“I know. Anyway, I’m here now. Be up there in a minute.”
“Okay, hon. I’ll be right out.”
“See you, sweetheart,” Brad said with a laugh.
“One of your best friends?” Kevin asked with a smile as she hung up.
“That’s Brad, my boyfriend. Remember Lexie’s brother whom you’ve met a couple of times? He’s joining us for drinks.”
The shock in Kevin’s face was priceless. “Boyfriend? Since when?”
“We’ve been going out in secret for a while,” she said, turning her computer off and getting ready to leave. “We didn’t want our family and friends getting involved in the development stage of our relationship because being good buddies for so long is a big complication. But it’s serious now, so it’s time to let everyone know.”
“But... Brad?” Kevin asked in disbelief. “Isn’t he the one who’s not interested in a relationship? He even told me that once, during your birthday party.”
“Turns out he was just waiting for me,” she said with a sweet smile.
“You have a boyfriend?” Amy, her closest work friend, asked. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“If it makes you feel any better, we only just told Lexie recently,” she said with a nervous laugh. It was one thing lying to Kevin. It was another to keep up the act in front of everyone else.
“And he’s joining us tonight?” Amy asked.
“Yes. But only for a drink or two. He has to leave early to finish a report for a client.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s an interior designer for corporate and commercial projects.”
“Hey, Erin has a boyfriend? I can’t wait to meet him,” Gerald, the office chatterbox, said. He slung his satchel bag around his shoulder and grinned at her expectantly, ready to follow her out the door.
“Let’s go, then,” she said. Geez. Imagine their reaction if she’d told them she was engaged.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Kevin said, a deep frown on his face. “I’m just quickly going to the gents’ first.” He hurried out, looking unhappy with this turn of events.
“Why have you kept it from us, girl?” Amy asked when Kevin was out the door. “We’ve been so worried about Kevin working with you. This is great!”
“Yeah,” Gerald said in a low voice. “I take it this means you’re really over Kevin? He wants you back, you know. He even told his wife about it.”
Erin’s eyes rounded. “Told his wife? What do you mean?”
“I heard him talking on the phone to Paula in the basement car park yesterday. They were having an argument. At one point he told Paula that her looks alone won’t find her a guy who’d stick with her for a lifetime because she’s such a bitch. He also said that it’s you he wants because you’re not a bitch.”
“How could he say that to his wife?” she asked, horrified. “I hope Paula doesn’t think I’m being a homewrecker when I have no intentions of reconciling with Kevin!”
Gerald shrugged. “That’s what I heard.”
“Don’t worry about Kevin,” Amy said, linking arms with her and leading her away from her desk. “He should leave you alone now that you’re with Brad.”
Yes. That was the whole point of this.
She opened the security door leading to reception and her face broke into a wide smile. Damn. Brad could sure wear a suit and look like the poster boy for the hottest men in the world list.
“Hey,” Brad greeted, walking towards her. He placed a hand on her waist and kissed her cheek.
“Hi.” The word whooshed out of her like a swooning sigh. Why was she so nervous... and disappointed that Brad didn’t kiss her on the lips? Wouldn’t that have been better at proving they were “in love”?
“Hello, Brad,” Amy said beside her, extending her hand towards Brad. “Glad to meet you. I’m Amy.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Amy.”
Erin watched as her work friends made small talk with Brad, obviously sizing him up. Judging from the big grins on their faces, they approved of him.
“Anyone else joining us?” Brad asked.
“Some of the guys are already at the pub, and Kevin—”
As if on cue, Kevin appeared from around the corner.
“Kevin, good to see you again,” Brad said, tightening his arm around her waist as he offered his right hand for a shake.
“Hello, Brad,” Kevin replied, grasping Brad’s hand, although his tone was a tad icy. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes. It has been. Is your wife joining us tonight?”
“Uh... no,” Kevin replied.
Erin didn’t know if anyone else had noticed that Kevin hadn’t been wearing his wedding ring. Right now, her ex didn’t seem to want to highlight that fact in front of the group.
Well, she didn’t care, as long as Kevin didn’t say or do anything that would drag her into his marital problems with his wife. But she had to stave off any false rumours that might arise when people eventually found out that Kevin had left Paula. Tonight would be critical for that.
Fortunately, pretending to be so into Brad wouldn’t be hard. Not hard at all.
*****
Erin sipped the last of her cocktail, but she was reluctant to put her glass back on the table. If she moved, Brad might let go of her other hand and stop running circles on her palm with his thumb. It felt too good to interrupt.
“Another drink, babe?” Brad asked.
“Okay. Why not?”
She’d already consumed one over her usual limit but, heck, what was one more? She was having a great time. And the worst thing that could happen when she had too much alcohol was she’d get less reserved and too friendly. Since she was among friends and workmates, she’d be fine.
She grinned as she watched Brad ask everyone else for their orders, generously offering to pick up the tab for this next round of drinks. Her jaw was already tired from smiling all night, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop. Brad was being such a wonderful date. He was at his charming best, paying attention to her like a besotted boyfriend while also being engaging to their companions.
She continued to follow him with her eyes as he headed off to the bar. Surprisingly, he was still happy to stay. She’d expected him to say his goodbyes an hour ago.
“I still can’t believe it took you so long to show him off,” Amy whispered beside her. “If he were mine, I would have told the whole world about him the second I started dating him.”
She laughed. “You know I’m a private person.”
“Did Brad really tell Kevin before that he wasn’t into relationships?”
“At the time, it was true.”
“Until he fell for you, hey?” Amy said, bumping her side with hers.
“Uh-huh.” She sighed. If only Amy knew. But it was better not to let anyone at work in on her secret. When the time came to end the act, she’d simply say that she and Brad had decided they were better off as friends.
Funny how they’d only just started the pretence and she was already dreading the end of their “relationship”. Unfortunately, the end would definitely come, because Brad falling for her wasn’t ever likely to happen.
Hadn’t he stated time and again that being in a relationship wasn’t important to him at all? He wasn’t even sure if he’d ever want to have kids. So how could his list of priorities change when his business was at a point that it demanded most of his time and energy?
What a shame. Brad would have made a great real boyfriend. She was discovering just how sweet and attentive he could be.
She hid a smirk. She should have guessed this would be a side-effect of pretending to be Brad’s girlfriend. But she wouldn’t worry right this minute. She was enjoying his company too much tonight.
“Well, Kevin sure is sulking,” Amy commented. “Which I’m sure certain people are noticing with acute interest.”
“Who?”
“The usual office gossipers.”
“What have you been hearing?”
“Well, they’ve been wondering if something’s going on because of the way Kevin’s been treating you.”
Some of her good mood evaporated. “I don’t want anyone to think that I’m trying to break up Kevin’s marriage.”
“Hey, Paula broke you and Kevin up first. Anyway, it’s Kevin who’s been making himself look bad, not you. And I’m sure all of them will shut up now that they see you have a boyfriend.”
“Here comes Anthea,” Erin said under her breath as she spotted one of the biggest busybodies at work making her way towards them.
“Hello, girls,” Anthea said, dragging a chair to sit in front of them.
“Hi,” Erin answered.
“It’s so nice of your boyfriend to buy us drinks, Erin. And by the way, I think he’s really hot.”
“Thanks. I think so too,” she said lightly.
“He’s not a cover-up, is he?” Anthea whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I can understand why you’d want certain people to think that you’re involved with someone else,” Anthea said conspiratorially.
“I don’t follow,” she said in a low voice.
Anthea put a hand on her arm. “I’m on your side, Erin. You and Kevin were in love first before Paula got into the picture. So when I noticed that Kevin’s now ringless, I can guess what’s going on.”
She faced Anthea fully. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m just saying that if you and Kevin are working things out, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Other people might have a different opinion—like Dee, who seems to be Paula’s eyes and ears in the office. But as far as I’m concerned, Paula shouldn’t have stolen a man who wasn’t free to be stolen. It’s just right if you get Kevin back.”
“Thank you, Anthea. But Kevin and I are most definitely not getting back together,” she said, frowning. “Are you saying that Dee suspects something and is reporting to Paula?”
Anthea shrugged. “I could be wrong, but I’ve noticed how Dee has been keenly watching the two of you. She met up with Paula twice last week after work, you know. And she also called Paula straight after seeing you and Kevin have lunch yesterday. I know ’cos I heard her say ‘hi, Paula’ before she walked away so I wouldn’t overhear.”
Erin let out a heavy breath. Why, oh why, did some people feel the need to poke their noses in someone else’s business? This made her more determined to make them believe another lie—a less damaging one that she wouldn’t mind them spreading.
“Paula can put her mind at ease, because I’m not after her husband,” she said to Anthea, smiling at Brad, who was walking back to her, followed by a barman carrying a tray of drinks.
“What was that?” Brad asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Anthea answered with a giggle. “Some people just thought that there was something going on between Erin and Kevin again.”
“Of course there’s nothing going on between them,” Brad said, sitting next to Erin on the couch and putting an arm around her shoulder. “Or I’ll be very, very mad... and sad,” he said, looking into her eyes.
Erin gawked right back, marvelling at the sincerity in his tone and expression.
Eh, Brad was just being a caring friend who didn’t want her falling again for the moron. But, hey, she didn’t mind this rather intimate stare. They did have an audience, including Kevin, who was still sulking in the corner.
“You don’t have anything to worry about, honey,” she said, running a hand on his thigh.
“Good,” Brad answered, tightening his arm around her and putting his mouth against her ear. “This is so much fun,” he whispered.
A delicious shiver ran through her. Yes. This sure was thrilling. And right now, she was so tempted to burrow herself in Brad’s embrace and kiss him on the lips.
And why not?
She already knew how to get over him. She’d done it before and, if need be, she was confident she could do it again. All she had to do if she found herself falling for him was to imagine being alone at fifty, never having married and having no kids, because the man she’d been waiting for still dated pretty women even to the day. No doubt she’d snap out of her infatuation again then.
She prided herself on not being too stupid when it came to matters of the heart. That was why she’d gotten over Kevin’s betrayal so quickly. Therefore, she’d be able to deal with it if she got silly over Brad again—which was highly unlikely, anyway. Considering she knew there was no hope of a future with him, she wouldn’t be so dumb as to fall for him again, right?
So, then, while she was Brad’s “girlfriend”, why not have a full experience of it while she had the chance? Just for fun?
Erin, you are tipsy.
Ha ha. Yes, she probably was, to even be considering something so foolish. But...
She cuddled closer to Brad. “Since some of my officemates think that I’m having an affair with Kevin, we’d have to do something more convincing,” she said close to his ear, almost nuzzling his neck.
“Like what?”
“We’ll need to kiss in front of them at some point.”
Brad pulled away to look at her face, his surprise evident.
She grinned at him. Sultrily. “It’ll be fun.”
Brad shrugged. “If you think it’ll help.”
“It will,” she answered breathlessly.
“Okay. Who needs to see?”
Surreptitiously, she pointed out Dee to Brad. “And, of course, Kevin has to be watching too.”
“I’m ready anytime,” Brad said, winking at her.
She sighed. Or swooned. Whatever. She was going to kiss Brad sometime tonight.
And what about going further than that?
Erin, you are drunk.
CHAPTER FIVE
Brad was aware that the grin on his face hadn’t left him since joining Erin and her workmates tonight. He wasn’t even ready to go home yet, even though he’d planned to stay only for a couple of hours to finish a report for a client.
Was it because he was enjoying antagonising Kevin the Moron? He was still angry at the man for what he’d done to Erin more than a year ago. Erin didn’t deserve the way Kevin had treated her, and it was fitting that Kevin was looking morose, hardly interacting with anyone. No doubt Kevin’s mood was due to Erin continually ignoring his pleading glances.
He bet Kevin was waiting for him to leave so he could have some private time with Erin. Well, tough. No way he was giving Kevin that opportunity.
A co-worker of Erin’s thanked him for the drink he’d paid for, and he nodded his acknowledgement. Apart from two or three who were too nosy for his liking, Erin’s workmates were a great bunch of people. One of the guys even had a brother who was a builder, and he’d been having a good conversation with him regarding the construction industry. Yeah, that was why he was having such a good time with people he’d only just met.
Fooling yourself, are you, Brad?
He smirked. Alright, alright. Being Erin’s “boyfriend” was the primary reason he was having a ball. He was surprised at how much fun he was having playing the attentive beau. It gave him the opportunity to be touchy-feely with Erin.
But he needed to watch himself or things might get out of hand. He’d relaxed so much into his role that he was getting hot. For her.
Erin cuddled closer to him as she laughed at something Gerald had said.
Unbidden, his arm around her shoulders tightened, and he started caressing her upper arm with the tips of his fingers. He paused when he realised what he was doing, then resumed.
Erin smiled up at him and rubbed his thigh.
Ooh.
Damn it. This was getting out hand. All these touches and caresses were making him horny, no doubt exacerbated by the alcohol he’d consumed.
He took his arm from around her shoulders and shifted in his seat.
If Erin were someone else, he wouldn’t have any compunction charming her right this minute for a whole night of hot sex.
He’d learned his lesson about making a move on attractive friends after losing a couple of female buddies in the past. After mutually agreed, no-strings-attached romps in their beds, they’d still become too clingy and jealous of other women. When he’d tried to re-establish friends-only boundaries, he’d been called a jerk, or something worse.
The annoying thing was that the girls had assured him beforehand that they’d understood he wasn’t after anything serious. But they obviously hadn’t meant what they’d said because they’d still tried to make him fall in love with them. Now, none of those ladies remained a friend after he’d invariably said no to a romantic relationship.
Would Erin be like that?
He mentally shook his head. Of course Erin wouldn’t be like that because they wouldn’t be sleeping together. At all. What was he doing considering it anyway? Erin would be horrified if she knew what was going on in his naughty head. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable around him.
But...
He was just being a man of his word by keeping up the act, wasn’t he? And wasn’t Erin relying on him to play the part to the hilt?
“Hey, the next round’s on me,” Kevin announced, rising from his seat. “I have to go soon, so I’ll get them now and ask the barman to deliver them in a few minutes.”
Several people called out their orders cheerfully, confusing Kevin as he tried to commit to memory who was asking for what.
“Here you go, Kevin,” someone quipped, handing him a pen and a table napkin.
With an embarrassed look and a quick glance at Brad, Kevin took the proffered items and wrote down the orders.
Brad hid a smirk. Was Kevin trying to emulate what he’d done earlier? Well, Brad happened to be excellent at applying certain memory techniques that allowed him to remember details with ease and accuracy, a skill Kevin obviously didn’t possess.
“Erin?” Kevin asked.
“I think I’ve had enough. Thanks, anyway,” Erin replied.
Kevin nodded in approval, staring at Erin intensely. “Good. I was thinking you’d already gone past your usual limit. I’ll get you some water,” he said. “Brad? Another beer?”
The Unintended Fiancé (Captured by Love Book 4) Page 4