Fake Bride: A Fake Marriage Billionaire Romance (Forbidden First Times Book 2)

by Summers, Sofia T

  Pete had basically controlled her entire life. He’d taken advantage of a girl who was young and grieving for her mother, only a few years after losing her father, and he’d hurt her and cut her off from anyone who could’ve helped her. He hit her, he coerced her, he manipulated her. I’d give anything to be able to erase him from her life, to go back in time and make sure that she didn’t ever meet him.

  Since I couldn’t do that, though, I would have to do the next best thing, which was taking care of her now and protecting her now, in the present and in the future. God, no wonder she’d needed a bloody fifty thousand dollars. Therapy alone would cost a lot, and a good lawyer could cost a fortune. I’d give it all to her and more, happily, whatever she needed to get her the life that she deserved.

  Takeout arrived while Trudie was in the shower, so I got everything setup on the couch and put some episodes of The Great British Bake Off on the telly. Watching that show always soothed me when I was in a stormy mood, and I hoped that it would do the same with her. I figured Trudie wouldn’t want to just sit in silence, and she probably didn’t feel a whole lot like talking.

  Shortly after the food arrived, Trudie emerged from the shower, wearing a big fluffy dark blue bathrobe that I immediately recognized as mine. I tamped down immediately on the thrill of possessive lust that shot through me. God, she looked fucking perfect, wearing my robe, my clothing, looking so comfortable and fluffy and relaxed. This felt like how it should be, like how the puzzle pieces were supposed to fall into place.

  Keep it together, you bloody idiot, I reminded myself. This wasn’t about how I felt, although I was sure Trudie could guess my feelings by now. I wasn’t exactly being subtle and she was far from stupid. But just because she knew how I felt—or most likely did—didn’t mean I should make this about my feelings or what I wanted. This was about Trudie and helping her to recover.

  Trudie smiled at me shyly and walked over to join me on the couch. “Thank you.”

  “Hey, of course. You don’t need to thank me for anything. I’m happy to help you, however you need.” I watched as Trudie grabbed some food. “That includes if you need a lawyer or protection—but we’ll talk about that tomorrow. You’ve had a bad day, let’s just relax.”

  Trudie nodded, then settled back against the couch. I hit play on the episode and threw one of my throw blankets over her legs, settling in.

  She ate, and ate, and ate. I was pretty sure she hadn’t even realized how hungry she was until she had the food in front of her. Going into shock would do that to a person. I kept quiet, just making a few noises here and there to agree with Trudie when she made an observation about the show. She’d never seen it before and seemed relaxed and delighted by it.

  By the third episode, though, she was yawning, and I couldn’t blame her. Despite just lying in bed when I’d found her, I doubted she’d actually felt at all rested. Having a panic attack wasn’t the same thing as sleeping even if you were all wrapped up in blankets while you did it. I quietly cleaned up the takeout, turned off the television, and scooped her up. I wasn’t sure if Trudie would appreciate that, at least not normally, but this wasn’t a normal situation. And I suspected she needed physical touch, something to comfort her. We were all like that, deep down. Humans are social animals. We crave touch.

  I settled her carefully into my bed, helping her out of the bathrobe and under the covers. “Stay with me?” she murmured.

  Her eyes were so big and warm, so pleading—how could I possibly say no to her? How could I ever turn away from her?

  I nodded, pulling back enough so that I could take off my clothes and put on my pajamas, crawling back into bed once I was ready to go. I didn’t want to press up against her while wearing nothing, or just my boxers. Maybe another time, sure, but definitely not right now. That wasn’t what this was about.

  Trudie curled up in my arms and I stroked her hair, her back, soothing her all over again. She didn’t cry, but she did tremble a little bit. It took ages for her to settle, until at last, I felt her body becoming heavy, and her breathing even out.

  I pulled back a little, just to double check.

  She was asleep.

  Thank God. A good night’s rest on top of all that, and then tomorrow we could tackle this issue head on. Deal with Pete once and for all.

  I settled in beside Trudie and tried not to think too hard about how right it felt, how much I wanted her to be in my arms like this every night, and let myself fall asleep.

  29

  Trudie

  I woke up feeling so warm and safe, at first I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt like it had to be a dream of some kind. I had woken up like this before, with Laird while we were in Ireland together, but all that was over. Clearly after all of the stress and panic from yesterday my brain was freaking out on me a little, giving me a dream of what I so badly wanted.

  Then the rest of yesterday caught up with me, and I realized that while it might be painful, it was definitely not a dream. I was really here, with Laird, in his bed. He was still asleep, his face peaceful, his arms around me like he hadn’t moved all night. It made my heart ache.

  I snuggled in closer to him. Soon I would have to get up and actually face the day, face what was going on in my life. I would have to figure out how Pete had found me and find a new place to stay—and a new place to work, because while Red was prepared, I couldn’t put him in a bad position. If Pete had found the co-op, he’d probably found out where I worked. I would have to change everything. Probably move to a whole new city. If that would even work. Maybe with Laird’s money, this time it would. Who knew.

  And oh, God, his parents! His parents were coming! I had completely forgotten about that. We had to somehow keep up the charade while all of this was going on, or I had to confess the truth with Laird and his parents would be so disappointed and angry. I didn’t want to do that to them. I didn’t want to hurt them like that. What was I going to do? No matter how we did this, it was a mess.

  I tucked my face into Laird’s chest and pretended that I didn’t have to move, ever, that this was real, that I got to do this every morning. I love you, I thought, as hard and fiercely as I could. Who knew how much more time I would have with him? What was the point of hiding it now when we’d have to say goodbye? I love you, I love you, you sweet, kind, wonderful man. I love you.

  It couldn’t last forever, of course. I felt Laird inhale deeply and shift, a sign that he was waking up and starting to become aware of his surroundings. I bit my lip, tried to be grateful for what time I had gotten, and watched him as he woke up.

  Laird smiled softly down at me, his eyes shining, like there was no place he’d rather be and nothing he’d rather see first thing in the morning. I didn’t dare let myself hope that was all real. He was just sleep-addled, and I was a hopeless fool in love.

  “Let’s get breakfast,” he said quietly, when I started to open my mouth. “And then we’ll come up with a game plan.”

  Of course he called it a game plan. He’d been spending a bit too much time with Liam, clearly. I nodded, and we got up. I made myself put on some proper clothes, because I was going to have to face this properly, like an adult, and that didn’t involve lounging around in pajamas like it was going to be a relaxing day.

  In fact, I was supposed to… oh no!

  I sat down heavily at the kitchen table. I had work today. I needed to call Red… I couldn’t possibly come in, not if Pete was lurking around. If he’d found the co-op then he’d probably found Buzz, too. It was easier to find me there, rather than at the place where I mostly just slept and showered, especially after I’d been spending so much time away from the co-op and with Laird.

  Something of my thoughts must’ve shown on my face, because Laird gave me a questioning look.

  “I have to quit my job,” I explained. “I can’t be there, not with Pete around. I have to move, preferably, but I definitely can’t be there anymore.”

  Laird frowned. “You’re not going
to leave the coffee shop. You’re not going to go anywhere. Not unless you genuinely want to. If you want to go, then that’s one thing. But you can’t let this asshole force you out of your life, not if it’s a life that you enjoy. I won’t let him have that kind of power over you anymore.”

  “It’s sweet of you to say that, but we have to be realistic.”

  “I am being realistic.” Laird set some eggs and toast down in front of me, then took a seat across from me, sipping his coffee. “Trudie, I don’t know if you’ve realized this yet, but you have fifty thousand dollars in your account now. And I’ve got plenty more where that came from, and a bloody good team of lawyers on top of that. And if my lawyers weren’t good enough, you can bet that Liam’s lawyers would be even better, he’s got to have the best as a sports player, it’s a high-stakes world. We can take him if he tries anything.”

  “He’s violent, Laird,” I blurted out, before I could stop myself. Fear felt like it had a fist around my throat, around my heart. “What will it matter if I have lawyers or a restraining order if he attacks me?”

  “He won’t,” Laird assured me. “You don’t have to worry. I’ll alert security and you can stay here with me. We’ll file a report with the police. We’ll make it so hard for him to get to you, he’ll clear off. That’s what these bastards do is go after easy targets. He feels possessive of you right now and he thinks that he can control you. He’s about to find out that he can’t. The moment he does anything, we’re going to get him arrested, and I’ll pull whatever strings I have to, to make sure that it sticks and he’s locked up.”

  I’d been alone for so long, struggling with this, it was hard to imagine that there was actually someone on my side, that I was no longer alone—and that this person had the resources to help me make sure that Pete paid for what he did, or at the very least never went near me again.

  “I’m surprised you’re not offering to find him and beat him up,” I said, trying to stifle the overwhelming tsunami of love I was feeling in that moment. It felt like I had never really known what it was like to be in love until now, staring at Laird as he planned to go above and beyond to make sure that I was safe.

  “Arresting him and throwing lawyers at him does feel bloody anticlimactic,” Laird admitted. “But if I just fucked him up with my fists, yeah, he’d be scared and go running. But then he’d be free to go and do this to some other poor woman. Abusers never just do it the once, they do it again and again. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was someone else before you that he’d done this to, even if it never got as bad as it did with you. He’s a complete bastard and bastards need to go where they belong.”

  God, he was so hot like this. You would think that it would be him doing something like lifting weights, or wearing a really nice suit, or any other typical thing that would make me mentally drool over him. But no, it was this. It was Laird just being his protective, caring, sweet, intelligent self. This was how Laird took care of things, this was obviously how he built his business and was able to own a company and be the man that he was today—by being smart, and calculating, and knowing that attacking with his fists and his temper wasn’t always the best way to go.

  As if I’d needed any more confirmation that he wasn’t like Pete. That this was someone who could hold in his temper and who knew when anger wasn’t useful. That this was someone who would never use his size or his personality or anything else about himself to hurt me.

  I loved him so much it felt like I was drowning, but I didn’t want to come up for air. Even if he didn’t love me back. I would still happily sink under the water.

  “You really don’t have to do all of this,” I pointed out. “You said that I have fifty thousand dollars now, and you’re right. I do. And I can go to the police, and I can handle this. This is my mess.” I paused when I saw the dark look on Laird’s face—not an angry look that scared me, more like a frustrated one. “Not that this is my fault.” Laird’s face cleared up and he looked satisfied at that. “But that… it’s something from my life, not yours. You don’t have to take on my problems.”

  “I know I don’t,” Laird acknowledged. “But I want to. I want to take care of you, with this and with… with other things.” Oddly enough, he looked frustrated again. But not, I didn’t think, with me. More like with himself.

  He got our plates and started to wash them in the sink, and I watched in confusion. I felt like I was waiting for something, holding my breath—for what, I didn’t know, but definitely something.

  At last, Laird turned back to face me, his hands braced behind him on the counter. “I… Anything you need, in this, Trudie, I’ll give to you. Genuinely. Just because you can do this alone doesn’t mean that you should. That’s how it is when you have people who love you. They support you and they help you. I know how to handle lawyers, I know how to handle police, I can take care of this with you so that you don’t have to feel alone. And I know that Jack and Red and Edith—and anyone else you know—will feel the same. You’re a good person and we want to make sure you’re taken care of.”

  My chest felt warm. “Thank you. That really does mean a lot, you have no idea. I didn’t have anyone for such a long time and I know that it was Pete’s fault but it’s hard not to… not to get used to that. And to forget how to have people in your life and how to make friends.”

  Laird smiled at me. “I hope that despite all of the chaos that we are friends.”

  I didn’t want to be friends—I wanted to be so much more. Again, my thoughts must’ve shown on my face, because Laird’s smile fell. I had gotten so good at hiding my thoughts and feelings from Pete while I’d planned to get away. Had I just forgotten how to do that because I felt safe with Laird? Or did he really just know me that well?

  “You’ve been nothing but kind to me,” I told him. “How could I see you as anything less? And I know the money is… but I don’t want to keep it, honestly, you can take it back… if you’re already doing all of this…”

  Laird shook his head. “No. You’ve got dreams and goals and you’re not going to get them without that financial help. Pete took years away from you, years where you could’ve been going to college, getting a home, finding a better job. This is me helping to correct that. I can do it, so I want to. I want to help… reset the universe. I can’t give you back that time, but I can help make up for it.”

  “You’re the most generous person I’ve ever met,” I blurted out. “Honestly.”

  Laird got an odd look on his face. “I… the thing is, I’m really not. I am… generous, yes, or at least I try to be. But do you really think I would give that much money to just anyone? That I would do all of this for just anyone who needed it?”

  “Maybe not quite this much, but you’d do a lot. I know you would.”

  “But not this much,” Laird said, echoing me, and it felt like he was trying to tell me something extremely important, something I was missing.

  Laird pushed himself off the counter and walked over to where I was still sitting, slowly dropping to his knees. For a wild second I felt like he was proposing, but of course he wasn’t doing that. Why would he?

  Instead, he took my hands, squeezing them gently, and then kissed my knuckles. My heart caught in my throat. Call me naïve, say I had low self-esteem, call me oblivious, and you would be right about all of it. But I wasn’t so dense as to miss this. This wasn’t how you treated someone you only saw as a friend or a fuckbuddy.

  “I’m doing all of this not because I’m generous,” Laird whispered, his eyes gently boring into mine, “but because I’m in love with you.”

  My heart felt like it stopped.

  30

  Laird

  I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. Selfish or not, illogical or not, I just couldn’t. My behavior was becoming so obvious that it would’ve been an insult for me to not share with her how I felt. She was going to figure it out eventually and I might as well go down honorably, so to speak, and tell her what I was feeling before she guess
ed it and everyone was embarrassed.

  And there. I’d said it. Now she knew. No matter how much I donated to charity or tried to help others, no matter how much I wanted to give people a leg up and support those who needed it… none of it was the level that I would give to Trudie. I’d do anything for her. I’d give her whatever she needed, go to the ends of the earth if that was what was needed.

  Trudie stared down at me, and I realized how ridiculous I probably looked, on my knees in front of her like some kind of supplicant. She had to be alarmed by my behavior.

  And then the shock cleared from Trudie’s face, and I saw tears start up in her eyes. “I… you love me?”

  “Oh, no.” I’d upset her. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” I stood up. “There, there, sweetheart, don’t cry.” I pulled her into my arms automatically, and it was only after I’d done it that I realized that might not be what she wanted. But when I tried to pull away, Trudie clung to me.

  I pet her hair. “It’s all right, my love, it’s all right. I’m always here for you, no matter how you feel. I don’t want to force anything on you. I don’t want you to feel like you… owe me anything because I’m helping you. You don’t, you don’t owe me anything.”

  Trudie sobbed into my chest for a moment, and then pulled back, looking up at me—and, to my surprise, smiling. Almost in disbelief. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry to be such a mess but I—I’m just happy, I didn’t think you would ever want to be with someone like me, someone who was so… I know that I have baggage and I’m just a barista and I never thought with all that you’ve done, and all that you’ve experienced in your life, and—you could have anyone you wanted, and so I thought… how could you ever…”

  She cleared her throat and tried to gather herself together. “I love you. That’s what I’m trying to say. I love you, too, I’ve been in love with you for such… I don’t know how long, I don’t know when it began exactly but I love you.”