Fake Fiance Christmas Collection: Countdown to Christmas

by Taylor Hart

He checked his phone. It was time to go. Last night he’d texted his brothers that he would meet them at the hospital at eight. Quietly, he got up, and then bent to put on his shoes.

  “And you didn’t even make me breakfast.”

  He looked up. Augusta still lay on her side, but her eyes were open and a smile was on her lips. “Maybe one day, Supergirl,” he said.

  She sat up. Like him, she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday. They were all rumpled, but she looked good. “Will you text me and let me know about everything?”

  The sincerity in her eyes made his heart soar. On impulse, he leaned back on the bed, moving his face to hers. “I will for a free kiss.”

  She glared at him, then covered her mouth. “Uh, morning breath.”

  “I don’t care.”

  She hesitated, then leaned up and softly pressed her lips to his.

  Unable to stop himself, he dropped onto the bed and pulled her close to him.

  “Oh no,” she said, shooing him away. “Church kiss, Brady.”

  He groaned. “Yeah, yeah.”

  She wagged her finger at him. “Don’t exploit this situation. I only gave you a free kiss because you were so needy last night.”

  A light laugh escaped him, and he moved to the door, feeling so much better than he had last night. “‘Exploit’ and ‘needy’—you’re already sounding like an attorney.”

  A soft smile lit her face. “Text me.”

  He winked at her and pulled the door open. “I will.”

  The whole day ended up being kind of a fiasco. Surprisingly, Ty recovered quickly, and from the moment the brothers got to the hospital, Ty was fighting them on waiting to be officially released by the doctor.

  Finally, when they got back to Ocean’s house around two, Ty seemed to be back in action. The doctors all told him he had to rest today, so he took his brothers up on their offer of card games. The only thing that saved Ocean’s sanity was that Augusta had showed up when Larissa and Dave brought dinner and he’d begged off cards for a bit, telling everyone he felt like he should help because Augusta was his fiancée.

  The best part of the night was when Augusta sat down at his piano—a piano he’d never used—and played Christmas carols for the family. They’d all joined in, and Ty even took over for some solos to the songs. Ocean felt such satisfaction in sitting next to his mom while Augusta played, surrounded by his brothers and their wives and girlfriends. It was perfect.

  At that moment, he knew he wanted this forever. He wanted her. He wanted to make this engagement real. Even though it was crazy, he didn’t care. And he had an idea.

  Ty was back in full action by the next day.

  As they walked into the homeless shelter, Ocean couldn’t believe how well the homeless shelter had managed to coordinate the efforts of feeding the homeless with a disco party. The coordinator of the shelter, Peter, looked to be in his sixties with his grey hair, but he was fit and had lots of energy. He had dressed to match their theme, wearing a leather vest with leather fringe hanging down and an afro wig with a headband.

  All of the brothers and their women were dressed up in seventies disco gear. Even their mother had worn a Charlies Angels outfit.

  Ocean and Augusta had settled on the classic Dukes of Hazzard look. He was wearing a blond wig, a khaki button-up shirt, and jeans with a silver belt buckle, and she was wearing Daisy Dukes. Ocean did not mind the view a bit.

  Ziggy and Sophia went with Saturday Night Fever, complete with a white disco suit with a black collar for him and a flowy red disco dress for her.

  Wearing a black leather jacket with a white tee shirt and cuffed blue jeans, Ty was clearly Danny Zuko from Grease. Of course, Luna was Sandy.

  Dax and Sky went a different direction, dressed as Count Dracula and Cindy Sondheim from Love at First Bite. Ocean had laughed when he’d first seen their costumes. Leave it to Dax to find a way to sneak a vampire into a disco party.

  Boston and Addison were Sonny and Cher.

  The disco ball was rolling, and there were lines of people ready for food.

  Peter came up to him, and Ocean introduced him to everyone.

  “We’ve been waiting for you guys,” Peter said.

  Ocean felt bad for the delay. “I’m sorry.”

  Peter hesitated, then turned to Ellen. “Would you mind coming to the front and offering grace?”

  The question made his mother get weepy, but she blinked and then nodded. “Of course.”

  As if drawn by a magnetic force, their group followed their mom to the front.

  Peter picked up a microphone that was connected to an old karaoke machine. It squealed when he turned it on. He adjusted it a bit, and then he introduced the Brady family.

  Everyone clapped, which Ocean didn’t really like. The Bradys’ presence was making a spectacle when all they really wanted was to have fun and help people. But Ty had wanted a disco homeless party, and that would be a spectacle no matter what. Ocean watched his youngest brother wave at the gathered crowd. At least the guy was happy.

  Peter said into the mic, “We are so grateful for the Brady family’s generosity in donating all this food. The Bradys have also generously donated a new kitchen that will be up and running within two months. It will make things so much better for the people in Los Angeles.” Peter turned to Ellen. “We will now have prayer.”

  The whole room quieted down as Ellen bowed her head and began to speak. “Thank you, Lord, for this food. Please bless this food to nourish us and all of our friends here today. Thank you for your grace in our lives. Thank you for our families for the friendship here. May we all have harmony and fun. Amen.”

  “Amen,” everyone called out.

  Peter gestured to the tables of food. “We’ll start serving the food now.”

  Ocean and his brothers surrounded their mother and hugged her. She batted them all away, even though there were tears coming down her cheeks. “We are here to serve, so let’s go dish up dinner.”

  They all moved away from her and followed Peter to their stations.

  Over the next three hours, Ocean was shocked at the number of people who showed up to eat dinner. Peter had told him they would feed a lot of people, but Ocean couldn’t have guessed that there would be this many.

  As he and Augusta dished them up, he noted how she took the time to talk to them and laugh with them. For the kids, she would pull out candy that she’d brought in her bag and ask the parents if she could give them one.

  Ocean had chills the whole time. It was magic.

  Whenever she leaned into him and laughed with his brothers and teased her about inside jokes, Ocean wondered what she would say to him when he asked.

  Chapter 17

  Augusta was having the time of her life. The whole night had been amazing, and at nine o’clock, a crew of people helped put away some of the tables. An older-looking gentleman who could have been a true DJ from the seventies started to jam. “YMCA” came on, and Ocean took her hand and led her out to the dance floor, which was packed with his family members and a ton of other people.

  Ocean was dancing wildly, and she joined in. By the end, they were laughing hard. Ocean picked her up, threw her over her shoulder, and turned her in a circle.

  “Put me down!” she choked out.

  He set her down, then looped his arms around her waist and pulled her close as a slow song came on.

  She pushed him away. “That was very caveman of you.”

  He laughed and put up his hands. “Sorry. You can go dance with someone else if you want.”

  It was pointless to resist him, so she rolled her eyes and put her hands out.

  “Yeah,” he said in a very egomaniacal way. He brought her close and hummed along with the song while they danced.

  Before she knew what was happening, he leaned down until he was almost kissing her. She wanted to kiss him. A lot.

  But he waited. “You have to tell me you want me to kiss you, because I still don’t want to use my last o
ne.”

  Her heart raced. This wasn’t an act. She didn’t think; she just felt with her heart. She put her hands on his cheeks. “I want you to kiss me.”

  When their lips met, it wasn’t soft and slow and churchy. She found herself nipping at his lip, and then he deepened the kiss. She was lost, soaring, flying, floating. He tugged her closer to him, still swaying with her.

  She wasn’t sure how long they had been kissing, but when the song ended and they finally broke apart, he had the most intense look on his face she’d ever seen. Part of her thought he’d smirk, but he kept his hands on her waist and just gazed into her eyes.

  “What’s happening?” she asked. Just peering into his beautiful blue eyes calmed her.

  His lip twitched up, and he traced her cheekbone. “I think this fake thing might have turned real. At least for me.”

  She knew he was right. But their whole history was a lie, and that fact clashed with her feelings, leaving her lost and confused. “Ocean, this is happening so fast. It—” She stumbled a step back.

  “I know.” He blinked and then licked his lips, pulling her toward him again. “I know.”

  She gave in, leaning into him.

  The music changed to a country song.

  She closed her eyes and shook her head. “But what about all the lies we’ve told. I … I don’t know what to do.”

  “I have an idea, but let’s just dance first, okay?”

  She didn’t even have a chance to ask about his idea before she found herself falling into step with him. Even though she was confused, she still didn’t want to be anywhere, except here, with this man.

  Half an hour later, Augusta still clung to Ocean Brady’s shoulders as they swayed back and forth. It was almost midnight, and even though the crowd of people had mostly cleared out, there were still about fifty people on the dance floor, including all of the Brady brothers.

  She was exhausted and simultaneously elated. Being with Ocean Brady did that to her. Not just because it had been a long day, but because she had been on an emotional roller coaster.

  “What are you thinking?” he whispered into her ear.

  After a moment, she told him the truth. “That I feel so different now.”

  He frowned and searched her face. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not the same college girl who drove here from Wyoming and sprained her ankle on the beach.”

  A small smile played at his lips. “I know what you mean.”

  She couldn’t stop herself. “You mean you’re not the same college girl from a week ago, either?”

  His smile widened. “Exactly.”

  Another round of nerves hit her. He was radiating intensity, like he wanted a touchdown and he would bulldoze through twenty giants on the field to get one. When he wanted something, he wasn’t easily deterred. “What are we doing?” she asked quietly.

  He sighed. “Falling for each other. At least I am falling for you.”

  Another round of adrenaline spiked inside of her. “Ocean …”

  “I wanted to tell you that the past couple of days have meant everything to me.”

  Oh no. Emotions swamped her like a tidal wave.

  “And remember how I told you about my father and my art? My dad and I were fine. I mean, we were fine, but when he died, I was just angry at him. I knew it was stupid, but …”

  “You stuffed your feelings down where you wouldn’t have to deal with them. Just like you stuffed down all your feelings about breaking things off with Susan?”

  He nodded. “Last night, when you told me that I was important, I just kept thinking about how you see me. You see the real me.”

  She knew what he was saying, and she smiled. “Not just the egomaniac.”

  He let out a laugh. “Right. I mean, you see that too, but you don’t care about that part of me. The egomaniac.”

  Again, she put her hand on his face and couldn’t help but realize she’d never felt this way before. “I think I might be falling for you, too.”

  He turned his head so his cheek pressed against her palm. “I was hoping.”

  “Even if you give way too expensive gifts, you’re a pretty good guy.”

  He smiled again. “Right. And I like that about you. You don’t take expensive gifts.”

  She looked at his lips. Dang, she wanted to kiss him again. “And I’ve honestly never known anyone who looks like they want to string up someone for me.”

  “Yeah, well, you know that’s an easy thing for me.” He grunted. “But I think you could have gotten him to back off with the swear words alone.”

  “You won’t let me live that down, will you?”

  His lip turned up. “Who knew I would fall in love with a woman who swears like a sailor?”

  She let out a light laugh and tried to pull her hand back, but he held it tighter. Then her brain caught up with his words. Love. Had he said he was falling in love with her?

  Was she falling in love with him? “This is really real, isn’t it?”

  His eyes took on the intensity that she’d come to recognize as pure force and determination. They were like a lightning rod to her soul. “All I know is I have feelings for you, Supergirl. Real feelings. I’ve fallen for you.”

  Augusta swallowed and tried to calm her mind. “Ocean, I can’t believe this. We need to talk about this.” Her mind started to spin.

  He leaned in and kissed her cheek, pulling her closer. “Shh. I know. I know. But I have a question I need to ask you. And another too-expensive gift for you.”

  Chapter 18

  Ocean saw the stunned look on Augusta’s face, and he squeezed her hands.

  She stopped dancing. “What are you talking about?”

  He winked at her. “Just a sec.” He walked to the karaoke machine and turned it on. “Hello,” he said into the microphone.

  The DJ took the cue and cut the music. Everyone turned to stare, including his brothers and his mother.

  He only saw Augusta. Dang, she was hot in her Daisy Duke shorts and wig. He grinned and felt like he could win the championship game at this moment.

  Tears were on her cheeks, and she was shaking her head and smiling.

  “I have to say something,” he said into the mic. “I told you all how I met a girl on a beach and fell in love, but I haven’t told you the whole truth.”

  Augusta put her hand over her mouth.

  His heart raced. He’d been so lucky to find her that night, and now all he wanted to do was keep her. “I have to tell you that none of this is real. That—”

  “Wait!” She rushed to him, waving her hands. “Wait!”

  He lowered the mic. “Just let me.”

  She shook her head. “No. No. You don’t.”

  He smiled at her and brought the mic to his mouth. “But I want to tell them the truth.” He turned to face his family. He wasn’t even scared anymore. He took Augusta’s hand and smiled at her. “I love this woman, but I have to tell you she wasn’t my real fiancée. She was my fake fiancée.”

  Stunned looks crossed the faces of the audience.

  His mother shook her head. “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t want to have my breakup with Susan be a big deal. I wanted to make this a good time for our family, so we pretended to be engaged, but … somewhere in this whole thing, I fell in love. For real.”

  When Augusta spoke, her voice was thick with emotion. “I love you, too.”

  He laughed in surprise. “You do?”

  She snatched the microphone from him, facing his family and batting him away while he tried to take it back. “I talked him into the fake fiancée thing. It’s complicated, but I want you all to know how much Ocean loves you.” She focused on Ty. “How much he tries to protect you at great sacrifice to himself. He’s a good man.”

  This was all wrong. Ocean tugged the mic back. “No. I’m sorry I lied to you, but the truth is, I do love her. I have fallen for her.” He turned to face her and dropped to one knee. “And I want to
ask her if she’ll marry me. For real.”

  With a start, Augusta gaped at him.

  “I know it’s crazy, and I know it’s been quite the ride, but this thing between us has felt more real than so many things in my life. I love you, Augusta. And I want to marry you. Will you have me?”

  She started to cry, but she was smiling widely and she nodded. “Yes!”

  He swooped her up and dropped the mic, spinning her in a jubilant circle.

  Behind them, someone shouted, “Hey!”

  They turned toward the shout.

  A man from the crowd shook his head, pointing a gun at them. “You’re not marrying her. That woman is mine!”

  Chapter 19

  Fear pricked the center of Ocean’s chest, followed by a familiar calm—the same feeling that settled over him before championship games when everything was on the line. “You must be Jason.” He took a deliberate step in front of Augusta.

  Jason shook the gun at him. “Don’t get in front of her. Don’t let her hide.”

  Dax stepped closer to Jason. “Dude, let’s talk about this.”

  “Stop!” Jason raised the gun toward the ceiling and fired. Everyone froze. “You don’t know her. You don’t even know her!”

  Dax put his hands up. “Okay, let’s talk.”

  “Yeah, talk.” Ziggy offered from Jason’s other side.

  “Listen,” Boston said, “you’re right. We hardly know her. Tell us about all of this.”

  Ocean didn’t move. He didn’t trust that the psycho ex wouldn’t shoot Augusta the second he was out of the way.

  But Augusta broke free of him. “Jason, don’t hurt them. It’s not their fault.”

  Ocean grabbed her hand, yanking her back. No way. She was not sacrificing herself for him. Not today. Not ever.

  Dax whistled one short, sharp note, and all of Ocean’s brothers began to move. Dax stepped in front of Jason while Ty shifted to stand in front of Augusta. Boston and Ziggy began creeping toward the front.

  Jason pointed the gun right at Dax. “I’ll shoot him if you all don’t stop. I will!” He turned to Augusta. “You didn’t think I would see all the posts from the famous Brady brothers? All the pictures with you holding hands and flirting with this jughead? He’s like my favorite football player.” He frowned. “Or was.” He shifted the gun toward Ocean.