one for tonight but tomorrow, I might have a bit of a log jam. I was thinking of assigning nicknames to keep the confusion down,” I returned.
“Smart, what would my nickname be?”
“Based on first, very superficial impressions?”
“Of course.”
“This feels like a trap,” I said, a grin finding me as I admitted, “because I’m going to come off sounding like a stereotypical guy and it might not be flattering.”
“Are you?”
“I like to think I’m not but then, maybe that’s just me deluding myself into thinking I’m better than I actually am.”
“Let me be the judge, then. What’s my nickname?”
“All right, you’re Cara-With-The-Legs-For-Days. Hows’s that?”
Her chocolate eyes lit up with laughter. “A little too on the mark. Tall girls tend to have long legs so you’re not wrong but poor marks for zero creativity. Talk about grabbing the low-hanging fruit. You might as well have said, Cara-With-The-Brown-Hair or Cara-With-The-Brown-Eyes. Wow, the creativity in the room is staggering.”
I laughed, forgetting for the moment that I wasn’t supposed to be forging a real connection. “Damn, girl but I guess I deserve it. Fine, ball’s back in your court. What’s my nickname?”
Cara sobered for a moment, as if really considering my request and I tried not to focus on the fact that her sassy mouth was more distracting when pursed in thought than when she was laughing but my thoughts weren’t exactly cooperating.
The snap of her fingers jolted my awareness back to the moment. “You would be Jace-With-The-Cowlick.”
“Jace-With-The-Cowlick?” I repeated, my nose crinkling as my ego deflated. That’s the thing she’d notice about me? The thing that’d been the bane of my 12-year-old existence? “Not perhaps Jace-With-The-Dimple? Or maybe Jace-With-The-Six-Pack?”
“Again with the low-hanging fruit. Do you always grab for what’s easy?” she asked with a wink.
“Touche,” I said, chuckling but she had no idea how close to the mark she’d hit with that comment. I shifted in my chair, wondering where the hell this woman came from and how she appeared in my life at this very moment when I needed her the most. I didn’t believe in divine intervention but damn, I was feeling pretty blessed right about now. I just needed to find a way to seal the deal.
“To run the risk
of sounding cheesy as hell, your profile picture doesn’t do you justice,” I said with a half-smile. “Please don’t hold that against me. I’m not usually prone to one-liners.”
She laughed, those gorgeous doe-eyes catching mine. “I won’t and thank you for the compliment.”
I liked the way her eyes lit up when she laughed. I’d never seen brown eyes warm so quickly. It took a moment to remember I was there for a reason and it wasn’t actually to start a relationship.
Not a real one, anyway. But if I were, I could see myself playing this out with Cara, maybe even seeing where it could go naturally if I had more time. Two and a half weeks didn’t give me much wiggle room. I couldn’t afford to take the risk that I could end up dateless for Mr and Mrs Douchebag’s wedding — because let’s face it, first dates were deceiving — so it was better to stick to my original plan, no matter how good Cara smelled or looked for that matter and I just had to keep reminding myself of that fact.
For all I knew, Cara could be just like my ex, a two-faced, gold-digging, faithless bitch. It’s not as if people showed their true colors or wore their crazy on the outside for everyone to see. Hell, wouldn’t that be a nice change?
Eye on the prize, Jace. I chuckled wryly, preparing to put all my crazy on the table, letting the chips fall where they may. Preferably before anything toss able arrived at the table. I didn’t relish the idea of dodging a dinner roll flung at my head. Or a fork.
“Cara-”
“Oh gosh, wait,” she interjected with a firm but pleading expression that seemed more appropriate for someone about to deliver unpleasant but necessary news than someone on a first date and that was enough to snap my mouth shut out of pure curiosity. “Jace, based on first impressions you seem like a decent guy so I want to level with you right from the start…my friends set up that profile and I’m not sure I’m ready to date just yet.”
Dear Phoney Fiance Page 1