My Counterfeit Fiancé: A Friends to Lovers Romance

by Remi Grey

  Or maybe I’d just been too afraid to lose my best friend, so I’d chickened out for fear of rejection.

  Rejection was my biggest fear.

  My dad rejected me, my so-called friends turned on me; why would Jackson or any other man for that matter want me?

  How can someone love me when I don’t even really love myself?

  ~~~

  I’m a divorced single mother, whose ex-husband also rejected me, who’s barely a real journalist for a pitiful excuse of a magazine that puts out more garbage than our local waste management company.

  It's a soul-sucking job, but someone's gotta do it, and I guess that someone is me.

  I have an eight-year-old mouth to feed, and my mother isn’t getting any younger; she took me in with a six-month-old without question or judgment when she really didn’t have the room for us in her small two-bedroom apartment.

  Since we’ve moved into the larger house, I don’t feel so guilty for imposing on her all those years, but being the sole breadwinner after Mom’s accident has been hard on me, and I don’t have the luxury to dream.

  Sometimes, when I'm alone, I've found myself reminiscing about the times that Jackson and I would talk about our future and what we wanted to be. Back then, it seemed like those dreams would be so easy to obtain, but I picked love over sensibility, and Jackson picked expectation over passion.

  The two of us really were a pair, both giving in and allowing outside forces to put us in the exact mold we absolutely swore we would never be when we grew up.

  At least Jackson was a success at something even though he wasn't doing exactly what he wanted to do. I, on the other hand, wrote for a magazine that published articles like: "Can toenail fungus really stop your partner from giving you a great foot massage?" or my all-time favorite: "STI's, everyone's had one why not you."

  Total embarrassment especially when your name was smack dab under it in big, bold letters.

  The only thing that made it worth it was the look on my daughter’s face when I pick her up and take her to the home that I pay for with those horrible articles.

  I'm putting a roof overhead, clothes on her back food on our table, and that realization helps to erase the negative feelings I harbor about myself, at least for a while.

  ~~~

  I couldn’t believe Jackson talked me into another one of his family dinners at his parents’ place.

  He knew how his mom felt about me; I might as well have been wearing the scarlet “A” on my outfit every time I came.

  She detested me; she has ever since the first time he brought me home to study for our Biology exam.

  She gave me such a look of disgust like I was the dirtiest thing she had ever witnessed.

  I found out later that the rumors preceded me, and she had already made up her mind about me before she ever took the time to get to know my mother or me.

  That woman had eyes everywhere, which didn’t exclude her son’s school activities and friend choices.

  I tried to win her over with my charm and wit, but I was doomed from the start, so I just stopped trying after a while, choosing to direct my attention to Jackson's other family members.

  His dad was awesome, and so was David, his younger brother. I convinced myself that that was enough. But if I were frank with myself, I would have admitted my disappointment long ago.

  I even had a dream once that Jackson and I walked into his home hand in hand, smiling the smile that two people smile when they’re in love, and she greeted me with open arms, inviting me into her son’s life.

  I knew I would never receive her acceptance like I dreamed, so he and I could never be.

  I could see it now: Jackson and me telling her that we love each other and we’re in a relationship. Ha, she would probably spontaneously combust right there in front of us, or even worse accuse me of wanting her precious son for his money and influence to help clean up my tarnished reputation.

  That would be one hell of a conversation for sure.

  I had one hour or so left until dinner. I had the seal of approval from Jackson via Face Time, and I was out the door to pick up Lark from her bestie's house.

  I thank God for her; she’s a firecracker same as her crazy old mom used to be. She really was a mini-me as Uncle Jackson had so affectionately nicknamed her.

  I envied her. She was exactly who she wanted to be because life hadn’t told her otherwise.

  I tried my best to keep her out of the mess her father and I made of our marriage and protect her from the harsh realities of how humans can really be.

  She knew nothing of ridicule or hatred, and I was going to keep it that way for as long as Mommy could.

  ~~~

  “Hey, cutie pie,” I said, greeting Lark as she climbed in the car, taking a moment to wave and thank her bestie’s mom, Laura, for hosting their usual shenanigans.

  “Hi, Mommy, you look pretty,” she complimented, dragging her book bag across her, throwing it in the seat next to her in the back and buckling her seat belt.

  “Thank you, baby,” I said, reaching back to squeeze her sweet little hand before we pulled off and headed toward home.

  “I know you can’t be all dressed up just to pick me up from Grey’s; where are you going?”

  “My smart little girl,” I complimented her smiling as I peeked at her in the rearview mirror. “Mommy’s going out to eat dinner with Uncle Jackson tonight.

  “Mommy, can I ask you something?”

  "Sure baby." I made sure to keep my eyes on the road since the intersection between Grey's street, and the road we needed to take back home was particularly congested tonight.

  “Why don’t you and Uncle Jackson hurry up and get married already?” she said with the straightest face I’d ever seen her give me.

  I'd only seen a face similar to this one other time, and that was when she was pleading her case on why we should pack up and move to California so that she could be on dance moms.

  “What? You do know that mommy and Uncle J are just friends, right?”

  “That’s what you keep telling me,” she laughed.

  “You’re too grown for your own good. What do you know about a relationship?”

  “I know that you and Uncle J love each other and that he loves me. He’s there for us, and he even takes care of Nana K.”

  Nana K is her cute little nickname for my mom; the name Grandma would never sound right coming from my child’s mouth anyway.

  “Yes, I know he loves us and takes good care of Nana K, but that’s a different kind of love, baby. There are several different ways you can love someone. You know that, right?”

  “Mom, what am I? Five? Of course, I know that, but I see the way you and Uncle J act together; that’s real love like on Andi Mack.”

  “What? Little girl, please!” I laughed so hard I couldn’t even complete my turn into our driveway. “I knew I shouldn’t let you watch that show; it’s putting too many wild ideas into your head.”

  “I loved that show,” she said, pretending to be completely heartbroken. “I wish they wouldn’t have canceled it.”

  “Lark we can have this discussion later. Be a good girl for Nana.” I finished unlocking the back doors, waiting for her to remove her seat belt, grab her glitter sequin backpack, and head to the front door where my mom is waiting with open arms to hug her.

  I wave at the both of them, back out of the drive, and I was on my way to J’s parent’s opulent estate.

  It was more like a prison if you asked me with J's mom playing the part of the strict warden, hell-bent on keeping her inmates in line.

  That woman really was a nightmare.

  Why was I doing this again?

  Why did I continue to sit next to Jackson, being his crutch, supporting him through every…Single…One…Of these so-called family dinners, watching him shrink before me, questioning his own judgment?

  Why was I subjecting myself to an entire meal of a one-sided conversation with a woman that obviously loathes me an
d made no attempt to hide it?

  Why did I even keep trying?

  It was simple.

  Because I love Jackson Price.

  Chapter 3

  Sham

  “Mom, what is this?” I asked her after excusing myself and pulling her into the kitchen.

  “Isn’t she beautiful, Jackson? I told her all about you, and she was very interested and also very single,” she said in a tone that I knew was her way of giving me her seal of approval.

  “I thought I made it clear that I don’t need to be set up, least of all by my mother, who knows absolutely nothing about the type of woman I want to share my life with.”

  "Well, whose fault is that? You never bring women home to meet us; you live like a hermit, totally engrossed in your work," she said, turning away from me like she was done with the conversation. "Good Lord, Jackson, the only woman you bring home is that Raegan and Lord knows she would never do as your future wife."

  “What’s that supposed to mean? How could you even say that about her? You don’t know her, and you’ve never taken the time to see how clever and talented she is.”

  “I couldn’t care less about Raegan Miller. Simone, on the other hand, is a perfect catch.”

  “First of all, Mom, Raegan’s last name isn’t Miller anymore, and second, Raegan and I are dating. We’ve been dating seriously for some time now, and we’re talking about possibly getting married.”

  What the hell! Why did I just say that? Raegan is going to kill me!

  Before I knew it, my mom went down with a thud, collapsing right in front of me onto the expensive travertine tile floor.

  Unbelievable, just like her to be overly dramatic in this situation.

  “What’s going on over here?” my dad said, rushing into the kitchen frantically, searching for answers. “Oh my God, Evelyn. Are you okay? Jackson, help me pick your mother up off the floor!”

  Together, we managed to gather up mom off the floor and put her in the closest available chair to revive her.

  “What in the world did you say to your mother that caused this kind of a reaction, son?”

  “You know how she is, Dad. She was going on and on about how I never bring any women home to meet the family, how this Simone person she just sprung on me is such a catch, and then she went off on a tangent about how Raegan wasn’t marriage material and one thing lead to another...so I told her that Raegan and I were seeing each other and possibly getting married.”

  "Ok…so, is it true?" he probed, holding Mom up to prop a pillow behind her back before heading into the kitchen to get a wet rag.

  “Is what true? That Mom is always meddling in my personal life, that she doesn’t know me at all, that she hates the truest friend I’ve ever had?”

  “You know what I mean, son. Stop trying to avoid the subject; you can’t fool an old dog like me,” he chuckled, patting my mom on the forehead with the wet towel he’d just prepared.

  “Yes, Raegan and I are together,” I lied, hoping to be as convincing as possible.

  “Good for you, son,” Dad congratulated with a wink and a sideways smirk.

  “Really, that’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”

  “What else is there to say? I’ve always liked Raegan; it’s your mother who’s so opposed to her, not me.”

  I took a long hard look at my dad with complete disbelief.

  I've never heard Dad disagree with Mom. In our household, her word is golden, and that's just how it is. Everyone knows that so to hear my dad have an opposing opinion was like I was just hit with lightning.

  “Is everything all right in here?” Raegan enquired, her voice snapping me out of my current state.

  I'm surprised she didn't hear the whole thing being so close to the kitchen, but thankfully she didn't, or I'd be in a lot more trouble right now.

  “Is Mrs. Price all right?” Simone asked, following right after Raegan.

  “She’s perfectly all right. She just fainted. She’ll be up and at ‘em in no time,” my dad said as my mom started to awaken. “You kids get out of here; I can take it from here.”

  "Mr. Price, I'd like to stay and help if you don't mind," Simone says, turning her attention to mom.

  “Sure, dear, that would be fine.”

  “Jackson,” Simone said, turning to me. “I hope you’re not going just yet. I would love to get to chat with you a bit after I help your dad with Evelyn.

  Evelyn…she was already on a first name basis with my mom? What the hell?

  “Actually, I have to take Raegan home. So, unfortunately, I don’t have time to chat at the moment,” I answered as arrogantly as possible, hoping that she got the hint that I was not at all interested and at this point I think dinner was pretty much over.

  “That’s a shame,” she said, giving me a pout. “Maybe we can do lunch later this week?”

  "I'm going to be busy with patient cases for the remainder of the week, so that's highly unlikely."

  “Well, I know where to find you. Maybe one day I’ll get lucky.”

  She doesn’t give up easily, I’ll give her that. No wonder Evelyn likes her so much; she’s a chip off the old block.

  I could see my life now. It would be exactly like being married to my mother. The thought made me cringe, and I began to feel extremely uncomfortable in places I wouldn't care to mention. That's a sure-fire way to ruin a man's hard-on, quick.

  “Raegan,” I said, pointing out of the kitchen toward the nearest exit.

  I had to get out of there. I also had to explain to Raegan why I’d lied and told my mother that we were not only dating seriously but also considering marriage.

  There was no possible way that I could fathom to soften that blow.

  “Care to clue me in on what exactly happened in there? You must have really said something for her to react that way,” Raegan said after we left the kitchen.

  I didn’t answer.

  “C’mon, it couldn’t have been that traumatic,” she laughed. “Did you finally tell her how you’ve felt all these years and that you’re ready to make a change in your life?”

  “Not exactly, but I did tell her something.” I cowered.

  “J, what did you do?” she asked sternly, looking me straight in the eyes.

  "I'll tell you when we're alone." I guided her out of the front door and to my car.

  “Wait, did you forget I drove myself tonight?” she asked. “I went along with it inside because it was clear that you didn’t want to hang out with that Simone woman, but I didn’t know that you were serious.”

  "I'm very serious. Fine, we'll take your car, and I'll pick mine up in the morning, or you can follow me to my house, and I promise I'll explain everything. Let's just get out of here."

  This is not going to be fun.

  ~~~

  “You did what!” Raegan said, rising to her feet in my living room.

  "I know, I know, Raegan. It wasn't my finest moment, but my mom was driving me absolutely nuts talking about me never bringing women home, and then she started to bad mouth you, and it just came out," I said apologetically, hoping to help the situation just a little.

  "That's still no excuse to lie to your mom. We're not together, Jackson," she snarled. "The woman already hates me; now, she's probably going to start protesting on my lawn for the whole neighborhood to see hoping to excommunicate me from her precious son's life.

  I laughed at the thought of my mom doing that. Raegan has always had a way with words that made any situation hilarious.

  “This isn’t funny, Jackson,” she said, flopping back down on my couch, arm sprayed across her face in disgust.

  “I really am sorry, Rae. I wasn’t thinking; it just came out. I hated how she was belittling you, and I wanted to prove to her that you were more than worthy of my affection.”

  “I don’t need you to prove to anyone, least of all your mom, that I’m worthy of anyone’s affection, J,” she said with a tear falling from her eye.

  “That’s no
t what I meant at all, Rae.” I grabbed her hand in mine. “Maybe that came out wrong.”

  She was silent.

  “Look at me, Pres.,” I said, knowing that would get her attention.

  “You do know that for me the sun rises and sets with you and Lark, don’t you?” I asked, searching her eyes for signs of forgiveness. “You’re my best friend, and I’m in constant awe of you. It’s me and everyone else who isn’t worthy of you.