Fake Marriage Box Set

A bouncer grabbed me gruffly by the arm and began hauling me along the street. “I think that's enough of that,” he said in a deep voice as if I’d been the one to start the drama.

“Hey, come on now,” I told him, trying to get away from him. “Look, I'm just heading home, even without the floozy, whatever. You can keep her. Just let me go. I'll pay you $100 bucks.”

“I'm calling the cops,” the guy said grimly. “You can't assault a woman like that and expect to get away with it.”

“She assaulted me!” I snapped. “It's all there on video. Just ask Kelly from The Latest.” The guy wasn't going to give up. “Jesus, I'll give you $750,” I told him.

The man hesitated for a moment, and I knew in his face that I'd won. I smiled smugly, pulled out my wallet to write him a check, and then headed home. I'd just have to make sure to cancel the check first thing the next morning.

Idiots. All of them.

Chapter Four

Gretchen

I had just finished cooking breakfast the next morning when there was a knock on the door. I smiled a little to myself and wiped my hands off on a dishtowel, going to answer the door. The smell of greasy meat and cinnamon filled the air. It was a good scent. One that calmed me and left me feeling like there was no place quite as great as home.

I opened the door to find Mina standing outside with a big smile on her pretty face.

“Hey girl, get in here,” I said, giving Mina a hug.

“Hey,” Mina said, returning the hug. “Thanks for inviting me over for breakfast. I just have nothing in the house at the moment. Except for pineapple! I always have pineapple, and I’m happy to share. I’ve tried just about every recipe known to man with the fruit.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I can imagine that must get old after a while. Come on in. I have to get to work by ten for an appointment, so I don't have a ton of time, but we can at least chat a little.”

“I can't believe you have work even on the weekends,” Mina said. “I think I'd go crazy. I need my downtime, you know?”

“Don’t I. But it’s all good. I only do special requests on the weekends,” I reminded her. “This one is for one of my regulars who travels a lot for business. He's only back in town for a couple of days, and then he jets off again, so I told him I'd be flexible with his schedule.”

“You're too nice,” Mina said, shaking her head. “What happened to putting yourself before your work?”

I laughed. “It's only a one-hour appointment. And then I've got three more today, but it's nothing too busy, and I know all of them, so it's not like I have to suss out what they need or anything like that. They're easy appointments, and then I'm free the whole rest of the weekend, actually, unless someone calls last-minute and wants to book me for tomorrow.”

“What are your plans for the rest of the weekend, when you're not working, then?” She made a plate and sat down with me.

I shrugged and slowly chewed a bite of eggs. “Don't really have much on the schedule.”

“So, you're only planning on going for a 50-mile run or something like that?” Mina asked, rolling her eyes.

I laughed again. “Don't be silly. I'll probably go for a run this evening. It's good to keep active. Maybe I'll go over to the gym tomorrow, or go for a swim or something. I may try to go surfing; I've heard the waves are starting to get really good again. But I don't have any plans; I just kind of want to chill. I haven't had a chill day in a while.”

“You're not up to anything in particular tonight?” Mina pressed, and I could tell from the glint in her eye that she had some sort of plan, probably one that I wasn't going to be interested in.

I groaned. “Mina, I'm not going clubbing again,” I told her. “If you want to have a nice night in with a movie and a bottle of wine or something like that, I could probably be down, but-”

“What about a luau?” Mina asked, her smile widening.

I sighed. It could be fun. “Mina, I've been working hard all week,” I told her. “I've had an insane number of appointments. And I have four of them today. By that point, I'm going to be ready to just be off my feet and not trying to socialize with a bunch of random strangers.”

Mina pouted a little. “But you almost never take whole day off. This would give you plenty of time to go out and let your hair down a little tonight, maybe meet a guy, and not have to worry about work tomorrow.”

I laughed, of course that was what this was about. “Mina, I'm not trying to meet a guy,” I reminded her. But she wasn't going to take no for an answer. “Look, I'll think about it, okay? Thanks for inviting me. I'll let you know how I'm feeling after work.”

“Fine,” Mina said, although I could tell she was a bit disappointed by my reluctance.

“We’ll see.” I hated to disappoint her. “Maybe something will shift in the day and I’ll feel differently.”

“Yay!” She wagged her eyebrows and clapped like a small child.