by Taylor Hart
He liked this girl more and more. Here they were, eating Oreos and talking about their fake relationship. The truth was, this was more real interaction than he’d had with a woman in a long time.
She cocked her head at him. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Is this crazy?” She stared at him with her gorgeous green eyes.
“If you’re not comfortable with this, then we don’t have to do it.” The last thing he wanted to do was make someone else uncomfortable. But then he thought about his family. “But I’m not gonna lie to you, this will really be great for me. Like you said, I’ll tell my family the truth, but they will focus on us.”
She grinned. “You’ll tell the truth, then more lies.”
“Guess so,” he grumbled.
“And it would help me, because I really do need tuition money.”
“How much is it?”
“It’s about six thousand for tuition. I’m a Resident Assistant, so that pays for my room and board.”
“Nice. So how much are we talking for the five days?”
“Wait.” She put her hand up. “We need to finish terms. Of course, there’ll be no kissing.”
What?” he sputtered. “You’re my fiancée and we’re not kissing?”
She smiled and then shrugged, her cheeks turning pink. “Well, I don’t know.”
“My brothers would never buy that.”
“Okay, but you can’t just sneak it in on me. They have to be planned. Let’s say you get five.”
Maybe this wouldn’t work. If he was engaged to her for real, he knew he would kiss her a lot. “Twenty?”
Augusta wagged a finger at him. “Ten. And not real kisses, more like church kisses.”
“What’s a church kiss?”
She raised her fist and kissed the back of it. “More than pecks, but not long kisses.”
Ocean felt an urge to grab her fist and place his lips on it. He sucked in a breath and told himself to cool his jets. “Listen, I’m just talking about kissing, I wouldn’t expect anything else.” Truthfully, he felt embarrassed that he was even thinking of it.
The bright red color deepened. “Good. Right.”
“Right.”
Awkwardness descended on them.
“I should tell you that I just got out of a bad … relationship,” she said carefully. “I had to file a restraining order against him recently.”
“So tell me about the bad boyfriend.” He needed to know exactly what he was dealing with here.
She didn’t meet his eyes. “Part of the reason it was so easy to come here for Christmas was because the guy I was with had started to get obsessive.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Jason was a good friend. I met him last year. We had biology together, and he was my study partner, which I needed for biology. He kept asking me out and we went on one date, but then I told him I wasn’t interested. After the summer with my dad, I was vulnerable and he just kept showing up. We would talk about my dad, but then he kept saying how we were practically boyfriend and girlfriend and how he wanted something more. He just wouldn’t quit, ya know?” She paused, then cleared her throat.
Ocean fought to keep his voice steady, though his temper was nearly boiling over. “So what made you file the restraining order?”
“There was a night right after Thanksgiving that I was out with my friends, country dancing. I wasn’t drinking, except for water. Jason was there with some friends. Our groups were mingling, but I tried to stay away from Jason. He kept trying to talk, offering to buy me a drink. I refused, but when I woke up the next day, I couldn’t remember anything, including how I’d gotten home. And Jason was there.”
It was a good thing the guy wasn’t here now, because Ocean would have punched him.
She uncrossed and re-crossed her arms, shifting restlessly. “I asked him what happened, and he said I just passed out, but …”
“What?” Ocean fought back his fury with everything he had. Anger wouldn’t help her right now.
“I was only in my nightgown.”
“Did he … take advantage of you?” His vision turned red.
She hesitated. “No, I don’t think so. I … I don’t know what he did to me. I just felt so violated.”
“Did you report it?”
“No.” She stood and moved away from him, not leaving but just staring at his wall. He saw her brush a tear away. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
He wanted to help her, but he had no idea what to say. “It’s fine. So that’s why you were so insistent I leave you alone on the beach.”
She bit her bottom lip and swallowed. “Yep. After I filed the restraining order … I’ve just felt … watched sometimes. It’s dumb.”
He understood her stress now. It made sense that she would yell at him to go away, then curse at him when he approached her in the dark. She was scared, and he was a stranger. There was no way for her to know if he was dangerous or not. “It’s not dumb.”
She didn’t face him when she asked, “Are you thinking this might be too much to handle?”
“Nope.” He stood and approached her slowly.
“Even if I have a stalker ex?”
On impulse, he lifted his arm and flexed. “I’ve got guns, baby, so don’t worry about me.”
“Funny.” She smirked.
He pointed to himself. “Egomaniac, remember?”
“Oh, I remember.”
Their eyes held, and she smiled.
“Okay, let’s talk money. Ten grand for five days.”
Her face went slack. “No, that’s too much.” She put out five fingers. “Five thousand, minus the grand for my phone.”
The woman was impossible and strangely appealing. “You need six for tuition. So six thousand plus the phone.” He grinned as a thought occurred to him. “Plus all the hand-holding I want and twenty church kisses.”
“Ten church kisses and some hand-holding.”
His phone buzzed and he tugged it out. His brother again.
“Everything okay?”
“Seven grand, and you start tonight. My oldest brother, Dax, is in town early, and he wants to meet for dinner.”
“Tonight?” Her eyes widened.
He cocked his head to the side. “An extra grand for dinner tonight.”
Her face went pale. “Okay.”
Chapter 5
As Augusta got ready for dinner, she couldn’t believe she was actually going out with Ocean Brady. Sure, she might not tell him he was impressive to his face, but he just was. Not because he was a football player, but because of so many other things. He could paint, he was funny, and he was kind.
As she thought about spending time with him this afternoon, butterflies swarmed in her gut. She evaluated the light-yellow summer dress she’d worn with the chunky red flower necklace. She’d put her blond hair in soft curls around her face. Did she actually look like she could date a pro football player?
She wouldn’t be nervous, except Larissa had yacked at her about it since she’d met with them at Ocean’s house to hammer out food details for the next couple of days. As if Larissa hadn’t been excited enough, Ocean had insisted on paying Larissa’s catering company double for her services, saying he wanted to compensate her for her time since it was the holidays.
There was a knock at her door. “Sissy, let me see,” Larissa called from the other side.
Augusta got the feeling Larissa kind of wished she was the one going on a date with Ocean tonight.
She pulled the door open, and Larissa’s face lit up. “Ah yes, you’re gorgeous.” She offered Augusta a pair of diamond earrings.
“No, I’m not wearing your jewelry.”
“Yes, you are. These are perfect. Dave gave them to me on our anniversary. They’re simple but elegant, and I think that if you want to pull this off, you’re going to need to up your game a bit. No offense.”
Augusta groaned. “Fine.”
Larissa gave her a once-over. “Yes, you’re
gorgeous. Can you believe it? You’re Ocean Brady’s fiancée.”
“Fake fiancée,” she corrected.
Larissa waved her hand through the air. “Technicality.”
Augusta laughed, feeling stupid for getting a little excited about a fake relationship.
“So, let me make sure I have your terms straight. You get seven thousand plus the phone. You pretend your whole story about meeting him at Easter, at an event you were helping me cater and so on—Of course, I am the one who introduced you two.” Larissa giggled.
Unable to stop herself, Augusta grinned at her sister. “You’re the matchmaker.”
Larissa let out a little squeal. “Seven thousand for five days. And I love the ten church kisses. Although I might give him real ones if it was me.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Augusta laughed. She was grateful for everything Ocean was doing for her, but she was nervous too. “Do you think Daddy would think this is a good idea?”
Larissa’s enthusiasm tamped down a notch. They both knew their father would have hated it if they pretended to be anything for money. “Daddy would understand.”
Augusta sighed. “The man is so cocky.”
“Well, he deserves to be.”
“Just because he can run a ball down the field doesn’t mean he deserves to be.” Augusta thought it was ridiculous that people got paid so much for doing things like that.
Larissa frowned. “Girl, if you’re going to sell this, you have to be a little bit impressed with him, okay? I mean, you’re about to meet his brothers and his mother. You have to be on your A game. You have to be one hundred percent into him. His number one fan.”
“Really?”
“Hand-holding and church kisses. Plus, I’ll be there a lot with the meals, and it’s not like you’re staying at his place. You come back here to sleep. So it’s a job.”
Augusta let out a long breath. Larissa was right. “Okay.”
Dave appeared in the doorway and grinned at both of them.
Larissa turned and pointed at her husband. “I think you would date the man if you could.”
“Heck yeah.” Dave laughed.
It made Augusta smile to see them both so happy, but it still felt funny to be talking about this stuff.
Larissa put a hand on her shoulder. “Listen, you need to loosen up. I think it’s cool you’re both helping each other out. I mean, I like the Brady family.”
Augusta shook her head. “Not that you know them personally.”
Dave wagged a finger at her. “No, but this country feels like they know them right now. It is tragic what happened to Ty, but the way his brothers have rallied around him is inspiring, and they’re trying to create awareness of ALS. I think you’re going to like them.”
Augusta shrugged and waved her new phone at him. “It kinda got real when thirty-five hundred dollars showed up in my account.” Having that much money show up was a blessing, and she had a nifty phone, too. It certainly had more features than her old one.
Dave smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Well, have fun. I can’t wait to help Larissa with the catering this week.”
“What?” Augusta hadn’t known that. Well, at least her sister would have plenty of support.
Dave laughed. “Are you kidding me? I’ll be able to meet all the Brady brothers! Of course I took the next five days off to help.” With a quick wave, Dave walked away.
Larissa moved behind Augusta so she could pull back her hair, turning her toward the mirror and experimenting with different styles. “We could put it up.”
Augusta’s nerves settled a bit. She and her sisters had always helped each other get ready for dates. “No, Ocean said we’re just going to a restaurant on the beach for dinner, nothing too fancy.”
Larissa nodded and dropped her hair. “Sis, breathe. I think you’ll have fun if you let yourself.”
“Maybe.” Augusta threw her a skeptical look.
Larissa pulled her in for a hug. “You deserve some fun. I know it’s been a couple of hard months, but you’re going to hang with football royalty.”
Augusta moved out of her sister’s arms and faced her, allowing herself a twinge of excitement. “Right.”
“I watched the footage of his brother Ziggy’s RV trip to Wyoming with Ty. Oh my gosh, it was nuts. I’ll be interested to see what Ty has the family doing this week.”
“Right. I don’t even know.” Augusta’s breath quickened and her hands shook. Why had she agreed to this? Why had she offered? “When I suggested I help him with his fiancée problem, I really wasn’t thinking about the fact that it would be this intense.”
Larissa put her hands on Augusta’s shoulders. “It’s going to be fine.”
Right. Augusta breathed in and out until she could calm herself. “Yeah.” Everything would be fine.
Chapter 6
Ocean waited anxiously at Augusta’s door, accompanied by his oldest brother, the quarterback for the Texas Titans. Dax had insisted on coming with him to pick her up, and he had been peppering Ocean with questions since he’d picked him up an hour ago. He had reason to be curious: Ocean had already told Dax that he was engaged to someone who wasn’t Susan.
Ocean pushed the doorbell and waited.
Dax poked his shoulder with a hard finger, pushing him back half a step. “Dude, why haven’t you showed us even one picture of her?”
Ocean put up a hand to silence him.
The door flew back, and Dave stood there with a huge grin on his face. “Hey, man. She’s coming.” He pulled the door back. “Want to come in?”
Ocean grinned at him. He could tell Dave was just trying to be casual, and he was doing a pretty good job. “Dave, this is my brother, Dax. Dax, this is Dave Richards.”
Dave’s face lit up. “Nice to meet you.”
Dax shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. I hear my brother has been keeping secrets. I guess you’ve known.”
“Yep, I had the inside scoop.” Dave winked at them. “You famous people and your private lives.”
Dax nodded, but Ocean could tell he was eager for information.
“Is she about ready?” Ocean asked Dave.
Larissa joined them. “She’s coming.” She looked at Dax and blushed.
Ocean nodded. “Dax, Larissa, Augusta’s sister and talented caterer. She’s the one who introduced me to Augusta.”
Larissa shook Dax’s hand. “Yep. I’m the one responsible for this magic love story.” She was overplaying it a bit, but it was working. She leaned forward, pushing Ocean in the chest. “It all started with her spilling that drink on you at that beach party, remember that? I was so embarrassed. I thought I’d have to fire her for sure.”
She was trying to help them with their story. Ocean gave her a conspiratorial grin. “Hahaha. Yep.”
“I’m just a klutz,” Augusta called out from behind Dave and Larissa. There was an edge to her voice as she stopped in the doorframe, and Ocean did a double take. The girl next door had been transformed into a supermodel. She wore a yellow halter top sundress with chunky shoes that gave her three more inches, making her nearly as tall as him. She was slender and curvy in all the right places. Dang, she was attractive.
Dax nudged him.
“Oh.” Ocean swallowed, feeling like an idiot. He put his hand out. “You look gorgeous tonight.”
Augusta nodded and smiled, taking his hand like she was royalty. “Thanks, sweetie.” She stepped down to him and leaned in, kissing his cheek. “You look good, too.”
He hadn’t expected the kiss or her tangy scent. What was that, orange blossom? He didn’t know, but it made him want to grab her, hold her, smell her longer. Were these the church kisses she’d been talking about? Did she just use one up?
She turned and smiled at his brother. “You must be Dax.”
“Hi.” Dax reached for her hand, intrigued.
But she put her arms out wide. “I’m a hugger.” She leaned in and embraced him. “It’s nice to finally come cl
ean about our relationship.” She pulled back and moved to Ocean’s side, linking her arm through his.
She seemed so at ease. If Ocean hadn’t known that this was all fake he would have believed it was real. He put his hand over hers and thought about how good it felt to have her next to him. “Yeah, it is.” He stared into her eyes, and it just felt right to lean in and gently brush his lips with hers. Did that count as kiss number two? How would he ever keep track? Ten kisses would never be enough. He held it longer than what would have been considered casual.
Dax laughed. “Oh man, here we go with the puppy love.”
Ocean pulled back, suddenly remembering her ankle. He looked down and noted there was a brace on it. “Are you sure you should be wearing those shoes with your ankle?”
She must have been under the same spell he was, because she blinked and then looked down too. “I’m okay.”
“What happened?” Dax asked.
Ocean explained how they’d been running on the beach last night when she’d hurt her ankle. They said goodbye to her sister and brother-in-law. Ocean even asked if they wanted to come, as if they always hung out, but Larissa and Dave waved them away.
When they got to his red Mustang, Dax insisted on taking the back seat. They drove to the restaurant with the top down, the wind blowing through their hair.
Even though it was ridiculous, Ocean wondered if he really could be falling for her just a little.
At dinner, they ordered before chatting with Augusta. She was a business major at University of Wyoming and wanted to be an attorney. She told them some funny stories about being a resident assistant. Regularly, she would bust the boys on her floor for their many indiscretions, including the time when they’d put Dawn soap all over a tarp and then slipped and slid through the main lobby on her floor. The story made them laugh, and Ocean was amazed at how easy it all felt.
Dax glanced between them. “Dude, I have to say, I know it was hard to tell us about everything with Susan, but Augusta, I like you.”
She beamed.
Dax lifted his water glass and held it up. “A toast to the girl who is like a breath of fresh air.”