[Anthology] A Clean Fake Marriage Romance Collection

by Victorine E. Lieske

Sidney frowned. “Ted says she took it well.”

  “She didn’t scream or murder anyone, if that’s what you mean. But she’s hurt.” He wiped his face with his napkin and stared at her. “Did you really think you’d get away with lying to Mom and never have to face it?”

  She sighed and ran her finger along the edge of the table. “I guess I didn’t think about it.”

  “If you don’t clear the air between you, it will just get worse.”

  The door dinged and she glanced over to make sure it wasn’t anyone she knew. “I’ll talk to her.”

  Grayson nodded. “Good.” He finished eating the rest of her cheeseburger while she watched people come and go, her stomach tightening with each minute. At last he said, “You ready to leave?”

  She nodded and stood, grabbing her purse.

  After Grayson pulled into her apartment parking lot, they got out and he walked her to her door. “I know it’s none of my business, but you really should tell Blake the truth.”

  She looked down at her shoes. He was probably right, but she didn’t think she could bring herself to do it.

  Grayson gave her a hug. “Hang in there.”

  “Have a good flight.” She blinked back more tears. Then she socked him in the arm. “And don’t forget to call once in a while.”

  He chuckled. “Okay.”

  Sidney said goodbye to Grayson and entered her apartment. Natalie was sitting on her couch, her head in her hands, her feet up on the coffee table. A box of tissues sat on the couch beside her. “Natalie? What are you doing here?”

  Natalie moaned and put her hands in her lap, revealing the tears streaming down her face. “I’m a horrible person.”

  Sidney sat down next to Natalie and put her arm around her shoulders, searching for something to say. “It can’t be that bad. What happened?”

  Natalie plucked a tissue from the box and blew her nose. “It is. It’s bad. You’re going to hate me.”

  Sidney clenched her teeth. Had Natalie come on to Blake again? Horrible thoughts pushed their way into her head, and she had to know. “What happened?” she repeated.

  “I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.”

  “What did you do?” Her panic was rising. If Natalie didn’t tell her, she was going to smack her.

  “It was just a kiss, I swear.”

  Oh no. Natalie kissed Blake. Her gut clenched and she tried not to picture it in her mind. Ugh. Too late. “Tell me what happened,” she said, fearing the truth but needing to know.

  “Ted came over this morning. He was helping me with some new software.”

  “Wait...Ted?” Her head spun and relief flooded over her. Her sister hadn’t kissed Blake.

  “I’m so sorry!” Natalie wailed. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. He’s just so nice, and he doesn’t look at me like other guys. He talks to me like what I think really matters. But I promise, it will never happen again!”

  Guilt washed over her, and Sidney bit her lip. “No, it’s okay. Ted and I aren’t engaged.”

  Natalie looked at Sidney, her eyes watery. “What?”

  “I’m sorry, this is horrible, but Ted and I were never engaged.”

  Confusion settled on Natalie’s face. “You weren’t? You mean...you lied?”

  “Ted was pretending to be my fiancé to help my business. It was only supposed to be a photo on my desk, but then Mom found out and things got out of hand.”

  Natalie whacked Sidney’s arm. “I can’t believe you lied. I felt horrible all day, thinking I’d kissed your fiancé!”

  Sidney swallowed, tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. “I know. I’m rotten.”

  Natalie suddenly burst out laughing. “Look at us. We’re a mess.”

  Sidney chuckled and wiped at her eyes. “We are.”

  “So, you and Ted were never a thing?”

  “No.”

  Natalie put her hand on her chest. “Thank goodness. I thought I was a horrible person for liking him.”

  Sidney sat back on the couch and put her feet up, mimicking Natalie. “You like him, huh?” She turned to her sister. “Like, like him?”

  Natalie nodded. “I think so.”

  “Wow.” Sidney giggled. “What did he do when you kissed him?”

  Natalie’s eyes grew wide. “He didn’t have time to react. I was so mortified that I’d kissed him, I shoved him out the door.”

  Sidney gasped. “You did what?”

  “I know! I need to go talk to him. He must think...” She stood up from the couch. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”

  “Sure.”

  Natalie rushed out the door so fast, she didn’t close it all the way. Sidney got up from the couch and secured the door. Natalie and Ted? The thought made her head reel. What an unlikely pair.

  But she had to admire Natalie, rushing over to Ted’s to talk to him and clear things up. That was what she should have done this morning, instead of lying again. Why couldn’t she be more like Natalie?

  The thought wormed its way around her brain. She wasn’t ready to tell Blake, but she needed to face her parents. Grayson was right. She looked at the clock. Nine-thirty. Her parents usually went to bed at ten. Maybe they were still up.

  She texted her mother to see if she could come talk.

  Phyllis: We’re up. Come on over.

  Nerves assaulted her as she drove to her parents’ home. She pulled up in front and cut the engine. This was just something she had to do.

  Her mother met her at the door wearing her mumu nightgown. It suited her. “Come in.” She ushered her into the living room.

  Her father sat on the couch, no expression on his face. Her mother joined him.

  Sidney took a seat and wrung her hands. This wasn’t going to be easy. She looked at the quilts her mom had spent her life creating, displayed around the room, each one meticulously stitched. There were no shortcuts. She’d spent the hours needed to get them perfect.

  “I need to apologize,” Sidney said. No one spoke, so she went on. “Ted and I were never engaged, and I shouldn’t have lied about it.”

  Her mother smiled. “We know, dear.”

  Sidney stared. Who was that, and where did her real mother go? She swallowed nervously. “I’m sorry I lied.”

  Mom’s smile widened. “We know this time of your life can be confusing. You’re growing, and things are changing...”

  Heat rose to her neck. What was her mother doing, giving her ‘the talk?’ Sheesh, how old did she think she was? “Hold it, Mom.”

  Her mother continued, undaunted. “When two people love each other...”

  “Mom!” Sidney wanted to sink into the floor. “Ted and I don’t love each other.”

  “Oh, I know, dear.”

  Her father patted her mother on the knee. “I think it’s best if we let Sidney figure things out on her own.”

  Her mother folded her hands in her lap and nodded. “Very well.”

  Thank you, heaven above. “I’d better go. I just wanted to apologize.” Sidney stood.

  Her father came and gave her a hug. “You’ll be just fine.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  When Mom hugged her, she patted her on the back. “You know you can tell us anything. We love you, no matter what.”

  “I know, Mom.”

  She left her parents’ house, breathing in the cool night air, glad that was over. Now the only person left to talk to was Blake.

  Either that, or crawl into bed and never come out again. The latter seemed like a good option.

  Chapter 22

  Sidney clicked through the computer profiles, trying to narrow down a third match for a client, Mickey Phillips. As she clicked, the song Hey Mickey rattled around in her head, and soon she was clicking to the beat. After a minute of that earworm, she turned on the radio. Adele’s voice rang out.

  Better.

  Sidney flipped through a few more profiles until she found herself staring at Angie’s face. Why was Angie still listed in with the avail
able profiles? She should have moved her over. Sidney’s mouse hovered over the unavailable box, but she didn’t click it.

  She stared at the phone number. Since she’d been the one who matched Angie and Blake, it wasn’t unreasonable for her to call and check up on how things were going, right? She usually left clients alone after they said they’d found a match, but maybe she wasn’t being hands-on enough. Maybe it would help her build her business.

  Before her head could talk her out of it, she punched up Angie’s number. The line rang three times before someone answered.

  “Hello?”

  Sidney clenched the phone. “Hi Angie. This is Sidney Reed. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “That’s good to hear. Hey, I was just calling as a follow-up. Since Blissfully Matched was the service that matched you up with Blake, I wanted to see how things are going.”

  “Oh. Well, the date was fun.” Her voice sounded chipper. Almost forced.

  “I see. And how many dates have you been on with Blake?” Sidney’s gut tied in a knot. Did she really want to know this?

  “Just the one. Blake’s nice and all, but we didn’t really mesh.”

  Sidney stared at the computer screen. “Sorry, I think I misheard you. I thought you said just one.”

  “Yes, that’s right. We only went on the one date.”

  Sidney’s heart pounded in her chest. “You and Blake didn’t hit it off?”

  “Sidney, are you okay? You sound surprised. I thought Blake would have told you it wasn’t a match.”

  The realization that Blake had lied to her sank in, and her palms began to sweat. “Oh, yes. Sorry. I must have typed it into my computer wrong. I apologize for bothering you.”

  “It’s no bother. Thanks for checking up on the date.”

  Sidney hung up the phone, her heart in her throat.

  Blake had lied. He’d told her he and Angie were dating. But why?

  He must have wanted an excuse not to see her again. She thought back to the night he told her. He hadn’t come around her place since then.

  He was once again running from her. She sat in her chair, too stunned to do anything else. Blake wanted to cut ties.

  SIDNEY’S WEEK TURNED into a stressful one. Two clients backed out of their contracts, and she found out her rent was going up. She tried to talk to the landlord about it, but he was evading her. On Friday, she needed some alone time. After work, she ran to the grocery store and bought some chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. It would go really well with a movie on Netflix.

  She curled up under the oversized quilt her mother had made for her when she left for college, turned on the television, and dipped her spoon in the carton. The cold felt good on her throat. She scrolled through the movies, avoiding the sappy romantic ones, and selected a nice campy horror.

  She was glad she’d changed into her sweats. Much more comfortable while curling up in the chair. She turned off all the lights and watched the movie in the dark. It turned out to be scarier than she’d been thinking. Less campy and more edge-of-your-seat slasher. That’s why she screamed when a knock came on her door. She paused the movie.

  Her heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the door. Who would be coming over at this hour? She stood, wrapped the quilt around herself, and peeked out the window.

  Blake? Not again. She couldn’t take any more of him. She leaned up against the door, hoping he’d go away.

  Another knock sounded. And then a muffled, “Sidney? Open the door. I know you’re home. I heard you scream.”

  Crud. She slid the lock and opened the door. “What do you want?”

  He frowned. “What are you doing in here? Why are the lights off?” Then he looked at the television. “You’re not watching a scary movie, are you? You know you can’t handle them.”

  She stuck out her chin. “I’m not twelve anymore.”

  He shook his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Can I come in for a second? I have to get something off my chest.”

  Oh no. That didn’t sound good. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

  He cocked his head to the side and studied her. “Okay. I’ll say it here.”

  She peered out into the creepy darkness and huffed. “Fine. Come in.” She yanked him inside and shut the door, then locked it.

  He chuckled. “Not afraid of anything out there, are you?”

  She flipped on the lights then whacked him in the chest on her way back to her chair. “Shut up.” She plopped down with the quilt around her. “What do you want to ‘get off your chest?’” she said, making air quotes.

  He sat down on the couch, on the side closest to her chair. He looked down at his hands. “I have to tell you something.”

  She waited for him, and when he didn’t go on, she said, “Okay.”

  He looked up at her, and she was surprised by the intensity in his gaze. “I lied.”

  That was not what she expected him to say. Her stomach dropped, and she sat there, stunned.

  He continued. “I told you Angie and I were dating, but that wasn’t true.” He rushed on. “I didn’t mean to lie, it just sort of happened. And then, once I’d said we had a good date, I didn’t know how to take it back, so I said we were going out again.”

  Sidney knew he was pausing so she could say something, but no words would come out. Why was he telling her this? What did he expect her to say? She wrapped the quilt tighter around her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “If you’re upset with me, I understand.”

  She was, but she couldn’t tell him that. “No, you’re fine. That’s okay. I understand.” The words sounded robotic, even to her ears.

  He stared at her thoughtfully for a moment. “You okay? You never called me.”

  “Sorry.” She looked to the polished, hardwood floor. “I’ve been busy.” Busy trying to push you out of my head.

  He glanced at the horror film paused on her TV. “You look real busy.”

  She blushed. “Just trying to de-stress.”

  “You have any popcorn? I could use some de-stressing.”

  She should say no. Shove him out the door. But looking in his blue eyes was weakening her resolve. “In the kitchen.”

  He stood and crossed the room. “I’ll make the popcorn.”

  “Do you want me to re-start this movie, or pick a different one?” She was going to regret this.

  “You choose.” He walked into the kitchen and started rummaging through her cupboards.

  “Second one on the right,” she called.

  “Found it,” he called back.

  Sidney picked up the remote and scrolled through the selections. When she came to What’s Up Doc, she smiled. That was the one.

  He came back in the room with a silver bowl. The smell made her mouth water. It had been a while since she’d made popcorn. It was difficult to eat a whole batch by herself.

  Blake sat on the couch and she bit her lip, wondering if she could still sit in her chair and share the popcorn.

  “Come on.” Blake motioned to the seat next to him.

  She decided not to argue with him and plopped down beside him. She covered herself with the quilt to add a little buffer. Then she started the movie.

  He chuckled. “I haven’t seen this in years.”

  “Me neither.” She grinned up at him. “Remember how we used to watch this over and over? I think we wore out the tape.”

  “And we annoyed Natalie by repeating our favorite quotes.”

  She poked him in the side. “Don’t hog the popcorn.”

  As they watched the movie, she curled up under the quilt. At some point, Blake must have gotten cold because halfway through the movie she realized he was under the quilt with her. Not a good thing, because by the end of the movie she was totally snuggling with him.

  She looked up and her gaze connected with his. That was a mistake. All the feelings for Blake she’d been pushing away suddenly crashed down on her, and she wondered why he was here with her. Cou
ld it be possible he had some of the same feelings she did?

  The thought startled her and she hopped up and grabbed the popcorn bowl. “That was fun.” She went into the kitchen and stuck the bowl under the faucet.

  Blake followed her. “It was.”

  He looked serious, and her heart pounded. Could he really be spending time with her because he wanted something more? The implications swirled in her head as her hands shook. Maybe he told her about Angie because he hoped to start up a relationship with her. She squirted a little soap on the popcorn bowl and grabbed a washcloth, deep in thought.

  Blake hooked his thumbs in his jeans. “So, I wanted to apologize again for lying. I honestly didn’t mean to.”

  She shrugged her shoulders, unsure of where he was going with it. She rinsed the bowl and grabbed a dishtowel.

  “Has that kind of thing ever happened to you before?”

  She froze. “What?”

  “You know.” He avoided eye contact. “Maybe you didn’t mean to lie about something, but it happened and you didn’t know how to come clean.”

  Grayson. He’d told Blake about her fake engagement. Anger and embarrassment coursed through her. How could he have done that? She dried the bowl then set it down on the counter. “Nope.” She challenged him with a stare.

  He blew out a breath and raised his hands. “All right. I tried everything. I give up.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “I know you weren’t really engaged to Ted.”

  “I can’t believe Grayson told you!” She tossed the dishtowel on the sink and huffed out of the room.

  “Grayson didn’t say anything.”

  Blake’s voice was right behind her and she turned to face him. “Then who?”

  He balked, and took a step back. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is, I’ve known for weeks, and I’ve given you every opportunity to tell me. I thought if we spent more time together, you’d feel more comfortable talking to me. So, I took you to the lake. I came over. We talked. I’ve told you things I’ve never told anyone else.” His voice rose. “But no matter what I do, you lie to me.” His eyes shot accusing daggers at her.

  Her mouth dropped open. He’d known this whole time? That’s why he’d been coming around? And that’s why he told her about Angie? It wasn’t because he had feelings for her?