[Anthology] A Clean Fake Marriage Romance Collection

by Victorine E. Lieske

  “It’s Adam!” the one right next to him screamed.

  Another one leaned in. “I’m your biggest fan, Mr. Warner.”

  Fans? Of his? Had he entered some bizarre world where he was recognized on the streets? Dale chuckled in the back. “Wow. Looks like the website’s working.”

  Warning bells sounded in Adam’s head. How had these women known where he was going to be? “What did Leon do?” He tried not to yell but wasn’t very successful.

  “Hey, man. It wasn’t my idea.”

  Adam closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before speaking. “Did Leon post Megan’s address on the Internet?”

  The smile faded from Dale’s face. “Well, when you say it like that, it doesn’t sound very good.”

  “Are you serious? He really did?”

  Dale nodded, and Adam’s mouth fell open. How could he?

  The women finally moved enough to allow him to park. An urge to protect Megan surged in him. He twisted around to face Dale. “Leon’s gone too far this time.”

  Adam stepped out of his car. Several women whipped out camera phones. “Thank you, ladies, for coming here. We are glad you watch our morning show.”

  “I’ve only watched your dating show,” one of them said.

  “Yeah, the dating one is what I watch too.” An older woman nodded. Then a barrage of questions were thrown at him.

  “Where are you taking Megan today?”

  “Are you mad at her for what she did?”

  “Do you love her?”

  He held up his hands and put on his best camera smile. “Ladies, please. I’m late to pick up my date.”

  The sea of women parted. “Go get her, then!” someone shouted.

  He left the surreal scene when Megan buzzed him into her apartment complex, Dale on his heels. When Megan came out, she gave him a particularly nasty glare while the camera wasn’t on her face. Then she smiled. “Hey, sweetie.” She stood on her tip toes and brushed a kiss across his lips.

  The small act sent him reeling. He thought about pulling her close and spending more time getting to know her sweet lips, but he knew she was just playing a part for the camera. Too bad.

  She wore running shoes, a T-shirt, and jeans that hugged her in all the right places. He averted his gaze and clasped her hand. “Ready to forge through the mob?”

  Her head snapped up. “What?”

  “You haven’t noticed your parking lot?”

  She shook her head. “What are they doing there?”

  “I guess they found out we’re taping here this morning. They’re here to catch a glimpse of us.”

  Her eyes widened. “I didn’t realize the show had gotten that popular.”

  He didn’t want to tell her what Leon had done. “Yeah.” Let her think they found them organically.

  After pushing through the crowd, getting in the car, and making it out of the parking lot, Adam relaxed. “Wow, that was something.”

  Megan sat quiet, staring out the window.

  As they neared Omaha, guilt wormed its way into Adam’s chest. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so imperative to get back at Megan. In fact, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do it at all. Unfortunately, Leon had loved the idea so much, Adam knew he’d be in trouble if he abandoned it.

  He pulled into the Skates N’ More parking lot and stopped the car. Relief flooded Megan’s face, which gave him even more guilt. “We’re going roller skating?”

  Sweat trickled down his neck. “Well...we’re going in the roller-skate building.”

  Her smile stiffened. “What are we doing, Adam?”

  Heat crept up his back. He had to tell her. “Rock climbing.”

  The color left her face, but she plastered on a smile. “Great. Sounds like fun. Let’s go.”

  It crossed his mind that he could say, “Just kidding! We’re going skating!” But he knew Leon would have his head. He exited the car, a cold pile of rocks sitting at the bottom of his stomach.

  Chapter 7

  Megan put on her bravest smile and slammed Adam’s precious car door. She’d show him. She’d go in there and climb the dumb rock wall so that he’d look like a fool. Her heart hammered in her chest as they crossed the parking lot, the first large raindrops hitting the pavement.

  They scrambled inside where it was dry. Adam paid their way into the rock climbing area. He put his arm around her, and she tossed him a tight smile.

  A couple of employees helped Megan and Adam put on their harnesses and safety lines. She gripped the rope, her knuckles white, and peered up. It looked like a cave wall, except it had colored hand-holds of varying shapes and sizes stuck all over it. Her mouth went dry.

  Adam leaned over. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he whispered.

  She stared at him. His brows were knit together in concern. Was he giving her a way out, at the last minute? Like she could back out now. She’d look like a fool. She lifted her chin. “I’m good.”

  The employees gave them basic instructions and assured them if they slipped, they’d be caught by the safety line. They’d be at the bottom, belaying the ropes.

  Her fingers trembled as she reached up to the first knot sticking out of the wall. It looked so high. Adam turned to her. “I’ll stay right with you. You can do this.” The low timbre of his voice soothed her, and for some reason she believed his sincerity, which surprised her.

  She lifted her foot, found a decent-sized protrusion, and hoisted herself up. There. That wasn’t so bad. He did the same and stopped, waiting for her.

  The hand holds above her appeared small, and she searched for one that she would be comfortable latching onto. Nothing within her reach was big enough. She had to settle for a narrow yellow hold. She gripped it as best as she could, searched below for a place to put her other foot, found one, and slowly lifted herself up again.

  After a few more repeats of this process, she began to feel okay. This wasn’t so hard. She could do this. All she needed to do was focus. She climbed higher, keeping her chin up, feeling for footholds without looking down. The rock jutted out a bit, but she kept her belly close to the wall and held on.

  Adam kept his pace with her. She was sure he could have made it to the top by now, but he stayed beside her like he’d promised. It almost warmed her heart toward him.

  And then her foot slipped and one hand lost its grip. She fumbled for the rock and grabbed onto it, scraping her knuckles in the process. Looking down to try and find the foothold, she saw how high she was.

  Fear shot through her like a jolt of electricity. The room spun, and her stomach lurched. She clung to the handholds and let out a little squeal. Her limbs shook, and she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to move.

  “Hey, you okay?” Adam asked, his voice hushed.

  She shook her head, her throat too closed to speak. Adam moved quickly, coming close, and soon his strong arm wrapped around her middle. “Don’t worry. You’re all right.”

  “No,” she whispered. “I’m not. I can’t move.” Her breath came out in small gasps, and panic gripped her. She couldn’t climb up. She couldn’t climb down. And letting go terrified her. Logically, she knew she had a safety line, but swinging from the rope at this height scared her more than clinging to the rock wall the rest of her life. A tear slipped down her cheek.

  “Listen. I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.” His warm breath brushed her cheek. “I never should have brought you here. It was stupid.”

  His voice was so quiet she knew the camera couldn’t possibly pick it up. So why was he playing nice all of a sudden? What was his end game? “You think?”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

  She forced herself to pry her eyelids open and look at him. His ice-blue eyes held concern. He sounded sincere. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. He wasn’t exactly Mr. Truthful. She sighed. “Well, now what?”

  He kissed her forehead, and warmth spread through her traitorous body. “We go down.”

  Her muscles ached from clenc
hing the rocks so tightly. “I don’t think I can let go.”

  “Hey,” one of the instructors shouted. “You guys okay up there?”

  “We’re fine.” Adam stared into her eyes, and lowered his voice. “You want to hang onto me?”

  The tips of her toes were numb, and her muscles trembled. Could she let go and hang onto Adam? She wasn’t sure she could do it. “I don’t know.”

  He came closer, his strong chest pressing against her shoulder. “There’s no rush. We have time.”

  Sure. Stay up here with Dale filming her stuck on the stupid rock wall while ten-year-olds passed her up. Not a good plan. She gritted her teeth. “Okay. I’ll hang onto you.”

  “Good. Whenever you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She took a couple of deep breaths, then quickly wrapped her arm around his neck. Tight.

  “Okay,” he choked. “Now your other arm.”

  With every ounce of courage she had, she let go and grabbed hold of him, knocking them both off the wall. She wrapped her legs around his middle and squealed as they swung from the safety lines.

  “We’re ready to come down,” Adam called.

  They were lowered slowly to the floor, Megan’s heart pounding hard in her chest and Adam rubbing her back, telling her softly they were almost there.

  When they hit solid ground, relief flooded through her and she could breathe again. She jumped off him, heat creeping up her neck. “Sorry.”

  He took in a gasp of air. “No problem.” Then he pointed up at the wall. “For someone who’s afraid of heights, you sure did a great job. Look how high you got.”

  Her throat closed as she peered up to where she’d been.

  He put his arm around her and leaned in close. “Proud of you,” he whispered.

  Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach. Why was he being so nice? His kind words hurt more than ever, knowing his plan to humiliate her in order to further his career. She turned away, unable to bear it any longer. “Thanks.”

  ADAM BEAT HIMSELF OVER the head once again as he watched Megan turn away from him, pain evident in her eyes. Why had he brought her here? A fear of heights is very different than a little embarrassment on a karaoke stage. He closed his eyes and couldn’t get the image of Megan’s terrified face out of his head.

  Of all the stupid things he could have done. He laid his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go do something else.”

  A tight smile formed on her lips. “What else did you have planned? Pottery class?”

  “Nope. Why don’t you choose?”

  She glanced at the door to the rest of the complex. “We are at the roller skating rink.”

  He laughed. “That would be good revenge, then. I’ve never skated before, and I’ll probably fall more times than you can count.”

  A devilish grin crossed her face. “I can count really high.”

  The tension between them eased as they entered the darkened room. Colored lights bounced off the walls, and loud pop music vibrated the floor. A snack counter with some bar stools stood against one wall. They paid for their skate rentals and sat down to put them on.

  “You’ve really never done this before?” Her eyebrow arched.

  “Never.”

  “Then this is going to be fun.” The devilish look was back, and he swatted at her playfully.

  “Don’t get any ideas. I’m sure I’ll embarrass myself enough without your help.”

  She turned to Dale. “Be sure to zoom in on him a lot.”

  Dale steadied the camera as he chuckled. “You bet.”

  When their skates were on, Megan hopped up. “Okay. Time to go out there. It’s not too hard, just try to get used to the wheels on your feet.”

  Pushing himself up from the chair, he stood. Megan smiled at him and held out her arm. “Hang on to me.”

  He grabbed hold and began walking across the floor. She was right, it wasn’t bad. The carpet helped keep him upright, and he only wobbled a little.

  A short wall surrounded the skating area, with a swinging door to allow access. It was early enough in the day that the place wasn’t crowded. Megan held it open. He stepped on the hard wood floor ... and his foot shot out from under him. He landed on his bum, one leg bent.

  “Careful.” Megan leaned down to help him up. He was surprised she didn’t laugh at him. “The floor is slick.”

  A teen with spiky red hair and black athletic shorts shoved past them. “What’s the matter, Grandpa? These skates too complex for you?”

  His friend, a skinny blond with acne, guffawed.

  “That was rude.” Megan frowned, staring after the teenagers.

  Adam grabbed onto the wall and pulled himself up. “Do I look that old?”

  Megan glanced around. “It’s mostly kids here right now. We probably look a hundred to them.”

  He laughed. “Probably.”

  “Come on, Grandpa. Let’s stop blocking the door.” She took his hand and led him onto the floor. Electricity zinged through him where their skin touched.

  He successfully balanced for a few steps, although he was bent over kind of funny. “I don’t think I’m doing this right.”

  “You just need to get used to the feeling. Try pushing yourself forward with one foot, while balancing on the other.”

  “Ha! You’re kidding, right?”

  The redhead and his friend skated past. “They really shouldn’t let people in here if they don’t know what they’re doing.”

  Megan shot a glare at them. “That kid’s beginning to annoy me.”

  “Ignore him.” Adam straightened as best he could, then pushed himself forward with one foot, as she suggested. He tottered a bit, but managed to stay upright. Hanging onto Megan’s hand helped.

  “Hey, that was good. Try again.”

  The next push didn’t go so well, and he jerked to compensate, letting go of Megan and landing once again on his behind, his arms and legs sprawled out. Some worker zoomed over and stopped the steady flow of young kids so he could get back on his feet.

  He felt like Bambi on ice. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”

  Megan giggled. “Because you knew it would make me feel better.”

  He practiced for a while, Megan sticking with him. The redhead passed him again, and shouted, “Hey, Gramps, you’re going so slow, I think you’re moving backwards.” His friend doubled over and chortled. Megan seethed, but Adam cautioned her once again to ignore them. He was relieved when he saw them leave the rink and go toward the snack bar.

  As he grew more confident, his pushes became harder and gave him more momentum. “You’re doing great,” she said over the music.

  He found himself enjoying the activity, not only the skating but being close to Megan. The physical contact was making him feel like a kid with his first crush.

  “Want to try it on your own?” Megan squeezed his hand.

  “Sure.” Although he wasn’t sure at all. “Don’t leave me though.”

  She nodded, and he let go of her hand. Everything seemed okay at first. He pushed off with one foot, like he’d been doing. Then he switched legs, gaining momentum. He was able to make the turns without Megan’s help, and began to feel confident. He pushed off, harder.

  “Great! You’re going really fast!”

  He’d noticed he’d been going fast, but ‘great’ wasn’t the sentiment running through his mind. “Um, how do I stop?”

  “Just grab the wall.”

  Adam wasn’t sure that advice was very good, but he decided to try it, so he veered off. Unfortunately, he realized too late that he was headed for the swinging door. He hit the door at full momentum. The carpet wasn’t as smooth under his wheels, which left him doing a hopping, leg lifting thing trying to stay upright, his arms pin-wheeling in the air.

  Inertia carried him through the chairs—where people scattered to get out of his way—right toward the redheaded kid at the snack bar, who had a full slushie in his hands. The collision happened in slow motion: b
umping into the kid’s back, the slushie going airborne, next flailing and grabbing at anything he could to try to gain his balance again, and lastly his fingers finding something to hold onto.

  He only wished it hadn’t been a pair of black athletic shorts.

  Adam landed on his face, cold slushie sliding down his back, his fingers still clutching the fabric which pooled around the ankles of the redheaded kid.

  Chapter 8

  Megan pressed her lips together, trying not to smile. Adam drove down the interstate, and he didn’t seem to be in the best of moods. She cleared her throat. “It sure is raining.”

  He nodded. “At least it washed most of the slushie out of my hair.”

  “You still have some in your ear.”

  He grimaced. “And down my shirt. My back’s still sticky.”

  A laugh tried to bubble up, but she suppressed it with a cough. “At least the police let you go.”

  “I still think they should have arrested that kid.” He touched the bruise under his eye and winced.

  “Well,” she said, desperately trying not to snort. “You did try to yank his shorts entirely off, after pantsing him.”

  “My finger got caught! Do you think I wanted the kid to fall on me?” He signaled and changed lanes. “He didn’t have to go nuts-o on me.”

  “You humiliated the poor guy.”

  His lips twitched. “It wasn’t all my fault.”

  She bit the inside of her cheek. “Yeah, he really should have made sure his boxers weren’t caught on your wheels before standing up.”

  Adam made a noise that sounded like a cross between clearing his throat and blowing his nose. Megan couldn’t hold it in any longer, and soon they were both howling. Tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t remember ever laughing so hard.

  After gaining control of herself, she said, “I’m glad the cops didn’t make a big deal of it. You could have been put on some sex-offender list somewhere.”

  “I think the officers understood. We did have film footage.”

  She bit her lip. “I think it’s on YouTube already. Luckily, we’ve got a three-second delay. I’m sure the most embarrassing parts were cut.”