“Feeling better?” Presley asked.
“Yes,” Jillian said with a smirk. “Kade came to my room and gave me something for my upset stomach. He was so sweet.”
Presley refrained from telling Jillian that she knew exactly why Kade had come to her room. “I’m glad he helped you,” Presley said, keeping her voice light.
Jillian’s brown eyes cooled like iced coffee. That wasn’t the reaction she’d hoped to get. “Are you going somewhere?” she asked.
Presley shouldn’t provoke Jillian, especially knowing she would tattle on her to Kade’s mother. “Kade and I are building a snowman with the kids.”
“Oh, good,” Jillian said. “Marilyn said she was worried the two of you were fighting since you spend most of your time with the kids instead of Kade.”
Ouch. Marilyn had said all that? So maybe her gratitude to Presley about playing with the grandchildren was because she wasn’t spending time with Kade?
“We aren’t fighting,” Presley said. “But thank you for being concerned.”
“I’m not concerned,” Jillian said, clearly talking about something else entirely. “Kade and I have a connection that goes back a long time. I know everything will work out.”
Presley hated knowing that when she and Kade broke up, Jillian would be there waiting in the wings. She was saved from replying when Jenny and Laura raced down the hall to see if she was ready.
“See you later,” Presley said as she took each girl by the hand and left Jillian standing there. The girls chatted happily, helping Presley to focus on something else other than Jillian.
Since Allison decided to keep Brooklyn and Maddie inside, Presley only had the twins. Kade and Lucas had already started on their snowman by the time she and girls made it outside. Feeling a little peeved with Kade, Presley led the twins to another section to make their own snowman.
“Hey,” Kade called out. “Aren’t you going to help us?”
“We’re making our own,” she answered without looking at him.
“Why?” he asked, sounding annoyed.
Good. She was annoyed with him too. “Because we want to.” She got Jenny and Laura started on the head while she focused on the bottom.
She’d managed to get a good base going when she felt something hard and cold hit her on the back. Whirling around, she saw Kade was forming another snowball to throw at her. “You better not throw that at me.”
A slow smile curved his mouth. “Or what?” he said as he hurled the snowball, hitting her squarely in the chest.
“You are dead,” she growled, scooping up some snow and packing it together. She threw the snowball and only grazed his sleeve because he ducked out of the way.
“I thought the Princess Warrior would have better aim than that,” Kade said, throwing another snowball and hitting her in the butt as she bent over to gather up more snow.
Lucas, Jenny, and Laura wanted in on the fun and started making their own snowballs. Presley dodged Kade’s next attempt and rushed him, hitting him in the chest. “Gotcha,” she said with a laugh. He already had another snowball ready and lobbed it at her. She ducked so it skimmed the top of her hat. “Missed,” she said, hitting him in the arm with a snowball Laura handed to her.
“I did that on purpose.” He hurled another snowball, but it went wide without hitting any part of her.
“Missed again,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
Laughing, he had another snowball ready and hit her shoulder, followed by another one that hit her in the arm. Before she could form another snowball, Kade hit her again. Presley made her snowball extra big and then chased after him, hitting him on the back of the neck. The shocked look on his face was motivation to snag one of Jenny’s snowballs.
“Let me get the snow out of my collar,” he said, dodging her next throw. He moved toward the house and reached behind him, trying to get the snow out.
“I don’t think that’s a valid snowball fight rule for a timeout.” Presley started making another big snowball as she walked toward him.
“There are rules?” he said, abandoning his objective to make another snowball. The snow wasn’t as deep by the porch, so he had to bend down again. Presley still hadn’t thrown her snowball. She wanted to be close enough to make sure she got him. “Or are they more like guidelines, love?” he asked, sounding like Jack Sparrow.
It reminded her of the hot kisses they’d shared, which only fueled her frustration with this situation. She wanted Kade and not just for pretend. She wanted him to want her too. He straightened up, and she threw the snowball in a straight line. Before it made contact, Kade ducked just as someone stepped out on the porch. In horror, Presley watched as her oversized snowball smacked Marilyn Miles right on the forehead.
Chapter 14
Kade winced when the snowball made contact with his mother’s head. She made a grunting sound as her knees buckled, and she crumpled to the ground, landing on her back, so her head rested on the foyer’s wood floor.
“Mom, are you okay?” Kade asked, rushing to her side. His mom was holding a hand over her forehead and shaking. Kade was worried she was having a seizure or something.
“I’m so sorry,” Presley said, coming to his side. “I didn’t mean to hit her.” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
“It was an accident,” he said, leaning in closer to his mom. Was she crying?
“Did I kill her?” Presley asked. “Please tell me I didn’t kill her.”
His mother made a strangled noise, and that’s when he realized she was laughing. Laughing? Kade couldn’t remember if that was a sign of a head injury or not. “You didn’t kill her,” he assured Presley.
“What’s wrong with Grammy?” Laura asked with Jenny and Lucas right behind her. “Is she dead?”
His mom snorted a laugh and then giggled. Now Kade really was worried about her. He took her by the wrist to count her pulse. Her heart rate was a little rapid, but nothing to be concerned about. “Can you tell me what day it is?” he asked.
“A really, really unfortunate one,” Presley answered, which only made his mom laugh harder.
“I was asking my mom,” Kade said with a chuckle of his own.
“Mom, what happened?” Allison said, kneeling next to their mother.
Jamie and Stacie appeared next, along with Ben.
“Marilyn!” Ben said, forcing Allie to move so he could kneel next to his wife. Confusion crossed his stepdad’s features as he looked at Kade. “Is she laughing?”
Kade shrugged since the question sent his mom into another round of giggling.
“Marilyn?” Ben said. “I’m worried about you, sweetheart.”
“I’m fine.” Kade’s mom hiccupped one last laugh and too took Ben’s hand to sit up. Her forehead had a red mark in the center that was the size of an egg. Kade didn’t see any swelling yet, and it hadn’t broken the skin.
“What happened?” Ben asked as his mom wiped at a few tears underneath her bottom lashes.
“I’m not quite sure,” his mom said.
“I started a snowball fight, and she accidentally got hit,” Kade said. He wanted to claim ownership of the snowball, but Presley beat him to it.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Miles,” Presley said, worrying her bottom lip. “I was aiming for Kade.”
His mom sobered with only a hint of a smile on her face. Kade worried about what was coming next as his mother made direct eye contact with Presley. “I don’t remember the last time I was hit with a snowball.”
Presley’s face paled as white as the snow covering the ground. “I’m very sorry, Mrs. Miles,” Presley said again. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yes,” his mom answered in a kind voice. “You can call me Marilyn.”
“I can?” Presley asked with wide eyes. “I mean, thank you.” She swallowed. “Marilyn.”
Shocked, Kade observed his mother from a paramedic standpoint rather than as her son, trying to figure out if she really was suff
ering from a head injury. “Mom, do you know what year it is?” he asked.
His mother narrowed her eyes and gave him the year, month, date, and day of the week. “I’m fine,” she said, getting to her feet with the help of his stepdad. “I was more startled than injured.”
Kade stood up and noticed Jillian hovering in the background. With her lips pressed into a tight line, she appeared to be in pain. Guilt pressed down on him for his uncharitable thoughts that she was faking her illness. He wished things weren’t so strained between them. They had been good friends at one time, but he didn’t feel comfortable talking to her. Not when she wanted more from him than he could give.
Jillian’s eyes shifted and connected with his. She no longer looked in pain. She looked angry. Maybe he should start a snowball fight with her too. It had worked to get Presley out of her mood. To be fair, he’d been in a mood also. He was frustrated with his family because they had fallen in love with Presley. Sure, they thought she was his fiancée, but it was complicating everything.
And now the last holdout—his mother—appeared to have fallen for Presley’s bubbly personality. It was a wonder his mother had resisted Presley so far. She was like radiant sunshine bursting through dark clouds and warming everything around her.
“Marilyn,” Jillian said, coming around to his mom’s other side. “I have the perfect mask to help with the redness and reduce the swelling.”
“I have swelling?” his mom said, touching her forehead with the tips of her fingers.
“No,” Kade said. Then he looked at her forehead again. “Maybe a little, but it didn’t break the skin.”
Jillian threaded her hand through his mom’s arm and smiled at Kade. “Leave your mother to me, Mr. Paramedic.” She winked at him as if she hadn’t just glared daggers at him a few seconds earlier. “I’m feeling much better, by the way,” she added. “Thank you again for taking care of me.”
Huh? He hadn’t done anything other than giving her a couple of Zofran and a Gatorade, telling her to keep hydrated and get plenty of rest. He hadn’t touched her or examined her as he was sure his mother had hoped. He only crossed the threshold of Jillian’s room to set the medication and drink on the nightstand.
“Come inside, kids,” Allison said when Lucas and the twins started complaining about being cold. She and Jamie herded the children into the mudroom to change out of their wet clothes, leaving Stacie with Kade and Presley.
“Did you two kiss and makeup?” Stacie asked with a smirk.
“Did we need to?” Kade asked, not that he wouldn’t mind kissing Presley again, but he wasn’t ready for the harassment to start again. He needed to think about what to do with his growing feelings for her. He wasn’t sure if it was the real deal or just circumstances and some super-hot chemistry.
“We weren’t fighting,” Presley said. “Unless you count a snowball fight.” She turned to look at Kade. “Which I totally won.”
“Right,” Kade said with a laugh. “Except for that last snowball hit my mom instead of me.”
“You’re hilarious,” Presley said, sticking her tongue out at him again. “I’m going to take a hot shower and change my clothes.”
Once Presley left, Kade could tell his sister had something else on her mind. “What?” he asked, unzipping his coat. He was sweating now that he was inside, and his adrenaline spike was over. “I can tell you want to say something.”
“I just don’t understand you and Presley is all,” Stacie said, eyeing him with speculation. “You are the strangest engaged couple I’ve ever been around.”
Kade drew in a sharp breath and stared at Stacie. Did she know he and Presley weren’t really engaged? “Why do you say that?” he asked.
He had to admit that if Stacie did know this was all a sham, it would make him feel better. He needed someone other than Presley to talk to. Travis was usually his go-to, but since this was all about his little sister and that Kade might possibly be falling in love with her, that wasn’t an option.
“I don’t know.” Stacie pursed her bottom lip in thought. “You two have this underlying sexual tension, but then you hardly ever touch each other.”
“We’re engaged not married,” Kade said, pulling at the collar of his shirt. It felt like it was suddenly trying to choke him.
“I’m not talking about doing you know what,” Stacie said. “Greg and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other when we were engaged. We always were holding hands and stealing kisses.” She looked at Kade through narrowed eyes. “Honestly, when you and Presley kissed under the mistletoe, it almost seemed like it was the first time.”
Dang. His sister was good. Kade desperately wanted to confide in Stacie, but with her pregnancy hormones all over the place, he wasn’t sure he could trust her.
“It’s kind of awkward with an ex-girlfriend breathing down my neck, and Mom pushing Jillian and me to get married so she and Mrs. Hastings can share grandchildren.”
“True.” Stacie wound a finger through her blonde hair. “But I think Presley might have won Mom over.”
So he wasn’t imagining things. His mom was warming up to Presley. “You think?” he asked, not sure why his stomach felt like he’d swallowed a hornet’s nest, and they had been let loose.
“Are you nervous about proposing on television?” Stacie asked.
“A little.” Kade swallowed hard. “It kind of makes it all real, you know?”
“Real?” she asked. “Are you having second thoughts?”
Yes. No. He was so confused. “I’m brave enough to admit that falling in love with Presley scares me to death.”
There. He’d said it out loud. In a roundabout way, he admitted he was scared and that he was falling for Presley.
“Kade, I know you’ve always been wary of marriage because of your birth father. But you’ve seen how happy Mom and Dad are.” She playfully slugged him in the arm. “And all three of your sisters are happily married to some great guys. Greg was a confirmed bachelor when he met me, but it only took a couple of dates to change his mind, and we’re happy.” She grinned. “He makes me crazy sometimes, but I love being married to him.”
“I know.” He looked away and ran a hand through his damp hair. “Presley is amazing, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” Stacie said, smiling at him when he looked back at her, “she is amazing. And beautiful and kind and has a killer body. You would be really stupid if you let her get away because you’re getting cold feet.”
Kade considered his sister for a long moment. Did she know, or was she just sensing his angst? “What if it doesn’t work out?”
“What if it does?” Stacie countered back.
“Honey?” Greg said, holding up a familiar looking package. “Don’t go ballistic, but Maddie found your chocolate covered cinnamon bears.”
“She ate them all?” Stacie asked incredulously.
“No, she freely shared them with her cousins.”
“Ah man,” Stacie said, taking the empty package from Greg. “Where are we going to get more cinnamon bears?”
“I’ve got a mostly full bag in the car,” Kade said with a laugh.
“Thanks, man,” Greg said, giving Kade a fist bump.
“Bless you,” Stacie said. “You just saved our marriage.”
“What are you talking about, woman?” Greg said, bumping his wife in the shoulder. “We’re solid.”
“Yeah,” she said, kissing him on the mouth, “we are.”
Envy for what Stacie and Greg had wormed its way into Kade’s already screwed up thinking. He knew Stacie and Greg loved each other, but they’d had some pretty verbal arguments over the years. True, they always made up and were still together after six years, seemingly happy. He wanted to ask Greg if he’d ever felt trapped or like he’d made a mistake but it probably wasn’t the best timing to ask him something like that what with his wife pregnant and holding an empty bag of chocolate.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Greg said. “Since the movie was sold out, and Jill
ian is feeling better, Mom decided the talent show is back on.”
“Yeah, that’s what she was coming out to tell you all when the snowball incident happened,” Stacie said. “I still can’t believe Mom was laughing about that. Guess that shows you how special your lady is,” she added with a wink.
Presley was special. Kade hadn’t ever met anyone quite like her before. No one had ever made him seriously consider marriage. Was he ready to take a chance and make their relationship real? It’s not like they had to get engaged. Okay, he knew they were getting engaged but it was for the show. It didn’t mean they had to get married right away.
Some of the tension eased out of Kade’s shoulders. The talent show would give him a little time to mull things over. Plus, he’d finally get to see what Presley was doing for her talent. Now if he could only get out of playing the guitar for Jillian. Maybe he’d get lucky, and she’d be too mad at him to want him to accompany her. Even better, maybe she’d take the next flight out and go to Belgium and have Christmas with her parents.
Chapter 15
Something was bothering Kade. Maybe he was coming down with the same thing Blake had. The little boy had a low-grade fever, along with a stomach bug. He wasn’t as moody and grumpy but definitely deep in thought. Maybe it was the fact that his mother didn’t hate her anymore. They weren’t best friends or anything, but she was much kinder to her. Even so, it meant one more person that would be hurt when she and Kade broke things off. Presley, being the primary victim.
If only Brynlee would text her back. Presley didn’t want to bother her and Travis, but she’d sent out an SOS text for help. Brynlee was the romance reader and might have a suggestion about what to do. Presley had no idea if she was the one who needed to say something or if she should wait for Kade to say something. But what if he didn’t feel the same way? What if he wasn’t interested in really dating her?
Her Stand-In Fake Fiancé Page 12