13 (The LIST Series Book 2)

by Rhonda James

  “Ah.” She nodded, catching on, and then she giggled and asked, “What about you, Jared?”

  Shaking my head, I groaned, “You have no fucking idea. But I think you need to stop focusing on the past. That guy obviously didn’t know a good thing when he had it. All the more reason to let him go and show him you’ve moved on.”

  “Yeah!” She bounced on her toes. “How am I supposed to do that when clearly I haven’t? I mean, I have, but then tonight happened, and, yeah…”

  How was I supposed to answer? The air lay heavy between us as I wracked my brain to come up with something. Anything. And then an idea hit.

  “Maybe you could try beating him to the punch.”

  “How so?” She moved closer and, trying to act casual, I threaded my fingers with hers.

  “W-well.” I cleared my throat and started over. “He claims he’s found the one. Right?” The corners of her mouth turned down as she nodded and reached for her glass. “Suppose you did, too. I mean, you told me you were an actress, so I was thinking you should just pretend to be engaged or something. Post a photo and lie your pretty ass off.”

  She cocked her head to the side and scrunched up her button nose. “You really think that could work?”

  “It’d sure piss me off. Then again, I don’t know the fucker, so…”

  “No. No. I think you may be onto something.” She pursed her lips, deep in thought, then snapped her fingers in my face, a wicked smile spreading across her face. “You know what? I think we should just get married.”

  “What?” This time, I was the one choking, and she gave me a few whacks on the back until I held up a hand. “As in for real?”

  “God, no!” I gripped my chest as if she’d wounded me, and she quickly added, “Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re really hot.”

  I turned to the side and flexed my muscles, smirking. “You really think so?”

  Her gaze flitted from my biceps to my dick and back again. “Sure. I mean, I’d do you.”

  I smirked behind my fist, trying hard not to laugh at her drunk ass. Correction. Cute drunk ass. “Thanks, feeling’s mutual.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled and ran a hand up and down my arm. “Now that that’s settled, I meant we could pretend to be married. You know, pose for a photo and post it on all my social media sites. Give him a taste of his own medicine.”

  I laughed wickedly and rubbed my hands together. “Now you’re playing dirty. I like it.”

  Her eyes danced wildly with excitement as she bounced up and down. I’ll admit I enjoyed watching her perky little tits bouncing. It was hard not to stare since she clearly wasn’t wearing a bra. “It really is a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself. I’m already wearing a white dress, so that’s a double bonus. But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right, with supporting actors and an audience.”

  “You need an audience for a fake wedding shot?”

  “Jared, darlin’.” She gave my cheek a loving tap and continued in perfect southern drawl. “As my fiancé, you should know I never do anything half-assed.”

  And that, folks, is how I ended up dancing with my fake wife after our fake wedding ceremony. After the photo had been posted, we shared a celebratory shot with the rag tag team of bar patrons who’d helped us pull it all off. As far as fake weddings went, I thought the photo of us looked pretty damn believable. Someone shouted that we needed to dance as husband and wife, so I led her back out on the dance floor. Halfway through the song, I stole a glance at our joined hands and then caught myself tracing a thumb over the ring I’d placed on her finger. The same ring I’d been wearing not twenty minutes earlier. The one I hadn’t taken off in nearly nine years. Of course, it was a little too big for her, but it still looked really good on her finger.

  “Oh, yeah, I should probably give this back,” she said quietly, but when she went to take it off, I stopped her.

  “No way, Tiny. I thought this night was all about pretending. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to dance with my wife a little longer.”

  “It’s more than okay,” she answered with a smile.

  “And we can’t forget the honeymoon. Every married couple needs one of those.”

  Her face turned serious as she nodded along. “Most definitely.”

  “Tell me, where would my wife like to go? The beach? Niagara Falls?” I asked playfully before dipping her back and kissing my way up the column of her neck.

  My lips inched higher, savoring the taste of her creamy skin, and the softest of moans rumbled beneath my lips, urging me to continue. Just when our lips were almost touching, I hesitated. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss her. God knows I did. But I didn’t want to stop there. I wanted to devour her. Take her back to my place and spend the rest of the night sampling every inch of her delicate skin. I wanted to watch her fall apart at the touch of my lips and again as I pounded relentlessly into her sweet little body. Stop thinking about it and kiss her already.

  Our lips connected, timidly at first, in a kiss that went from soft to searing in a matter of seconds. My tongue brushed against hers, making her moan, and the next thing I knew, her legs were wrapped around my waist. She rocked back and forth, rubbing her sex against the zipper of my already too-tight jeans. Her fingers were buried in my hair. Mine pressed into the flesh of her supple ass. When the kiss came to an end, I touched my forehead to hers, not ready to break the connection.

  When she’d first suggested the fake marriage idea, I hadn’t really taken the time to think the whole thing through. Caught up in the moment, my sole focus had been to make her happy. When I’d slipped my ring on her finger, and when the camera had come out, oh man, had she been she smiling. It felt good knowing I was responsible for putting that smile on her face. But somehow, in the last thirty minutes, something between us had shifted. I knew it sounded crazy, but when I’d called her my wife, I’d kinda liked the way it sounded. The ceremony might have been fake. The pictures might have been staged. But what I felt was real. With that in mind, I figured there wasn’t any harm in continuing the fantasy a little while longer

  She nibbled nervously on her bottom lip before peering up through her dark lashes. “What about your place?”

  Leaning forward, I took her hand in mine and growled huskily in her ear. “God, I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for? Take me home, husband.”

  CHAPTER 5

  SOPHIE

  Not going to lie. I had a lot to drink last night. Which probably explained the incessant pounding in my too-tired brain.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  I remembered going to the bar. I remembered the man with bottle-green eyes and lips that seared my skin. I remembered dancing. And I definitely remembered that kiss. What I didn’t remember was how I’d ended up here. In ‘Jared’s’ bed. Wearing only a pair of panties and a T-shirt that wasn’t mine. Crap. Aside from Gavin, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d jumped into bed with a man I barely knew. I reached between my legs and tentatively poked at my lady bits. Ouch! Holy hell, was I tender down there. I sat up slowly, trying not to wake him, and activated the flashlight on my phone. What the ever-loving hell? My inner thighs were covered in bruises, and my hoo-ha looked as if it had been attacked by a pack of stampeding horses. I snuck a glance at the other side of the bed and found the blankets were in complete disarray, and his hair looked as if someone’s hands had been buried in it all night. Almost as if he’d been… Oh, my God. I wondered if I’d returned the favor. I wiggled my jaw side to side, wincing as I fell back against the mattress and covered my face with his pillow. Getting drunk and blowing a stranger. Real classy, Sophie. You’ve hit an all-time low.

  Judging by the light snoring, it was safe to assume he was still fast asleep. I wanted to jostle him awake and demand to know where I was. Then again, if I did that, I’d feel obligated to stay and talk, and with this headache, talking was the last thing I felt like doing.

  I crept to the edg
e of the bed and, as stealthily as possible, began collecting my belongings. My dress was nowhere in sight, and after a few minutes spent searching, I gave up and snagged a pair of sweatpants I found discarded on the floor. They were three sizes too big and would fall down if I didn’t keep one hand on the waistband holding them up. My purse and shoes were by the door, so I grabbed them and carefully eased open the door. Pausing in the doorway, I turned to steal one last look at my knight in shining armor.

  He really had been amazing. The things he’d said. The fact that he’d gone out of his way to make me smile. Almost as if he’d made it his mission for the evening. Whatever it was, it worked, and a part of me was richer for it. I took a step forward, wanting to wake him and find out exactly what had taken place in this room, but I stopped myself from going any further. Finding out wouldn’t change anything. What was done was done. I hadn’t given him my name, so the likelihood of him finding me was close to nil. It was better that way.

  “Good-bye, Jared,” I whispered. “Thank you for… everything.” I blew a good-bye kiss and made my way down the stairs and out the door.

  Once I was outside, I hustled down the street—as fast as I could manage while having to hold my pants up—and called for a ride. While last night had been fun, the sooner I could put this little tryst behind me, the better.

  The sun had risen by the time I made it home. I snuck inside, intending to go upstairs, crawl into bed, and sleep for the next twelve hours. But when I walked past the kitchen, I found Mama sitting at the breakfast nook, cup of coffee in hand, and a faraway expression on her face.

  “Hey, Mama. You’re up early.”

  “Or late. Depending on how you look at it.” She made a half-hearted attempt to laugh, but the laughter didn’t meet her eyes.

  I took a step further into the room and wrung my hands, torn because I wanted to know what was wrong, but I also had a headache that demanded sleep.

  “Everything okay?”

  Mama put down her coffee cup and finally looked up at me. “We need to talk.”

  Okay. So much for sleep. I sidestepped to the counter and poured myself a cup of coffee. Lord knows I’d need it to get through any kind of conversation that went beyond three or more words. Once I was seated, Mama looked over and was crying before she ever opened her mouth.

  I was on my knees beside her in an instant. “Mama, what is it?”

  “Sophie, sweetheart… God, this is much harder than I anticipated. Your father isn’t heading up a convention in San Diego. The truth is, your father and I are… separated.”

  Her words felt like a punch to the stomach. I went from kneeling by her side to falling on my ass in a matter of seconds. Hurt, disbelief, and confusion hit me from all sides. How could they have made a decision like this without talking to me? Did they not realize how it would affect me? How it would devastate me?

  “What are you talking about? I called last week, and Daddy answered the phone.”

  “He was here picking up some of his things. Sweetheart, I know this feels like it’s coming out of left field, but we’ve been having trouble for some time now. I want you to know this wasn’t an easy decision for either of us. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers and have been lovers over half our lives. He’s my best friend.”

  “Exactly! How do you go from that to being separated? Your marriage always seemed so… so… perfect. I don’t understand,” I cried, picturing holidays without Daddy sitting at the head of the table, carving the turkey. The thought of not seeing him on Christmas Day sitting at the base of the tree, handing out presents with that silly Santa hat he always wore, it was almost too hard to imagine.

  “Even perfect marriages fail, Sophie. And I wouldn’t exactly call what we had perfect. Your father and I both have our flaws. We’ve both made mistakes,” Mama admitted without making eye contact.

  The muscles on the back of my neck knotted up, fearing the answer to my next question. “What kind of mistakes?”

  “Sophie, that’s your father’s story to tell—”

  “Goddammit, Mama! Just tell me!” I demanded, my whole body visibly shaking.

  Mama swallowed hard and looked me directly in the eyes. “For the last six years, he’s been having an affair with one of his colleagues. The only reason I found out was because I’d been out shopping all afternoon and had a craving for sushi. I knew your father was working late, so I stopped by Kanpai on my way home. I spotted the two of them cozied up at a table. At first, I figured it was just a business dinner, that is until I saw him kiss her. I knew by the way he kissed her that it wasn’t their first kiss. I may be naïve, but I know your father. I know the way he romances. When I confronted him about it later that night, he didn’t try to deny it. That was six weeks ago.”

  “What about marriage counseling? Fighting for what you’ve built together? What about me?”

  “Oh, sweetheart.” Mama took me by the hand. “I would fight. I wanted to fight. But leaving was his choice, not mine. I believe your father will always love me, but he doesn’t love me the way he used to. At some point, I had to consider my own pride. I may love him, but I refuse to be someone’s second choice. As far as you go, you’re a grown woman, and you’ve always looked up to your father. None of that has to change. Your father still loves you. Nothing will ever change that.”

  I ripped my hand from her grasp. Pushed myself up off the floor. Tears freely falling. Staining my cheeks and soaking my borrowed shirt. I might be a grown-ass woman, but I’d never felt more like a child than in this moment. This was the last thing I’d ever expected to hear. My head spun with Mama’s words. Spiraling out of control until I felt the bile building in the back of my throat. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. The only sounds I was capable of were those made with my head in the nearest trash can. Ironically, the black bottom of the trash bag matched the bleakness of my crushed heart.

  “I can’t believe this is happening. What will you do? Where will you go? What will happen to Daddy?”

  “I wish I knew. Right now, we don’t have all the answers, but I’m not going anywhere. This is my home. This is where we raised you. I realize you’re an adult, but I’d still like to keep things as close to normal as possible. I just couldn’t keep this from you any longer. I wanted to tell you when you first came home, but you’d just had that bad audition, and I couldn’t bring myself to pile anything else on top of your pain,” Mama admitted with a sigh. “I realize this may come as a shock, and you’re probably angry. You have every right to feel those things. I’m not going to pressure you to talk about them. I just want you to know I’m here when you feel like talking.”

  “Honestly, Mama, I’m more worried about you right now. What do you need? What can I do for you?”

  “If you want the truth, I am actually in a really good place right now. Priscilla has arranged a little getaway for us girls. Six days and five nights at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana. I plan on spending every waking hour on the beach,” Mama replied happily.

  I listened intently, taken aback by her casual demeanor. “You seem to be taking this well. Does this mean you’re getting a divorce?”

  Mama went quiet, and her eyes filled with tears once more. “Your father already spoke with a lawyer, and I met with one three days ago.”

  “The day I came home,” I responded in a faraway voice. “Why didn’t he tell me himself?”

  “Sophie, you know how your father is when it comes to you. From the day you were born, you’ve looked up to him. Always wanted to be with him. For heaven’s sake, you made him read those stories to you night after night when you were small. You wouldn’t allow anyone else to read them.”

  I smiled sadly. “That’s because he did all those funny voices.”

  “You see? He couldn’t face you knowing he’d let you down. That hurt in your eyes… It would kill him to see that.”

  “Yet he had no problem destroying you,” I snapped.

  “Trust me, it wasn’t
easy for him, but we both knew what would happen once I found out. Honestly, Sophie, I know it hurts now, but your father and I will be fine. One day, so will you.” Mama patted my hand reassuringly.

  “Thanks for the pep talk, Mama, but right now, all I feel is let down. He might have been your husband, but when he cheated, he did it to me, too, and all I want to do is hate him for it.”

  I stomped up the stairs and crammed my belongings into my suitcase, not caring about how they were shoved in. I’d worry about wrinkles later. Right now, all I wanted was an escape.

  Funny how I’d said the same thing last night. Too bad I didn’t have a way to contact Jared, or whatever his name was. I could really use a hug from those strong arms of his right now. With everything that had happened this morning, it almost made me wish I’d never left his bed.

  Almost.

  CHAPTER 6

  HAWK

  The slamming of the door was what woke me. That and Shelby’s big mouth.

  “Jared! You up?” Heavy footfalls on the stairs told me she was already on her way up to the loft over the garage where I stayed.

  “Yeah,” I grunted before reaching to make sure my whiskey-loving companion was covered up. Last I checked, her ass cheeks had been peeking out from beneath the T-shirt I’d lent her. When my hand touched the space behind me, all it came up with were cold sheets and an empty pillow.

  I’d gone to bed holding a beautiful blonde and woke up alone. Something was definitely wrong with this picture.

  After the night we’d shared, the least she could have done was say good-bye, though I would have preferred something more intimate. So much for wishful thinking. Looked as though I’d be rubbing one out in the shower. Alone. Something told me it wouldn’t be the only time I’d be doing that while thinking of her. Our time together might have been short, but she’d definitely made an impact.

  I’d barely finished covering my bare ass with a pair of sweats when Shelby barreled her way into the room.