Fake Marriage Box Set

Instead, she was blonde, tanned, and gorgeous. She had her long hair pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore athletic clothing, like she was about to go for a run or had just come from the gym. She looked every bit like an advertisement for a fitness club, too, with perfect lean muscles and no body fat to speak of.

She raised an eyebrow at me and folded her arms across her chest. Her manicured fingernails tapped against the opposite arm. “Who exactly are you?” she asked.

“My name's Lexi,” I told her, wondering just who exactly she was.

Whoever she was, she pushed past me and into the house, acting as though she owned the place. I started to protest, but before I could finish the words, Janice showed up with Emma. Emma immediately moved behind me, suddenly shy. I felt bad when I realized how many strangers she'd been forced to meet in the past month, all because I'd bounced us around so many times.

I patted her head and watched the scene in front of me unfold.

“Renée, I didn't know you were coming over,” Janice said mildly to the woman.

Renée. That's Andrew's girlfriend. I took a closer look at the woman, trying to picture her with Andrew. Then, I blushed, realizing that in my head, I was sizing up my competition. But she wasn't my competition, not really. I might have Andrew's daughter, but she had Andrew's heart, evidently. He was firm in the fact that she was his girlfriend, and there would be no one else.

I swallowed hard and tuned back into what she and Janice were saying.

“I didn't tell Andrew I was coming,” Renée said breezily. From the haughty tone of her voice, I could tell she thought it was beneath her to have to explain her actions to a maid. But she continued. “I thought I'd pop over and surprise him. He needs to forget about work every once in a while. He's been so tired lately. I thought I could get him to stay in bed for a little while longer today.”

“Unfortunately, you're too late for that,” Janice said brusquely. “Andrew was awake early this morning. No doubt because of the jetlag, and he headed into the office hours ago. You'll need to come back later if you want to see him. But I suggest informing him of your visit first so that this doesn't happen again.”

“Hmm,” Renée said, but she didn't really appear to be listening to Janice. Instead, her eyes were still fixed on me, although they darted every now and then towards Emma before coming back up to my face. “Who is this?” she suddenly barked out, directing the question at Janice.

“That's Lexi,” Janice said, and although I couldn't hear it in her voice, I could detect a hint of nervousness in the woman's eyes. I wondered what reason she had for being nervous. Whatever it was, I was glad Renée couldn't see it, since her eyes were still trained on me.

“So I've heard,” Renée said, rolling her heavily made-up eyes. “What I want to know is who Lexi is in relation to Andrew. Why is she here? And who's the brat who's with her?”

“You’re a brat,” Emma said under her breath. She stuck her thumb in her mouth defiantly and began to suck at it.

At that moment, I hated Renée. What would Andrew have to say if he heard his girlfriend talking that way about his daughter? He would probably just laugh it off or else not care at all.

Janice's mouth thinned into a tight line. “Lexi is my niece,” she lied. “Andrew has been kind enough to let them come stay with him for a few days. Family troubles, you know.”

“Family troubles,” Renée repeated flatly, still eyeing me as though I might slip up and reveal who I really was.

Not that she could know that we were lying. For all she knew, Janice had told her the truth, and I was Janice's niece. I squared my shoulders, trying to project an air of confidence.

Finally, Renée shook her head and headed back towards the door, pushing me out of the way for a second time, muttering something under her breath about domestics as she went.

“Renée?” Janice asked sweetly before the woman could leave.

“What?” Renée ground out.

“Did you want me to give Andrew a message? Let him know that you stopped by?”

“That's not necessary,” the woman snapped, and Janice raised her eyebrows looking amused. But she didn't call Renée back. Instead, she simply closed the door firmly behind the fuming woman.

I scooped Emma up into my arms, sensing that the girl was still distressed. Inwardly, I cursed Renée for having taken what could have been a great day, starting at the park and ending with some coloring and make-believe, and instead making poor Emma upset.

“Why did you lie to her?” I asked Janice.

Janice sighed. “That was Renée, Andrew's girlfriend,” she said.

“I gathered that,” I said. “But why did you lie and say that I was your niece? Why didn't you tell her who I actually was?”

Janice shrugged. “If she didn't already know who you were and what you were doing here, I have to assume that Andrew hasn't told her about the two of you. And if he hasn't told her, he probably has some reason for not letting her know. He's my employer, and I will always respect my employer's wishes and follow his lead.”

“Hmm,” I said, staring at the maid with newfound appreciation. “Do you think she bought your excuse? And what if she says something to Andrew?”

“She won't say something to Andrew,” Janice said confidently. She snorted. “If she said something to Andrew, the woman would have to explain that she just popped by to see him in the middle of the afternoon on a work day, without warning him first. Andrew may be warming up to the concept of dating, but that doesn't mean he's okay with clinginess and desperation. If he knew that she was here, he'd avoid her even more.”