by Taylor Hart
Larissa paused and looked at her. “Yes?”
“He lied to his whole family about breaking things off with his fiancée in March. He said he didn’t want to upset them.”
“Oh my gosh, he’s not engaged to Susan Soren, the war reporter, anymore?”
Augusta shook her head. Her sister was way too into this. “Nope. He’s all bothered about how it will disappoint his family, his mom especially.” It was strange, but Augusta could understand not wanting to ruin a family activity at Christmas, especially with the pressure of Ty’s illness. “He didn’t want to make his mother cry.”
“That is awful.” Larissa began texting again at the speed of light.
Augusta nodded, even though her sister wouldn’t see. Larissa was the type of person who got into stuff like this. She was a nice sister who ran a catering company because she was a really good cook, but she also just loved people and didn’t mind putting up with them.
Augusta leaned forward, trying to see the screen. “What are you doing?”
“I’m asking if he can meet tomorrow,” Larissa said, “but I have the gala. Well, he’ll just have to come over or something. This is so good for business! I can’t believe he hired me.”
While Augusta was happy for her sister, it was hard to stay that way as she stared at her ankle. “I wish I was going to be able to help more. It’ll probably be okay; I’ll just need a brace.”
“You’re going to be fine.” After a bit of worried silence, Larissa said. “I’ll get a brace and bring it back to you in the morning.”
“Thank you.”
Larissa nodded. “You okay?”
“I just lost my phone, the phone I paid for and I’m almost out of money. But that was okay, because I was going to make money by working and now …”
Larissa’s eyes widened. “This is awesome!” she practically shouted.
Augusta jumped, jostling her ankle. She scowled. “Stop, you’re freaking me out!”
Larissa let out a squeal. “Oh my gosh, I just had the best idea of my life, and it’s going to be perfect!”
“What?”
“I just read this book called Her Hollywood Fake Fiancé by Taylor Hart, and it was all about these people who pretended to be engaged. You should be his fake fiancée.”
“What?” Augusta smiled nervously. Her sister had clearly gone off of her rocker.
Larissa took a moment to collect herself and repositioned the ice around Augusta’s ankle. “This sprain is going to be okay. You’ve had way worse. So, I think you get a brace tomorrow, then you go to the man and tell him you’ll be his fake fiancée while his family is in town for Christmas.”
“No!” That was a Looney Tunes scheme if she’d ever heard one. “Why would I do that?”
Larissa rolled her eyes at her. “Duh, he would pay you.”
“Uh, no.”
“Not like that, idiot. Just like a cute Hallmark movie. Maybe he covers your tuition next year, and you give him five days with his family.”
Now Augusta really lost it. “Me? With his family? Yes, that’s what I should do, put myself in a paid position to hang out with potentially murderous weirdos for the week so I can get paid.”
Larissa threw her arms up again. “They’re not murderous weirdos, they’re—the Bradys!” She stood. “I can’t handle your negative attitude anymore. I’m going to bed.”
Augusta watched her sister stomp from the room then fell back on the pillows with a groan. She was annoyed that Larissa had even brought up this idea.
Larissa’s head popped back around the corner. “Just so you know, most people aren’t like Jason, okay?”
A chill shot up Augusta’s spine at the mention of her ex. She squeezed her eyes shut.
So yes, she had issues. She could admit that. She definitely wasn’t prepped to do something like be a fake fiancée. That was complicated and stupid.
She pulled the little blanket over her shoulders and shifted uncomfortably, suddenly exhausted. It didn’t help that she fell asleep thinking about Ocean’s piercing blue eyes.
Chapter 3
Augusta woke up late the next day. Turning, she saw that the clock on the wall read nine. The house was quiet.
Gingerly, she checked out her sore ankle. It wasn’t too bad. She’d sprained it many, many times, starting clear back in ninth grade when she played on the basketball team. Ocean was right: she’d be okay.
Butterflies erupted in her gut as she thought of the way he’d teased her about swearing: “Would you kiss your momma with that mouth?” She grinned and then felt stupid. The guy was a professional football player. She’d gone to sleep thinking about him, but he was not someone she’d date. Their worlds were in different planetary orbits.
But after everything last night, Ocean seemed less like an unreachable celebrity and more like just a person. She wondered all kinds of things about him. Did he like his brothers? What did he mean by a disco party? She knew about his big family. She had three sisters, so she could relate.
It’d been a rough year for all of the Deluca sisters, and this would be the first Christmas without all of them at their ranch home in Casper. Her other two sisters had stayed in Laramie to work over the break, so they weren’t going to be together for Christmas. And since their father’s death last summer, they’d had to sell the ranch to cover bills. Going to Casper was no longer an option.
She sighed, pushing away thoughts of how much she wished things could stay the same. It didn’t do any good to wallow; you just had to move forward. That was what her father had always said about bad things happening. With a blink, she pictured him pulling up to the ranch in his white pickup, with his black Stetson hat on his head and that easy smile on his face. He’d always been calm and rational.
Shoving off the covers, Augusta swung her legs to the floor and stood on her good foot, then carefully shifted weight onto the other. It wasn’t too bad. She hoped she hadn’t stretched a tendon, which would make things worse. Grimacing, she hopped on her good foot toward the bathroom.
Larissa had the gala, so Augusta would be on her own today. She needed her phone to communicate while Larissa was out. Dang. She’d never realized how attached she was to her phone.
She got in the shower, deciding that she might as well get ready for the day. Then she would try to take an Uber somewhere and get a brace for her ankle. She’d be okay if she had a brace. Maybe. She’d just gotten out of the shower and dressed when the doorbell rang.
She froze. Who could it be? Were they expecting a package?
The bell rang again.
Using the walls for support, she hobbled to the door.
When she opened the door, the sun hit her square in the face and she had to shield her eyes, but there was no mistaking the man on the porch as anyone other than Ocean Brady.
“Good morning,” he said, as if he came over often.
His presence made Augusta nervous. In broad daylight, the man was even more gorgeous, all blond locks and sunglasses, and huge and built. Today he wore a button-down short-sleeved shirt and some khakis, and he smelled amazing. What cologne was that? Her sister Keri would know; she prided herself on being able to identify any cologne. “Uh, hi.” Crap, what was wrong with her? Why was she seriously melting right now? She didn’t melt in front of guys. Ever.
With a slight smile, he squatted down to examine her ankle. He gently prodded it. “Hey, it’s looking better.”
His touch sent her heart into high gear. “Yeah, it’s good.” Why was he here? “Oh,” she said, realization dawning on her. “You’re here to talk to Larissa about the catering for your family event. Sorry, she’s not here. There’s a big gala that she had booked already, so she’s working on that. I’m sure she’ll get back to you as soon as she can.”
He stood, nodding and looking around. “Right, she texted last night that she would get ahold of me later. You alone?”
She scowled at him. “If you were going for creepy stalker, you just won.”
&nbs
p; He let out a light laugh. “Right. I play egomaniac much better.”
She shifted awkwardly, remembering how she’d treated him last night. “Listen, I need to apologize for my behavior yesterday. It’d been a super long drive from Wyoming, and all I could think about was the fact that my sisters and I weren’t all going to be having Christmas at the ranch this year and—” She paused, unsure why she was telling him all of this. “Never mind. I just want to tell you sorry I was awful. I needed a few minutes away to clear my head, and when I got hurt, well, my behavior was really bad.” She felt her face heating up now. “I did swear quite a bit.”
His gaze held hers. Did his eyes have to be so gorgeous?
He put up a hand, bringing her back to the present. “Don’t mention it. I get needing a few minutes away.” He blew his breath out.
“Right, because of your brother’s illness and your mom.” She cringed when his face turned slack. Man, she sounded like an insensitive jerk. “Sorry.”
“I shouldn’t have told you any of that.”
She let out a sardonic laugh. “Why?”
“Because I just shouldn’t have.”
Unable to stop herself, she pressed him. “Because you’re the only one with family problems? My father died last summer.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I don’t know why I’m telling you stuff either. It’s weird, right? You have four brothers; I have three sisters. It could be like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”
His face screwed up, and he laughed without humor. “Except for the part where your sister is married, and three of my brothers are married and one’s …” He trailed off.
Guilt sucker-punched her as she remembered Ty. She knew how much it hurt to lose someone you loved. “I’m an idiot. I’ll just shut up now.”
He shook his head. “It’s fine.”
She was reeling. She needed to end this conversation.
He held up a package. “The reason I came over is because I got this for you.”
She hopped backward, waving her hand through the air. “What are you giving me?” She wasn’t comfortable receiving gifts from strangers.
He laughed. “Just take it. I’ve honestly never had that reaction from a woman when I tried to give her something. I promise it’s not going to eat you.”
Her heart raced as she thought of the random anonymous gifts and emails she’d gotten recently. “It’s …” She had to keep it together. “Sorry.”
He reached inside his pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “I found this on the beach last night.”
She snatched up the phone with glee. “My phone. You found it!” Her relief faded when she saw the cracked screen. When she pushed the button, it wouldn’t start. “Crap.”
“Yeah, I know.”
She looked up at him and then at the package. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the latest iPhone.
He shrugged. “You needed it, so I got it.”
“You got me a phone that costs, like, one thousand dollars? Why would you do that?”
“I just wanted to help.”
Right. He was a pro football player and the money wouldn’t mean anything to him. She was so out of her league. In her circle of people, there weren’t thousand-dollar iPhone gifts.
He waved the box up and down in front of her. “Please, take it.”
“No, I can’t take it. It’s a grand for a phone, and you got ripped off because I could have gotten it cheaper online.”
“You know, it’s rude not to accept a gift.”
“Uh, no. It’s not a box of chocolates or something like that. It’s a new phone. A thousand-dollar phone.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “This is what I get for trying to help.”
She raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be talking to someone else. “What are you saying?”
“Nothing. It’s … my mom told me last night on the phone I should really try to help people more.” He rolled his eyes and looked down at the phone. “I’ll take it back.”
“Good,” she said, feeling even more stubborn with how insistent he was about giving it to her.
He didn’t leave and they just stared at each other for several seconds.
“Listen,” she said, trying to defuse the tension, “I’m no expert on life, but giving flashy gifts isn’t the best way to get friends.”
Now his face turned red and he cursed.
She gave him a wry grin. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”
His eyes widened. “I knew this was a bad idea.”
She shook her head, still unable to believe she was here, talking to this guy, and he’d tried to give her a phone. Something felt off. “Are you okay?”
He pointed the phone at her. “Listen, I’m like the cheapest person I know, so don’t tell me I shouldn’t do this. This was just an exception, because my mom reminded me yesterday, that it’s Christmas and I should help people.” He threw up a hand. “Even though I’m hosting my whole family for five days, right? Isn’t that helping people?”
Adrenaline spiked inside of her. “Why do you care so much?”
He looked like he was going to say something, but he just put the iPhone down on the ground and turned away. “I don’t.”
Guilt pricked her. This had all gone wrong. He was just trying to be nice, and things had gotten out of hand. “Look, I’m sorry about your brother. And about your fiancée.”
He paused. “Do you know what kind of toll lying takes on a good person?”
“Yes, I do.” She’d tried to pretend things were fine with Jason for so long. “Lying sucks.”
“Yeah, it does.” He blinked and cleared his throat, staring at the ground.
Wait. What? Was he tearing up? She backpedaled. “I—”
He laughed, but it sounded awkward and fake. “I have to go.” He rushed off.
The iPhone was still there. “Wait, come back,” she called. “You forgot this.”
He waved a hand in the air without looking back at her. “Just keep it.”
Chapter 4
Well, that could’ve gone better.
Ocean drove by his house. He needed to get some basics at the store, and he was too nervous to sit at home. He’d let his assistant have the week off because his family would be here in less than twenty-four hours.
Why had he gotten her the phone? Because he wanted to help her. That was the truth. Why was that so hard for her to believe?
At the store, he grabbed a shopping cart and began piling random things inside—probably all the wrong things. He still needed to talk to Larissa about what his family liked to eat, but for now he just needed staples. Forcing his brain to work, he shoved in cereal, eggs, bacon, veggies and fruit, bread, milk, and sandwich stuff. He walked down the junk food aisle and piled a bunch of that into his cart, too.
All he could think about was Augusta. She hadn’t reacted to him at all like other women did. Ocean looked at his reflection in the produce mirror, checking himself out. He was no slouch. He’d been on Los Angeles bachelor magazines last year. He had looks.
He slammed a hand into the shopping cart. Why was he so insecure right now?
“Excuse me?”
Jerking out of his thoughts, he was surprised to see an older lady behind him, waiting for the cookies. “Sorry,” he said, maneuvering his shopping cart toward the checkout line.
His mind shifted to his family coming. What was he going to do? He wanted Christmas to be nice for all of them, especially for Ty. He was supposed to make sure it was okay. His dad had always told him to look after his brother, as Ocean was the closest to Ty in age. How many times had Ty been strung out on drugs before their father’s death? He was even in rehab when their dad was dying.
Ocean hated his own uselessness. He hadn’t been able to fix their dad, he hadn’t been able to fix Ty, and he couldn’t fix this fiancée problem. Plus, he would let them all down. He would be the loser this Christmas. His mother would be upset, and maybe she would cry. Gosh,
he hoped not. When she got into a crying spell, none of them knew how to handle her.
He bought the groceries and rushed home, unpacking them all without quite knowing where they were supposed to go. The trouble was, he still didn’t have anything planned for meals. All he’d bought was a lot of junk food.
With a sigh, he opened a package of Oreos, which he never kept stocked in his house. Well, technically, he never grocery shopped in the first place. His assistant took care of most his domestic needs, coordinating with his cleaning service and making sure his fridge and pantry always contained the basics.
He grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and poured himself some milk, then sat at the barstool and started on the cookies. Yes, this was exactly what he needed. Oreos and milk to drown his sorrows. Crap, what was he going to do about telling his family?
After the third cookie, he was startled by a knock at the sliding door that faced the beach.
He stood up and saw Augusta, who had a brace on her ankle and a smile on her face. She waved at him, looking a bit nervous.
His adrenaline spiked. He couldn’t help but think about how attractive the woman was. Lean and about five-nine, she wore a red tank top and jean shorts and her blond hair was haphazardly pulled back in a ponytail. She had that girl-next-door look. He pulled the door open. “H-hey.”
A small smile played at her lips, and she held up the iPhone he’d given her. “Hey, so I’m using the phone.”
His heart thumped and he didn’t know what to say. Was she going to freak out on him again? He nodded once and said, “Good.” One-word answers seemed safest.
“I wanted to tell you thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Awkwardness descended between them. He didn’t want to upset her, and she wasn’t saying anything.
Augusta let out a breath. “I also wanted to … Ugh, this is stupid. I shouldn’t have come.” She turned away from him. “Never mind.”
“Wait.” He had no idea what was going on, but it must have been important for her to have hobbled all the way here. He caught up with her at the edge of his deck. “I guess your ankle is okay?”