Fake Marriage Box Set

I listened to him talking, trying to understand why he was telling me all of this. I thought the fact that he was single shouldn’t play against him in court, and that the court systems here were a bit behind the times, but I didn’t see how I was going to help him with that. Then it all became clear. With one little sentence, I realized why I was standing on the porch sneaking around and listening to his plight.

“I think you would be the perfect one for the job,” he said.

“Wait, what?”

I shook my head and blinked my eyes, wanting to make sure that I heard him correctly. He thinks I would be the perfect person to pretend to be in a relationship with him so he can get custody of his son. I was so completely shocked by what he was saying that I was left speechless. How do you even respond to something like that? I stood there staring at him for a minute, trying to gather my words, but nothing wanted to come out. Was he looking for an answer right then and there? This was absolutely ludicrous on so many levels. For some reason though, I wanted to hear more about his plan, and what it entailed. I was about to open my mouth and say just that when the smoke detector started going off in the house.

“Oh, God,” I said, turning back toward Luke. “I’m so sorry. I left food cooking on the stove, and it is probably burnt to black by now. Jake is going to come looking for me. I need to get inside before I burn the house to the ground and Sarah finds out I was distracted while cooking.”

I turned to walk back into the house, but as I reached for the door, Luke grabbed my arm. I turned my head back and looked at him, panic from the smoke detector making my heart beat faster, or maybe it was from his touch. Either way, he needed to say whatever it was he wanted to say before I got fired.

“Quinn, please have dinner with me tonight so that I can explain further what I am talking about,” he whispered. “This is so important, and I don’t want to leave you with just those words.”

“This is crazy,” I whispered, thinking of how it was also crazy that I was feeling such a strong sensation when he touched me. “Fine. Meet me at the diner about four blocks away in two hours.”

“Thank you,” he said.

I looked back at the house where smoke was starting to gather.

“Oh shit,” I said and hurried back inside, my mind completely racing.

Chapter Eleven

Luke

I got to the diner about ten minutes early, knowing that if Quinn came and I wasn’t there, she wouldn’t wait around for me. I ordered a cup of coffee from the waitress and sat there nervously, stirring the spoon around and around until the coffee was a soft caramel color from the creamers I continued to pour into it. I looked up as the door swung open and Quinn walked in, no longer wrapped in a dirty apron. I was taken back by how gorgeous she was, not noticing her full effect until that moment. She was definitely self-conscious, I could see that in her clutched hands, nervous nail-biting, and the way she crossed her arms over her chest anytime she was uncomfortable. But still, even her strange nervous shuffle across the floor was appealing. It was like all of a sudden I was seeing her as a woman and not just as the babysitter for my son. I mean, I wasn’t blind to her curvy hips before, but the package as a whole was almost enchanting. The feeling itself took me by surprise, and I had to push the thoughts from my mind as I stuck my hand in the air to get her attention.

She let out a deep sigh and walked across the diner, smiling at the waitress. She took off her coat and hung it over the empty chair, sitting down across from me. I looked at her for a moment, watching her eyes dart back and forth around the room like we were spies meeting in secret to trade information. She knew that Sarah was at home, she just left her there, but I could still see her vibrating with nervous energy. I was pretty sure at that moment she could have run ten miles without breaking a sweat. The waitress came over and brought her a cup of coffee and a menu, then left us with a sweet smile. I watched as Quinn scraped the spoon around the sides of her cup and then looked up at me, waiting for me to say something. She wanted to hear more, but it was making her crazy with nerves.

“First, I want to thank you for coming,” I said. “Thank you for hearing me out because I know what I said at the house was pretty heavy. I know it was shocking, and you are probably questioning why you even came to hear my thoughts on this.”

“Well, you said it was for Jake, and though it does seem insane, I want to hear your side of everything,” she said, trying to be diplomatic. “I can’t imagine you would come up with this whole scheme for no reason, and you said your attorney was right on the same track as you, so I was curious I guess.”

“I’ve been looking and thinking about the woman I wanted to be part of this and you fit that bill in every way,” I said, launching into the details. “You’re sweet, have a clean background, you care deeply for children, and most importantly, for Jake. Jake loves you already, you are single, and unattached, and you know Sarah and her life very well. This makes you a prime candidate for this kind of thing. In reality, I can’t think of anyone better than you to take this on. I know it seems like a lot.”

“No kidding,” she scoffed.

“But it really is the only way for me to prove to the judge that my house is just as good, if not better, than Sarah’s,” I explained. “So, the plan would go like this; we would get engaged, setting a date for a couple of months from now. Obviously, it would need to look as real as possible, but you wouldn’t have to worry about actually going through with it. I’m sure I would not be a top candidate on your list of potential husbands.”

“Ha, I have a list?”

“Don’t all women?” I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at her reaction.

“I must have missed that memo,” she said, smirking. “It never fails that I miss the important memos for women. Maybe that’s why I’m divorced.”

“Well, you won’t have to go through that with me,” I chuckled. “So, after that, you will appear with me in court, which is next week, for the initial motion. At

that point, the judge would make a preliminary decision, hopefully going exactly how we want it to go. If the judge rules in our favor, then we will go through the motions until the custody is written in stone. I’m not saying that it will be easy, but it will definitely go a lot smoother than me going on my own. The judge will be impressed by you, there is no doubt in my mind, especially since you really do love Jake and won’t have to put on an act about it.”

“So, what happens when the final custody papers are signed?”

“Well, it really depends on the specific situation, but I was figuring we would quietly break it off and go our own ways,” I said. “I mean you can stay in Jake’s life, of course, because he loves you and I don’t want to see this hurt him in any way, but I am not going to force you to marry me if the charade is no longer needed. Once the custody agreement is signed, it would take a lot for the judge to change it, even when we do break up.”

“I feel like if every relationship was planned out like this beforehand, there would be a lot less broken hearts,” she said, laughing. “I’m sorry, I make jokes when I am nervous.”

She wrung her hands together, her motions letting me know that she was extremely nervous. There was something about the way she handled her nerves that was absolutely adorable, and it forced me to fight back a smile. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but there was no real way around it with the proposal that I was laying on the table. She took in a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders before voicing her concerns.

“This is awkward to talk about,” she said, looking around. “I mean the whole thing is strange, but to have to ask you about this makes me uncomfortable.”