Pretend I'm Yours (Pretend 1)

I can’t be feeling this way already. I blink back the tears and put the ice on my wrist.

Kade reappears from my bedroom moments later in his jeans. He walks over to me, and I think he’s going to give me an explanation or at least say he’s sorry.

“I’m going to need my shirt,” Kade says.

“Oh,” is all that leaves my mouth. I quickly remove the shirt until I’m standing naked in front of him, and he’s fully dressed.

And then, he walks out my front door without a goodbye, a kiss on the cheek, or any words at all.

I hate him.

Good.

That’s what I wanted. To know that he can live up to his bad boy reputation and be just as bad to me as everyone else. It will stop me from feeling special. And will help me remember that after the year is up, I’ll return to being nothing to him.

I head to the shower. I don’t want to smell like him and be reminded of him all night. So I shower and put on a shirt and sweatpants that I find at the top of one of the boxes labeled clothing. I spend a few minutes digging my bathroom items out of boxes, and then I grab the ice I left in the freezer before my shower. I head to Serena’s bed to ice my ankle and wrist. I guess I’m sleeping in her bed with her for the next few nights. Good thing she has a king-sized bed.

I’ll spend the night icing my sore body and watching horror movies to distract myself from being pissed at Kade for walking out without an explanation.

A knock on the door stops me in my tracks. Did Kade decide to come back?

I walk to the door carefully, so I don’t fall and injure myself again. I open the door.

“Delivery for a Miss Day,” the man says, dressed in jeans and a dark shirt.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t order anything.”

He holds out the bag to me. “It’s already been paid for by a Mr. King who said to tell you he is incredibly sorry and to give you this note.”

I take the note and the bag from him before going back inside. I place the bag on my kitchen counter and read the note.

* * *

Larkyn,

I’m sorry I left without a goodbye or explanation. I’m not used to being accountable to another person. A family emergency came up that I need to take care of. So sorry to cut our night short. I’ll make up the shower sex to you soon. Promise. Stop being stubborn and ice your ankle and wrist. And wear your braces. I’ll punish you if you don’t.

—Kade

* * *

Dammit.

One note and a container of sushi and I like him again. I can’t even go one night without hating him. My heart doesn’t stand a chance at not falling in love during this next year.

10

Kade

I’m getting married to the perfect woman. Not because I love her or want a normal marriage with her, but because she is exactly what I need to make my problems go away. Women will stop hitting on me and trying to trap me by getting pregnant. And after we get divorced, women will realize that Larkyn got almost nothing in the divorce. One million is nothing to these women. They will realize I’m not worth the effort. It’s a brilliant plan.

Now I have to stand at the end of the aisle with Axel, my best friend, and hope Larkyn actually walks down the aisle and marries me, instead of making me look like a fool by not showing up. She’s signed the contract, and the money will be deposited in her account the second she says ‘I do,’ but it’s still a lot to ask of her.

I’ve barely seen Larkyn this week. The handful of times I’ve seen her were when we were meeting to decide which cake or flowers we were going to use. Or when we met with the overly ambitious wedding planner, I hired to get the wedding planned in less than a week at the five-star hotel I’m currently standing in. I’ll give it to our wedding planner and Serena; together they made a great team and somehow came in under the budget I gave them, while giving me everything I wanted.

Larkyn didn’t have an opinion about any of the details. I was afraid I was even going to have to pick out her wedding dress for her. Luckily, I didn’t, so I have no idea what she is going to look like walking toward me. For all I know, she will be in jeans and a tank top.

I haven’t had time to fully explain to Larkyn since I walked out on her. She’s still pissed; she has a right to be. But I’ll spend this week making it up to her, because I don’t plan on leaving her side after we say our vows.