Her reaction was totally fake. He knew it was going to be, but it still sent a small thrill through him to have her say yes to his proposal. His pretend proposal, he reminded himself. This wasn’t real. He had to keep that in his mind, otherwise he’d lose himself in this fantasy of marrying Megan.
But he couldn’t do that because Megan was not into him. She was playing a part. She’d made it perfectly clear the marriage was not going to be real.
And if he wasn’t careful, he’d end up with a broken heart.
AS SOON AS MEGAN ACCEPTED Adam’s proposal, they whisked her away and reminded her that she had signed a contract promising she wouldn’t reveal the outcome of the show or she’d have to give back the hundred thousand, be responsible for other fees for damages, and give up her first born. She hid the ring, and she and Adam weren’t to be seen together. Even their morning show went to reruns.
Being out of the public eye for a couple of months helped Megan relax. It was almost like she wasn’t even engaged. She was flown to LA in a super-secret jet for a gown fitting, but other than that, she had nothing to do with the wedding planning. The rest of the summer flew by, and before she knew it, the show was on the air.
Megan was amazed at how, through editing and camera angles, they were able to make Adam look like he was completely smitten with her. Even she found herself rooting for Adam to win her heart. They had also managed to make Luc, Anthony, and Kyle look like real contenders. They had cut and spliced until the kisses with each guy looked heated and she appeared to be struggling to decide between them. When Kyle left the show, they made that into a huge cliff-hanger episode, implying that the reason he left was because he was in love with her and didn’t think he could win above Adam.
The show skyrocketed to the top of the charts, and Megan found herself in a whirlwind of activity. She was suddenly faced with the kind of popularity she’d never dreamed possible. People recognized her everywhere she went. Her email box quickly filled, and her phone rang constantly. It seemed absurd, but she decided to hire a personal assistant to handle all the requests for interviews and appearances.
The day after the proposal aired, she and Adam were flown to LA to hit the talk show circuit. Suddenly, they had to act like a happily engaged couple. Megan found herself backstage at the Ellen show, twisting her engagement ring nervously as she waited for them to usher her in front of the cameras. Adam was already talking to Ellen, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
A guy with an earpiece and black T-shirt motioned for her to follow him. She stepped out onto the stage, the bright lights and screaming fans hitting her. She forced a smile and a polite wave. The cheers grew louder.
Adam stood and crossed the stage. He pulled her into an embrace, and whispered into her ear, “You okay?”
She nodded, even though it was a lie.
He pulled back, grinned, then kissed her. It started out normal, but soon a passion grew, a hunger in his kiss she’d never felt before. Her pulse raced, and electricity tingled through her. When he broke the kiss, she raised her eyebrow in an unspoken question, trying to catch her breath.
“I’ve missed you,” he said in his sultry tone, much to the delight of the crowd, who went wild with hoots and cat calls. They made their way to their seats, her head still spinning from the kiss.
Ellen laughed. “You have had to keep your engagement a secret until today. How has that been for you?”
Adam slung his arm around her shoulders. “It’s been torture. I’ve wanted to shout out to the world, ‘She’s mine, so get your slimy French lips off her!’” He winked, and a blush touched Megan’s cheeks.
Ellen grinned at that. “He was good looking. It must have been hard watching her date and kiss other men. Especially when they all looked like that.” She pointed behind them, where a photo of the guys from the show splashed on screen. They were posed, putting all the models from GQ to shame.
Adam’s arm tightened around her. “Yes. But I really didn’t get to watch what happened on their dates until the show aired.”
Megan was surprised how pained his expression came across. Dang, he was a good actor. He actually looked upset. If he only knew what had really gone on, how disgusting Luc’s slobbery kiss had been, or how juvenile Anthony was. The cameras had made him look like a smooth rock star. She bit back a giggle and tried to pay attention to what Ellen was saying.
“Now you’re engaged, and the wedding is only two weeks away. How romantic, getting married in Acapulco.”
Two weeks. That was all there was left before the fake wedding. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Strike that. The wedding would be real. A real minister...a real marriage certificate. She glanced down at her hand. Even a real ring. And though she didn’t want to admit it, she couldn’t deny her love for Adam was real as well.
She shook her head. What did she think she was doing?
SHOW AFTER SHOW, MEGAN came onstage to be greeted with a kiss by Adam. And each time, the kisses knocked her off kilter. Why did he have to do that?
Listening to the audience, she knew why. They loved it when he kissed her like he wanted to devour her for dinner. She, however, was coming undone. If he didn’t stop, she was going to inject her lips with Botox to numb them up so she could keep her head on straight.
The one nice thing about her busy schedule was the fact that she had no time to fret about the wedding. When it finally arrived, she hadn’t even worked herself up over it. She’d been too busy.
But now, staring at herself in the mirror while a zillion people buzzed around her yanking her hair and applying makeup, it finally sunk in. Today she would get married. To Adam.
When they finally had her hair and makeup perfect, she slipped into her dress. Some designer had made it especially for this event. It was gorgeous, of course. Form fitting until it flared out below her waist, with pearls and lace, and a material that shimmered. She felt like a beauty queen wearing it.
Someone attached a train to the back and a veil to her head, and she was ushered into a room for photos. Apparently they were afraid she wouldn’t look as good after the ceremony, because they spent an excruciatingly long time capturing her image in a zillion different poses. Then she was shoved into another room for a live pre-ceremony interview.
She sat on a hard wooden chair and stared at Doctor Lemon, trying her best not to smack the smug look off her face.
“So, Megan, today is your wedding day. How do you feel about marrying Adam, after all that’s happened?”
The question paired with the look on the woman’s face startled Megan. What was she doing? Was this when she would confess to being a fake? When everyone would laugh at Megan for being so gullible? She gritted her teeth and took in a deep breath. “It’s my wedding day. How do you think I feel?”
Doctor Lemon laughed. “You’re right, wedding days are full of crazy emotions.” She clasped her hands together and rested them on her knee, studying Megan. “It took you a long time to admit to having real feelings for Adam. When did you realize it?”
The past few months flashed through Megan’s mind. Honestly, she’d fallen for him on that first stupid date. Watching him eat that macaroni and cheese with his chocolate milk. And then that kiss. She’d been in trouble from the beginning. But she couldn’t say that. “It became clear to me while doing the show that Adam was the one for me.”
A slight frown crossed Doctor Lemon’s face, but she smoothed it out. “What do you like most about Adam?”
There were too many things she liked about him. That was the problem. His deep, sexy voice. The way his dimples made the butterflies in her stomach multiply. The way he’d set her at ease for his fake proposal. His knee-weakening kisses. That masculine smell of his—she cleared her throat. Best not to think about those things. “The way he thinks of me first.”
That seemed to please the faker. “Any plans for after the wedding?”
Yes. Megan planned on getting as far away from him as possible. She forced a tight smile. “We’re ho
neymooning here in Acapulco. Then...” she shrugged. “I guess we start normal married life.”
Doctor Lemon ended the interview soon after. Then they shoved her into a lobby to wait for the ceremony to begin. She knew it was an outside wedding, but that was all she’d been told. As she waited with the camera man for someone to come get her, the door opened and her father emerged.
“Daddy?” Megan’s throat closed. She couldn’t believe it. It had been over two years. He opened his arms, and she ran into his embrace. He wore a stylish black tuxedo, and his salt-and-pepper hair was a lot more salt than the last time she’d seen him.
“I wouldn’t miss my baby girl’s wedding.”
His face blurred, and she blinked back the tears. “I didn’t know they were bringing you here.” Emotions surged through her, constricting her heart. No matter how old she got, or how accomplished she felt, being with her father turned the clock back and she became Daddy’s little girl again.
“They wanted me to surprise you.” His gravelly voice melted over her like butter. Even though her wedding was a sham, she still appreciated having her father to walk her down the aisle.
“And Mom?” She held her breath, surprised at how much she wanted her mother there. Their relationship had always been rocky at best.
His gaze flickered down, which said it all. “She couldn’t come.”
“More like she didn’t approve.” Megan clenched her hands into tight fists. She’d never been able to earn her mother’s approval.
Her father patted her on the back. “She tries.”
Megan glanced at the camera and held in a smirk. Now was not the time or place to have this conversation, so she let it go.
Her father smiled. “Wendy’s here.”
A surge of warmth spread through her for her sister. “I’m so glad she came.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Was bouncing on her seat the entire time.” He grinned. “Between you and me, I think she’s hoping to steal Adam away from you.”
A moment later they were ushered down a hallway, through another part of the resort, and then outside. She gasped. Hundreds of white flowers lined the aisle and hung from a trellis on a small stage where Adam and the minister stood. A few rows of chairs wrapped in blue and white fabric stood on either side of the aisle, and she recognized a few faces. Wendy turned and waved at her, looking like she was about to fall out of her seat with excitement. She saw a couple of her childhood friends and a college roommate. Adam’s father sat in the front row next to a couple of care takers from the facility, a beaming smile on his face. As soon as they emerged from the building, a violinist began playing the wedding march.
Her father held out his arm, and she grasped it like a life line. This was it. She really was marrying Adam. As she neared him, she could see the dimples on his face, his smile seeming genuine. His clear, blue eyes held a hint of mirth as he took her hand.
The music stopped, and the minister began the ceremony. The words floated around her, and she stared off at the crashing waves of the sea, trying not to throw up. Adam said his vows, and then it was her turn. Panic gripped her, but Adam’s steady gaze helped calm her down. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, and it helped her focus. She said her lines, and after the ‘I do’s they exchanged rings.
And then came the kiss.
Chapter 22
There were a few moments in Megan’s life that neared perfection. Walking across the stage to get her diploma. Her first job interview when she knew she nailed it. The phone call when she was hired at KLKX. But none of them topped her first kiss as Mrs. Adam Warner.
As soon as the minister proclaimed, “You may kiss the bride,” Adam’s warm arms wrapped around her, pulling her near. The smell of his musky cologne sent her heart into overdrive. His soft lips skimmed hers, teasing, sending chills over her, stirring desire from deep within. She responded without thinking, deepening the kiss, pulling him closer. He must have taken that as encouragement because his fingers entwined in her hair and suddenly the world tilted on its axis. Sparks shot through her, and Adam softly moaned. When they broke apart she wondered if the kiss was going to be allowed on national television.
The audience clapped and they were ushered off for another photo shoot. After a zillion photos of the two of them, they did all the other normal wedding things: the cake—which she successfully smeared all over Adam’s face, the dinner and dancing, and the tossing of the bouquet. All the while, Megan waited for the announcement that would make her look like a fool.
Except the announcement never came.
After the guests left, the cameras turned off, and Megan and Adam went to the Bridal suite, it finally hit her. They hadn’t done it. The big reveal hadn’t happened.
Confused, she locked herself in the bathroom and slipped off her dress. Maybe Leon had changed his mind. A weight lifted from her shoulders.
The show was over. They’d fulfilled their contract. She and Adam were free to ride out the publicity wave and then get a quiet annulment after everyone forgot about them.
It wouldn’t be too bad. Adam had already volunteered to sleep on the sofa in their honeymoon suite. And he had assured her he had a nice guest bedroom in his home. They’d just wait this out. She could do that. Right?
She stared at herself in the mirror. The frumpy sweats and T-shirt she’d brought did nothing for her figure. That was on purpose. She didn’t want to give Adam the wrong idea. She brushed her teeth, then exited the bathroom.
Adam was sitting on the couch, wearing pajamas and a pair of leather slippers. She about swallowed her tongue. He patted the sofa in a silent invitation to join him.
She didn’t realize how tired she was until she sat down. The thing with Doctor Lemon must have been weighing heavily on her, because she suddenly felt light and quite comfortable sitting next to Adam. “I think today went well.”
He grinned. “Just well?”
“As well as it could have. I didn’t trip over my dress and show everyone on national television my underwear.”
Adam raised his eyebrow, and a devilish look played across his face. “Why, what kind of underwear are you wearing?”
She whacked his arm. “You’ll never find out.”
He laughed, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You looked tense today.”
“I was. I really thought Doctor Lemon was going to—” She cut herself off, realizing what she was about to say.
“Was going to what?” Adam stared at her, a curious look on his face.
No way was she going to tell him she knew Doctor Lemon was a fake. “You know how she always likes to embarrass me. I wasn’t sure what she’d do on our wedding day. Thank goodness all she did was one last interview.”
“You should relax.” He motioned for her to turn her back to him. “It’s all over now.”
She turned, and he began kneading her shoulders. His strong, warm hands sent little electric zings through her, which she tried to ignore. The pressure he applied to her muscles felt so good, she didn’t want him to stop. “Mmm. Nice.”
He kept going, working his way across her shoulders, up her neck and down her back. “You looked amazing today.” His breath tickled her ear, and she realized how close he was to her.
She froze. “Um, thanks.”
“Now, come on. I didn’t mean it like that.” He sounded annoyed at her for getting the wrong impression. “You’re all tense again.”
“Sorry. I thought maybe you were trying to—”
“I know what you thought.” He chuckled and continued to massage her shoulders. “Not that I wouldn’t like to seduce you. But I know your rules, and I intend to keep them.”
She should have been happy about that statement, but for some reason she felt a little disappointed. Mentally shaking her head, she sighed. No, she did not need to be wishing for a physical relationship with Adam. That was trouble wrapped in pain. What she needed to do was hold on and wait for this to all end. “Good. Because you guys are all alike. All
the physical fun with no emotional attachment.”
He stopped mid-knead. “Is that what you think of me?” He turned her around, and when she wouldn’t meet his gaze he hooked her chin with his finger, forcing her to look in his cool, blue eyes. “You have it all wrong.”
She blinked. What did he mean? As if he read her mind, he continued. “You think I don’t have an emotional attachment to you? You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve shared things with you I’ve never told anyone. These past few months have been...” His voice trailed off, and she found herself holding her breath, waiting for the rest of it.
His jaw clenched, and he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Those things I said...I meant them.” His voice was so quiet she almost didn’t hear that last part.
What things? What was he talking about? She tried to ask, but the words stuck in her throat.
“When I told Doctor Lemon I loved you, I wasn’t pretending.”
Holy cow. Did he just say that? Her mouth went dry, and she stared at him. Was he for real? This had to be a joke, right? A lame attempt at spending his wedding night doing something other than sleeping on the couch. She whacked him on the arm for the second time that night. “Shut up. You dork. You almost had me.” She laughed, but he didn’t return her smile.
“I’m not kidding.”
Really? He confessed his love to her for real, and she told him she thought he was joking? Called him a dork? What kind of an idiot was she? “Uh...” Oh, now she was really showing her brilliance. Why couldn’t she think of anything intelligent to say? What does a person say after showing how amazingly craptastic they are?
He lowered his head and stared at the carpet. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. I guess I hoped you’d figure it out as we went along.”
Silence stretched out between them. What was she supposed to say? That she had feelings for him too? That she hated the thought of splitting up and never seeing him again? If she told him how she was feeling, he would think she wanted to stay married.
[Anthology] A Clean Fake Marriage Romance Collection Page 31