A Fake Marriage Romance Collection

by Victorine E. Lieske

  Her breath caught. Then Blake would know she’d lied to him. “Oh, no. I couldn’t.”

  “Why not? You weren’t expecting to carry on this lie forever, were you?”

  “No…I thought…” What did she think? Maybe that was her trouble. She wasn’t thinking. She’d jumped into this lie to help her business, but it wasn’t about that anymore. If she were honest with herself, then she would have to admit it hadn’t been about that for a long time.

  She was using the lie to keep Blake away. To shield her heart from falling again. But it hadn’t worked. And now she had to give up the lie.

  She let out a breath. “I don’t know what I thought.”

  Ted gave her a sympathetic look. “You have to tell him.”

  She stared at Ted. “What are you talking about?”

  “Blake. You have to tell him you love him.”

  She gaped. “I…When did…How did you…”

  “Come on, it’s obvious. You deny it, but your actions say otherwise.”

  Great. If Ted could see it, that must mean everyone else could too. Now, instead of her own private humiliation, she would get to live out a very public one. She was in love with a guy who she set up with someone else through her own matchmaking service. She covered her face with her hands and moaned. “That figures.”

  “It’s not so bad,” Ted said. “Your mother already knows, and she was the hard one, right? Now all you have to do is tell Blake.”

  She nodded. “You’re right. Of course you are.” It was the logical thing to do. The right thing to do.

  Then why did she feel a sudden panic clawing its way through her?

  Sidney pulled her car up to Blake’s house and put it in park. She could do this. Right? She had to. Ted was right. Just rip off the Band-Aid.

  The morning was cool and his lawn was still wet with dew. Was he up yet? She checked her watch. Nine o’clock. That wasn’t too early, was it? She stopped on the sidewalk, clutching her purse, unsure if she should continue to his house or come back later. Maybe after lunch would be better.

  No. She needed to do this now. Gathering up her courage, she strode up his front walkway and onto the porch. She pressed the doorbell before she could talk herself out of it.

  Blake came to the door in a T-shirt and a pair of worn jeans with splotches of paint on them. His eyebrows rose when he saw it was her. “Sidney?”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. You look like you’re in the middle of something.”

  “I was, but it can wait.” He stepped to the side. “Do you want to come in?”

  Say no. Say no. “Sure.” Gah. Why didn’t she listen to her inner voice? She walked into his living room and took a look around. “Kind of sparse in here, isn’t it?”

  Blake chuckled. “I’m not all the way unpacked yet.”

  “What?” She whacked him in the chest. “It’s been like a whole month since you moved in.”

  “I know. I’m a slacker. Please, sit.” He motioned to the leather couch. Besides that, there was one end table and a lamp. A fireplace took up part of one wall, and a large screen TV hung above the mantle, but the rest of the room was bare.

  She sat on the very edge of the couch, to maybe give herself a nice quick exit after she spilled her guts. Nerves shot through her and she swallowed.

  Blake plopped down and stretched his arms over the back of the couch. He looked like he belonged there. “What can I do for you?”

  Oh no. Now it was time for her to talk, and her mouth was too dry. Her insides quivered. She couldn’t do this. “Nothing…I just…wanted to talk.”

  A curious look overtook his face. “Go for it.”

  “Ted and I…” Her throat closed and she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t make a sound. Okay, the Band-Aid didn’t want to come off. It was stuck to her skin. Pulling fast wasn’t working. He was sitting there staring at her, and she couldn’t tell him. The words wouldn’t come out. How was she supposed to tell him she lied about Ted, oh, and by the way, she’d fallen in love with him?

  No. That wasn’t going to happen. And her lungs needed air. Now. “We broke up,” she said, forcing it out. She sucked in air, and tried not to pass out on his floor.

  Blake’s eyes widened, and he leaned forward. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay. We were having problems.” Guilt wormed its way through her at how easily the lie came off her lips. “I think it’s for the better.”

  He looked at her thoughtfully. “So, now what?”

  “I go back to being single I guess.”

  “You’re still wearing your ring.”

  “Right.” Crud. She’d forgotten to take it off. “I meant to give it back…to Ted.” She wiggled it off her finger and stared at it. “Guess I have to do that still.”

  Blake sat silent while she put the ring in her purse. She didn’t know what else to say. Telling him she was in love with him was out. Totally. That Band-Aid was stuck fast, and not coming off. Ever.

  The silence was getting awkward, so she stood. “Okay, well, that’s all. I better be going.”

  Blake hopped up off the couch. “Wait. There’s nothing else you want to say?”

  “What else did you want me to say?” Panic ripped through her.

  He rubbed his forehead. “Nothing.” He raked his hand through his hair and then smiled. “Since you’re here, want to help me with something?”

  What did that mean? “Sure,” she said tentatively.

  He led her through the dining room and into the kitchen. The walls were taped and painted in primer, and the floor was covered with a drop cloth. “I’m ready to paint, but I can’t decide.” He held up two paint chips, one a deep red, the other a dark green.

  She looked around at his dark cabinets and frowned. “I’d go with a lighter color.” She fished through a stack of paint chips and picked one up. “This would look good.”

  He made a face. “Tan?”

  “It’s not tan, it’s…” She peered at the paint chip. “Caramel Kiss.”

  “Well, I think I’d like a little more color in here. You know, liven things up a bit.” He squinted at her. “You used to like color. I remember you painting your bedroom walls purple.”

  She laughed, her tension slipping away. She was glad they weren’t still talking about her and Ted. “Yes, and it’s still purple. If my parents ever want to sell that house, they’re going to have to give it a good three or four coats of Caramel Kiss.”

  “I can’t paint my kitchen tan. Any other colors catch your eye?”

  She shuffled through the samples and then held up a light blue. “I like this one.”

  He leaned over her shoulder. “Jamaica Bay. I like that one. Mostly blue, but has a little bit of teal in it.”

  “I think it would go well with the dark fixtures you have in here.”

  He nodded. “You’re right. Jamaica Bay it is.” He grinned at her. “Wanna come to the store with me?”

  Her first instinct was to say no, that she had something with Ted, but then she realized she couldn’t use Ted as an excuse anymore. “Are you trying to sucker me into helping you paint?”

  “Would it work?”

  “Only if there’s ice cream involved.”

  “Deal.” He turned his full grin on her, which made her heart flip-flop in her chest.

  She turned away, unable to bear it. “Okay, let’s go.”

  It didn’t take long to get to the store. Blake talked to the paint guy while she walked down the paintbrush aisle. She grabbed a roller and then looked at the brushes. When Blake came around the corner, she held up two different kinds. “This one is cheaper, but this other one will do a better job.”

  Blake scratched his chin. “Better to spend an extra dollar or two now, and have a better paint job in the end.” He took the cheaper one from her and slid it back on the peg hook. She ignored the tingles as their fingers touched.

  When the paint was ready, they paid for their items and left the store. Blake drove down the stree
t, staring straight ahead. “Do you mind if I ask what happened, between you and Ted?”

  Sidney groaned inwardly. Nice. Now she had to lie some more. Guilt made her stomach turn. “We realized it wasn’t working.” That was sort of true. It wasn’t working, because they weren’t really dating…and because Grayson figured it out.

  He nodded, still not looking at her. “And what made you come tell me about it?” He clenched his jaw, like he was upset about something.

  “I just figured you should know.” Did he think she was trying to imply something? She quickly went on. “I mean, not that I think you and me…” She nervously laughed. “You’re dating Angie now. So don’t get the wrong idea.”

  He lifted an eyebrow and looked at her. “The wrong idea?”

  Gah. Now he wanted her to explain herself? “Yeah. We’re just friends. And friends tell each other stuff, right? That’s all. I was just…telling you.”

  Oh, please let that be enough.

  He clenched the steering wheel and slowly nodded, staring ahead again. “I see.”

  He didn’t say anything more, and she breathed an internal sigh of relief.

  Chapter 20

  Blake didn’t know what was going on. Sidney was abandoning her fake relationship, but was not coming clean about it. She was still holding onto the lie. And to make matters worse, she was still keeping her distance. He wasn’t sure why she hadn’t simply kept up the pretense of her and Ted. And why had she come all the way over to his house? It didn’t make sense. The only thing he could gather was that she wanted to tell him something more, but was too embarrassed.

  He pulled into the garage and opened the door for Sidney. Maybe if they spent the day together, she’d open up. They brought the painting supplies into the kitchen. “Here, let me get you something to put on over your shirt. I’m sure you don’t want to get paint on your nice clothes.”

  She shrugged. “Okay.”

  He went into his bedroom and rummaged through his closet. After he found an old dress shirt that was too tight around his neck, he walked back into the kitchen and tossed it at her. She held it up. “You want me to wear a dress shirt? To paint in?”

  “It’s too tight. I won’t wear it again.”

  She looked at him like he was a bit crazy, but put the shirt on anyway. The sleeves hung down too long, so she rolled them up.

  Man, she looked good in his shirt. He turned away. “That works.”

  She poured paint into the tray and they both got started in with their brushes. Blake glanced at her as they worked. She was going fast, but her paint was smooth. “You’re good. You have a lot of experience painting?”

  “Yes. My freshman year I worked for a guy who flipped houses. I mostly painted, but sometimes he had me laying tile or putting up drywall. I learned a lot.”

  “Impressive.”

  She smiled. “He paid well, and I enjoyed the work. Sadly, he went out of business after a year, so I had to find another job.”

  He wanted to keep her talking. She was more relaxed that way. “What did you do then?”

  “Don’t laugh.” She pointed at him.

  “That’s not fair. You can’t tell me I can’t laugh, because that makes me think of laughing. Now I have to laugh, no matter what you say.”

  “Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “I was a telemarketer.”

  He chuckled. “No way.”

  She dipped her brush into the paint. “I know. It’s a terrible job, but it pays well. Even better than painting.” She’d covered twice as much as he’d done, in the same amount of time.

  “Did you get a lot of angry people on the phone?”

  “No, not really. It wasn’t so bad. I was an inbound telemarketer, which is the kind you get when you call in to a company. So, I mainly took orders and tried to up-sell people.”

  “Ah, so you weren’t the annoying girl who called at supper time.”

  She peered at him, her lashes low. “No. I was the annoying girl who took your call to order a handbag, and by the time you got off the phone I’d convinced you to buy the matching coin purse, wallet and shoes.”

  He smiled. “Ooh, what color purse did I buy?”

  “Blue. To match your eyes.” The way she’d said it sounded quite flirty, and she blushed.

  Blake laughed. “I can see why it paid more than painting. I bet you up-sold quite a bit.”

  She didn’t answer, just focused on her painting while turning a deeper red.

  “Looks like we can start with the rollers.” He set his paintbrush down and picked up a roller.

  She was faster at that, also, and soon they had the entire room painted. Sidney stood back, looking at their work. “You did a good job priming the wall. I don’t think we’ll need a second coat.”

  He stood beside her, studying the wall. “I agree.”

  She turned to him. “It looks nice.”

  “I’m glad you made me go with the lighter color. Makes the room look bigger.” He studied her face. “You’ve got an eyelash on your cheek.”

  She closed her eyes. “Get it off.”

  He brushed her cheek with the pad of his thumb, not realizing he had paint on him until she looked like she was preparing for some tribal war. “Oops.”

  She opened her eyes. “What?”

  He chuckled. “I got some paint on you.”

  Her mouth dropped open and she turned and bent over to look at her reflection on the toaster. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.” She picked up her brush.

  Blake took a step back, his hands up in a defensive move. “It was an accident!”

  She smiled, a devilish glint in her eyes. “Hold still, and it won’t be so bad.”

  “I’m not going to hold still while you paint my face.”

  She came at him fast. Her paintbrush bristles left wet paint on his nose before he caught her wrists. “Ha!” She laughed. “Gotcha.”

  He tried to turn her own paintbrush on her, but she was too strong. He couldn’t get it close enough. So he stepped forward and used his nose to get paint on her other cheek.

  “So not fair!” she said, laughing. “You wiped off all yours.”

  He was suddenly aware of how close he was to her. They were just inches apart, and he could feel her breath on his cheek. It made his heart speed up. He looked into the depths of her brown eyes, and all his playfulness vanished.

  He wanted to kiss her, but he knew he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. He couldn’t take that intimacy from her. She needed to give it to him.

  She sobered. “Okay. I surrender.” She let the paintbrush fall to the drop cloth, and she squirmed.

  He let her go and turned away. He needed to give up the idea that she was going to open up to him. She was still putting up walls, even if they were no longer named Ted.

  Sidney took a deep breath as she washed out the paintbrush. Why did Blake have such an effect on her? She really needed to get away from him. Being around him was just more torture on her. If she didn’t have the guts to tell him she loved him, then she needed to get out of the way and let him explore a relationship with Angie.

  The thought of Blake with Angie made her want to scream. But she’d matched them because they had so many common interests. And they both deserved someone in their life.

  Her stomach turned sour, and she looked at Blake. “I’m not feeling well. I’d better head home.”

  He turned off the faucet and gave her a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. I think I’m just tired.” She walked into the living room. “I might go home and take a nap.”

  “All right.” He didn’t look convinced. “Give me a call later. Let me know how you’re doing.”

  “Okay.” Not gonna happen. She didn’t look him in the eye. Instead, she picked up her purse and headed toward the door. She needed fresh air.

  She stepped out onto his porch. “See ya.” She hoped she wouldn’t. She needed a break from seeing him.

  He nodded. “Okay.” His eyes h
eld something, but she wasn’t quite sure what.

  She practically ran to her car and sped home. Once inside, she plopped down onto her living room chair. She looked down and realized she still had Blake’s dress shirt on. Dang. She unbuttoned it and tossed it on the coffee table. She’d have to give it back later. Or not.

  She snuggled down in her chair, the one perfect for watching TV, and turned on Netflix. Time for a Psych marathon. Shawn and Gus always made her laugh.

  But even as the opening song played, she knew it wasn’t going to make her feel any better. She’d gone to Blake’s house to get everything out in the open, and she’d failed. And the whole thing made her feel miserable.

  Two hours later, her phone pinged. She glanced at the screen.

  Grayson: Flying out in the morning. Want to do dinner?

  She smiled and typed out a reply. Okay. What time?

  Six. I’ll pick you up.

  Sidney hoped going out with Grayson would improve her mood, but as the time grew closer, her stomach grew worse. By six o’clock, she was feeling like she’d never get out from under the heavy feeling settling inside her.

  Grayson pulled up in his rental car. Sidney hopped in, glad to be doing something other than moping around her house. Grayson would be a good distraction.

  When he pulled into Sue’s parking lot, she groaned. Just what she needed, to be reminded of when she and Blake ate there.

  “What?” Grayson said, clearly annoyed. “You love Sue’s.”

  “Sorry. It’s fine. I’m just in a bad mood.”

  Grayson shot her a weird look and got out of the car. After they were seated, he leaned over his menu and cleared his throat. “Okay, spill it.”

  She stared at him. Was he taking her out just to get more info about her and Ted? That was a low thing to do. She frowned. “Spill what?”

  “Everything. I know about Ted, and I know you’re in love with Blake, so tell me what’s going on.”

  She pinched her lips together. Did the whole world know? “I guess there’s nothing to tell. You apparently already know everything.”