Her Guy Next Door Fake Fiancé

by Rachelle J. Christensen

  “I need to do something for you, though.” He rubbed the bit of scruff on his chin.

  Liza was struck with an idea. A wild, crazy, totally insane idea. Her stomach had been tied up in knots all day as she’d considered how she could get out of meeting with Mark. There were no job openings in Echo Ridge, and she wasn’t looking to relocate, so for now, she had to keep working at Stellar Ads with Rick the Prick. With this burst of inspiration, though, she could turn the tables.

  “Wait a minute,” Jaime said. “Something’s going on. You should’ve seen your face just now. What’s your idea?”

  Liza grinned. She’d never been good at playing poker. “I just got the best idea. I don’t need dinner. I need some help. My boss is a real jerk, and today he set up a meeting with me and my ex-fiancé and then threatened me with my job if I didn’t go through with it.”

  “Whoa, that’s borderline harassment. He can’t do that to you.”

  “He did. And he does all the time. He loves threatening people with their jobs. We have a nickname for him at work, but I can’t say it. His name is Rick, so I’ll let you use your imagination.”

  Jaime thought about it for two seconds and then burst out laughing. “I got it. So how can I help you? And you were engaged?”

  “Yes. It was almost a year ago. My ex cheated on me, and then he decided he wanted me back. He’s been crazy ever since.” Liza’s voice trembled and she spoke softly, trying to hide her anxiety.

  “I’m really sorry to hear that you had to go through that,” Jaime said.

  Liza nodded. “It’s better now. I wanted to take my mom to the conference with me, but she can’t make it.”

  “You’re not talking about the All-Star Design conference, are you?” Jaime leaned forward. “I was thinking about going.”

  “No way.” Liza straightened, hoping she’d heard him right.

  “Way.” Jaime grinned. “I think I see where this is heading. You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”

  “Oh no,” Liza replied. She hesitated for half a second before blurting out, “I want you to be my fake fiancé.”

  6

  Jaime stepped back and rubbed his ear. “I must not have heard correctly. Did you just ask me to pretend to be your fiancé?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s just for one weekend. If you’ll just go to the conference with me and pretend to be my fiancé, you never have to speak to me again when we get back.” Liza gave him one of the best puppy-dog looks he’d ever seen.

  “How about we start with a date? I’m sure we can come up with some way to keep you away from your ex. Who is this guy, anyway?”

  “Mark Pratt.” The way Liza said his name, you would think she was spitting out poison. “He’s a web designer, and he’ll have a booth there.”

  Jaime leaned back against the kitchen counter. “I know that name. That guy’s a jerk, and he stole a bunch of my clients!” Mark had come to him wanting help with translation services and then ended up skimming some of his clients in the process. Jaime studied Liza. A moment ago her idea sounded crazy, but now he understood why she didn’t want to speak with Mark.

  “See? You can help me. Besides, this conference is in your field. It would be an excellent place to hand out business cards and pick up more clients.” Liza put her hand on his arm. “It will be more like a date. We don’t have to tell anyone. Except Mark. He is the only one we need to tell. To everyone else, we can just look like we’re friends.”

  She did have a point. The conference was in Florida, and no one from Echo Ridge or his former life would likely be there. If anyone saw them together, it wouldn’t be painful to claim the beautiful brunette as his date. At the very least, they could be friendly colleagues. But Mark Pratt was the ultimate creep. “I don’t know about coming into contact with Mark again. Last time he lost me a bunch of business.”

  “So here’s your chance to get back at him and build your business at the same time,” Liza replied. “We can help each other.”

  Jaime rubbed the back of his neck. His business was doing well, but he wanted the opportunity to expand. “Just for the weekend? No one else knows?”

  “Yep.”

  Jaime hesitated. He was about to do something crazy, but it felt like the right thing to do. He held out his hand. “Deal.”

  Liza shook his hand with vigor. “Deal. And since you were thinking about asking me out anyway, it all works out.” She winked.

  A laugh erupted from Jaime’s middle, surprising him. Liza started laughing too. She leaned against the counter, right next to him. He could smell coconut in her hair and barely resisted the urge to tuck the hair behind her ear as she turned to him with a bright smile. “You’re funny,” he said. “When I said I owed you one, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but we’ll make it work.”

  “Let’s see if we can get the same flight. When I looked at the flight, there were several empty seats left.”

  He liked this woman. She knew how to take charge of a situation. He wouldn’t describe her as bossy, though, more confident and direct. “What about a ring?”

  Liza looked down at her left hand. “Oh yeah. Hmm, I’ll look through my jewelry. I’m sure I can find something that can play the part for the weekend.”

  They chatted while Liza found the airline and flight and helped Jaime book his tickets. He was able to get a seat right next to hers. Agreeing to do this was crazy, but he couldn’t ignore the attraction he felt toward Liza. He wanted to get to know her better. This might be an unorthodox way to do it, but it would be much faster than if he’d just asked her on a date.

  “You know we’re going to have to do some studying in order to pull this off,” Jaime said.

  “Is it that far-fetched?” Liza twisted her watch around her wrist. When she looked at him, he could see a line of gold around her pupil. Her eyes were beautiful—she was beautiful.

  He mentally shook himself. “No, but considering our new arrangement, I think it’d be wise to spend a little time together so that we can get Mark to believe it. He may be a scumbag, but he’s smart.”

  Liza nodded. “So are you asking me on a date?”

  Jaime laughed. “Yeah, it’s a little weird asking you on a date after agreeing to be your fiancé, but I think that’s what I’m doing.” He put his hand to the side of his mouth and whispered, “It’s a business meeting, but we’ll call it a date when we’re undercover.”

  Liza playfully pushed his shoulder. “Well, you should know my favorite food is pizza from Jack’s Pizza Shack.”

  Jaime’s mouth watered at the mere mention of the downtown restaurant. “Jack’s is the best. How about tomorrow? The Saturday crowd is busy, so could I pick you up at six?”

  “I think that sounds great.” Liza stood up straight and rolled her shoulders back. “I’ll jot down some talking points that we can bring up during the meeting with Mark. We’ll make sure we have background information on each other to pull off this façade.”

  “See you tomorrow, then.”

  After Liza left in her car, Jaime went in the bathroom and scrubbed his face with cold water. He still couldn’t believe it. Had he actually agreed to be his neighbor’s fake fiancé? Liza’s reassurance made it sound like an innocent favor, but he couldn’t help feeling like they were playing a dangerous game. He was attracted to her, and she had been flirting with him. What if they discovered they really liked each other?

  The ringing of his phone pulled him from his thoughts. Jaime smiled when he saw his son’s face on the screen. He’d been trying to reach Alex for nearly a week and finally his son was calling him back. “Hi Alex,” Jaime said.

  “Dad, I need to know why you won’t help Mom pay her bills.” Alex’s voice was terse.

  Jaime paused and pushed a hand through his hair. “Son, I’ve gone over this with you before. I’m following the divorce decree and I’ve given your mother extra to—”

  “She said that you would say that. It’s a lie!” Alex shouted. “Yo
u abandoned us and you just want to punish her. That’s why you sent me to this school!”

  “Alex, I love you, that is why I worked so hard to get you into that school. Your mother shouldn’t be discussing these things with you. What is it that you need?” Jaime tried to steer away from the fight and keep his voice calm. Already his neck felt flushed with anger at his ex-wife and the lengths she was willing to go to.

  “I already told you. My teacher suggested some books to go along with the course and I need some new gym shorts.” Alex sighed as if he were talking to a small child.

  Jaime clenched his fist. “I sent your mother an extra hundred dollars to cover those expenses.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Alex said. “She doesn’t even have enough money to buy groceries for the rest of the month.”

  “From now on, if you need something, I will purchase it for you and make sure you receive it. Please send me an exact list of what you need and I’ll make sure it’s ordered and on its way to your school.”

  “So you think you can buy my love?” Alex spat. “You think you can just go find some girlfriend to replace Mom and make you feel better about yourself?”

  Jamie barely swallowed back the growl forming in the back of his throat. “I love you no matter how much you hate me. I will love you forever, no matter what you do. I won’t ever stop loving you because you are my son.”

  “Yeah, right,” Alex said and ended the call.

  Jaime sunk onto the edge of his bed and rubbed his forehead, a deep sigh pushing its way from his chest. Alex’s comment about Jaime replacing his mother reeked of Kori. His phone pinged a minute later with the details of the supplies Alex needed. Jaime’s chest felt tight as he scrolled through the details and ordered what Alex needed. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. From now on, Kori wouldn’t get an extra cent from him under the guise of providing for their son.

  Jaime wandered into the kitchen and pulled a Diet Coke from the fridge. He poured it over ice and drank it slowly, ignoring the old craving for something stronger to cover his pain. It was time for things to change in his life for good. Liza was a reminder that he didn’t have to go back to the old way of life.

  His phone pinged with an incoming message and he groaned. When he saw that it was from Kori, he almost ignored it. Instead, he counted to five, disengaged from the moment, and then opened the text. It had taken a lot of practice to get to this point. Kori had a way of getting under his skin. Most likely Alex had called her right after hanging up with him and she had done her best to poison him and hide the truth.

  You don’t have a chance of gaining custody of Alex. He needs a mother. You’re not even dating anyone.

  Jaime thought a moment before replying. Usually, he just ignored Kori’s messages. But today was different.

  How would you know? And I agree, Alex does need a mother.

  He smiled when he hit send, but Kori had a good point. The courts were reluctant to allow fathers more than fifty percent custody of their kids, and even more so if there wasn’t a stable home for them to live in. He’d heard of people faking relationships and even marriages in order to win custody battles, but that seemed a little far-fetched. For now, he just wanted to concentrate on what he could do—and that was work hard and keep Alex in school and away from his crazy mother.

  7

  Liza hadn’t been this excited in months. Jaime would pick her up in half an hour, and they were going on a date. Yes, she knew it was really just a business meeting, but it felt more like a date. Jaime was willing to take her out in Echo Ridge, which meant that he probably liked her. The fact that he had agreed to be her fake fiancé left her wondering how much was due to her charm and how much was due to him owing her a favor. What if Nita was right? Maybe he did have good reason not to get the police involved in the accident because of some nefarious background.

  After Mark had broken off their engagement, she’d steered clear of men for nearly six months. Then, with urging from friends like Nita and her parents, she’d started dating again. It was a scary adventure. She’d gone on dates here and there, but pretty much all of them first dates—the kind where she tried to decide how much to share of herself, while at the same time gently digging to find out whether the guy was a serial killer. Disappointing wasn’t a strong enough word to describe dating after a major breakup. Devastating. Diabolical. Discouraging. Dejected. Yeah, those were better descriptors.

  Liza shoved her worries aside. Whatever the case, she was going out with one of the most gorgeous guys in Echo Ridge, and she could almost taste the barbecue chicken pizza dotted with fresh pieces of pineapple—a Jack’s Pizza Shack specialty. She zipped up her favorite pair of black boots over skinny jeans. She also wore a white sweater with silver threading, and she had curled her hair into soft brown waves falling over her shoulder.

  “Knock, knock.” Her mom rapped on the open door. “You look beautiful, dear. It’s about time you went on another date.”

  “Thanks, Mom. But this is more of a business meeting. Jaime and I are discussing options for his company.” Liza stuffed her lip gloss in her purse and tried to act nonchalant.

  “Well, the sparkle in your eyes says otherwise. Be careful. Jaime seems like a nice guy, but I’ve heard a little more than I can ignore.”

  Liza looked up at the note of concern in her mother’s voice. “What exactly have you heard?”

  Her mom leaned against the dresser. “I’m fairly certain he got picked up for a DUI shortly after moving to Echo Ridge.”

  Liza pressed her lips together and looked at the floor. That was much worse than a rumor about someone drinking a bit too much. “Really? Do you believe that, Mom? I want your honest opinion.”

  “I’m not sure, but I do know that people make mistakes, and sometimes they are big mistakes. I’ve heard that he pretty much keeps to himself, but still …” She smoothed a stray hair away from Liza’s face. “Pay attention to how much he drinks.”

  “I will. I’ve heard a few rumors too.” Jaime didn’t seem like the drinking type, but she would find out tonight. Although phrasing the question So have you been arrested for a DUI? might prove more difficult than she imagined. “Okay, I’m almost ready. Wish me luck.” Even though she’d told her mother it was a business date, she couldn’t ignore the flutter in her stomach as she walked out into the front room.

  Dad turned the television off and stood, brushing a few crumbs off his shirt. “Hot date tonight, then?”

  “No, it’s a business meeting.” Liza stood in front of her dad and wiped a few more crumbs off his shirt. “Hey, Dad, can we skip the doorstep scene?”

  He stepped back and held up his hands with a chuckle. “Sure, but if there’s another ‘business meeting’—” He put his fingers in the air as if putting quotes around the words. “—you’ll have to let me chat with him.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Liza kissed him on the cheek. She stepped toward the window and saw headlights shining up the drive. “I’ll see you guys later.” She pulled her leather jacket off the hook. The maroon color looked great with her white sweater and she wondered if Jaime would notice. Stop it, she commanded herself. This was only a business meeting—at least that’s what she had planned on, even if Jaime was too attractive for his own good. She tried to remind herself that it was only a means to an end: getting Mark to leave her alone. After the conference, she’d come back, get to work, and forget about Jaime and their fake engagement. That was why she didn’t plan on telling her parents about their crazy plan. No sense getting them worked up over a weekend scheme.

  Liza opened the door and hurried down the steps just as Jaime was getting out of his pickup. “Hi,” she said. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

  “I meant to be a gentleman and come to the door,” Jaime said.

  “Thank you, but I don’t want my parents getting any ideas.” Liza let Jaime open her door and slid into the cozy interior of his pickup.

  When Jaime had buckled up and was exiting her driveway, he sm
iled. “If you’re that worried about being seen with me, we probably shouldn’t be eating in Echo Ridge.”

  Liza laughed. “I think we’ll be just fine.” Breathe. It’s only a business arrangement, Liza.

  “Well, you’re the native. I’ll follow your lead.” Jaime headed out of the canyon, and Liza took a moment to collect herself.

  “So, tell me a little bit about yourself.” Liza leaned forward, admiring Jaime’s handsome profile as he drove.

  Jaime made a clicking noise and wrinkled his nose. “Since this is a fake engagement, can I make up stuff about myself?”

  “No, because we already started the agreement with me telling you honest details about myself, so it’s only fair that you reciprocate.”

  “Dang. Well, it was worth a try.” He tapped the steering wheel. “Let’s see. I have an interesting background. I was born in Costa Rica. My father is a Tico, and my mother is French. I speak French, English, Spanish, and some Chinese. Oh, and I like Nacho Cheese Doritos.”

  Liza laughed. “Okay, well, I can say that we have something very important in common, because Nacho Cheese is the only flavor of Doritos that should be allowed on shelves.”

  Jaime nodded. “Agreed.”

  “Seriously, though, I’m impressed,” Liza said. “I can see why you run the business that you do—four languages!” She leaned back in her seat. “Have you been to Costa Rica lately?”

  “Two years ago. I visited my parents there. It’s a beautiful place. I thought about relocating there, but there are too many things in the States that I don’t want to be that far away from.”

  Liza digested the information he’d shared, picking up on the rather cryptic details. “I’ve never been to Costa Rica, but it’s on my bucket list.”

  Jaime smiled. “It’s paradise. At least, I think so. There’s so much to do between the ocean, the mountains, and the jungles.”