Not for the first time, he had to wonder about his state of mind. He liked her arm around him a little too much. And that kiss they’d shared? Well, that had been just about the best thing that had ever happened to him in his entire life.
Was that an exaggeration? Sadly…he didn’t think it was. He’d never once felt so…at home. The way she’d fit against him, the smell and feel and sight of her in his arms. It was like something had snapped together, a jigsaw puzzle piece fitting into place.
Something inside of him had shifted in a heartbeat, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
Of course, then they’d had that talk about Brent—the name still made his teeth clench. That conversation was enough to remind him that whatever bizarre ideas his body and heart might have gotten because of that kiss…it was a bad idea.
He had no intention of falling in love again, and he now knew that attraction wasn’t to be trusted. It was just chemistry, that was all. He had his ex to thank for that lesson. Still, he couldn’t help the fact that he liked this woman. What wasn’t to like? She was kind and generous, open and honest. She was loyal…to a fault. As far as he could tell, her biggest flaw was putting her faith into someone who clearly didn’t deserve it. But it was also hard to judge her too harshly for wanting to be loyal to the man she loved.
Loved. She loved Brent.
It was that thought that had him steeling himself against any fantasies about this becoming anything more than a charade. She was in love with someone else. Even if he were to give love a second chance, it wouldn’t be with someone who couldn’t feel the same way for him.
They headed out to lunch—mainly because he wanted people in this small town to see them together before the camera crew started following them around—and this time she hardly seemed to notice the stares as they chatted easily about her new job and how he’d been chosen for the show.
“So wait,” she’d said, a forkful of lettuce hovering in front of her face as she stared at him. “You didn’t even audition?”
He shook his head and finished chewing his bite of hamburger. The little bistro she’d taken him to had surprisingly great burgers. “Nope. I’d worked at my uncle’s construction business all throughout high school as a part-time job, so after the accident, when it became clear that football wasn’t in the cards, it seemed like going back to working with my hands was the best option.”
“Okay,” she said. “Well that explains the construction part, but how did the producers find you?”
“I had an agent,” he said. “A football agent, but he had contacts in Hollywood because some of his clients did commercials and things.”
She nodded, using her fork to urge him to continue. She’d taken off her baseball cap and her loose hair curled around her shoulders. She looked too good to be true—all natural and sweet and looking at him with those big eyes like he was the only man on the planet.
He looked down to his burger. “Anyway, he got wind of the fact that they were looking for someone who knew about construction, but they were hoping to find some B-list actor or a reality star… I don’t think they were really looking for a college ball player, but…” He threw his arms out wide. “That’s what they ended up with.”
She finally took a bite of her salad and chewed, her expression thoughtful. “Hmm.”
“Hmm, what?” He couldn’t stop the teasing tone—she was just too cute with her eyes all narrowed in concentration like that.
She licked her lips and he tried not to stare. “It’s just…after what happened with your football injury, and all the attention surrounding that…”
“You’d think I’d have wanted to stay out of the spotlight, right?” he finished.
She nodded.
“I did. Giving up the limelight was one of the few things I wasn’t sad to see go when I lost my football career. But…” He sighed and thrust a hand through his hair. “I had a family to think of, and bills to pay. My parents had put everything into making sure I got a good education and all the opportunities I could ever want. When they offered me this great paycheck, and all I had to do was what I loved…”
She bit her lip. “Have you ever regretted it?”
He was shocked into silence for a moment. Most people just assumed that he was living the dream, and he never wanted to complain because he knew just how lucky he was to have a second chance at fame and fortune. But fame was never what he’d been after. “Sometimes.”
She nodded slowly. “It must be hard to know who you can trust, especially after…”
Her cheeks pinkened as she trailed off, and he fought a grin. “It’s okay, you can mention my ex. And yes, the newfound fame didn’t help.”
Her eyes flickered down to her salad before coming up to meet his. It struck him that this was the first woman to look at him like this…ever. Not like he was a star, or like he was intimidating, or like he was someone to impress. Her look was clear, unguarded, guileless…
He realized he’d been holding his breath as he stared at her, afraid that he’d say or do something to ruin that vulnerable moment. Whether she knew it or not, this woman was offering him something—something pure and good that ought to be cherished. Something that should be treasured, by someone who understood its value.
By someone who understood her value.
And that person definitely wasn’t Brent.
“It must be hard to know who to trust,” she said again.
He didn’t deny it. What would be the point? What she said was the truth. “I guess at some point I stopped trying.”
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “It just became easier to not trust people than to risk trusting the wrong person.”
She stared at him for a long moment before nodding. “Yeah, I get that.”
They went back to eating, and the conversation switched to topics far less weighty, but Cole couldn’t quite shake a nagging sensation that made his mind return again and again to that conversation. It had been something in her eyes—not judgement but…pity. Or at least, sadness on his behalf.
The thought made him feel queasy even as they enjoyed the rest of their day, going over plans for the house and making dinner together for the second night in a row.
“I’m going to head up to read in bed,” Callie said after they finished putting away the leftovers. “The cable hasn’t been hooked up yet, but—”
“I’ll be fine,” he said.
She hesitated in the doorway and he caught the way she was fidgeting with the edge of her T-shirt.
“Are you nervous for tomorrow?”
She wrinkled her nose up. “Which part? First day of a new job or the camera crews that will be documenting my new fake relationship?”
He let out a short laugh and scratched the back of his neck. “Which one makes you more anxious?”
She hitched her lips to the side as she considered. “It’s a toss-up.”
He leaned back against the counter in this kitchen that was starting to feel oddly like home. “You’re totally prepared for both,” he said. “You’ll do great.”
She nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. He wasn’t sure what compelled him but he found himself moving toward her, coming to stand in front of her and grasping her shoulders in his grip. “You’ve got this,” he said, bending down to drop a light kiss on her forehead.
The move was far from sensual, but he felt that contact like lightning in his limbs.
She let out a shaky breath and tilted her head back to smile up at him. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” he murmured as he watched her walk away.
“Oh, and Callie?”
She turned back with a questioning look, that vulnerability so clear it hit him like a punch in the gut. “Yeah?”
“I bet you’re an amazing teacher. Those kids are going to love you.”
She grinned and the sight of it had his chest tightening painfully. “What about your fans?” she said, a teasing glint in her eyes.
“They’ll love you as much as I do,” he said. Her eyes widened in surprise and what he’d said registered. “I mean, as much as I’m supposed to…”
She laughed and waved a hand like she was dismissing the awkwardness of the moment. “I knew what you meant.”
He watched her walk away and for a second there he found himself wondering. Had that been a slip of the tongue…or was he really starting to fall for his fake fiancée?
Chapter Ten
The next morning was a blur of activity, with a film crew traipsing through her home before she could say ‘good morning, anyone want breakfast?’
Cole assured her she should just go about her life as usual after he introduced her to the camera guys and his crew. Sure. Just the usual—eating breakfast and making chitchat with America’s favorite hunky handyman.
Yup, totally normal. Nothing weird at all about this.
Oh yeah…and it was her first day at a new school.
“You’ve got this,” Cole whispered to her as he gave her a big hug and a peck on the cheek for the cameraman’s sake.
She tried to say ‘thanks’ but it came out as a pathetic high-pitched moan that made him laugh as he patted her back, gently pushing her out the door. “Have a good day, honey.”
She snort laughed on her way to the car at the sing-song way he’d said it. He was really getting into character while she was just trying her best not to hyperventilate.
Leah greeted her in front of her classroom with a hug. “Nervous?” she asked.
“Um…”
“Just don’t let the kids see.” She lowered her voice with a wicked grin. “They can sense fear, you know.”
“So I’ve heard,” Callie whispered back. But her new friend’s lighthearted teasing helped to put her at ease.
“Good luck,” Leah said, squeezing her shoulders before heading toward her own classroom. “I can’t wait to hear how it goes.”
She’d made it a few steps before turning back around and wagging her eyebrows. “And don’t think I’m letting you off the hook. I want to hear all about your new man.”
Callie swallowed, her original nerves back in full force for an entirely different reason.
Leah laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ll wait to grill you until Angela can join us. I won’t make you tell the same story over and over again.”
Callie forced a smile. Great. She only had to tell one gigantic whopper instead of hundreds. That was something, right?
“Oh, and Angela’s friend Ellie should be back from her honeymoon next week, I’m sure she’ll want to hear about it too. All four of us should go out for a girls’ night so you can tell us all about how you met…” She wagged her eyebrows again. “The handyman.”
Callie couldn’t stop a laugh at her friend’s antics, even though her insides were still a tight knot at the thought of all the lying to come. She hadn’t even met Angela’s best friend yet and she was already planning on lying to her.
Leah gave a little wave and wished her luck once more before disappearing into her own classroom.
Just then the hall started to swarm with kids as another bus emptied out and the students poured in. Little ones trickled into her classroom with their eager smiles and excited chatter, and soon enough, Callie’s nerves disappeared as she greeted her new students and answered their questions.
The morning flew by in a haze of ice-breaking games and lesson plans, and before she had a chance to fret about the cameramen in her home, or the hottie who was there waiting for her, or all the anxieties of a new job…she looked up to see it was time for lunch.
Lunch.
Oh no.
Leah poked her head into her now empty classroom as Callie dropped her head into her hands with a groan. “What’s wrong?”
Callie faced her friend with a forced smile. “Oh nothing major. I just forgot my lunch, that’s all.”
So not a big deal, but not exactly the best start to her day. What else had she forgotten in the chaos that was her morning?
“No worries, hon,” Leah said. “We’ll find you something in the cafeteria, or the vending machines in the teachers’ lounge.”
Callie nodded and followed her friend toward the lounge. At least she had a friend here. That was something. “You’re right. It’s not a big deal, I’ll just grab something—”
Callie ceased talking and Leah stopped walking when they both spotted the tall, muscular, ridiculously handsome man in the hallway just outside the teachers’ lounge.
“I know he’s yours and all,” Leah said in a whisper. “But I hope it’s okay if I swoon, because I’m totally swooning over here.”
Callie bit her lip to hold back a laugh, because honestly… She was sort of swooning too. Not only was the big, bad TV star standing in an elementary school hallway looking bizarrely out of place—he was holding her lunch bag.
He turned to face them with that familiar stern expression—his resting tough guy face, she’d come to think of it. But everything about that expression and his presence just looked so out of place standing next to the fluorescent, cartoon-covered posters in the hallway that she had to clap a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.
His eyes met hers at that same moment and she thought she caught a flicker of amusement there as he held up the bag. “Forget something?”
She heard Leah’s sigh at the low, rumbly voice, and she couldn’t blame her. More than twenty-four straight hours listening to that voice and it still hadn’t lost the ability to make her heart stutter.
“Thank you,” she said as she snatched the bag from his hand.
“Hi Cole,” Leah said. To Callie she added, “I’ll save you a seat,” before slipping into the teachers’ lounge, giving Callie a funny little wink before she disappeared.
“Thanks,” Callie said again as she lifted the bag. “But you didn’t have to.”
He shrugged. “It was no problem—I needed a break anyway.”
“Is my house that bad?” she teased. “Are you and your crew overwhelmed already?”
His grin was there and gone so fast she might’ve imagined it. “Hardly. Yours is far from the most intensive renovation my team has done.”
“I’d love to hear about the worst some time.” This was the truth. Not only did she love the show, and home renovations were seriously her jam, but she realized with a start that she just loved talking to this guy. The past twenty-four hours had been remarkably easy, their conversations effortless as if they’d known each other for years instead of days.
“How’s the filming going?” she asked.
“They’re done for the morning,” he said. “They got some footage of me and the crew going over the game plan for the next couple weeks, and there’s not much for them to see until you get home from work.”
She drew in a deep breath at the reminder that her day was far from done. He leaned in slightly. “You did great this morning.”
She smiled. “I did?”
He nodded. “If I didn’t know better I would have thought you were just another lovesick engaged person getting ready for her first day at a new job.”
She laughed. “Yeah, well. You make it easy to look lovesick.”
Um. Wait. That came out wrong. Heat seared her cheeks at the unintentionally flirty statement, but his easy grin made her forget all about the silly admission.
“How’s the first day going?” he asked.
“Good,” she said, her voice just a little high-pitched and breathless as she filled him in on the whirlwind of her morning—the new students, the funny things they’d said, the new teachers she’d met between classes.
He listened with the same intensity that he seemed to do everything in life, and being the sole focus of that undivided attention was heady. Any lingering stress and anxiety from that morning dissolved in the face of it.
He had a way of doing that—of putting her at ease. Of putting her comfort above his own. A rush of gratitude had her chest tightening as she talked. He’d opened his
life up to public scrutiny and all to save her from embarrassment. He’d put his whole life on hold just to shack up with her and play pretend. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve this guy in her life, but she would always be grateful.
“Sounds like you’re a hit,” he murmured when she’d finished filling him in on her morning.
Tilting her head back and forth she gave him a falsely modest grin. “I might be something of a hit.”
He laughed and the sound did funny things to her limbs. It was silly that the man still had such an effect on her. One would think her star-struck state would fade after some time in his company. And it had. She no longer even thought of him as a TV star…so then why did his proximity still make her feel lightheaded and dizzy? Why did his laugh make her knees go weak and her mouth go dry?
She heard voices coming down the hall behind her—a few teachers heading toward the lounge. Teachers who would likely recognize Cole and wonder what he was doing here. Her nerves were back, but not the anxiety. This was it—one of those moments when she should introduce him as her new boyfriend. Her new fiancé.
Licking her lips, she glanced back at Cole but he was giving her a lopsided smile that made her heart do a backflip. “I’ve got to head home,” he said, giving her an out. He’d duck out before they arrived. But in that moment she wanted to prove to him that she could do this. She wouldn’t let him down and she wouldn’t let him be the only one who was committed to making their fake relationship a success.
The teachers down the hall had spotted them—she knew it by the way they got so suddenly quiet, their voices turning to hushed whispers in the face of a celebrity.
This was it. Her chance to show him she’d do whatever it took to make people believe that this thing between them was real.
She didn’t think it through, she just rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him.
It was just a light brush of her lips against his, but it was just as powerful as their last kiss. Electricity shot through her and her lungs let out a rush of air as she pulled back.
His eyes were dark and stormy, but then they cleared almost instantly as his gaze shot from her to the group of teachers who’d just walked past them into the lounge with more than a few curious looks.
The (Not So) Perfect Fiancé Page 10