She looks at me and I see the depth of pain in her eyes. I want to go to her, to wrap my arms around her and bury my nose in her hair. I want to kiss her forehead and rub her spine and tell her it’ll all be okay. I want to give her as much money as she needs to fix whatever problems she has.
But I don’t do any of that. I just nod.
“Okay,” I say.
Naomi relaxes, as if she was worried I would pry. A small smile appears on her face, and she starts chuckling. She shakes her head, laughing a little bit harder.
“What?” I say, chuckling confusedly.
“I don’t know,” she laughs. “This is so ridiculous.”
I grin. “I know.”
She laughs, brushing her hair over her shoulder and shaking her head some more. She scratches the back of her head and looks out the window, deep in thought. She takes a long drink of beer, and then turns to me, pointing the bottle towards me.
“But I’m not going to sleep with you just because we’re engaged. That’s where I draw the line. That would be too complicated.”
I grin. “Deal. You might have to kiss me in public to make it convincing, though.”
A blush spreads over her cheeks, and heat blooms between my legs. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. She turns towards me, scooting closer on the couch.
I move closer to her as well, until there’s only a foot of space between us. She turns towards me, leaning forward and crawling her fingers towards me. She licks her lips and my heart thumps. Her eyes are shining with something, and I can’t think about anything except how good it would feel to kiss her.
I lean towards her, my heart hammering against my ribcage. I smell the sweet floral scent that follows her everywhere, and feel the heat of her body. Her face is just inches from mine, and my heart is beating so fast that I think it might explode.
We’re only inches apart, and I can feel her soft breath washing over my skin. Her eyes are wide and bright, and her lips are so fucking inviting.
This is what I’ve been dreaming of. This is the exact moment that I’ve been hoping for for almost a week. I inch closer, and then—
Knock! Knock! Knock!
We jump apart at the sound of banging on the door.
“Max! Open up!” My mother’s voice floats through the closed door, and Naomi’s eyes widen. My stomach drops as I jump to my feet.
“Who is that?!” Naomi hisses, staring at the door.
I take a deep breath, following her gaze. “That is my mother.”
Chapter 12 - Naomi
“Your mother is here?!” I whisper as my eyes widen. I glance towards the door again and back at Max. “Why is your mother here?”
“Max, open up!” A gruff voice comes through the door.
“And your father is here too?!”
“Oh my god,” Max says, running his hands through his dark hair. He blows air out of his mouth as concern etches all over his face. “I’m so sorry. They said they were coming to the city, I didn’t think they meant today.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?!”
“I’m so sorry.”
I would laugh if I wasn’t so mortified. I look down at my grey tee-shirt and ripped jeans. I’m not wearing any makeup, and I know my hair could use a brush.
And now, I have to meet one of the richest couples in New York City, and I have to pretend to be engaged to their son?
I thought my day was bad before. I woke up with a hangover, and then got Max’s bizarre proposal. When my mom told me that she had breast cancer, I thought that was as bad as it got.
I was wrong.
It just got worse. I watch Max rub his hands over his face. His forearms ripple with tension as he combs his hair back through his fingers, staring at the door as if he was afraid of what was on the other side.
I stand up and put my hands on his biceps, feeling the hard muscle under his skin as he drops his hands.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I had no idea.”
“It’s okay,” I lie, forcing myself to smile. “Do I look okay?”
His eyes soften and he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “You look perfect.”
My heart squeezes and I swallow. I don’t know what all these emotions are. I don’t know how to deal with the alternating waves of desire and fear and nervousness that attack me every time I take a breath. All I can do is just follow Max towards the door, wringing my hands in front of me as he turns the doorknob.
“Hey, Mom,” he says and leans down to lay a kiss on her cheek. When he stands back up, I get the first glimpse of my soon-to-be fake mother-in-law.
She looks like a Stepford Wife mixed with a First Lady. Her hair is dyed a sandy blonde color, tied back in an ultra-neat bun at the base of her neck. She’s wearing a perfectly pressed navy pantsuit, with an expensive-looking bag slung over her forearm. Her hands are manicured, with an array of sparkling rings displayed on her digits.
But it’s her face that draws my attention. She has Max’s eyes—bright and blue and deep and unreadable. They’re focused on me, inspecting every inch of me as she steps through the door. Her heels click on the hardwood floor as she opens her arms towards me. She takes my hands in hers, squeezing them gently as she holds them out, blatantly looking me up and down.
“I’m sorry to barge in like this,” she says, not looking sorry at all. “Aren’t you going to introduce us, Max?”
Max shuffles to my side, putting an arm around my shoulders. Thankfully, his mother releases me and I put my arm around his waist. It feels stiff and uncomfortable. I can’t imagine we look like a happy couple.
“Mom, Dad, this is Naomi. Naomi, this is my mom, Carol, and my dad, Rudy.”
“Nice to meet you,” I croak.
“Lovely to meet you, dear,” Carol croons. Her eyes are still watching me like a hawk, and Max’s hand tightens across my shoulders.
I try to speak, but nothing comes out. I clear my throat and nod to the kitchen. “Can I get you anything? Water? Beer? Coffee?”
“Coffee sounds good,” Rudy says, shuffling towards the living room after he shakes my hand. “Thanks, Naomi.”
I breathe a sigh of relief when I watch them walk towards the couch. That relief quickly turns to panic when I enter the kitchen.
I don’t know where anything is!
I’m supposed to be marrying Max, and I have no idea how to make coffee at his house. Where are the filters? Where are the coffee grounds? Where are the mugs?
Where is the freaking coffee machine?! He’d better not have one of those stupid percolators. I don’t think I can handle that right now.
My heart starts hammering in my chest as I glance around. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see his coffee machine with a little basket of pods next to it—single serving coffee. At least I won’t have to worry about filters and coffee grounds.
I look through the basket and then call to them over my shoulder. “You guys want ‘Intenso’, ‘Luongo Forte’ or, uh, decaf?” Why don’t these pods have normal freaking names?!
“I’ll have decaf, dear,” his mother says, watching me from the couch. “And Rudy will have the same.”
“Max?” Should I be calling him babe? Honey? Baby? I barely even know the guy! Am I being weird right now? Can they see how much I’m panicking? I turn towards them and wince when my hip hits the marble countertop of the island. I force a smile, and I’m pretty sure it just looks like my face is contorting weirdly.
“I’m good,” Max says, shuffling some magazines and tidying a blanket that was strewn across the couch. He looks as stressed as I feel.
“Okay,” I say under my breath. Now for mugs. Logically, they would be right above the coffee machine.
Nope.
Maybe the next cupboard over?
Nope.
I cough, trying to clear the lump in my throat as I open a third cupboard.
Still nothing.
I can feel Max’s mom’s eyes on my back. My heart is hammering. Where is Max? Why isn’t he helping me?
I never knew making a cup of coffee could induce so much panic. I’m be looking through every single cupboard in this godforsaken kitchen looking for a mug to make coffee for my fake fiancé’s mother, and she’ll figure out that I’ve never been here before, and the whole gig will be up.
We won’t pretend to be engaged, I won’t get any money, and I won’t be able to pay for my mom’s treatment.
All because the stupid freaking mugs aren’t where they are supposed to be, which is above the freaking coffee machine. What kind of monster stores the mugs on the other end of the kitchen?! I would never marry someone like that.
This is a disaster.
Finally, I open a wide drawer under the coffee machine and see the mugs neatly lined up. I sigh so loudly, I’m pretty sure they all hear me.
“Having trouble finding something?” Carol says. I glance over and see her eyebrow arched over her piercing blue eyes.
I laugh nervously. “I always do that. My kitchen at home has the mugs up top.” I gesture awkwardly to the cabinets as a blush spreads from my cheeks to my neck. I scratch the back of my head, trying to smile.
“Ah,” she says, nodding. Her eyes don’t leave me. Max mouths ‘sorry’, and comes towards me.
With him beside me, I start to relax. He puts his hand on the small of my back and shows me how to work the machine.
“Everything will be fine,” he whispers in my ear. “Thank you for doing this.”
“I think the price just went up to three hundred grand. It’s the price for surprise visits from in-laws. I need at least 48 hours notice from now on.”
The corner of his lip twitches, and his chin dips down. “That seems fair,” he chuckles. The machine rumbles to life and black coffee starts spluttering into the cup. I take a deep breath.
Max leans over and kisses my temple, sliding his hand over to my hip and pulling me into him. I close my eyes for a moment, inhaling his scent and letting the comfort of his touch wash over me.
“I’ll get rid of them as soon as I can,” he whispers as we make another cup of coffee.
I nod. It can’t be soon enough.
Chapter 13 - Max
“So, how did you two meet?” My dad asks, sipping his decaf coffee. I glance at Naomi and try to smile. In a perfect world, we would have come up with a story and rehearsed it. I would have prepared her. I would have told her about my parents—what to expect, what to say, what not to say.
But now?
None of that. I can’t give her any warning. She looks like a deer in headlights, but she’s doing fairly well.
So, when my dad asks me where we met, I just tell the truth.
“Naomi is my physical therapist,” I explain. “I started going to her a few months ago, and I guess we just sort of clicked.”
“How does your boss feel about the relationship?” He says, turning to Naomi.
Naomi shrugs, smiling. “She was surprised, but she’s okay with it.”
There’s an awkward silence and I clear my throat.
“I wasn’t expecting you guys here so soon.”
“Well, we had to meet the woman who stole our son’s heart,” my mother says, turning her hawk-like eyes towards Naomi. I wish she wouldn’t do that. I reach over and put my hand on Naomi’s knee, feeling her tremble slightly. She must be so stressed.
Hell, I’m stressed, and I’m their son!
“I’m not used to the whole tabloid thing,” Naomi says. “That was a bit of a shock this morning.”
My mother waves a hand and leans back in her chair. “You’ll get used to it. If you lead a boring-enough life, they’ll leave you alone.”
“They haven’t left Max alone,” Naomi grins. “Maybe your life will finally be boring enough now.”
“It doesn’t feel boring,” I reply. Naomi’s eyes flash, and her grin widens. My shoulders relax slightly and I squeeze the hand on her thigh. She interlaces her fingers in mine, leaning back on the couch.
“How was the drive?” Naomi asks, and then frowns. “You… you drove here, right?” She tenses.
“Yes, of course, honey,” my mother says. “How else would we get here? There are hardly any flights from Sands Point to the city. Well,” she muses, staring out the window. “I guess you could take a sea plane.” She looks at Naomi again, smiling that thousand-megawatt smile of hers. “The drive was fine. We missed the traffic, so it was all smooth sailing. We’ve been meaning to come to the city for a while now, so this was the perfect opportunity.”
“Right.”
There’s a tense moment, and then my father starts asking me about work. I relax as we start talking about familiar, neutral territory, and Naomi’s tenseness dissipates. She leans into me, squeezing my hand.
Is it bad that I like this?
As awkward and horrifying as it was to have my parents walk in, I actually like sitting here, holding her hand. It feels almost natural.
Well, as natural as it could feel, under the circumstances.
After an hour of idle chit-chat, Naomi takes a deep breath.
“It’s been lovely to meet you, but I have to work early tomorrow morning. I’m going to have to leave you guys to catch up without me.”
Smooth.
She shoots me a glance as if to say, ‘you’re on your own’, and I can’t help but grin.
My father gets the hint, though, and he stands up. “We’ll be on our way, won’t we, Carol.”
“Of course.”
“Rudy, Carol,” Naomi says, giving them both a kiss. We say our goodbyes, leading them back through the front door. As soon as the door closes, Naomi turns to me with wide eyes.
“You bastard,” she says. “That was my worst nightmare!”
She’s laughing now, and I can’t help but join in. She leans against the kitchen counter, putting her hand against her forehead and laughing while she shakes her head. We laugh, leaning against the kitchen counter and letting out all the stress of the past hour. Tears are streaming down her face, and her emerald eyes are shining more than I’ve ever seen them.
I push myself off the counter and stand in front of her. I put my hands on her hips and pull her towards me, sinking my fingertips into her body and shaking my head.
“I’m so, so sorry about that. I was as shocked as you were.”
“That’s the only reason I’m still here,” she laughs. “I could tell it was as hard for you as it was for me.”
She puts her hands on my chest, curling her fingers into my shirt. My heart is racing. She’s so close.
“You were perfect,” I say. “They liked you.”
“I felt like a blundering idiot,” she says, shaking her head. “The mugs…”
“Don’t worry about the mugs,” I say in a hoarse whisper. She runs her fingers up to my shoulders, hooking her hands around my neck. I press my chest against hers, growling softly as I feel her body fitting into mine.
She stares at me and her eyes flick down to my lips. The fire in my stomach ignites, and my cock throbs between my legs.
Maybe it’s the stress of the day, or the tension of the evening with my parents. Maybe it’s the fact that Naomi has obviously had a stressful day, too.
Or, maybe it’s just that I’m holding a beautiful woman in my arms, and she’s looking at me with those bright, green eyes of hers and licking those perfectly kissable lips.
Whatever it is, my body feels like it’s on fire. I’m so tightly strung I feel like I could explode at any moment. Neither of us move. Her chest is pressed against mine, her fingers hooking into the nape of my neck. She twists her fingers into my hair, tilting her head to the side.
I wrap my arms around her, letting them drift down to her ass. I pull her into me and I can’t wait any longer. I dip my chin down and crush my mouth against hers. She parts her lips and kisses me fiercely, pulling me into her and gasping softly into my mouth as we melt into each other.
My whole body sings. My hands drift up her spine as she tangles hers into my hair. She kisses me, sliding her t
ongue into my mouth and moaning. Her lips taste like heaven.
This is more than a kiss. It’s more than a stress relief.
This is pure passion. It’s pure want. Pure longing.
Kissing Naomi feels better than I could ever have imagined, and when she pulls away from me, all I want to do is crush my lips against hers again.
My chest is heaving, and I rest my forehead against hers. We stay like that, eyes closed, holding each other, until Naomi lets out a single sigh.
“Wow,” she says. “You’re a good kisser.”
Chapter 14 - Naomi
This is too much.
I don’t know what’s happening, or why I’m doing this, but it’s too much. My body is screaming at me to just strip down naked right here and wrap my legs around Max’s muscular frame. Every nerve ending is begging for release. There’s a ball of fire in the pit of my stomach, and my panties are completely soaked through.
That was more than a kiss.
It was incredible. It was an explosion of tension and passion and lust all rolled into one.
Even the way he’s holding me now, cradling me against him as he rests his forehead against mine. He runs his finger along my jaw and tangles his fingers into my hair, and I melt into him again. I tilt my chin up and taste his lips.
We kiss more slowly this time, feeling each other more fully than the first time. I inhale the smell of his skin, wrapping my arms around his neck as I melt into his kiss. His hand drifts down my side, brushing my breast and coming to rest on my hip.
Every touch makes my whole body tremble.
I want him.
I want him more than I’ve wanted any other man.
And yet, when we pull apart, I take a deep breath. I don’t think I can do this right now.
There’s too much going on—too much between us. If I sleep with him now, what does that mean for us, for this engagement, for the money? For my mother?
Sex is complicated.
My whole body is screaming for it, and most of my mind wants it too.
But still, I take a deep breath and put a hand on his chest. He pauses, staring into my eyes as I shiver. I shake my head.
Engaged to Mr. Right: A Fake Marriage Romance (Mr. Right Series Book 1) Page 6