by Virna DePaul
“That makes perfect sense, Luce. I don’t have any kids yet, but I know that when I do, I’m going to do whatever it takes to see them safe and happy. But what you’ve told me certainly isn’t ‘it.’”
“What do you mean?”
“You know Jamie cares for you, Lucy. A lot.”
“Of course. That’s obvious. He’s being such a good friend.”
“So you’re…”
“Enjoying being fuck buddies for a while. But that’s all. Nothing’s changed. He’s still from a world I’ll never fit in.”
The silence on the other end of the line was dramatic.
Lucy sighed. “What?”
“It’s just…you’ve never cared about fitting in anywhere, Lucy. Why do you care so much about what Jamie’s friends and families and acquaintances think?”
“I care what he thinks, and ultimately, he needs someone who’ll make his life easier, not harder. Eventually, if I made his life hard, he’d grow to resent me and—”
“That dog won’t hunt, Lucy.”
“Uh…what?”
“You can bullshit yourself, but don’t bullshit me. You’re scared, pure and simple. Scared that you’ll give your heart to Jamie and he’ll break it.”
“Yes. Hence my fear that he’ll eventually grow tired of the fact I can’t fit—”
“—into his world,” Grace said at the same time she did. “Well, you know what, Lucy? He lives in the same world you do.”
“You’re wrong,” Lucy said quietly. “Think about how you felt about Max before you got together. About how Melina felt about Rhys. Before they proved they wanted you and only you, before they fought to keep you, can you tell me you all came from the same world?”
Grace’s silence was deafening and Lucy knew she’d made her point. Rhys and Max weren’t rolling in money, but they were true celebrities and had been renowned ladies men; it had taken quite some work for Melina and Grace to accept they were what the two men wanted and all they’d ever want in life partners.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Lucy. I’ll shut up about it.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Just do me one favor?”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Be careful with your heart, and especially be careful with Jamie’s. Pretending can turn into a lot more and if, in the end, you’re not willing to take a risk…”
“I’ll be careful,” she said. “But you don’t need to worry so much. Jamie and I both know what this is…and what it isn’t.”
After Lucy hung up with Grace, however, she thought about what Grace had said. And she wondered if she was risking hurting Jamie. He’d made it clear from the start that he preferred committed relationships…and committed sex. While he seemed okay with having sex with her while they were committed to their plan, she couldn’t help but think what they were doing wasn’t any easier for him than it was her. Maybe it would be better all around for her to thank him for his offer to help, let him off the hook, and just let things fall where they may.
Only she’d already told the entire world that they were engaged…
And the thought of not getting custody of Milly…
Still unsure what to do, she called Melina and filled her in. Her friend was supportive as well, but gave Lucy almost the same advice that Grace had given her.
God, she loved her friends and counted herself lucky to have them.
After hanging up with Melina, she once again checked her Facebook page and was not surprised that she had thirty new comments. What did surprise her was one was from Diana, Mason’s sister. Diana was not one of her Facebook “friends,” but apparently she was a friend of a friend, which meant she’d someone managed to see and comment on Lucy’s status.
Diana had commented, “That’s wonderful! Gorgeous ring! Congratulations to you both.”
Lucy shook her head and shut down the computer. Once again, she wondered, Could it really be this easy?
Later that day, after Lucy spoke with the attorney, she wasn’t wondering if the fake engagement plan would work—she was praying that it did.
If it didn’t, she was going to be seriously tempted to spill blood.
On second thought, she might be tempted to do so even if the fake engagement did work.
According to the lawyer, the reasons Mason’s parents and sister had cited for contesting Lucy’s guardianship of Milly was Lucy’s “excessive alcohol use,” her “multiple sexual partners,” and her “unstable social and home life, which would put the baby at risk.”
Shaking with rage, she paced the attorney’s office. “Don’t they have to back up their allegations? Just how are they going to prove how many sexual partners I have? Or for that matter,” she asked the attorney, “how much alcohol I drink?”
Lucy didn’t even have “multiple” sexual partners. She was an adult who engaged in consenting sex when the mood struck. But she didn’t sleep with more than one guy at a time; she was monogamous with partners so long as they were together, whether she made that official or not.
The alcohol thing was bullshit, too. Lucy drank occasionally when she went out with her friends, but that wasn’t every weekend, and she never got drunk. She liked to be in control, and too much alcohol took that away from her.
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell the lawyer all this, but she forced herself not to make excuses to a man who was a virtual stranger. She refused to justify her lifestyle choices to anyone, damn it.
Yet she couldn’t deny feeling like she was sixteen years old again, being chastised and lectured by her father for her inappropriate and ultimately embarrassing actions.
“My guess would be they’ve either hired a private investigator, or they plan to hire one. Money is not really a consideration for these people, Lucy; they’ll do whatever it takes.”
A private investigator. Someone following her around. Keeping book. Taking pictures.
God, was it possible he’d attended Open Strip Night?
Still shaking, but this time with distress more than anger, she sat down before she fell down. The ramifications of the child custody battle suddenly became all the more real and she realized just how big a favor Jamie was doing her.
She hadn’t give any thought to the idea that being engaged to her might not be so great for his reputation. Wasn’t he the least bit worried about that?
By the time Lucy left the attorney’s office, she was as depressed as she’d ever been.
All her life, she’d tried so hard not to let other people’s opinions of her affect her. In her heart, she’d always felt she was a good person—on the wild side, sure, but wild could be fun and free and fabulous.
But now, Lucy didn’t feel like a good person. She felt like someone who was taking advantage of a friend’s good heart when doing so would be to that friend’s detriment.
She wanted to do right by Gail and Milly.
But she didn’t want to hurt Jamie’s reputation. He was going back into the world of big business. What would his family say about her if and when all these allegations were made public?
Nothing good.
She couldn’t do it. She was going to have to tell Jamie to call off the engagement.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Later, when Lucy got home, she called Jamie. “Hey, what are you doing?"
“I just finished up a meeting with my father and I’m getting ready to have dinner with him and my mother.”
“Oh, so you’re on the Island now?”
“Yeah…are you okay? Do you need me to come up there?”
She smiled. He wouldn’t even need to take his private jet. He could just hop on a flight from San Diego and be on her doorstop in a few hours. His eternal willingness to be there for her, no matter what he was doing or what she needed, tugged at her heart like nothing else.
“No, you stay where you are and enjoy your meal with your parents. But I do have something I need to discuss with you. I saw the attorney today and he said that Mason’s fam
ily has probably hired a private investigator to dig into my background. They’re making allegations…”
“What kind of allegations?” he asked, his tone grim.
“Nothing I wouldn’t expect in a game of dirty pool. I’m a lush, whore, danger to society. Take your pick.”
“Those bastards,” he said. “Let me call my lawyer—”
“No, no. Don’t call your lawyer. I don’t want you involved in any of that. It’s not fair, and not what you signed up for.”
“So what are you saying?”
“We have to call this silly engagement off. I’ll win them over another way. And if I can’t, then—”
“Forget it.”
She jerked at the emphatic tone of his words.
“Excuse me?”
“We’re not calling this off. I already invited Mason’s family to my sister’s wedding. They were ecstatic. I know my plan is going to work, and we agreed to do whatever it takes to get the baby, didn’t we?”
“Yes, but that was me being selfish. I appreciate you, Jamie, so much. I don’t ever want to take advantage of your good heart. I’ll post on Facebook in the morning that we’ve decided to call it off and I’ll give you the ring back when you get back to town.”
“Lucy, listen to me—”
“No, Jamie. I’m tired and I just want to go to bed now. There’s no sense in arguing about this. I’ve made up my mind. Have a good night.”
She hung up the phone and wondered why she had tears rolling down her face. It wasn’t as if she and Jamie had truly been engaged. Chastising herself for acting like a silly schoolgirl, she washed her face and went to bed. It was only eight in the evening, but she was truly exhausted.
Sometime later she dreamed that someone was pounding on her door. She ignored it, and then her phone began to ring. She ignored that too, and then the banging started again.
Lucy pulled open her eyes and looked at the clock.
It was just past midnight. Who the hell is banging on my door?
She staggered out of bed, pulled on her robe and padded out to the living room. When she got close to the door, the pounding started again, making her jump. “Who is it?” she called, annoyed and a little bit frightened.
“It’s Jamie.”
Lucy sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. Then she smiled. He’d done exactly what she’d thought he could do earlier—jumped on the first plane to get to her.
She knew why he was here. To convince her to go forward with their plan.
And she knew if she let him in, he’d be able to do it.
“It’s kind of late,” she said softly.
“Lucille, open the door. I’m not leaving.”
She unlocked the dead bolt and jerked it open. “Lucille?”
“I thought it would get your attention,” he said, brushing past her.
She shut the door and turned to face him with her arms crossed against her chest. He was wearing jeans and a button down shirt. His hair was slightly disheveled and he had a slight five o’clock shadow, which she’d never seen on him before.
He looked…yummy.
He didn’t even have a bag with him. He’d probably headed out to the airport with just his wallet and keys.
“What are you doing here, Jamie?”
“I flew in to talk some sense in you. You’re not calling off this engagement, Lucy. If you lose that baby, you’ll regret it.”
“What if this causes scandal for your family? Won’t you regret that?”
“No,” Jamie said. “If you think we haven’t had scandal of our own before… Well, let’s just say we’re not strangers to it. I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks. My family doesn’t either. They will love me no matter what… They’ve proven that. You’re my friend, Lucy. This is what friends do for one another.”
“Pretend to be engaged?”
He put his hands on his hips and tried to look tough. It only made him look hotter.
“If need be,” he said. “We can do this, at least for a while.”
Lucy couldn’t help it; she laughed. “You’re crazy,” she said.
“Then you’re engaged to a crazy person,” he said with a smile. “Right?”
“For now,” she said.
“So I still have a date for the rehearsal dinner and my sister’s wedding?”
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and said, “Yes.”
* * *
With Melina busy taking care of the twins, Lucy enlisted Grace to help her with shopping for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. Although Lucy and Grace had completely different taste in clothing, Lucy still thought what Grace wore was pretty, and she knew anything her friend picked out would be both attractive and “socially acceptable.”
Grace was perfect as a shopping partner for this particular endeavor. She encouraged Lucy to pick an outfit she loved. “You have wonderful style, Lucy. You don’t have to change who you are to make other people like you.”
“Clearly, I do,” Lucy had responded. “Now, please, Grace, pick an outfit you would wear so I don’t have to think too much about it.” And without any more protests, Grace did as Lucy asked.
They shopped until they found an outfit that was a happy medium—that is, an outfit Grace assured her was “appropriate” for a high society rehearsal dinner and one that Lucy didn’t hate.
By the time they stopped at their favorite Chinese restaurant to meet Melina for lunch while Rhys watched the twins, Lucy was almost completely outfitted. The only thing she had left to get was the dress for the wedding itself.
“So, how are things going between you and your fiancé?” Melina asked her with a smile.
“Things are good,” Lucy told her. “It’s the best “fake” relationship I’ve ever been in.” It was the best relationship she’d been in period. She’d never forget the way Jamie had shown up at her door, determined that they go forward with their plan and forgot her worries that she’d somehow be hurting him by being associated with him.
They all laughed and then Melina said, “And how about the ‘fake’ sex?”
“Oh that’s going to continue to be very real,” Lucy said. “So real, in fact, that I think Jamie could give Rhys a run for his money when it comes to teaching a woman how to please a man in bed. And go head-to-head with Max in giving a woman the greatest sex of her life.”
Both her friends blushed and they all laughed. Melina and Rhys, after years of secretly crushing on each other, had finally gotten together only after Melina had gotten it into her head she needed sex lessons. Grace had approached Max with something equally scandalous—a request that he give her the orgasm no man had ever been able to give her. When it came to happy endings that began with crazy-ass sexual situations, her friends took the cake.
They ordered their lunch and were simply enjoying each other’s company when Lucy suddenly saw a huge flash in front of her face. She looked up in time to see a man lowering his camera to his side. “Ms. Conrad, I’m Harry Lowenstein with Gateway News and I’d like to ask you a few questions about your alleged engagement to Jamie Whitcomb.”
“Alleged engagement?” Melina echoed in an outraged voice.
Lucy put a hand on her friend’s arm. “Do you mind? I’m having lunch with my friends here. If you have questions, you should have asked to set up an interview.”
“Fine. Can we set up an interview?”
“No, but thanks for asking,” she said. “Now, get the hell out of here.”
When he was gone, Grace said, “You know he’s probably going to quote what you just said.”
“What does it matter? It’s obvious he, and probably other people, suspect the engagement isn’t real. Of course they’re suspicious. A guy like Jamie with someone like me? Right.”
“Will you stop,” Melina ordered. “You and Jamie are perfectly compatible.”
“Until people consider his background.”
“Yet don’t you come from a similar background?” Grace asked quietly.
“You know what I mean. But he wouldn’t listen to me when I told him we should call this whole thing off.”
“What? When did you do that?” Melina asked.
“Last night.”
“And what did he have to say about that?”
“A lot. He flew up from Coronado and told me I was being ridiculous.”
“He flew up from…” Melina pressed her lips together and shook her head. But she couldn’t quite suppress the smile on her face. “Good. I’m glad he talked some sense into you.”
“He persuaded me to continue, but now I’m not sure again. I hate being phony, you both know that. I hate lying and pretending and faking it.”
“I know it has to be frustrating,” Grace told her. “But you have to think about the baby. This is all for her.”
“Just be patient,” Melina said. “Before you know it, this will all be over. You won’t have to pretend anymore.”
Lucy took a deep breath. All for Milly. Just be patient. This will all be over soon.
That last thought should have filled her with relief. But instead of calming her down, she felt a pain in her chest. She’d gotten used to Jamie being around, sharing meals with her and having mind-blowing sex. She missed him whenever they were apart. When they got together for his sister’s wedding, she knew she’d start to get attached again.
And that was only going to make things all the more painful for her when things between them ended for good.
CHAPTER NINE
Two days later, Lucy and Jamie had checked into their suite at the Hotel Del Coronado with just enough time to change before his sister’s rehearsal dinner. The day before, Lucy had her hair colored back to its original mahogany. Now, with her nose piercing removed and wearing a silly little cocktail dress that looked like something Reese Witherspoon wore in Legally Blonde, Lucy hesitated outside the restaurant. God, she was a nervous wreck. And not even because she felt out of place or because she was preparing to be sneered at—but because this was Jamie’s family, and she wanted them to like her, damn it.