No way was she telling Gil that. He’d wield that information like a sword. Besides, she wasn’t even sure Tucker would remember her. It was a long time ago, and a lot had changed since then. Most likely, he wouldn’t even remember her. She’d never been able to forget him, though.
“Um, just that he’s had it pretty hard recently.”
That was an understatement. In the past year, Tucker Hawk’s clean-cut, all-American image had taken a huge hit. His nasty public breakup with his girlfriend, Petra, and subsequent spiral had been the focus of more than just a few of the country’s gossip magazines. Everyone was desperate for the inside scoop as to what had really happened between him and the up-and-coming model. It’d been completely out of character for him, and Callie kept her knowledge of the situation limited. She hated seeing him hurt.
“What if I told you I could get you an exclusive with Tucker, but you’d have to keep it hush-hush.”
Her brain froze. Another chance to see Tucker? She’d chew used gum if it meant face time with him. Not that she still cared about him that way, but as a reporter, he’d be a great subject. “Uh, well, I’d say sign me up.”
Gil smiled. “That’s my star reporter.”
Callie narrowed her eyes. Her weird-o-meter was hitting a million. “Okay, but you know I’m leaving the day after tomorrow for my sister’s wedding. It’ll have to be after that.” If she missed Georgia’s wedding, Callie wouldn’t have to worry about exclusives or anything else because her mom would kill her.
“Didn’t I hear you say you needed a date for that?”
Seriously? She didn’t remember telling Gil that. How did he find out? More than likely he’d caught her on the phone with her mom. Not that it’d be hard to figure out there was a wedding and she was dateless. “And what does that have to do with an interview with Tucker Hawk?”
Gil stood and walked around his desk to perch on the corner facing her. She’d seen this look before. It usually meant he had something up his sleeve.
Fantastic. She took a deep breath, waiting for the bomb to drop.
“My best friend, Derek Underwood, is the president of Tucker’s music label, Reckless Records. They’re working on a plan to polish Tucker’s image that includes him getting married,” Gil said.
“Married? I didn’t even know he was dating anyone.” Why did it feel like her lungs were suddenly lacking oxygen?
“According to Derek, he’s not.” Gil’s lips twitched into a wider smile.
It took her brain a second to catch up, and her eyes widened. “A fake marriage?”
Gil nodded but didn’t speak. Almost as though he was afraid someone would overhear.
“Okay, and what do they want from me?”
“First, does your family still believe you’re a CPA?”
“Yeah, why?” Gil knew that. It’s why she used a pen name to publish her articles.
“Good. You’ll need to keep it that way.”
Callie crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s going on, Gil?”
“We thought maybe you’d be an excellent candidate to be his wife.”
Hold the phone. His wha-wife?
“I’m sorry, what?” Callie asked, blinking. She could see Gil’s lips moving, but the words were making no sense.
“Tucker is on board, if that’s what has you worried.”
“He is?”
“Yeah, he’s all on board. Only, you can’t tell him you’re a reporter.”
Her mouth dropped open as she tried to get her brain up to speed. “What do you mean?”
“He’s avoided all media this past year. Well, as much as someone fall-down drunk can. Anyway, Derek said we could get exclusives over the next year, and I know how much you’ve wanted to come clean to your mom. With a story like this, she’d have to see how great a reporter you are. No more fake CPA office. Only, we can’t tell anyone the marriage is fake. They’ve even been working up a story the past few days, and everything is already set to go. They just need a wife. That’s where you come in.”
Faking a marriage? Callie shook her head. “No. No way. I won’t do it.”
“They’re offering a five-hundred-thousand-dollar incentive.”
Like she needed the money? The only reason she had kept her writing career from her mom was because…well, there wasn’t a great reason other than Callie didn’t want to disappoint her mom. Plus, she liked being anonymous. Another reason not to marry Tucker.
“There isn’t enough money for me to do that.” She shook her head.
Gil shrugged and straightened, walking to his chair and picking up the phone. “I guess I’ll just call Derek. He’s got Petra on standby if they can’t find someone else.”
Callie held in a gasp. That woman? According to Callie’s sources, Petra Vislosky had used Tucker to further her own modeling career by leaking information about Tucker’s family to the tabloids. Things about his mom’s illness and other little intimate details that shouldn’t have been leaked. She couldn’t let Petra near him again.
“Wait.” She sighed.
Gil, still holding the phone, paused as his finger hovered over the buttons. “Yes?”
“They’re going to do this no matter what?”
He snorted. “Oh yeah,” he said, still holding the phone.
“And Tucker is willing to do it?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but you can’t—and I mean this—you can’t tell him you’re a reporter. The only way we’re going to get to know the real him is to keep it from him.”
Callie scoffed. “As soon as the press finds out Tucker Hawk is married to me, they’ll start digging into me and my past. They’ll find out who I am.”
Gil shook his head. “Derek and I are working to bury it. Don’t worry about that.”
“Okay, but I want it in the contract that if Tucker finds out—and not from me—I won’t be penalized.” Man, she sure wished her dad could read the contract, but there was no way she’d let him know she was doing something so crazy.
“All right. I’ll make sure it’s in the contract, and throughout the year, you give the magazine juicy details about Tucker Hawk. Of course, being under your pen name, no one will ever know you’re the insider.”
“And if I don’t?”
Gil’s normally carefree, friendly demeanor disappeared. “I’ll out you as Jamie Pearson and make it my job to make sure you never work for another magazine. We’ll sue you until you have nothing left. You’ll be lucky if you get to keep your mismatched shoes.”
What should she do? There was no way she could write tell-all articles about Tucker without his knowledge, and she couldn’t let Petra near him either. But if she wanted Gil to think she was trying, she was going to have to act like she was trying.
“What if Tucker doesn’t reveal anything?” asked Callie.
He lifted an eyebrow. “You’re a reporter. Surely you can think of a way to entice a celebrity to dish something juicy.”
Callie exhaled sharply. “I get that, but with as guarded as he’s been, who’s to say he’ll ever warm up to me enough to spill anything? Besides, if I’m under pressure, I’ll be putting pressure on him. He’ll know something’s up, and the whole thing will explode.” That sounded convincing, right?
Gil tapped his fingers against his leg. “Fine, but I want regular check-ins. A text or something.”
“Yeah, and he finds my phone and sees a text to my editor Gil? Great plan.” It was quick thinking, and true. No better way of having a cover blown than that.
He groaned. “Why do you have to be so difficult?”
“I’m not being difficult. I’m being cautious.”
“All right. No texts, no calls. I’ll set up a fake email. You can write it up and send it to that. Does that work?”
“And no pressure?” Callie asked, mentally crossing her fingers. Could she help it if the difficult country music star didn’t give her anything to report?
“No pressure. But you need to produce. I should see something no lat
er than a couple of weeks.”
Even if there was no pressure to produce material, there was still the issue of having a fake relationship. How was she supposed to have a relationship with someone, fake or otherwise, and lie to them the whole time? Besides, she had her sister’s wedding. “It’ll have to be after my sister’s wedding.”
“No, it happens tomorrow. You’ll be flying into Vegas this afternoon, having a get-to-know-you date, and getting married tomorrow.”
“Before my sister’s wedding? No way. My mom will kill me.”
He held her gaze until the silence in the room became uncomfortable.
“Hold on.” He picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Hey…yeah, I think she’s on board, only she wants it in the contract that if the press finds out she’s Jamie Pearson, she won’t be penalized. And she’s got her sister’s wedding. She doesn’t want the press finding out before then.” Gil spoke to whoever it was on the phone a few minutes longer and then hung up. He flicked his gaze to her and smiled. “You’ll get married tomorrow, but they’ll keep it under wraps until your sister’s married. As soon as the ceremony is over, you’ll fly to Los Angeles where Tucker lives, and they’ll make the announcement. Where’s your sister’s wedding being held?”
“Carolina Beach, North Carolina. It’s my family’s vacation home.”
“While you’re there, your apartment here will be packed up and moved into Tucker’s home.”
Her eyes went wide. “Move in with him?”
“You’ll be married to him, so yeah.”
Calle’s stomach flipped. This was a horrible, horrible plan. “How long will I have to be married to him?”
“A year, during which you’ll secretly be sending the magazine articles about him. We want everything. All the details of his breakup with Petra, what really happened…seriously, everything. The world gets their exclusives on Tucker, and your bank account will be a half-mil richer.”
Why, all of a sudden, did it seem like she’d become the lowest of the low? Even she thought she was gross. Paid to get married? No.
“I’m not going to do it for money. If money exchanges hands, then I want it to go to something else besides me.”
Gil’s eyebrows darted into his hairline.
“You don’t want the money?” His eyes narrowed. “Are you a Tucker Hawk fan?”
“No and no. I just don’t want the money. Send it to the NICU at the Wilmington’s Children’s Hospital. My niece Mary was a preemie, and the more money they have for equipment, the more babies they can save.”
“I’m sure they won’t care as long as you sign the contract.”
Callie stood and whirled around. “This is beyond insane.”
“Really? Like crazier things haven’t happened?”
No, but it was the craziest thing she’d ever even thought about being a part of.
“I don’t know, Gil. A relationship is hard enough. Pretending to have one…” What word would adequately describe just how strange this whole plan sounded?
“Look, Callie, would you prefer someone marry him that doesn’t care about him, or would you rather it be you?”
When he put it like that…she couldn’t let someone hurt him like Petra did, but being fake married to him? This was a big deal, and not something to jump into.
“How long do I have to decide?”
Gil looked at his computer screen. “Your flight leaves at two.”
“So, no time at all, really.”
“No. They were afraid if they gave too much warning, someone would leak the details of what they were doing, and they can’t afford to allow that happen.”
With one huge breath, Callie looked Gil in the eyes. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
“Awesome. I’ll tell Derek, and we’ll get the contract together so you can sign it. In the meantime, go home and pack.”
“Okay.”
“And take something nice to wear to your dinner tonight.”
Energy pulsed through her, but she did her best to hide her excitement. Despite herself, butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
No, she reminded herself. This was all fake. The Tucker she met tonight would be the world-famous singer. She didn’t know that Tucker. Her Tucker was gone. That was the only way she was making it through a fake date—and fake marriage—with Tucker.
* * *
Grab your copy of The Star’s Fake Marriage
and follow Tucker and Callie as they reconnect and fall in love.
Other Books by Bree Livingston
A Clean Billionaire Romance Series:
Her Pretend Billionaire Boyfriend:
A Clean Billionaire Romance Book One
Her Second Chance Billionaire Sweetheart:
A Clean Billionaire Romance Book Two
Her Broken Billionaire Boss:
A Clean Billionaire Romance Book Three
Her Fake Billionaire Fiancé
A Clean Billionaire Romance Book Four
Her Stranded Billionaire Mix-Up:
A Clean Billionaire Romance Book Five
Her Secret Billionaire Roommate:
A Clean Billionaire Romance Book Six
A Sweet Fake Marriage Romance Series:
The Star’s Fake Marriage
A Sweet Fake Marriage Romance Book Two
The Bodyguard’s Fake Marriage:
A Sweet Fake Marriage Romance Book Three
The Matchmaker’s Fake Marriage:
A Sweet Fake Marriage Romance Book Four
The Beast’s Fake Marriage:
A Sweet Fake Marriage Romance Book Five
A Clean Army Ranger Romance Series:
The Ranger’s Chance:
A Clean Army Ranger Romance Book One
The Ranger’s Peace:
A Clean Army Ranger Romance Book Two
The Ranger’s Heart:
A Clean Army Ranger Romance Book Three
The Ranger’s Hope:
A Clean Army Ranger Romance Book Four
The Ranger’s Forgiveness:
A Clean Army Ranger Romance Book Five
A Clean Scottish Romance Series:
Mending the Billionaire Movie Star:
A Clean Scottish Romance Book One
Mending the Billionaire Scotsman:
A Clean Scottish Romance Book Two
Mending the Billionaire Brother:
A Clean Scottish Romance Book Three
Clean Stand Alone Romances:
Love and Charity
The Mistletoe Game:
A Clean Christmas Novella
About the Author
Bree Livingston lives in the West Texas Panhandle with her husband, children, and cats. She'd have a dog, but they took a vote and the cats won. Not in numbers, but attitude. They wouldn't even debate. They just leveled their little beady eyes at her and that was all it took for her to nix getting a dog. Her hobbies include...nothing because she writes all the time.
She loves carbs, but the love ends there. No, that's not true. The love usually winds up on her hips which is why she loves writing romance. The love in the pages of her books are sweet and clean, and they definitely don't add pounds when you step on the scale. Unless of course, you're actually holding a Kindle while you're weighing. Put the Kindle down and try again. Also, the cookie because that could be the problem too. She knows from experience.
Join her mailing list to be the first to find out publishing news, contests, and more by going to her website at https://www.breelivingston.com.
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The Cowboy's Fake Marriage (Sweet Fake Marriage Romance Book 1) Page 18