Fake Marriage Box Set

I pulled myself from the kitchen table and walked over to the door, peering out the peephole but seeing nothing but the porch. Whoever was out there was standing to the side of the peephole, so I couldn’t see them. I took a deep breath and unlocked the door, slowly cracking it and peering outside. My eyes fell on a man standing in the doorway, dressed in a blue button-down and a pair of jeans. His muscles tightened and released under his shirt and before I knew it, my eyes were locked on his dark, beautiful orbs. He had to have been the most attractive man I had ever seen. He smiled with a broad, toothy grin, and I opened the door a bit further.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I was looking for Sarah,” he said, with irritation showing on his face.

Sarah was Jake’s mom, but she wasn’t home yet from wherever it was she ran off to. I generally didn’t ask too many questions, but instead just came to work and did my job. I cleared my throat and stood back shaking my head.

“I’m sorry, Sarah isn’t home yet,” I replied, with a small stutter. “Can I take a message for you? I’ll make sure she gets it as soon as she gets home, which really should be any time now. I’m just the temporary babysitter for the evenings and afternoons, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to help you with whatever you need.”

“I see,” he said, with a wide, charming smile. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh, my name is Quinn,” I said, shaking his outstretched hand.

“Quinn, got it,” he said, still smiling. “My name is Luke; I’m Jake’s father.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised. “I’m sorry, I had no idea. She’s never said much about you and I’ve never seen pictures.”

“It’s not a problem,” he replied. “Do you think I could come in for just a few minutes? I’d like to see Jake before I head on over to my house.”

I stood there for a minute going through my mind reviewing all the instructions that Sarah had given me. I just assumed that he was no longer in the picture. That being said, I wasn’t told one way or the other, so I had to make a command decision about this guy.

“Sure,” I said, stepping to the side and watching as he walked past me.

I followed him into the living room, realizing that this was probably the house he lived in before he and Sarah were divorced. As soon as he walked around the corner, though, Jake stood up from the table and ran across the room, his smile bigger than any I had seen before. He was jumping up and down with excitement, and I giggled to myself, seeing this completely different side of the little guy. Luke stepped forward and grabbed Jake around the waist, lifting him high into the air and hugging him tightly.

“Daddy, are the Aggies kicking big butt?”

“Not this season, little man,” he said. “They are lagging behind big time.”

“You need to tell that quarterback to pick it up,” Jake said.

“I know buddy; I’m trying.”

Turning to me, he continued. “I’m the head coach for the Kansas State football team.”

I nodded my head up and down and smiled, feeling that familiarity of family that I had been missing so much. Luke was absolutely gorgeous, and as soon as he had walked through the door, I felt my attraction to him. As soon as he picked up Jake, that attraction grew ten-fold.

He was so good with him, just how a father should be, and I could tell that Jake absolutely adored him. Thoughts of my own lost family fluttered through my mind, but I shook it away, not wanting to go down that road just then. It was definitely intoxicating watching a man fawn all over his child like that, and I could feel the heat rising in my chest.

He talked to Jake for a couple more minutes about football, and then put him down, sitting on the couch next to him. I just stood there, unsure of what I was supposed to do, but enjoying watching the two of them together. Luke ruffled Jake’s hair like I always did and looked up at me, a curious look in his eye.

“Where is Sarah?”

“Um, I’m not sure,” I said, being honest. “All I know is I was watching him later today than normal.”

“I see,” he said, looking down at Jake and shaking his head in disappointment.

“Can I get you anything? I can make you some hot tea or a cup of coffee, maybe,” I said, trying to break the awkwardness.

“No, thank you,” he said, looking at his hands. “Quinn, can I ask you a couple of questions?”

“I mean, I don’t know how helpful I’ll be, but go ahead,” I said, crossing my arms and leaning against the doorway.

“All right,” he said, looking up. “How long have you worked here at this house?”

“I’ve been here about three weeks, I suppose,” I said, thinking back. “The first week I worked with Sarah, seeing what the routine was, helping with things like dishes and cooking. Then for two weeks I watched Jake in the afternoons, right after he got out of school until Sarah got home. Now, sometimes I’ve stayed into the evening as well.”

“How often do you watch him? Every day? Every other day?”