by Kira Archer
Leah straightened her back, refusing to flinch away from the judgment in the woman’s eyes. “I became pregnant before you hired me and I signed the morality agreement, but I had not yet discovered my condition when you interviewed me. I would not knowingly lie about such a thing, Mother Genevieve. Even if I wanted to, it would be pointless. It isn’t something I can exactly hide.”
Brooks moved closer to her. Not touching her, but enough that she could feel his presence at her back. Interestingly enough, it buoyed her courage in the face of the holy condemnation currently raining down on her.
“Yes, you are right on that point. And that is precisely where our problem lies. I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave the premises immediately. We rescind our offer of employment.”
Leah’s stomach dropped, all her worst fears barreling toward her at once. “Mother Genevieve, please—”
“I’m sorry, Miss Andrews, but you knew the conditions of this position when it was offered to you.”
“I know. I did. And like I said, I wouldn’t knowingly deceive you…”
“You couldn’t possibly believe that we’d allow this to go unchallenged.”
“Well, no, but I’d hoped… I need this job, Mother.”
The old nun sighed. “I’m sorry, my hands are tied. We cannot have an unwed mother teach here. What kind of example would that set for our students?”
“But Mother—”
“She’s not unwed. She’s married,” Brooks said, wrapping his arm around her waist. “To me.”
Chapter Five
The looks of shock on both Leah’s and the nun’s faces were nothing compared to what was going on inside Brooks’s own head. What the hell had possessed him to say that?
The only defense he had was that he couldn’t stand Leah’s distress or the judgmental disdain with which the old headmistress had looked at her. So he’d said the first thing that came to his head, the only thing that would fix the problem. Leah needed a husband. Now she had one. Sort of.
“You are her husband?” Mother Genevieve asked, looking him up and down. “Then why didn’t she mention you before? And why did she require single unit housing? I’m afraid a divorced pregnant teacher isn’t much better…”
“We aren’t divorced,” Leah started, obviously heading straight for the truth.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” the headmistress said, her aggravation mounting.
“We aren’t married yet,” Brooks said. “We will be shortly. Does that change things?” He drew Leah closer to him, squeezing her waist and willing her to be quiet.
Mother Genevieve looked at them, her thin lips pursed. “I suppose so. It’s quite unorthodox. You will need to be married with your marriage certificate on file before the school year begins. And we’ll need to review your living arrangements.”
“I can make other arrangements for her,” Brooks said, earning another glare from Leah.
Mother Genevieve nodded. “Indeed. I’m not sure why a woman on the verge of marriage and motherhood requested living quarters for just herself but…”
“I travel a lot for work so we thought it best that she stays here on campus.” He flinched at a sharp pinch from Leah. “We will change our plans. I can find her…us…something close to campus.”
The headmistress nodded again. “Very well.” She sighed and rubbed her temples. “I do hope the rest of your tenure with us is a little less…confusing, Miss Andrews. Or would that be Mrs.?”
“Mrs. Larson,” Brooks said, his lips going numb with the magnitude of what he’d done being spelled out in such a way. “Soon to be.” He forced a smile.
Mother Genevieve gave them a sharp nod and swept out. The moment they were alone, Leah pulled away and rounded on him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Whoa, Mrs. Larson. I don’t think you’re allowed to use that kind of language here.”
Holy shit, did he just call her Mrs. Larson? What the hell was he doing?
“You’re insane, you know that?” Leah started pacing, her arms wrapped around herself like she was physically trying to hold herself together.
She had a point. This was totally insane. He opened his mouth to agree, but what came out was, “What? You needed a husband. Now you have one.”
Where did that come from? It was like his mouth was on autopilot.
She stared at him. “You can’t possibly mean to go through with this.”
Of course he didn’t. “Hell yeah, I do.”
He couldn’t make it stop.
“And what do you mean, you’ll find us a place? You’re going to buy a new home because I need a place close to campus?”
This one was easy, at least.
“No need. My loft isn’t that far from here. Not as close as living on campus, of course. But a fifteen-minute commute, tops, and my drivers will always be at your disposal.”
“Why didn’t you tell the Mother Superior that?”
“Because she’d have asked why you weren’t staying there in the first place.”
“As opposed to the massive white lie you’d already told? Or would that be a massive scarlet letter lie? I’m so going to hell.”
Brooks raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s a little melodramatic.”
She glared at him. “It is not. We are deceiving my boss who is a nun. I think you get extra hell points for that.”
“I don’t think God is sitting around all day keeping score.”
She ignored that remark. “You can’t move me into your house and have your drivers at my beck and call every day.”
“Why not?”
Leah stopped in front of him. “Brooks, this isn’t some joke. It’s not something we can fake our way through. She wants a marriage certificate on file. A real marriage certificate. There’s only one way to get one of those.”
His stomach did a great impression of a skydiver without a parachute. He was not marriage material. He’d spent most his adult life proving that fact over and over. He had no business whatsoever even saying his name and marriage in the same sentence. And yet…he looked down into the wide, fear-filled eyes of the woman in front of him. She needed his help. And for once in his life, he was going to step up and do something about it.
“Then let’s go get us a marriage certificate.”
“We barely know each other.”
He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Well, if we’re getting married, we can get to know each other a lot better.”
She threw up her hands. “I am not marrying you, you crazy person!”
“Why not? Marriage could be fun.”
“Marriage isn’t supposed to be fun. Marriage is serious.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
She sighed and shook her head. “Brooks…”
“Come here,” he said, taking her hand and drawing her over to the couch. “Look, I know the marriage certificate has to be real, but that doesn’t mean the marriage has to be.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we get married, show the old bat her marriage certificate, and then at some point we can get the marriage annulled. No one has to know about that part. We said I travel a lot so it’s not like they’ll be expecting me to show up regularly.”
Leah put her face in her hands. “This is crazy.”
Yes. Yes it was. No need to harp on that though or he’d talk them out of it. Instead, he got down on his knees and pulled her hands from her face. “Come on, Leah. Be my fake wife. What have you got to lose?”
She laughed a little. “My sanity? My dignity?”
He waved those off. “Overrated.”
Her smile faded a little around the edges. “Why are you doing this for me? What do you get out of it?”
You.
He squashed that thought immediately. She was great and all, but he didn’t need or want her. Not permanently anyway. He wouldn’t be good for anyone long term. Or, hell, even short term. And it wouldn’t just be Leah soon. There was no
way he was inflicting himself on some poor, defenseless kid, but he had to give her some reason.
“I get a great story where I get to be the hero who swoops in and saves the day.”
She snorted. “There are easier ways to get a great story.”
“True.”
“So, what’s the real answer?”
He sighed and sat back on the couch. The woman didn’t let up. Most people took his answers at face value, laughed like they were supposed to, and left him alone. Five minutes with Leah and he was already sweating bullets.
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “I get to help a woman I really like. And being married to a fine, upstanding citizen such as yourself wouldn’t hurt me in the business department, I guess.” He frowned a little. “I’m Cole’s equal partner in our company, but if someone wants to have a serious conversation about something, I’m the last person they come to. I’m the class clown.”
Her eyebrows rose and he held up a hand. “Yeah, I know, I do what I can to keep that reputation alive and strong. But it might be nice to be taken seriously for once.”
She nodded. “Okay, so we do this marriage thing. You help me keep my job. I’ll help you look like a responsible adult at yours, and then we go our separate ways.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
She stuck out her hand for a handshake. He glanced down at it and then back up at her, before moving in closer.
“You know, we did just get engaged. I can think of a few more appropriate ways to seal the deal.”
Her mouth dropped open with a small intake of breath, her eyes zeroing in on his lips.
“I…um…” She shook her head and sat back. “I think we need to set some ground rules.”
He frowned at that. Rules sucked. “Such as?”
“No sex.”
It was his turn for his mouth to drop open in surprise. “Isn’t sex the one big perk of marriage?”
“It’s not a real marriage, remember?”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t have some real sex.”
Her lips twitched and he moved in closer, but she didn’t take the bait. “Sex complicates things, and this situation is plenty complicated already.”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
She folded her hands in her lap. “So…when do we…I mean when should we…”
He slapped his hands on his knees and stood up, holding his hands out to her. “No time like the present.”
…
Leah blinked at Brooks, stunned at the speed with which things were moving. Half an hour ago she was moving into her new on-campus quarters, preparing to start her new life at the school, and now she was facing down a fake marriage with a playboy billionaire, who apparently wanted to get married right that second. “What? Now?”
“Sure. Why not? Busy?”
“We can’t just go get married right now.”
“Why not?”
Good question. Other than it being totally freaking insane, territory they’d already covered. “Don’t we have to have a license or something?”
He frowned. “Oh, probably. Hang on.”
He pulled out his phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“Cole.”
“What?” She jumped up and tried to pull the phone from his hand. “Don’t call him. Then he’ll know.”
That damn eyebrow of his rose again. “People are going to know anyway. Might as well tell a few of them now. Cole, hey,” he said into the phone. “Do you need a license to get married, and if so how do I go about getting one?”
She could hear the laughter through the phone and groaned. She was never living this down.
Brooks, bless his crazy little heart, kept trying to convince Cole he was serious. She pulled out her own phone and googled the info, turning the screen so Brooks could see.
“Oh, never mind. Leah found the info.” He frowned at the phone. “Damn. Says we have to wait at least twenty-four hours.” He glanced at her and she shrugged. “Well, I guess that gives you some notice if you want to come. Leah and I are getting married tomorrow evening. I’ll let you know where when we figure it out.”
He hung up the phone while Cole was still shouting something unintelligible. Not surprisingly, Kiersten called Leah moments later.
Brooks took her hand. “Ignore it for now. We’ll call anyone we want there once we’ve got the details in place. First, we need to get a license. You ready?”
Her stomach took a roller-coaster trip around her body, sending her head spinning. “Not even a little bit.”
He pulled her into his arms and planted a quick kiss on her. That sent her heart rate racing for a whole different reason. It did halt the panic in its tracks, though.
“Stop overthinking this. You need a husband. I’m available. End of story.”
“I still think this is a bad idea.”
He grinned. “Probably, but sometimes those are the best ones.”
She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, then nodded. “Okay.”
Instead of letting her go, he pulled her closer. But this time when he kissed her, there was nothing quick about it. He set about a leisurely exploration of her mouth that had her holding on to him for support. She knew she should push him away. Kissing like that was going to lead to a lot of other things and that had been the one and only rule. No sex. She’d been the one to make the rule. And if he kept kissing her like that, she was going to be the one to toss it right out the window.
But she’d never been kissed so well and so thoroughly in her life. All the damn songs finally made sense. All the cheesy romance novels she’d ever read where the heroine melts in her hero’s arms while stars and little cupids float around her head weren’t so cheesy anymore. She was melting all right, right into a big puddle of quivering, wanting desire. Some rational part of her brain kept her from climbing him like a high-school gym rope, but just barely.
When he finally released her, her brain floated in a fog of raging hormones that even rational thought couldn’t touch.
He stared down at her, his heart pounding against where her fingers lay on his muscled chest. “We are renegotiating the honeymoon terms.”
Her brain started screeching danger, Will Robinson! But the only response she could muster was a nod. Was it a terrible idea? Oh hell, yes. Did she care? Nope.
Brooks aimed a grin at her that sent every cell in her body into energized overload.
He took her hand. “Come on, wifey. Let’s go get hitched,” he said, towing her toward the door.
She managed to keep the “hell, yeah” inside and muttered something along the lines of “okay” as she followed him to his car. Even she had to admit, as far as necessary evils went, Brooks Larson might not be such a bad choice. She hoped.
It looked like she was about to find out.
Chapter Six
The driver opened Leah’s door and she looked around the back alley as she climbed out of the car.
“Why are we sneaking in the back door?” she asked Brooks, who chuckled and took her hand, leading her to the door, which opened like magic as they approached.
“If we went in the front door then someone might recognize me and then there’d be cameras and questions, and I assumed you’d prefer a more private shopping experience.”
She did, indeed. And the fact that he’d thought of her sent a little tingle of warmth through her body. It didn’t, however, ease the riot currently happening in her stomach. Skulking into the back room of a jewelry store for a wedding ring wasn’t exactly how she’d envisioned the whole getting engaged thing. Then again, nothing that had happened in the last few months, and certainly the last few days, was anything like she’d ever envisioned. At this point, she needed to stop trying to make sense of anything and just go along for the ride.
They were led into a lavishly decorated private showroom and seated in gold brocade chairs that probably cost more than she made in a year. She perched on the end, not wanting to crinkle the fabric. Brooks,
on the other hand, sprawled into the chair and hooked an ankle over his knee, looking for all the world like he was in his favorite recliner about to watch a game.
A sharply dressed man entered, followed by four employees who reminded Leah of flight attendants. Only these attendants weren’t carrying open cans of soda and tiny bags of pretzels. They carried black velvet trays covered in glittering rings.
“All of this isn’t necessary,” she said, eyeing the huge rocks spread on the tray.
“Of course it is,” Brooks said, looking over the selection. “You’re my fiancée. People will be taking pictures, and most of those pictures will be zooming in on your left hand. I have a reputation to uphold. I am many things, but cheap isn’t one of them.” He winked at her. “Besides, there are relatively few perks to marrying me. Might as well get something out of it.”
“I’ve already told you, I don’t need or want anything from you.” She tried to speak quietly as the store manager was looking at them with a confused and curious expression. As well he should. She was pretty confused herself.
“I don’t think that’s totally true.” He gave her a heated look that shot a raging torrent of desire straight to her core, and brought her hand to his lips, nipping at one of her fingers.
She jumped and yanked her hand away, her cheeks flaming hot.
Brooks sighed. “You don’t have to fight me over everything.”
She couldn’t stop the small grin. “I know.”
He smiled back and shook his head. “Just pick something.”
She glanced at all the rings, each one easily three carats or more. “Don’t you have anything a little smaller?” she asked.
The jeweler looked at Brooks with surprise. “Most ladies prefer to see something larger,” he said.
“Oh, she’s already seen—”
“Don’t say it,” she said, jumping in before he could finish the pornographic thought. It might be impossible to instill some sort of public decency in him by sheer willpower, but she’d damn well try.
He grinned at her and then turned back to the jeweler. “She’s not most ladies.”
Just when she’d reached her bullshit threshold he went and said something sweet. He’d be the death of her.