That was news to me. I didn’t think anyone knew. I’d worked hard to keep it that way. “Mom, you’re not listening.”
Dad scoffed. “We clearly interrupted you doing things that engaged folks do, things that former neighbors don’t.”
“Depends on the neighbor,” I added in an attempt at levity. It failed. “Look, I asked Kenzi to help, and she agreed. You two are the only ones who know the truth, can I count on you to keep it quiet?”
Mom gasped and frowned as she pulled items from the fridge. “You can always count on us to have your back, sweetheart. And we love Kenzi. Marrying her is the best decision you made since you decided to come back to Truly.”
I didn’t bother pointing out that it wasn’t really a decision since she’d threatened to sell our family home. “You’re not listening.” I knew from past experience that her mind was made up. Kenzi and I were officially engaged to be married.
If only in her mind. “Since you’re staying here, I figured you wouldn’t mind if Dad and I stick around for a few days.”
I hadn’t talked about going back to my home with Kenzi yet, because let’s face it, my brain was sex addled. But I didn’t think it would be a problem. “Of course. There’s enough room for all three of us.”
She frowned. “But what about Kenzi?”
“What about me?” All eyes turned to the colorful beauty in the door with the sun shooting through her dress like an angel. Her long blond hair hung all around her shoulders and down her back, like a pagan goddess. Her skin was scrubbed clean and her lush mouth was ripe for another kiss.
“That dress is beautiful,” Mom told her and ushered her in to take a seat. “I was just telling Chase that he can’t leave his fiancée alone just to keep us company during our visit. He’ll stay here.”
Kenzi blinked, then smiled and then she nodded. “Okay.”
“Breakfast?”
Kenzi grinned at my mom. “That sounds great, but Chase already made us breakfast.”
“Did he, now?” Her words seemed innocuous but I knew my mom, and I knew she was up to no good.
Kenzi
“Do you have any plans today?”
I shrieked as I opened my eyes and met a pair of laughing blue eyes and let my gaze slide to the naked, slightly sweaty torso of Chase. “What is wrong with you? Don’t stand over a person like that and ask such an ominous question!”
His lips twitched. “Ominous? I don’t think you know what that word means.” Smartly, he ducked as I sent one of my pillows flying towards his head. “Okay fine, but I guess that means you don’t want this coffee I brought you? Like a fucking sweetheart.”
I laughed and shook my head, sitting up and then glancing down in surprise at my nakedness. “Why am I naked?”
“You don’t remember?” He laughed and handed me the coffee before sitting on the foot of the bed. “You showered as soon as you got home, toweled off,” he reached down and picked up the towel, “and crashed. I put the blankets over you and arranged you so you wouldn’t wake up sore.”
“Thanks. I was pretty tired.” Last night had been inventory night at the warehouse and the shop, and it was well past midnight by the time I finished up and found my way home. Somehow. “Thank you for the coffee.”
He spread his arms wide and grinned wider. “Like I said, fucking sweetheart.”
“And so damn modest too.”
He stood and I took another long moment to appreciate the utter hot maleness that was Chase Donovan. Sure, part of the package was that he was also nice and funny and charming to boot, but I wasn’t interested in all that. We were helping each other out professionally and getting freaky at night, that’s it. Nothing more. “Let’s get a move on, doll face. Since you have no plans, I have something to show you.”
I drank as much of the coffee as I could before strong hands ripped it from my grip. “Hey! I never said I didn’t have any plans.”
“Do you?”
“Maybe,” I answered defiantly, arms crossed. By the glazed look on his face, I’d forgotten about my naked state again.
He flashed a knowing grin. “If you hurry, there might be a donut or two left for you. When you’re dressed.”
I slid from the bed and stretched, enjoying the way my body flamed to life under the weight of his gaze. “Get fake engaged to a guy and look how quickly he tries to get you into your clothes.” His laughter sounded behind me as I made my way to the shower for a quick, but hot shower. That coffee had been a nice jolt, but I needed more. So much more.
That felt like my mantra lately with Chase, which meant I needed to do better around him. I needed to keep in mind that this was all fake, even when it felt real, it wasn’t. Since we started sleeping together, that reminder has been harder and harder to come by. But I was an adult, and after I was dressed and ready for the day, I strolled into the kitchen with a smile on my face. “I was promised donuts.”
Chase turned with a smile and a travel cup in each hand. “Donuts are in the car, coffee is piping hot and just how you like it.”
“Cream, no sugar?”
He arched a brow as if to say ‘how dare you question me’, and nudged me towards the door. “Wear boots or sneakers. We’re going to be outside.”
“Oooh, a hint,” I teased and slipped on my hiking boots. They didn’t necessarily go with my outfit, but this was Oregon, every outfit went with hiking boots. Once we were inside the car and on the road, I turned to him with a smile powered by the Bavarian cream I’d just snarfed down. “So, where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Like a romantic picnic and sex outside, surprise? Or like, surprise, only one of us is coming back from this trip?”
He looked at me like I was crazy, then like I was crazy in a good way, and then like I was cute. I hated cute. Then he burst out laughing, while driving, clutching his side and smacking the wheel like he wasn’t operating a vehicle. “You are a strange woman, Kenzi.” I tensed at his words, but even though he said it like he thought it was a good thing, I couldn’t help but feel something. Most of my life people had called me strange, a weirdo, a freak and a bunch of other synonyms I’d rather not think about.
“Thanks, I think.” It wasn’t the perfect response, but it was honest. I knew he meant it as a compliment.
“Oh, it’s definitely a compliment. And for the record if I had known the first was an option, it would be that kind of surprise. Now I know,” he said with a smug grin. “One of us is coming back,” he repeated the words again and laughed.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m a regular Kevin Hart.”
He frowned. “Who?”
“Oh jeez, is it my role as fake fiancée to catch you up with pop culture over the last decade?”
“I believe it is. There are many things you can teach me, Kenz.”
I rolled my eyes. “Really? Because I read this article about how couples who watch guy on guy por-,”
“Would you look at that, we’re here,” he said it so loud his voice echoed inside the car and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Too easy,” I laughed and stepped from the car at the seemingly endless stretch of green that only stopped to make room from the trees populating the wooded area. “This is great. So quiet and peaceful.”
“Not for long, hopefully anyway.” He reached for my hand, pressed our palms together and wove our fingers together, guiding me along. I should have pulled back, but it was nice. “This is going to be the site of Adventure Chasers. There’s a perfect spot on the other side of these trees for rock climbing and if we’re lucky ice climbing.” He smiled so big and wide, the passion he showed was impressive. And hot. “Hiking of course, there are some really great trails and I want to make a few really challenging ones. We’ll have dirt bike trails and even a few weekend trips on the river.”
“Wow, you’ve done all that?”
He smirked. “You read my blog.”
I shrugged. “Not until recently. Anyway, you’ll have to hire plenty of peopl
e.” It was no small task to start a business, and especially one like his with liability issues and the expertise required. I didn’t envy him.
“I know, but people will come and this business will be successful. Plus, I’ll still do a couple trips a year if I can swing it.”
I don’t know why his words surprised me, but they did. And that meant, well it meant I was falling into stupid territory. Again. “This all sounds really great, Chase. And like you’re going to learn very quickly the curse of the small business owner.”
“What’s that,” he asked, a grave note to his voice.
“Working nonstop.” We both laughed, but it was true. “You don’t have to sell me on this though, Chase. I’m on board.”
“I know,” he said nervously and ran a hand through his hair. “But I just wanted you to see it. I don’t know why.”
This man had turned keeping me twisted up into an art form and he didn’t even realize it. “I’m glad you did. I mean maybe I’d come hike a few trails, but I consider eating crickets an adventure, not climbing an icy rock.” I thought maybe I’d offended him, but once again he proved me wrong when he laughed.
“I’m sure we can rustle up a few crickets for you, Kenzi.” He grunted when I smacked his belly, and then draped an arm around me as we walked around the property.
“Any word from Sterling?”
“Not yet. We met to talk about a few things the Monday after dinner but otherwise, I haven’t heard a thing. That’s making me nervous.”
“He’s a man used to taking his time, Chase. Focus on what you have to do when you get the yes. Unless you’re waiting until you get the yes to start with the details.” That would be hugely risky, but it wasn’t my business.
“I’m waiting until the damn ink is signed before I buy anything. Then I can drain my bank account as planned.” He grinned to show he wasn’t as worried as he seemed, which was a relief.
“It’s a good feeling, isn’t it, making your dreams come true?”
The smile that took over his face took my breath away and I had to look away for a long moment. Regroup. “Was the shop your dream?”
“It didn’t start out as my dream, no, but I did always want to work for myself. The plan was to put in a few years with a perfume and cosmetics company and then strike out on my own. Life had other plans.” Gran getting sick was something I hadn’t counted on and I should have, she’d been old when she took me in and had only gotten older despite her attempts to reverse the aging process. But I wouldn’t give up the years I had with her for anything. “Gran always said the most important thing is being your own boss so you could decide what was the right way to do things. It always kind of stuck with me, so I guess that was my dream. I do love making my products.”
“They are delicious. You could probably repackage that face scrub and put it in the breakfast aisle.”
I laughed but it wasn’t the first time I’d heard that. “Skin products might not save the world, but they’re not breakfast foods!”
He laughed at my fake outrage, but he quickly sobered and gave me a look I couldn’t quite figure out. And it made me feel weird, which only made me more determined not to figure it out. “Making people feel good about themselves is no small thing, Kenzi. Sometimes it’s all a person has.”
Dammit! He was so…kind. I wanted a kind man. A nice man, a smart and funny one who could take my body to places its never been. I just didn’t want that man to be Chase. Dammit. “That’s a nice thing to say.” It was and even if my tone could hide the sarcasm, that damn head tilt and the way I licked my lips would have been a dead giveaway. “Are you trying to butter me up for outdoor sex?”
He laughed again, leaning forward and pressing a soft but insistent kiss against my lips. The kiss went on for several minutes before we jumped apart, breathless and shocked by the electricity humming through the both of us. “Would it work?”
I had to think about his question for a moment, and then laughter erupted out of me. “Maybe.” The truth was that Chase had to do very little to get me in the mood for sex. Laugh. Smile. Breath. Touch me. Whatever.
“Or we could go back to your house, because my parents are still at mine.”
Yeah that thought gave things a whole new meaning. Having sex all over my house, waking up in his arms, it was all starting to get confusing. More confusing, hell, I didn’t know anymore. But I had a feeling Mrs. Donovan fancied herself a matchmaker. “When you put it like that, I could definitely be charmed into outdoor sex. Soon.”
He flashed his sexiest, smoldering-est grin and stepped forward, determination written all over his face. Then he charmed me out of my pants and spent the next hour showing me how great outdoor sex could be.
Maybe I am a fan of camping after all.
Chase
My mind was full of one thing and one thing only. Not the deal with Sterling, even though more than a week had passed and he hadn’t reached out to me once. Not my new business, or an alternate location. Just one sexy little green-eyed vixen I just couldn’t get enough of.
My well for her was bottomless and right now, as I strode from City Hall to Organics by O’Brien, all I could think about was seeing her again in that sexy light blue dress she’d worn to work this morning.
I didn’t owe her romance and she didn’t expect it, but all I wanted was to take her to lunch. Maybe add a little bit of candlelight and music, make her feel like the truly special woman she was. And she was special. Kind and warm hearted, sexy as hell, giving and funny. And she was sassy, which I wouldn’t have ever thought would do it for me, but it did. It really fucking did.
“Chase! Chase!”
I turned at the sound of someone shouting my name and held back a groan. Peter and Simona were strolling up the street with their arms linked. Just the man I was thinking about, and at just the wrong time. “Simona, Peter, how are you?”
“What are the odds of running into you now, when we’re on our way to your fiancée’s shop?” Simona squealed without a care as to who might hear. Not that word hadn’t spread fast as a brush fire in Truly about my engagement to Kenzi. Everyone wanted details, invitations and dibs on godparenting the first baby.
“That’s where I’m headed too,” I told her with a lovestruck smile. “I was thinking of whisking her off for lunch.”
Sterling grinned. “That’s how you keep your woman happy. Let her know she’s special regularly.”
Hearing Sterling say it like that had me rethinking my plan. Kenzi was special, that wasn’t even a question, but I didn’t want her to think that I thought she was special. She would get the wrong impression and start thinking things were more real than they were. But with Pete and Simona staring up at me with hopeful smiles, all I could do was tell them, “Follow me.”
We walked in silence. Well, Pete and I were silent while Simona kept up a running commentary on all the changes in Truly since they were last here about six months ago. We finally made it to Kenzi’s shop before she could tell us which wooden slats had been replaced on the sidewalks. Kenzi’s smile was bright and genuine when we walked in.
“Hello and welcome! I’ll be with you guys in a sec,” she called out as she finished rubbing gentle circles into some tourist’s face.
“Take your time,” I told her and winked, appreciating the small flash of pink on her skin. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, in that light blue dress that hugged her breasts and made impressive cleavage, but hid everything else. That was fine by me, my imagination and memory were more than sufficient.
When she was finished, Kenzi walked over to me and pressed an obligatory kiss against my mouth that I hungrily turned into a deeper, hotter kiss. “This is a nice surprise.”
“I ran into these two on their way to see you.”
Her eyes brightened as she kissed Peter’s cheek and pulled Simona into a hug. “That’s great! Did you come to check out the merchandise? Because I really want you to try this lavender and basil moisture treatment, it’ll make you feel like
you’ve been transformed!”
“Goodness, let’s do that,” Simona enthused with a quick look at her husband.
They walked away but Pete and I stood there, gazes settled on our women. “Your girl sure knows how to make a woman feel right at home. Simona doesn’t have a lot of women friends, and she can’t stop talking about your Kenzi.”
“She is pretty unforgettable, believe me. I tried.” How I’d managed to stay way from her for ten long years was a mystery to me. But now that I was back here, with her, well I could admit—at least to myself—that I was thinking about keeping her.
“You’re not wearing your ring,” I heard Simona say as clearly as I heard the distress in her voice, and I froze. Like a goddamn brick of ice, I froze and waited for it to all come undone in one moment. This could be the thing that showed us for the liars we were.
“Have you ever tried to get oatmeal and sugar out of a diamond setting, never mind the smaller surrounding diamonds?”
Simona laughed, a frown around her eyes. “I can’t say I have.”
“Well trust me, Simona, it’s not something you’d enjoy. I had to use a toothbrush to clean it for nearly an hour before I learned my lesson.” She kept a smile on her face, the lie coming so easily from her mouth. “I keep it here while I’m working,” she said and pulled a chain out with the ring dangling from it.
“Isn’t that sweet? It’s right by your heart.” Simona was such a romantic I almost felt guilty about the lie. Almost.
Kenzi rubbed the woman’s arms and hands, smiling and talking the whole time. Sterling laughed and I turned to him. “What?”
“You’ve got that look. A man in love. Keep that look in your eye and that feeling in your heart,” he said and placed a hand over his own heart, “and you’ll be able to get through damn near anything together.”
I swallowed hard as his words sank in. “Just like that?”
Fake Fiancé Next Door_A Small Town Romance Page 6