Fake: A Fake Fiance Romance

by Rush, Olivia

  Chapter 13

  Chelsea

  It was easily one of the most surreal moments of my life. Wrapped around me were the arms of Felicity Hargrove, one of the biggest actresses in the world. She gave me a brief, tight squeeze like we were old college buddies and not two people who were complete strangers. I opened my eyes into a squint as she hugged me, her sun-blonde hair briefly blocking out everything around me.

  “It’s so lovely to meet you,” she said in that sophisticated, upper-crust English accent I’d heard in so many films. She placed such a heavy emphasis on “so” that I was certain she was being sarcastic.

  “Felicity,” said Bryce as she let me go and stepped back, his tone calm and composed. “A pleasure to see you.”

  “Always a thrill, Ducky,” she said, giving Bryce a warm smile.

  Then she turned to me, giving me a full blast of that beaming, million-dollar Hollywood smile, her perfect white teeth situated among gorgeous features of fair skin, a tiny, button nose, and strikingly blue eyes. And not to mention a bombshell figure packed into a skintight red dress.

  “And you know what?” she asked. “I didn’t even get your name.”

  “Nope,” I said. “Just kind of hugged me.”

  Felicity had actually alerted us, not to mention everyone in the damn room, to her presence by letting out a shrill shriek when she laid eyes on Bryce. She broke off from the tight knot of handsome men and strikingly beautiful women that surrounded her to come over to say hi.

  And now here she was, her eyes devouring Bryce like he was one of those little snacks on the passing trays.

  “It’s Chelsea, by the way,” I said. “Chelsea Lane.”

  “Chelsea Lane,” she repeated, as if she was trying on the name for size. “That’s a name I can picture on a marquee. I’m Felicity, but I’m sure you already knew that.”

  Very modest, I noted.

  “Sure did,” I said.

  “Now, Ducky,” she said, treating me like I wasn’t even there, her hand falling onto Bryce’s shoulder. “It’s simply been too long since the two of us have seen one another. It’s simply terrible how much time we’ve allowed to pass without catching up.”

  “Those things tend to happen after a breakup,” said Bryce. “Especially one where you cheat on the other person.”

  Felicity waved her hand through the air and scoffed, dismissing the whole thing like it was some kind of silly hang-up Bryce couldn’t get over. “Past is the past,” she said. “Like I told you on the phone.”

  I raised an eyebrow at this, realizing that Felicity must’ve been the mysterious caller from the other night.

  “Now,” she said, “I’m very interested in speaking to you two about this little thing you have going on.”

  “Well,” said Bryce, “as it so happens, Chelsea and I are getting—”

  “Married?” exclaimed Felicity, finally noticing the massive rock on my finger.

  Her hand shot out and latched onto mine, pulling it close to her face with such speed that I stumbled on my heels.

  “This is… This is an engagement ring,” she said, her wide blue eyes locked onto it.

  “That’s what those are called,” I said. “Now, can I have my hand back?”

  Felicity glanced up at me, my hand still in hers. Awareness of what she was doing took hold, and her almost frantic expression changed to one of total calm and composure so quickly that it was almost scary.

  She let go of my hand and stepped back. “Of course, of course,” she said. “It’s just that you’ve got such a beautiful ring there. Looks a lot like the one I used to pester Bryce for back when we were…”

  She trailed off for a moment before forcing another beaming smile onto her face.

  “Anyway, all in the past!” she said. “I suppose that it was time for you to move on. I’m sure the two of you are very happy.”

  A silence fell over the three of us. I glanced over at Bryce, hoping he had some way to get the two of us out of this increasingly awkward situation.

  “Well,” he said, “it’s been great to see you, Felicity. Now, if you don’t mind, the two of us—”

  Before he could finish the sentence, a slim, well-built man with a shock of slicked-back red hair joined our group.

  “There you are,” he said, slipping his arm around Felicity’s waist and planting a kiss on her flawless cheek. “I was wondering where you’d run off to.”

  Felicity did another one of her instantaneous expression changes, now looking pleased as punch.

  “Hunter?” asked Bryce. “You and Felicity are an item?”

  Now I felt even more overwhelmed.

  “We certainly are,” said the man. “Been exclusive for a few months now.”

  Bryce turned to me.

  “This is Hunter Reed, one of the executives working under me,” said Bryce.

  As Bryce spoke, I noticed Hunter’s gaze wandering up my body, but his eyes darted off in another direction when he saw that I was looking.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” he said, giving my hand a very gentle, almost old-fashioned shake where he gently held only my fingers. “Damn, Bryce, you didn’t waste any time getting the hottest girl you could now that you’re back on the street.”

  “Hey, Hunter,” said Bryce, noticing Hunter’s wandering gaze. “Eyes above the neckline.”

  “Sorry, boss,” he said.

  Then he flashed me a pearly-white smile, one suggesting that the proper response to his comment was to feel flattered. It wasn’t how I felt at all.

  “Chelsea Lane. And excuse me?” I asked.

  “Oh, Bryce has always been something of a ladies’ man. And always had the best taste. For example—”

  His arm still wrapped around Felicity’s waist, he pulled her in for another kiss on her cheek. Felicity made a face that seemed to say “oh, you” as she waved her hand through the air.

  “Oh, he’s just incorrigible, isn’t he?” she asked.

  “It’s why you love me,” he said.

  “Now, let’s not go crazy,” she said, putting a few inches of space between the two of them.

  “Careful now,” said Bryce. “That’s my fiancée you’re talking about.”

  Hunter’s dark brown eyes widened with surprise.

  “Is that right?” he asked. “Damn, Bryce. When you come back on the scene, you really come back on the scene, huh?”

  He reached over and gave Bryce a hard pat on the upper arm, one that Bryce clearly didn’t care for.

  “Not really intending to come back on any scene,” said Bryce. “Just figured I’d make an appearance.”

  “Well,” said Hunter, “this was the right time to do it. Shit, just look at the crowd we got here. Half the fucking money in the city’s in this room.”

  “Boys,” said Felicity with a playfully chiding tone, “if the two of you start talking shop, I’m not going to be happy.”

  “Fine, fine,” said Hunter. “Why don’t the two of us head off and grab a drink? That way you two girls can get to know each other. I bet you’ll be fast friends.”

  Felicity turned toward me, raising an eyebrow.

  “What do you say, Chelsea?” she asked. “What do you say to the two of us leave the boys to talk about things we couldn’t care less about while we have a drink on the balcony?”

  My first reaction was that I actually did care very much about business matters, what with me working for the company and all. But I kept this comment back.

  “Sure,” I said.

  “I won’t leave you for too long,” said Bryce.

  Then he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my cheek, one that made me feel like I might melt like butter under a heat lamp. Felicity’s expression tightened for a flash of a moment, and I got the impression that she didn’t care for Bryce showing affection to anyone but her.

  With that, the two men headed off.

  “Now,” said Felicity, “let me get the two of us some drinks.”

  She scanned the room, f
inding the nearest waiter. Once she did, she snapped her fingers at him, beckoning him over.

  “Is there a reason I needed to call you and that you didn’t just see that I needed a new drink?” she reprimanded the black-clad young man who couldn’t have been older than his early twenties. “It’s your job to see if we need anything, not to wander around like a fool until we’re forced to get your attention. Now, off with you.”

  She took two glasses of champagne off the tray and impatiently gestured for the server to leave.

  “Quite the tone with the waiters,” I said as she handed me one of the drinks.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “I swear,” she said, “it’s like they hire the most mentally challenged people they can find for these events. And if there’s one thing growing up on my family’s estate taught me, it’s that you have to take a firm hand with the help.”

  Charming.

  “Now!” she said, that sunny expression returning to her face. “Shall we step outside?”

  “Sure,” I said, already feeling apprehensive about the whole thing.

  Felicity and I made our way out to the massive arched doors that led to the balcony, the jazz music swirling around us. More than a few partygoers stopped Felicity to say hello, many of them big names in entertainment or the San Francisco tech scene. It seemed like everyone who was anyone was here.

  The two of us soon arrived onto the massive, gray, stone balcony. The building was situated on a hill, which allowed us an amazing view of the city. Felicity turned around, her dress swirling around her body as she leaned back against the railing, spreading her arms out as she locked eyes with me.

  “Now,” she said, “Chelsea, my new very best friend—let’s dish.”

  I furrowed my brows in mild confusion. “I’m not really the gossip type,” I said, “so I’m not really sure how this whole thing goes.”

  “Hmm,” said Felicity, tapping a blood-red nail against her chin. “Well, why don’t you and I start with the subject of how you and our charming little Bryce met and became engaged so very quickly.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but she started off again before I could even get a word out.

  “You see, Bryce and I were, at one point, inseparable. We dated for years, and oh my, let me tell you about the sexual chemistry we had. It was like when we made love the earth moved. No man I’ve ever been with since then could hope to compare.”

  A dreamy expression formed on her features as she looked past me, as if carried away by memories.

  However, as out of my element in girl-world as I might’ve been, it didn’t take a social genius to understand what Felicity was trying to do here. And as much as I hated to admit it, a tinge of jealousy ran through me.

  “Yeah,” I said, trying not to give her anything to work with. “He’s a great guy.”

  “But I’m sure you know all about how wonderful he is, in bed and everywhere else. After all, you’ve known each other for how long?”

  “A little under a week,” I said.

  Felicity made an odd face, something like a combination of shock, anger, and total disbelief. But she quickly regained her composure.

  “A little under a week?” she asked. “That’s rather fast, don’t you think?”

  I decided to go in for a little jab of my own.

  “Well, when it’s true love, why wait? When you know, you know, right?”

  “I suppose that’s true,” she said. “And I suppose it’s why he and I dated for as long as we did without him even bringing up the subject of marriage.”

  She turned toward the city, bringing her wine to her lips.

  “You know, maybe this is the wine talking, but I’ve never found a man quite like Bryce. But he got away from me.”

  “It sounds like there was more to it than that,” I said, stepping to her side. “From what I hear.”

  “Yes, yes,” she said, shaking her head. “The infidelity. It was just a few times, and Bryce had to make such a fuss about it. But I told him over and over again that those other men meant nothing to me. The whole reason I even bothered with them was to get his attention, you know? Sometimes ‘stepping out,’ as you Americans say, is the best way to get a man’s attention, right?”

  “Can’t say that I know anything about that,” I said.

  “Please,” she said. “I can tell you’re one of those girls who looks all sweet and innocent on the outside but has some secrets of her own.”

  “Nothing quite like that,” I said.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Bryce and Hunter approached the balcony. Felicity glanced over and saw the same thing.

  “Well,” said Felicity. “Perhaps it is true love. Or perhaps it’s something else. I suppose we’ll see.”

  She flashed me a wink before tossing her hair over her shoulders and turning her attention to the men as they stepped through the door.

  True, I wasn’t the most socially skilled in girl world, but I knew what this little comment was.

  It was a threat.

  Chapter 14

  Chelsea

  Did that really happen? Did one of the most famous actresses in the world really just threaten my and Bryce’s relationship?

  I didn’t have much time to think about it. Bryce and Hunter had joined us, and Felicity had turned her sunny charm back on.

  “You boys have fun?” she asked, laying her head on Hunter’s shoulder, giving me one last wink to make sure I was still keeping our conversation in mind.

  “We had a blast,” said Hunter. “Nothing you ladies would find all that interesting. Probably bore you both to tears.”

  After the conversation I’d just had, casual sexism wasn’t something I was in the mood for.

  “You know,” I said, “some women are actually interested in business. Some women are actually interested enough to found their own companies.”

  Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Is that right?” he asked.

  “It is right,” said Bryce. “Chelsea founded her own company, along with a few partners. Illimitable Technologies. A recent acquisition of ours—and how the two of us met.”

  “So very impressive,” said Felicity. “Brains and beauty. I’ll have to keep all that in mind.”

  “Anyway,” said Bryce. “The two of us only just got here, and we still need to make the rounds. It’s been a pleasure seeing you both.”

  “Until next time, Ducky,” said Felicity, throwing her arms around Bryce, putting her body between him and me in a move that was clearly calculated.

  “And I’m sure I’ll be seeing plenty of you around, Chelsea,” she said to me with a wink.

  Hunter and Bryce shook and we all said our goodbyes. I felt better as soon as the pair left.

  “How’d that go?” asked Bryce, slipping my drink out of my hand and taking a sip before replacing it.

  “Not sure,” I said.

  I wanted to tell him that I was almost certain she had something in mind for me, but I knew it’d sound paranoid.

  “She’s one of those women who you never know if she’s being nice or being…something else,” I said.

  “Sounds like Felicity, all right.”

  And there was also the matter of Hunter eye-fucking me. I didn’t care for it one bit, but I didn’t want to ruin the mood with my complaints. Thankfully, Bryce beat me to it.

  “And sorry about Hunter,” he said. “He’s good at what he does, but he never really grew out of his frat boy days.”

  “I can tell,” I said. “Didn’t seem like he gave a damn that he was scoping out the boss’s fiancée.”

  “Sometimes I wonder if he can even help it,” said Bryce.

  I couldn’t resist any longer.

  “Oh, and ‘Ducky’?” I asked.

  Bryce shook his head, as if he was still in disbelief that this was the nickname he’d gotten saddled with.

  “Don’t ask me where the hell she got that,” he said. “Must be some British thing.”

  He stuck out his arm
, and I took it, feeling safer as soon as I was close to him. Together, the two of us strolled into the center of the ballroom, the band finishing up one number and starting another.

  “How about this?” he said. “I take you around the place, introduce you to a few more people, spread the word that we’re getting married. And after that the two of us can do some dancing—that always clears my head after a long night of mingling.”

  I smiled, very interested in the idea of losing myself in some music.

  “Then let’s do it,” said Bryce.

  Arm in arm, Bryce led me through the ballroom, stopping at the knots of partygoers here and there and introducing me as his new fiancée. Over the course of the next hour, I met some of the biggest names in the city, along with more than a few celebrities stopping up for the weekend from Los Angeles.

  After a time my hand was sore from all the shaking, and I was worn out from all the introductions. Not to mention totally starstruck. And I couldn’t help but notice Felicity out of the corner of my eye. She was far enough away that I couldn’t exactly tell if she was shooting me daggers, but either way, there was nothing friendly about the way she was looking at me.

  “OK,” said Bryce, coming back from fetching us both a pair of fresh drinks. “That’s about all the networking I can handle.”

  “You have no idea,” I said. “I feel like my brain’s going to melt from having to keep all these new names straight.”

  “You never had to do this sort of thing when you were founding your company?”

  “Nope,” I said. “The other founders did all the people stuff. I handled the tech.”

  “Well, I think you handled yourself pretty damn well,” he said, placing his hand on my hip and preparing to dance with me.

  “Why thank you, Mr. Carver,” I said, pressing my body against his.

  The band started a new tune, and the two of us danced slowly. I closed my eyes and let my head rest against his chest, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips as we danced. As he held me close I took in everything—the solid feel of his chest, his intoxicating scent, the way he moved perfectly to the music. I let it take me away, putting the stresses of the last few hours behind me.