Fake Marriage Box Set

All I knew was that it would be a night of Italian cuisine, mom’s specialty. I wasn’t sure where she got her energy from, but something about dinner with Maddie and me gave her such a boost. Even Karen had noticed and had commented on how alive mom was acting. She had even eaten more than a pudding cup mixed with protein powder.

My stomach rumbled at the thought. I’d had a double workout earlier and had time to enjoy only an extra-large protein shake before meeting Ron on my boat. The lake hadn’t given him a bucket full of fish, and he was upset at his takeaway. I offered for us to grab lunch together, but he refused and said he was meeting with a woman from the other night.

My mind had been too full of thoughts that it wasn’t until the early evening I realized I hadn’t gotten lunch myself. A single protein shake later, and I was desperate for food.

But I still had to wait on Maddie.

I finished my drink just as she knocked on the door. I opened it and returned to the bar without a single glance her way.

“Hey,” she said as she followed me. “I’m sorry—”

“You’re sorry you’re late,” I finished for her. “I’m sure you are.”

There was no point in acting the part until we had an audience. She sat beside me, and I took in her outfit for the night. A tight, red dress that practically molded to her tiny waist and hung in loose waves around her thighs. Her off-the-shoulder sleeves hugged her forearms, and the front of the dress was a modest top that touched her collarbone. I wondered if it was a new dress that she purchased with my money.

Still, she looked alluring and beautiful, and I forced my eyes to the bar beneath us.

“We’re having dinner with my mother,” I said. “You could have dressed a little more modest.”

I caught a frown on her face as she glanced at her outfit. Her long hair fell over her shoulders in soft waves with the light creating a red tint. She looked at me with those eyes that always reminded me of lily pads. She smelled amazing, like an early morning on top of a hill, when the grass was still damp from the night’s mist, and flowers were beginning to bloom.

I took another sip of whiskey and forced those thoughts out of my head.

“Unless your mother is a governess from the late 1800s, I don’t think she’ll have a problem with my outfit,” she said. “But last I checked she was a modern 21st-century woman.”

“My mother isn’t modern,” I argued. “She still makes her toast with an electric burner.”

“She’s more modern than you,” Maddie said. “She followed all of my accounts the other day.”

I nearly choked on my drink. Of course, mom would follow Maddie; she was hoping for a daughter-in-law soon. But somehow it still rubbed me the wrong way.

“Don’t forget to post those pictures,” I said. “If she is following you.”

“Let’s take one now,” Maddie suggested and took out her phone. I shook my head, snatched it, and shoved it back into her purse for her.

“After dinner,” I said. “We’re going over to my mother’s house first, and then we’ll take a picture.” I couldn’t handle taking a picture with her before another few drinks.

“Okay,” she said and clutched her bag to her side. “Where does your mom live?”

“On my property,” I said and looked at her. “Listen, you need to act like you’re falling in love with me, and that we’ve had a thing between us since we were kids, okay? My mom has a soft spot for fairy-tale endings.”

Maddie crossed her legs, and my gaze immediately moved to her smooth thigh. It was so damn close to mine. So hot.

“I can do that,” she said. “Might be my easiest role yet.” She smiled at me, obviously comfortable with the animosity I’d been throwing at her the whole time. If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn that she was even attempting to flirt with me.

“Tell my mother one thing that you like about me, something realistic sounding, at least. And you can make up stories if you need. Just nothing embarrassing or too complicated. And hand holding and shoulder touching is okay, but nothing too romantic in front of her, got it?” I asked.

“So, pretend I’m in love with you, flirt with you by bumping our shoulders, but I can’t actually touch anything other than your hand,” she summed everything up and I nodded. “Got it.”

I stood abruptly and picked up the gray tie from a table near the foyer.

“That doesn’t match,” Maddie said and gestured at my suit. I wore a cream-colored blazer with navy trousers, an outfit that I used frequently.

“Gray goes with everything,” I argued.

She shrugged as she got ready to leave.

I led her across my property over to mom’s house, which had been cleaned by professionals throughout the day. The garden was perfect, with lush bushes and colorful flowers greeting us as we walked toward the door. Maddie took her time admiring the fountains and statues that mom had picked out when I had the house built. She brushed her fingers along the bird feeder on top of the fountain.