by Abby Brooks
My jaw dropped. “You thought what now?”
“It was a spur of the moment thing. I wasn’t prepared for us to be that good together and I said the first thing that came to mind. Can I plead temporary insanity, apologize, and explain what’s actually going on?”
He looked so desperate, I started to believe him. “You have five minutes, Malone. Make ‘em count.”
CHAPTER THREE
Jude
I’d pissed off a lot of women in my time, but none had ever looked as ready to murder me as Izzy Prescott, stalking around my bedroom, wearing my sheet like a suit of armor. Her dark hair was a mess. Her bright red lipstick was smudged. Her eyes? Usually, they were warm and golden like honey poured over sunshine. Tonight, they looked more like a supernova ready to burn me to a crisp.
Shit. I’d really made a mess of this.
“Izzy…” I scrambled out of bed, trying to arrange my thoughts in a way that made sense.
“Those five minutes are gonna disappear fast at this rate.” She smirked as I pulled on my underwear.
“It’s really important you understand that I didn’t sleep with you to make you want to marry me.”
“What am I supposed to say to that, Jude? Good?” She shook her head. “This is the most ridiculous situation I’ve ever been in.”
I should have stuck to my guns and talked to her about everything at the wedding. Instead, I let the drinks and the dancing go to my head. Finally, after the night everything went sideways when we were younger, Izzy had looked at me like I was the center of her world again while we hung out at the reception. Instead of making some fake excuse to leave when I sat down with her, she stayed.
And all the reasons I’d thought I was in love with her when we were kids came rushing back to the surface and I let myself get sidetracked from my mission.
Over the years, she’d made it clear she could barely stand to be around me. She avoided me at all costs. Showed up late whenever I was involved so she wouldn’t have to accidentally spend time with me. Fuck, Izzy passed out hugs like candy, but not to me. Oh, no. I got one of those weird, butt out, no touching, pat on the back, non-hugs people saved for creepy uncles.
But how could I explain any of that? There was no way I could tell her that when she looked at me like I mattered tonight, it pushed all thoughts but her out of the way.
I’m such a fucking moron.
I ran my hands into my hair and let out a long breath as I met her eyes. “I have a half-brother.”
“Since when?” Izzy flinched, looking as surprised as I felt when I’d met the kid. “And how does that have anything to do with needing to get married?”
“Since when? Well, considering he’s fifteen, probably for about that long.” I perched on the edge of my bed. “I didn’t know he existed until he showed up at Cheers ‘n Beers last year.”
Talk about a ridiculous situation. This kid who looked just like me—minus a decade or two—walking up to me at my bar. I’d assumed he was going to produce a fake ID and I’d almost thrown him out on the spot, but something in his eyes made me pause. It wasn’t just his familiarity. The kid seemed so fucking genuine I had to hear what he came to say. When he told me we shared a father, I wasn’t all that surprised. When he told me the man died ten years ago, that didn’t surprise me either. I barely knew him, but he’d never seemed like the type to reach a ripe old age and pass away in his sleep, surrounded by people who love him.
I shared all that with Izzy who stared, slack jawed. I understood. It was a lot to process.
“His name’s Brennen,” I continued. “And his mom? She’s a real piece of work—just like our dad. Maybe worse than our dad, though I don’t know, that’s kind of hard to pull off. What I do know is that this kid deserves a chance and he’s not gonna get it living with her. He’s a good guy, but there’s only so much bad a person can be exposed to before it takes root, you know? I can’t sit by and watch that happen to him, so I’m gonna fight for custody. My lawyer said I’d have a better chance of winning the case if I was married…”
Izzy’s shoes hit the floor.
Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk.
“How did I not know you had a brother? You’ve known for a year? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It didn’t seem relevant.”
“It didn’t seem…Jude!” She widened her eyes, looking like I’d committed a mortal sin. “Did you tell anyone? Alex? Jack? Austin?”
I shook my head and shrugged. “It didn’t seem like something to share.”
“Those are your best friends and you didn’t think you should tell them you have a half-brother you want to adopt.” Izzy sat back on her heel and popped a fist on her hip, staring at me like I was an idiot.
I hated that look.
That blend of superiority and judgement shot my way every time I had an idea. Sure, some of the things I’ve come up with weren’t great, and some of them even ended badly from time to time. But some of them were really good. Like opening my bar. Like adopting my little brother so he had a chance at a better life. It wasn’t like I was ever going to settle down. There just wasn’t anyone out there who held my attention. Faking a marriage to save my brother wouldn’t get in the way of me living my best life, plus it was the best thing for him. And that was what mattered.
I stood and paced the room, frustrated into movement. “I’m not the kind of guy who talks about stuff like that. Not until it’s real.”
Izzy puffed out her cheeks. “I don’t even know how to respond to that, so I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say it.”
I crossed the room and put both hands on her shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes. “Do you know why you’re the only person I even considered asking to pretend to be my wife? You’re kind. Smart. Driven. You’re great with Jack’s kids and an outstanding role model. Because you’d show Brennen how a woman should be, instead of only having his mom as an example.”
I stood there in my underwear, staring at the woman I’d known for most my life, the woman I’d just had toe-curling, mind-bending, a-fucking-mazing sex with, the woman who managed to make wearing a sheet seem beautiful…
…who kept looking at me like I’d lost my mind.
Pressing my hands to my eyes, I sighed deeply. “I should have waited until we hadn’t just slept together to bring this up.”
“Maybe you should have just waited, period.” Izzy snatched her bra off the lamp and glared. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now, other than goodbye.”
Still clutching my sheet around her body, she stormed into the bathroom, leaving me to stare after her. How in the world did this whole thing get away from me? I thought she’d see the logic in my suggestion and since she always went out of her way to help people, proposing seemed like a no-brainer.
She’d say yes. I’d win the case to adopt Brennen and we’d all come out of the situation a little better off.
How in the world did she end up offended?
A few minutes later, Izzy reappeared in my doorway. Her dress was on, her heels in her hands. She’d fixed her lipstick and smoothed her hair, but those amber eyes flashed with anger. “For the record, I think what you’re trying to do for your brother is noble. I just…I’m twenty-seven years old and have never been the kind of woman who daydreams about proposals and weddings, but I did think that when someone finally wanted to marry me, it would be because he loved me.” She swallowed hard. “I definitely never expected it to be something I thought was a joke at first.”
“I’m sorry, Iz. I really didn’t mean to offend you.”
“I’m sure you didn’t, but damn it, Jude. You gotta think about the other person every now and then.” With a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes, Izzy left.
Think about the other person?
That was exactly what I was doing!
I didn’t want to be married. Ever. The thought of chaining myself to someone else for the rest of my life sent shivers down my spine. You never knew what you’d end up with. My
mom and my stepdad seemed super happy, but if Mom had married my father? Life would’ve taken a totally different track. But even with all that, I’d been willing to go through with it anyway, just so my little brother might have a chance. After the conversation with my lawyer, I’d thought long and hard about if I should get married, and then, later, who I might be willing to spend that much time with. The more I thought about it, the more I knew Izzy was the one.
The only one.
We’d been friends for years, and the best marriages happened between people who actually liked each other. She was kind. Hardworking. The fact that she was fun to be around and easy to look at only sweetened the deal.
Or so I thought.
“You just dodged a bullet, Malone,” I murmured as the front door slammed. I waited to hear her engine turn over, then remembered we’d left her car in the parking lot at the reception. I pulled on a pair of sweats and a Cheers ‘n Beers t-shirt, then took the stairs two at a time, grabbing my keys on the way.
When I pushed through the front door, Izzy was sitting on my porch steps, staring at her shoes, shivering in the October air.
“I’ll drive you to get your car.”
“No need.” She didn’t even turn to look at me, just wrapped her arms around her stomach and hunkered in on herself. “I called an Uber.”
“Come on, Iz. It’s the least I can do.” I stepped in front of her and offered my hand. “I mean, even the shittiest fake proposal should come with a ride home.”
Izzy snorted a laugh as she met my eyes. “I can’t believe this actually happened. Please tell me it was the alcohol talking.”
It wasn’t. If anyone was gonna be my fake wife, I wanted it to be Isabelle Prescott, but I was smart enough to know when I’d been beaten. “I’m sure that had plenty to do with it,” I said as I helped her stand. “Now come on. Let’s put this night behind us before anything else goes wrong.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Izzy
A week after Jude’s absurd proposal, I pulled to a stop in Amelia’s driveway. The evening sun slanted through the trees, tossing alternating streaks of light and shadow across the grass. As I stood and closed the car door, the autumn wind bit into my skin and dried leaves from the red maples lining the drive see-sawed to my feet.
Across the yard, Evie stepped out of her house, wrapping her sweater tighter around her with one hand and waving with the other as she headed my way. “This weather is a shock to the system after being in The Keys for a week.” She shook her head while smiling dreamily. “I highly recommend marriage and honeymoons, by the way. Though I guess you could just skip the wedding part and find a reason to stay at the Hutton Hotel. Kind of the best thing I’ve ever done…outside of marrying your brother.”
An image of Jude, naked, smiling, and proposing flashed through my mind. If only she knew how close to marriage I’d come. Everyone expected Jack would propose to Amelia any day now. What would they say if they knew we’d beaten them to the punch?
I grinned at my new sister-in-law as I pushed those thoughts far, far away. The two of us strolled up the porch steps and I reached for the bell, but Evie looked at me like I was crazy and pushed right inside. “Amelia Brown!” she bellowed. “Your friends are here and require greeting!”
Amelia peeked out of the living room. “What is it with you Prescotts and screaming people’s names like that?”
I shrugged. “It’s something I used to do to Alex when we were kids. He’d be lost in his head, living in his own little fantasy world, so I’d run into his room and scream his name, which would scare him to death. It always pissed him off, which never failed to amuse me. But then he started doing it to me, and now she’s doing it to everyone…” I jerked a thumb at Evie. “I guess it just became a thing.”
A stampede of feet sounded on the curved stairs, and Amelia’s three soon-to-be stepchildren—Garrett, Connor, and their little sister Charlie—barreled into the room to greet us. After a slew of hugs, a dissertation on why ketchup and mustard made terrible warpaint, and a promise to save us a couple cupcakes they planned to bake tomorrow, they went back upstairs to play while Amelia, Evie, and I moved into the kitchen.
“I’m so glad you were good with coming here instead of going to the bar,” Amelia said. “Jack wanted to hang out with the guys and I wanted to see you two and this is the best way to make it all happen since we still can’t find a sitter willing to take a chance. Though I think that’ll change soon,” she finished, crossing her fingers and giving them a shake.
Jack’s kids had struggled when their mother passed away, and their behavior showed it. Now that Amelia was in the picture, they’d been doing much better, but it would probably be a while before the teenagers of Wildrose Landing were ready to take a chance on them again. In the meantime, I was more than happy to hang out in Amelia’s kitchen instead of at the bar with the guys, since I was still avoiding Jude and planned to do so for the foreseeable future.
Not only had our chemistry been amazing together—just like always…
Not only had he been sweet and funny and easy to be around—also just like always…
But he was willing to marry someone so he could get custody of his half-brother. When you added in his insane good looks, it was no wonder I was in love with the guy, but my heart needed some time away from him because there was no way I’d withstand his charm. He’d stroll into the room, all my strength evaporate, and I’d be ready to do whatever he asked.
What was it about him that made me so annoyingly weak, especially when I worked so hard to be strong in all the other aspects of my life?
“I’m glad to be here,” I said to Amelia. “I’ve been fighting a headache and don’t think I could handle all the energy of Cheers ‘n Beers.”
She frowned as she pulled three wine glasses down from a cabinet. “I would have thought you’d be chomping at the bit to see Jude again after the way you guys ogled each other at the reception.”
I swallowed a groan. So much for avoiding all things Malone.
“What’s this?” Evie turned to me, grinning as she pressed her hands together under her chin. “Did something finally happen between you two?”
“Something happened all right.” Amelia laughed as she lined up the glasses on the counter. “Jude and our sweet Izzy were last seen looking all hot and heavy on the dance floor and then somehow no one could find them. It was just like, poof! And they were gone. The only sign they’d been there at all was Izzy’s car all lonely in the parking lot after everyone left.”
The wattage on Evie’s grin increased. “How come I didn’t know about this?”
I did not want to talk about Jude. What was the best way to get a newlywed to change the subject? I scanned my brain for ideas and said the first thing that came to mind. “Umm…you were pretty preoccupied making my brother the happiest I’ve ever seen him. Speaking of, tell me all about your honeymoon. Why was the Hutton Hotel the best thing you’ve ever done?”
There. That should do the trick.
“Oh, no. You don’t want to hear about that.” Evie chuckled wryly. “You’d be learning significantly more about naked Alex than you’re comfortable with. Believe me. Because there was a lot of naked time. Like, a lot, a lot.”
I held up my hands. “Okay, okay. I get the point.”
Amelia grabbed a bottle of red wine in one hand and white in the other, holding them out for us to pick between the two. Evie chose the red while I shook my head. “I think I’ll pass on the alcohol tonight. This headache is currently manageable. Wine will only piss it off.”
“You’ve come to the right place, then.” Amelia filled one of the glasses with water and slid it my way, then produced a roller bottle of essential oils from her pocket. “This is a blend of peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lavender. Just dab a little on your temples and maybe the back of your neck and it should help ease the tension.”
A year ago, I would have rolled my eyes at the suggestion, but after getting to know Amelia
and spending some time in her shop—Woo-Woo Wildrose—I’d found that a lot of this stuff actually worked. I applied the oils as she suggested, then handed the bottle back.
“Speaking of weddings, when do you think Jack is gonna propose?” I smiled in triumph because there it was. The topic changer to beat all topic changers.
Amelia’s face transformed with a smile so beautiful, I wanted to propose to her myself. “I think he’s planning it. I mean come on. Would Jack Cooper buy a house with someone he didn’t think he’d be with forever?” She leaned on the counter and sighed dreamily. “I just can’t wait to see how he does it. Whatever he comes up with, I’m sure it’ll be perfect. Just like him.”
I rolled my eyes because gag me. New love was so sickly sweet, it might as well have been something I stocked next to the jellybeans at Sweet Stuff, the candy store I owned on Main Street. When I turned to Evie for support, she looked just as swept away by it all as Amelia did, so I leaned on the counter with a sigh. “Oh, for goodness sake. I’m the only sane one here.”
“Actually, you’re the only single one here.” Evie laughed and took a long drink of wine.
“But maybe not for long.” Amelia waggled her eyebrows. “I wish you could’ve seen the way she looked dancing with Jude at your reception. Magical.” She puffed out her hands and fluttered her fingers like falling fairy dust.
“Guys. There’s nothing going on between me and Jude.” My words came out with more heat than I intended. I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh.
Breathe, Izzy. If you want them to drop the topic, you need to stop acting like there’s a reason to be interested.