Misadventures of a Backup Bride

I couldn’t possibly have heard that right. But the deep male voice on the other end of the phone didn’t stutter. In fact, the buttery baritone gave me a shiver—until his meaning sank in. “Um… Could you repeat that?”

He laughs, breaking the tension. “Sorry. That was abrupt, wasn’t it? How about if I start from the beginning?”

“That would be fantastic.” I smile into the device.

“Hi, Ms. Hope. I’m Carson Frost. We met once—”

“At Shane’s birthday bash in March.”

“Right.” He sounds surprised that I remember.

There’s no way I could forget a man like him. If I had conjured up the perfect guy, the one who would forever make me long for sweaty nights and star in my masturbatory fantasies, it would be this one. He looks like a Viking someone shoved into a perfectly tailored suit. Blond, with sculpted cheekbones and a chiseled jaw worthy of Hollywood superstar status, penetrating blue eyes, and a mouth that made me wish like hell I wasn’t there with his friend. His smile seemed somehow boyish and fatal at once. The night we met, just shaking his hand made me tingle.

“Mr. Frost—”

“Carson,” he cuts in.

“Okay, Carson.” How can I phrase this without giving away the fact that even thoughts of him screw with my respiratory system? “I doubt you have trouble finding women who want to date you. Why hire an actress?”

“Got an hour?”

I can’t tell whether he’s serious. He seems like the no-nonsense sort who’s got a dry sense of humor, so I laugh. “Sure.”

It’s not as if talking to him is a hardship.

More like twenty minutes later, he finishes his tale. By then, my mouth is gaping open. To Carson’s credit, he’s really tried to make things work with his fiancée. I Googled her during his explanation. She’s gorgeous, wealthy, educated… It says a lot about him that he’s not hot to marry her simply because she’s got money and looks. In fact, I commend him for refusing to make them both miserable. And he’s tried being honest with her father about his feelings. The man simply isn’t listening. Even if Carson is hiring me to assist him in a giant lie, I think he has some scruples.

In my dating experience, that’s damn hard to find.

Not that my opinion matters. I need this job. I’ve got to pay my rent. Waiting tables isn’t covering the bills, and acting gigs are too few and far between to contribute significantly to my bank account.

“So, you want me to come to North Carolina immediately to meet Mr. Shaw and…what exactly?”

“Convince him we’re in love. I just admitted that to you today, by the way. You were stunned but thrilled. You think you might feel the same. We’re going to try to cement our relationship over the next two and a half weeks, before my wedding. But at the end of that period, you’ll sadly realize that your life is in LA, and I’m so busy with work that I just can’t spare you the time you deserve, so you’ll have to end things between us. Such a pity.”

I’ll give him credit for thinking his plan through. “Do you really think that will make your rival give up the idea of you marrying his daughter?”

“On its own? No.” He sighs. “But Kendra will help me along. She goes back to school in a week, and there will be some frat boy who catches her attention. If I’m obviously uncommitted, she’ll feel far freer to let nature take its course and couple up with someone who can give her a kegger and a good time. I suspect she hasn’t told her father how she feels about us—in part, anyway—because she doesn’t want to ruin my business. She’s a nice kid, just one with oats to sow and growing up to do. Shaw is a businessman, but he’s also a dad. He wants Kendra to be happy. I think he’s hoping I’ll settle her down, but she’s not ready. He simply needs to see that.”

“What if he does but refuses to give you the loan you need? Won’t you lose your company?”

“At the end of the day, he wants a stake in Sweet Darlin’. I’ll remind him he can’t have that if the company goes under. Buying pieces from the financial salvage yard, so to speak, isn’t the same. But with the right shove, I think I can save my company without marrying Kendra.”

Carson Frost isn’t just gorgeous. We didn’t merely have the kind of chemistry that made my whole body zing enough to remember meeting him five months after a three-minute introduction. He’s clever, too. And that puts him even higher on my dying-to-do list. Not that I’ll ever actually do him, but a girl can dream…

“All right. I’ll take the job.” I definitely won’t have to pretend I’m attracted to this man. In fact, this gig should be downright exciting. “For five thousand a week, plus expenses.”

It’s what my agent would ask for, if not more.

“Three thousand.”

“I can be there in a day or two. I can be completely convincing as the infatuated new girlfriend. But if you need me that quickly, I’ll have to ask for more.”

“Ms. Hope—”

“Ella,” I cut in. After all, I’m calling him Carson. And…yes, I want to hear the voice that makes me melt say my name.

“Ella, if you’re able to drop your life to come here so quickly, how much work can you possibly be giving up as an actress?”

I wince. He’s obviously used to negotiating. I usually let my agent do the bit where she shows her teeth…though there hasn’t been much occasion for that in the last year, I admit.

I’m not a modern beauty. I’ve been told by casting directors I’d be better suited for historical films because I have a “timeless sensuality.” In other words, I’m hopelessly fair. I have unremarkable brown hair and eyes, along with boobs and hips. No matter how much I hit the gym, there’s nothing remotely waifish about me. But I’m a good actress, damn it.

Granted, pretending to dump Carson isn’t exactly an Oscar-worthy role. Hell, I can’t even add this gig to my résumé, but it will keep a roof over my head for another month or two.

“You have no idea what I have scheduled. I’m asking for this amount because it will mitigate my losses for abandoning other parts.”

“You know, for an actress you’re not a very good liar.”

“Because I’m not in the habit of lying.” I embrace roles. I get into characters’ skins. I become someone else. I don’t project an alternate reality of my own life.

I played a convincing Katherina in a regional production of The Taming of the Shrew last winter. I got rave reviews for my portrayal of Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof before that. My favorite role was Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. But more often, casting directors call me back for “other woman” roles. The last couple of months, I’ve been reduced to playing a princess at little girls’ birthday parties. I turned down an “invitation” to become a stripper.

Something’s got to give.

I can’t give up negotiating. “Four thousand plus expenses.”

“Thirty-five hundred with all the trimmings.” I’m actually considering that offer when he drops his voice another octave to something that makes me shiver. “Plus a bonus of three grand if we succeed. I’ll even throw in free candy for life. C’mon…help a guy out.”

What are my more appealing options? My last dinner service at the café netted less than a hundred bucks in tips. I went to a couple of auditions that excited me last week…but no callbacks so far. I hate to leave my sisters for that long, but Eryn and Echo are grown. Well, mostly. Accepting is about survival. Still, I’d be lying if I said Carson Frost didn’t motivate me at least a little. Out of everyone I met at that terrible party, he alone grabbed my attention and made me crave more. There was something about him…

“Thirty-seven fifty, plus expenses. And plan on paying me that extra three grand. We’re going to convince Mr. Shaw that it’s in his best interest not to force you to become his son-in-law.”

“Done.” Carson sounds pleased with himself. “I’ll send you a non-disclosure agreement and a contract for your signature. I’ll need them back quickly.”

I probably should have insist

ed on more, but this is a good start. And if it takes longer than a couple of weeks to persuade his rival to back off, it’s more money for me…not to mention more time with a blue-eyed Adonis who lights my fire.

“Of course. I need a plane ticket.”