by Rhonda James
“You need to find this guy and then convince him to keep up the charade.” The way he said it made it seem as if locating him would be a simple task. If only that were true.
“Easier said than done. I don’t know who he is. I only have a first name. Besides, how am I supposed to convince a stranger that we need to stay married just so I can catch a break? Something about that doesn’t feel right.”
“Tell him you’ll make it worth his while,” Mitch suggested.
His words were like a cold slap in the face, and they left me thinking he was suggesting something sexual in nature. While the idea had crossed my mind last night, I wasn’t about to offer up my vagina just to land some stupid role.
“I’ll pretend you didn’t say that,” I snapped.
“What? God, no!” Mitch gasped. “I wasn’t suggesting you sleep with the man. I was merely suggesting we could pay him for his services. Services that include making appearances, posing for photos, pretending you’re happily in love. Think about it, Sophie. A shot at a role in a Hollywood movie. It’s what you’ve been dreaming of. What you’ve spent your life preparing for.” When I didn’t respond, he kept going. “All you have to do is call him.”
“But I don’t have his number,” I answered feebly.
“So, call the bar. Someone who works there must know him. Opportunity has just landed in your lap. Don’t throw it away.” He hung up without saying good-bye.
With a heavy sigh, I typed ‘Denny’s Corvette Lounge’ into my phone’s browser, but my finger hovered over the contact without pressing it. Did I want this? Was this who I’d become? One of those actresses who’d do anything for a shot at fame? With those questions weighing heavily on my heart, I shut off my phone and headed downstairs to talk with Tori. After all, she knew me better than anyone. She was the one person I trusted to tell me what to do.
CHAPTER 8
SOPHIE
“I can’t believe your parents are talking about divorce. I’ve always looked to them as the perfect couple. I’m sorry, Soph. I’m sure your brain is going haywire trying to understand everything, but I want you to know I’m here if you need to talk,” Tori offered as she leaned in and gave me a comforting hug.
“Thanks. It’s been a crazy couple of days, that’s for sure.”
“That’s an understatement. I mean, this guy managed to win you over with a pat on the back.” Tori laughed, referring to the way I’d been introduced to my sexy stranger.
“Actually, that was just the icebreaker. His pickup line had been ‘Who’s ass do I need to beat for making that pretty mouth utter such filthy words?’” I said in my best manly southern drawl.
Seconds ticked by before she was able to stop laughing. She kept one hand on her stomach while wiping her eyes with the other. “Wow. This guy must have been hot because that line was really bad.”
“Trust me, I thought the same thing, but then I caught a glimpse of his dimples.”
Tori rolled her eyes heavenward and smiled. “You and your dimple fetish.” I offered a shrug and scooped up a handful of sand, allowing the granules to sift through my fingers only to repeat the process again. Something about being here just felt right.
“So, tell me about this guy. Obviously, something happened because your cheeks are all pink.”
“That’s from the sun.”
“It’s only been fifteen minutes, smartass,” Tori pointed out.
“Fine. You want details?” She gave me a ‘duh’ look, so I got settled on my towel and lowered my sunglasses over my eyes, knowing this would take a while. Then I opened up and told her everything. From the first toast, our first dance, one incredible kiss, right down to my fake wedding ceremony and waking up in his bed. I left nothing out. Not even the conversation with Mitch.
“So, this whole marriage thingy was a ruse to get back at a man you haven’t spoken to in a year? Why do you even care what Gavin’s doing or what he thinks?”
Argh! She was right. Why had I allowed that photo to send me into a downward spiral?
“Honestly? I’m not sure I know why. I guess I saw them together and couldn’t help wondering why I hadn’t been enough for him. Ya know? I realize his career was just taking off back then, but he shut us down when things were just starting to come together. Now, he’s out there achieving super stardom while I’m still waiting to catch a break. If this girl truly is ‘the one’, I wanted to beat him to the punch and announce my nuptials first.”
Tori reached over and grasped my hand in hers. “Sophie, honey, I realize how hard it must have been for you to see Gavin with someone else. But sooner or later, it’s going to get out that you aren’t really married. I mean, you don’t even know this guy’s name.”
“Ugh. Me and my whacko ideas. Hmm. He asked me to call him Jared. You don’t think he just pretended to give me a fake name. Do you?”
“I don’t know. I guess anything’s possible. Even so, do you have any idea how many Jareds probably live in the state of South Carolina?”
I shook my head and shrugged, feeling defeated. “No freaking clue. You?”
“Can’t say I do,” she admitted, “but it’s safe to assume there are a lot. I know how much you want this opportunity to happen, but I’m afraid you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. What if you find this guy, and he wants no part of this? What will you do then?”
I flashed her my most wicked smile and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “I plan on winning him over with my southern charm. He’s already confessed that he’s a sucker for southern girls. I’m a great actress, but sometimes it’s best to fall back on your God-given assets.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“If that doesn’t work, then I’ll pull out the big guns.”
Her right brow shot up an inch. “Sex?”
“Money!” I gave her arm a punch. “God, Tori. Way to have faith in your bestie.”
“Ouch!” she grumbled and rubbed at her arm before her expression softened. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t assuming anything. I just worry about you.”
“I know, and I truly appreciate it.” I draped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. “I wouldn’t be opposed to the whole sex thing. If he were open to it, I mean.”
Tori’s smile grew, and excitement filled her face. “That hot, huh?”
“God, Tori. Hot doesn’t even begin to describe this guy. And it wasn’t just his looks. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him, but the time we did proved to me what kind of guy he is.”
“Do tell.”
“Well, he was patient, thoughtful, and very attentive. Looking back, I probably came across as a crazy person with my rambling, but he hung on every word as if he truly cared. No guy has ever given me that kind of time. It was as if nothing else in the world mattered. Only me. I guess I liked that.” I shrugged and looked away, unable to meet her eyes. “He had these amazing green eyes that seemed to see right through to my soul. Even now, when I close my eyes, I see them staring at me and taking me in. And those dimples. God, I nearly attacked him the first time I saw them. They were pretty damn adorable. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the blond hair. Well, not actually blond, but it’s longer on top, and the tips are blond. I’m babbling, aren’t I?”
“Wow. That’s… interesting. A green-eyed guy with killer dimples whose name may or may not be Jared.” Tori got this faraway look in her eyes, and I had to wave my hand in front of her face to reel her back in.
“Earth to Tori. You okay?”
“Huh?” She blinked, her voice noticeably shaky.
“You’re acting weird. I know my liking a guy who’s even remotely blond goes against my dating rules, but if you saw this guy, you’d understand why I abandoned that stupid rule.”
“This guy… What bar did you say you went to?”
“Denny’s. You remember, I hung out there quite a bit after high school. What’s going on? You’re freaking me out,” I pressed, almost afraid to hear her response.
Her next words were delivered with hesitation. “Okay, I know it’s a stretch, but the guy you’re describing reminds me of Hawk.”
“What? No way. There is no way my guy was a musician. I think I would have picked up on that. Hawk plays guitar, right?” Tori nodded. “Then his fingers would have been calloused.” Come to think of it, the pads of his fingers had been rough. “And he would have been good with his hands.” Umm, are you forgetting the way he handled you? “Surely, it isn’t… I mean, he can’t be… There’s no way I would have missed that. Oh, God. This can’t be happening. Not again.”
“Hey, I’m probably way off base. Show me the photo. Maybe that will ease your mind.”
I patted the blanket in search of my phone and remembered I’d left it upstairs. “My phone is inside. Let me go grab it, and I’ll be right back.” I hopped up and practically sprinted toward the sliding glass doors. While running, I whispered a silent prayer that Tori was wrong, and my Jared wasn’t just another musician. There was a part of me that had taken a shine to South Carolina Jared. The idea that Panama City Jared could be the man who’d come to my rescue left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. What if they were one and the same? Would that change things? Better yet, would he look at me the same way after learning the truth of who I was?
I barreled through the door and rounded the corner so quickly I slammed into something, and the impact nearly knocked me off my feet. If not for the pair of strong arms that enveloped me, I’d have face planted onto the hardwood.
I smelled him first. The scent transported me back to last night. Dancing in his arms. The same arms that were, at this moment, wrapped around my middle. I swear it took everything I possessed not to moan out loud. I tipped my head back and stared into the same bottle-green eyes that had invaded my thoughts since I’d left him sleeping earlier that morning. At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. After all, I’d been fantasizing about him only moments ago, so it made sense I would see what I wanted to see rather than what was actually in front of me. Then he spoke, and the sound of his voice left no room for doubt.
“Whoa. Slow down, Tiny. Where’s the fire?”
My stranger had found me. The funny thing was, I’d spent the last hour wondering how I would go about tracking him down. I should have been elated to find him standing in front of me. But I wasn’t. In less than three seconds, I went from wanting to climb him like a tree to giving him a piece of my mind.
CHAPTER 9
HAWK
Tiny was in Panama City. In my living room. Boy, she looked angry as all get out. Not sure why, but seeing her angry turned me on.
She’d been on my mind from the moment I’d woken up, but I never thought I’d be holding her in my arms again this soon. If ever. It was as if thinking about her had conjured her up. While it felt great to be holding her this way, the look on her face told me she would rather be anywhere but here.
The flare of her nostrils was a clear indicator that not only had she not come looking for me, but she was actually pissed off to find me here. Little did she know I wasn’t going anywhere. If she was that unhappy, she could haul her tight little ass back to Mount Pleasant or New York, or wherever the hell she’d come from. She might leave mad, but I’d sure as hell enjoy the view of her ass as she walked away.
She glowered at me, mouth hanging open, and then proceeded to rip me a new one.
In all fairness, she at least tried to.
“You!” She jabbed a manicured nail at the center of my chest. Blue eyes narrowed into slits as she poked me again. “What the hell are you doing here? Did you follow me? I knew I should have made sure you were really asleep. I can’t believe I actually trusted someone like you, oozing all that southern charm, and those freakishly hot dance moves. Just who the hell do you think you are?”
She tried poking me again, but I closed my fist around her delicate hand and tried not to laugh at her attempt at being a hardass. All of five-four, skin tanned and wearing only a bikini top and shorts, she was anything but intimidating. Cute? Yes. Sexy? Definitely. Intimidating? Not a chance in hell.
Hard as I tried, I couldn’t keep myself from smirking.
A nervous laugh stuttered past her lips as she shook her head. “You… you are so smug.” She backed up until her back met the counter and she had nowhere else to go. “You think you can come up in here and win me over with a few winks and those damn dimples.” As if on command, my smile widened, and I felt both dimples pop. “Stop that right now!”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about.” I countered her dirty look with a wink and followed it up with another smirk just because I loved her sassy mouth.
“That right there!” She lunged forward and tried swiping her thumb over my lips. “Don’t you dare smirk at me, Mr. ‘I’m So Innocent.’ I don’t know what kind of game you were playing last night, but I suspect you got me drunk just so you could take advantage of me.”
What the…
“Excuse me? I got you drunk? I don’t think so, Tiny. Maybe your time in the sun has killed off a few brain cells. Allow me to enlighten you. You were the one slamming back whiskey like it was apple juice.” I let go of her hand and leaned back against the doorjamb, crossing my arms in front of me to ward off another finger jab. “For the record, I believe it was the other way around. You took advantage of me.”
Sophie’s mouth opened and closed three times. Words failing her. More nostril flaring ensued, and this time I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
“I can’t believe you just said that. I did no such thing,” she huffed and stomped her bare foot, making me stare at her pink painted toes. She was standing a mere twenty-four inches away, but it felt more like a mile.
“Darlin’, I beg to differ. As I recall, our asses had barely touched my leather seats when you straddled my lap and threw yourself at me. Your exact words were, and I quote, ‘I can’t wait to ride you.’”
“Oh! Oh!” She closed the gap between us and shoved me back against the wood. “Maybe I did do those things—I don’t remember—but that wasn’t an invitation to come at me like gangbusters. What are you? Some kind of animal? Have you seen the bruises on my legs? Just how big are you? Because my poor hoo-ha may never be the same.”
Holy shit. Did she just say hoo-ha?
By this time, I was full-on laughing because this was too much. She thought I… that we… Guess that explained the open hostility.
“What the hell is wrong with you? This isn’t funny, Sparky. Why are you laughing?”
I righted myself and swiped at my eyes with my thumb in an attempt to pull myself together. Given her misguided notions about last night, I had a feeling she would also be laughing once she heard the truth.
By this time, we’d drawn a crowd, and my gaze was torn between Sin and Tori, who right now looked as if they wanted to come over here and throttle me, and the feisty little spitfire in front of me. As much as I wanted my friends to know I wasn’t a complete asshole, I wasn’t about to embarrass Sophie in front of her friends.
“Listen, Tiny. I think it might be best if we discussed this somewhere else. Someplace not so crowded.”
Sophie’s features went rigid, as if she’d just realized we weren’t alone. She turned to where Sin and Tori were standing, and as if on cue, Styx and J.T. entered the room.
“What’s with all the yelling?” Styx’s gaze darted between each of us.
“I’m not sure. I was just wondering the same thing. Jared?” Sin looked at me pointedly and arched an angry brow. I could sense he was feeling protective because that was the only time he called me by my given name. What he didn’t know was that Sophie wasn’t in any kind of danger—at least not with me. And if she had been, I would be the one doing the protecting. Not him. Or anyone else for that matter.
While the audience made me nervous, it seemed to spur Sophie on, and when she turned back around, both hands were on her hips. Chin jutted out.
There’s my little fireball.
Fuck. Those had to hurt.
“Holy shit! How did I not see these earlier?” Tori crouched down for a better look and then leveled me with her eyes. “Hawk?”
I threw up my hands in surrender. “I know it looks bad, but it’s not what it looks like. Those bruises… they aren’t from me. I wish I could take credit for that kind of mark. I mean, it would take one badass fucker to leave that kind of calling card. Am I right, guys?” I laughed at my bad joke. Unfortunately, no one else joined me.
I could see this situation had gotten way out of hand. I needed to come clean and hoped I wouldn’t embarrass her too badly. I dragged a hand over my face and released a deep breath before walking toward Sophie and extending an olive branch by offering my hand. Instead of taking it, she pulled away in horror and moved closer to Styx. That move wounded me more than I cared to admit.
“Don’t touch me!”
Her words were a slap to the face. Made worse because she’d said them in front of my friends. Friends who, at this moment, were looking at me as if I were some sort of monster. As if I could have actually left those marks on her tiny body. I hated confrontation. Hated fighting. Had I wanted to bury myself inside her last night? You’re damn right I had. But I’d never left a woman in the condition Sophie’s body was in right now. I could stand here and defend myself, but what was the point? I’d be better off cutting my losses and getting the hell out of Dodge. Besides, I could use the fresh air. That and a good stiff drink.
“Screw this. I’m out of here.” I pushed my way past them, and when Sin tried to stop me, I muttered, “Fuck off,” and kept walking. Needless to say, he didn’t follow me. In fact, no one did.
Whatever. If my friends could turn on me that easily... Fuck ’em.