Home Run Fiancé (Faking It Book 2) Page 3

  Asher clears his throat and I jump back, time finally returning to a normal speed. Her gaze is on my chest and a pink tinge hits her cheeks. If I wasn’t still surprised by the hug, I’d feel rather smug about her reaction to me. As it is, I’m a bit discombobulated and all too aware that her older brother is standing right there watching us.

  Asher claps his hands and we both look over at him. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve invited you two here. I have a proposition that I think will benefit you both.”

  I narrow my eyes and ignore the beauty next to me in order to focus on what he’s saying and where he can possibly be going with this.

  “Rhys, you could use some money, being a poor college student. Jake, you could use a fake fiancée to turn around your reputation and get you on the Sliders.”

  Asher quits talking and looks at us expectantly, his eyebrows raised, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of us.

  I fold my arms across my chest as realization dawns. This is about his idea the other day. He wants to set me up with his little sister? He’s crazier than I originally thought.

  “What—”

  “Nope. That’s not going to work, brother of mine.” The hippy girl next to me cuts me off with that loud rasp of hers, stealing my thunder.

  I was just about to rip into Asher and this asinine idea, but she beat me to it. I look over at her and then do a double take. What does she mean “not going to work”?

  Asher steps closer to her. “Rhys. Think this through. You’d only have to go on a couple public dates and then pretend to get engaged. That’s it! Once Jake signs on with the Sliders, you can have a quiet, amicable breakup and go back to life as usual. We’d pay you well for your time, I promise you that.”

  She shakes her head, the ring of flowers on her head threatening to fly right off. “Nope. No can do. I’m sorry to disappoint, Asher.” Then she snaps her fingers. “Wait! I have a friend though from the coffee shop who might be interested. Let me ask her instead.”

  I’ve been watching this whole conversation like a fly on the wall, observing but not participating. Even though it’s about my life. That silence is about to end.

  “Hold on, you two.” I slash my arm through the air and Rhys jumps back like she forgot I’m here. I talk to the side of her head since she’s refusing to look at me. “Why won’t it work? You just met me. How can you have a problem with me?”

  She finally lifts her gaze and some of the fire in my belly recedes at the nervous look in her eye. She’s young, too young to be dealing with the likes of me. I instantly regret my tone. “I don’t have a problem with you necessarily. Jake, is it? I don’t know you at all, but I’m not interested in being in the public eye, so I’ll pass. I wish you luck with your trade though. Hope you make it to the Super Bowl.”

  Rhys turns and walks away to the bags of takeout like everything is settled. “Yes! You got Chinese. My favorite.”

  I’m catching flies with my mouth hanging open. Did she just dismiss me from the conversation? Nope. That doesn’t work for me. Most women would be tripping over themselves to participate in this little engagement charade. I follow her over to the counter, my arm right against hers, hoping to get her attention back.

  “I play baseball. We don’t have a Super Bowl.”

  She looks up at me with a saucy smile. “Oh, that’s too bad. The food is always spectacular at Super Bowl parties.” She pats me on the arm and moves to take the food to the table.

  “Hold up.” I grab her by the waist to stop her and ignore her arched eyebrow. “How old are you?”

  She tilts her head and presses her lips together. Even in a straight line, they snag my gaze and scramble my brain. Who has lips that puffy naturally? I know fake duck lips are all the rage right now and I can’t stand that puffed-up look. But Rhys? Her lips are all natural. I’d bet my career on it.

  “Old enough to know I’m not interested,” she answers, her voice finally coming out at a lower volume.

  And it’s the whisper that wrecks me. It’s like the words had a hook on the end and I’m the fish that swallowed it whole. I’m well and truly caught. This girl just has to reel me in and I’d follow. Not a position I prefer to ever be in and yet here I am. I have to make sure she never finds out or I’ll never get off the razor-sharp hook.

  I let go of her waist and command my feet to move away. I make it to the table feeling a bit more free with each step away from her. If I didn’t want to embarrass Asher, I’d run right out the door, never to return. Losing my head over a woman is not something I intend to ever do again. Which makes Rhys dangerous.

  Asher helps Rhys bring the rest of the food to the table and I make sure to sit on the far end. Rhys takes one look at the table and sits on the other end, furthest away from me. Asher has no choice but to sit in between us. Which suits me just fine. Doesn’t even bother me she doesn’t like me.

  We all dive in to loading up our plates with noodles and beef and broccoli. I take more beef and veggies than I do noodles. Got to keep my weight in check for the season. I ignore the uncomfortable silence. Not my problem.

  “Rhys, Jake’ll pay you ten thousand dollars,” Asher says around a bite of chow mein, like we’ve already talked about it and agreed to terms.

  “I’ll what?” I bark, nearly choking on the broccoli.

  Rhys swallows hard. She flicks her gaze to me and then back down to her plate, fiddling with her food, but not eating.

  Asher puts his hand on hers. “Jake’s one of the good guys, I promise. I would never ask you to do this if I didn’t believe in him completely.” Well, that calms me a bit. “And the truth is, he really needs you.” Well, now that might be overstating it. “I don’t trust any other woman to keep this a secret. It’s gotta be you, Rhys.”

  She looks at Asher, her eyes sad, but I can see her bending. She doesn’t want to do it—which makes two of us, sweetheart—but she’s going to say yes. Her shoulders slump and her whole face goes soft as she looks up at Asher.

  Rhys nods quietly and Asher gives her a big smile before smacking the table and declaring himself the best sports agent in the west. Rhys laughs at his antics and I can visibly see the love they have for each other.

  What I don’t love is this arrangement.

  “Wait just a second there, Mr. Sports Agent. We need to discuss everything in detail before I agree to it. Maybe you can pull on Rhys’s heartstrings as her brother, but I need a little more than that.”

  I look at Rhys, pinning her in her chair with my hard gaze. “Let’s get some things straight first before you agree to take my ten grand.” I hold my hand up, counting off fingers. “One. You can’t do anything to reflect poorly on me. Doesn’t matter whether we’re together or you’re by yourself making more flower things for your hair. The paparazzi is everywhere and you have to be above reproach at all times. Two. You can’t back out of this if the going gets tough or you get bored. You say yes, you’re stuck in this deal until I get that contract signed with the Sliders. Flighty might be cute as a college student, but you’ll take this seriously. Three. This is all temporary and fake. We will not actually be a couple. Not now, not ever. Don’t develop feelings for me and then get angry when I don’t reciprocate.” I sit back and feel good about getting all that straight. “You can agree to all that, then I’m in.”

  Rhys sits there quietly, no expression whatsoever on her lovely face. The silence stretches out and I start to think she needs me to say it again, just a little slower this time. Maybe she needs to write it down, like taking notes in class.

  Then one side of her mouth tilts up. Just the one side, like a reverse stroke. I frown, wondering what her deal is. She suddenly unfreezes at an alarming rate, a blur of motion as she lifts an arm and slaps her hand back down on the table, nearly tumbling the candles and torching Asher’s place. Her head rears back and then tosses forward again, a supersonic bark of laughter emitting from her mouth. If I wasn’t so fascinated with her reaction, I’d have plugged my ears.

  “Oh my—did he—what—” She’s laughing so hard I can’t make out what she’s saying. Then tears are filling up her eyes and my own mouth is getting in on the fun, curving up into a smile, her mirth contagious as much as it is dangerous. It’s a strong reaction and not what I expected, which makes me a touch worried.

  “Rhys…” Asher’s low warning ratchets up the tension in my gut. He’s frowning at her, not a smile or laugh in sight. He knows her better than anyone so if he’s worried about her reaction, I ought to be terrified.

  The loud scrape of a chair has me glancing back at Rhys. I find her standing, her hands locked into fists by her sides. There’s a fire in her eyes that burns away the tears and leaves a tiger where a young girl should have stood.

  “Go to hell, Jake.” She smiles and there’s so much hate in it I nearly shiver in my chair. She turns to Asher and the smile inches a few degrees warmer. Barely. “Thank you for dinner. Sorry your friend is such a condescending jerk. Good luck.”

  Asher hops up and follows her through his apartment, trailing her as she gathers her things.

  “Come on, Rhys. Hear him out.”

  I watch the fallout from the table, uninterested in running after them and begging her to help. If she’s bailing now, there’s no way she’d have worked anyway. Although, it would have been fun to get her mad again. She’s a cute thing normally, but she’s something else entirely when she’s mad. Like an avenging beauty ready to cut your throat and howl at the moon.

  Rhys has the front door open, about to step out and leave when I hear Asher whisper something I can barely make out.

  “…was there…Charlotte said…cut your hours…need this.”

  Rhys’s shoulders slump and she looks away from Asher. Her obvious discomfort interests me. She needs the money and she still turned me down? That isn’t the response I would expect from someone desperate for the ten grand carrot dangled in front of her. That ache in my chest is back, making me get involved when I really shouldn’t.

  I stand up and make my way over to the front door.

  “What’s the problem here?” I fold my arms across my chest again, oddly not to intimidate, but to protect myself from this woman whom I don’t understand.

  A deep breath later and she’s spinning to me, that fire still in her eyes. She holds her hand up, palm out, pointer finger extended. I look at her hand then back at her, still not understanding.

  “Number one. I’m not the one with a poor reputation right now, so why don’t you make sure you don’t do anything that reflects poorly on me. Two.” Another finger extends up. “I don’t have any problem sticking with something I agree to, which you’d know if you actually took the chance to get to know me. I’m not the one trying to get out of one contract and move to a different state with a new contract. Let that sink in, big guy. Three.” A third finger mocks me. “The only, and I mean only, reason I am agreeing to do this is because I know it’s temporary. The end of this agreement of ours can’t come quick enough. Don’t worry about my feelings. This girl can control herself around you. And I’ll add a fourth. Because this is fake, let’s get real clear about something else. You have zero right to touch me unless there is a camera out recording our behavior. Behind closed doors, I’m not yours. Keep your big mitts to yourself. Are we clear?”

  A buzzing fills the air as her voice bounces around the walls of my head, hitting all the soft spots and knocking me down several pegs. Which I’m sure is her intention. Well, holy cannoli. This girl is straight fire. And there goes the tug on the line, reeling me in with one impassioned speech aimed right at my ego.

  I smile.

  “You want me to call you sweetheart or baby?”

  “If you don’t want me cutting off that ridiculous beard in a fit of rage, let’s stick with Rhys.”

  I hold out my hand, and after a brief pause, she puts her soft hand in mine.

  And she lets me tug her back into the apartment.

  4

  Rhys

  We finished dinner in a tense bubble that only Asher seemed oblivious to. He kept asking inane questions to get us talking, and if I didn’t love him so much, I would have told him to shut up. I could feel Jake’s gaze on me the whole time I tried to shovel down my food, like I was an insect being examined under a microscope. He can look all he wants but I doubt he’ll figure me out. Men like him have too much ego in the way to see other people clearly.

  Placing the napkin on my plate, I push away from the table. “Excuse me, please.”

  Without waiting for an answer, I leave the room and find my way to the bathroom. I don’t really need to make a visit, but even just a precious minute or two away from Jake’s stare feels necessary.

  When I walked in the door, I expected to be meeting a parent needing a babysitter for their young child or a puppy that needed watching and walking. What I didn’t expect was a tall, broad-shouldered hulk of a man with brooding eyes that saw too much with one glance. His face looked harsh, maybe because of the dark, thick beard, or maybe it was the constant line between his eyebrows, or maybe from the tight line of his lips. Either way, he didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat.

  And then Asher had thrown out his ridiculous idea and I wasn’t sure if he was joking. When I realized he was serious, I bailed, wanting no part of keeping company with that Jake guy. I should have guessed my refusal would just spur Jake on to be a bigger jerk. Guys like him can’t stand to be told no. Like waving a red flag in front of a bull. He charged alright. Right into an insulting tirade of all the conditions I had to meet to go through with this farce.

  He’s so far gone in that bloated head of his, he actually thinks he’s doing me some kind of favor with this stupid idea. Thing is, I don’t need his money. I’m doing just fine on my own. And I certainly don’t want to take time away from growing my business, but I got caught in my web of lies.

  Asher had gone by the coffee shop this morning and asked Charlotte why I wasn’t there. She probably panicked, not wanting to spill the secret that I’d quit. Instead, she told him they cut my hours and now Asher’s concerned about my income. I said yes to this fake relationship just to keep my lies from being uncovered and to help out Asher.

  “Girl, you gotta just tell him and stop with the lying…” I mutter to myself as I wash my hands, staring at myself in the mirror.

  A loud bang on the door makes me jump and splash water all over my dress. Because why would even one thing go right tonight.

  “You okay in there, sweetheart?” Jake’s deep voice booms through the wood door.

  Dread fills my stomach as I dry my hands and roll my eyes. The next month or two is going to be a massive test of my patience and acting skills. As gorgeous as that man is, he’s also the most unattractive man I’ve met recently. He puffs up his chest like he’s trying to intimidate with his size, which is a seriously lame thing to do to a woman. And don’t even get me started on those tight jeans. Can’t he afford a new pair that doesn’t have so many holes?

  I yank the door open and he nearly falls into the small room, catching himself just before he plows into me.

  “It’s Rhys. And I’m just fine, thank you for your concern.” I swoop past him and toss over my shoulder, “It’s all yours.”

  Asher’s sitting on the couch in the living room, several sheets of paper laid out on the coffee table.

  “Oh good. I want to go over the contract with you.” He motions for me to sit next to him. “I promise I went through this line by line to make sure you’re protected. But if there’s something you want to add, just tell me.”

  I glance over the contract, trusting Asher to do right by me, but also knowing I need to be very careful with Jake. I wouldn’t put it past him to screw me over if I don’t follow the contract to the letter.

  Just as Jake walks back into the living room, I see a glaring hole in the contract.

  “We need to add a line about only calling each other nicknames in public and never in private.” As I finish the sentence I look up at Jake, raising an eyebrow so he’ll know exactly why I want that in the contract. I’m rewarded with a twitch of the lips.

  Without breaking eye contact, Jake comes over and squeezes onto the couch next to me, his whole side pressed against me. “I have a few things to add too.”

  “Well, of course you do.” I smirk.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” The line between his eyebrows is back.

  “Oh, nothing. Please, be my guest. What would you like to add?” I smile, already working on my acting skills.

  “Asher, I think we need to include some details about the dates that will be required. Just so we’re all on the same page.”

  Asher starts writing things down. “Good point. Let’s say three dates will be necessary before you become engaged?”

  Jake starts stroking his beard with his hand and there’s something decidedly sensual about it. I squirm, seated between the two of them, wondering what is going on with me. Here we are scripting our dates and planning my engagement in a contract my brother is writing up, like the whole thing is simply a business transaction yet it’s bizarrely intimate at the same time. The whole thing is a bit surreal and a whole lot crazy.

  “Three sounds good. How about dinners at The Ivy, Catch LA, and how about Craig’s? That should get a ton of pics in the gossip rags.”

  That sounds awful. “Hold on. How about I get to pick one of the dates?”

  Asher nods thoughtfully. “That’s fair. Okay, so let’s do The Ivy for your first date, then Rhys picks the second, and then Craig’s for the third date?”

  I glance over at Jake and he’s looking at me like I have something up my sleeve. Funny thing is, I don’t. I have no idea where to take a famous athlete on a date. That’s about as far from my reality as taking Prince Harry out on a date. Pre-Meghan, of course. I wouldn’t touch him now that he’s married. I sputter, trying to hold in my giggle. Thinking of dates with princes and famous athletes is just crazy.