One Hot Fake: An Accidental Fake Marriage Romance, Sarah Brooks [mobi ebook reader TXT] 📗

dart around the room, but I take nothing in. I feel as if I’ve been dipped in a tank full of ice. My dreams melt at my feet as Judy talks.

She pats my shoulder, bringing me back to the present. “Leonard is an evil man, and he seems to have some sort of hold over Marian. I don’t understand it.”

I hear the sound of her happy laughter before I see her. Something tightens in my gut. I hear her voice as she talks to people and makes her way to where Judy and I stand.

She takes my hand and goes on tiptoe to kiss me. I ignore the softness of her lips and her sweet familiar scent. I say hello to Brooke. Judy wants to introduce Brooke to Josh. They go off, leaving Marian and me alone.

“So many people,” Marian says.

I nod. “Yes.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Are you all right? You seem different.”

“I’m fine, just busy. I have to check how things are going in the kitchen.” I turn around and leave her standing there.

I’m fuming. I feel like a fool. An idiot who believed that his wife was over her ex-husband.

In the kitchen, I grab a knife and start dicing peppers. I can’t quite remember whether Marian stayed in Arlen for two or three nights. Did they have sex at that time? Agonizing pain rumbles through me at the thought of Leonard touching my Marian. I correct myself. She’s not mine. She’s never been. She has always been Leonard’s.

I can’t think about Marian’s treachery now. There’s too much at stake. The new branch has to be a success. More so now. My business is all I have left now, and I intend it to be a roaring success.

The PR company we hired did a great job with the media. I sit down at the corner table for several interviews. One with the local TV station, a couple of radio stations, and two magazines.

I catch Marian’s gaze a few times, and I can see the worry in her eyes. I don’t get her thinking. No one is forcing her to stay in our marriage, so why is she still with me?

The baby is not enough of a reason. She can get pregnant with Leonard if she wants.

“We need some promotional pictures, Declan,” my manager says, bringing the photographer with him.

“Sure,” I say. “How do you want to do this?”

“I’ll take a few of you in the kitchen with the backdrop of the employees and the pizzas being prepared, then I’ll take another with your wife and then friends and family,” he says.

We make for the kitchen and take the pictures that he needs. Marian and I stand outside at the entrance. I drape an arm around her and smile at the camera.

“You’re not yourself,” Marian whispers to me.

“What do you mean?” I have no intentions of having that discussion here. I’m not even sure that I’m going to. The beginning of a plan is beginning to form in my mind. My pride is at stake here. This marriage has stripped me of all the things that protected me from the kind of pain I’m feeling now.

The one thing that I cannot show Marian is how badly she has hurt me. Now I know that she wants out of this marriage, I’ll go along with it and find a way to show her that it’s a mutual decision. I smile down at her as if everything is fine. She looks momentarily confused, and an almost hurt look comes over her features. I know it’s not real. She would rather be in Arlen with that ex-husband of hers.

“A few more with friends and family,” the photographer says.

“Sure,” I say and shepherd Marian back in.

We take the necessary pictures and later, after the customers and the media have left and it’s just family, friends, and the staff, we bring out the wine. We’re closing early today and will start a proper schedule the following day.

“I’m so happy for you,” Marian tells me when we find ourselves standing alone.

“Thank you,” I tell her. I steer clear of the wine as I intend to drive home to Santa Monica. The days of playing house with Marian are over. It’s time to get back to real life.

People start trickling out at nine, and by ten, everyone’s gone. Marian, the manager, and I are the last to leave. Marian and I go to the parking lot at the back.

“Who will follow who?” she says.

“Oh, I’m not coming to Pine Place,” I tell her. “I’m going home to Santa Monica.”

“What? Why? It’s late; what’s the emergency?”

I shrug. “I guess I just want to be home.”

“Oh,” she says and looks away.

My instincts are to wrap my arms around her and hold her close, but I remind myself that I’m not what Marian wants. The best thing I can do is to set her free.

“Drive safely,” I tell her.

She gets in her car, rolls down her window, and looks as if she wants to say something, but she doesn’t.

“Drive safely, too,” she says.

I watch her drive off. It’s a good thing that I’m alone because my eyes are wet.

Chapter 39

Marian

It’s been a week, and Declan has not come home. When we speak on the phone, he’s cordial and polite, but he leaves no doubt as to how he feels about me. I’ve tried asking him by text and in calls if I’ve done something wrong, and he says no.

I’ve gone over everything, and the conclusion that I’ve drawn is that he’s finished with us. His new restaurant is up and running. He doesn’t need me or our marriage anymore. What I don’t understand is why he came up with the idea of us trying to make it real. Or why he looked at me and spoke to me as if he loved me. I keep seeing his face telling me that he loves me. It seemed so real. How could he have acted all that