A Weekend with Her Fake Fiancé Read online

  Minutes ticked by like hours as Zac blinked at her in silence.

  “Fiancé?” he said finally, his tone incredulous. “Uh... I’m going to need a few more details.”

  “Like what?” She frowned.

  “Like why?”

  She gave a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. “Because there’s a new clinic opening in Big Sur, California, and I’m being considered for a supervisory midwife position there. If I get it, it would be a huge bump in salary. But Priya’s up for the job too, and the company was really excited about her and Lance getting married. Not that being married is a requirement or anything, but I got caught up in the moment, and I didn’t want to be outdone, so I told them I was getting married too.”

  She sighed and opened her eyes, forcing herself to keep going even as she avoided Zac’s gaze.

  “I realize how stupid it sounds, but the words just came out. And once I’d said them I couldn’t take them back without making a fool of myself or risking being thrown out of contention for lying. So, yes. They’re announcing the candidate they’ve chosen at the national midwifery conference and they asked me to bring along my fiancé to help me celebrate if I get the job.”

  She exhaled slowly and hazarded a look at Zac. He was still watching her with an unreadable expression. Her heart beat harder against her ribs as her embarrassment rose.

  “If it helps, the conference is being held at a fancy resort in the Yukon called The Arctic Star. All expenses paid—even transportation. All you’d have to do is request the time off work—unless you’re already scheduled to have the days free? The conference runs Thursday night through Sunday.”

  Zac’s posture had stiffened now, she noticed, and his handsome face had gone a bit ashen. She wasn’t sure if his distress had been caused by her avalanche of babbling or the fact that she’d lied to a potential employer. Both were pretty awful.

  When she couldn’t take the awkward silence anymore, she said, “Say something.”

  He shook his head and frowned. “Like what? You want me to lie for you? Pretend I’m something I’m not?”

  She winced slightly at the edge in his voice. “I know this is not what you expected from me. Honestly, it’s not what I expected from myself either. But now I’m stuck. Please? I never ask for favors, but I could really use your help, Zac.” Feeling desperate, she added, “It’s a five-star resort. They have room service, massage, a spa—the works. So you should have plenty to keep you busy while I’m in my seminars and interviews. And we’d only have to pretend to be a couple when other people are around. It’s all harmless, I swear.”

  “Harmless? Lies are never harmless.”

  Zac exhaled slowly, a muscle ticking near his tense jaw. His voice was quiet, as if he was speaking more to himself than her. She’d never seen him as anything other than a smiling charmer before, and she found the change both disconcerting and far too intriguing. She wanted to ask him why the idea bothered him so much when he was used to being with a different woman every week, but now wasn’t the time.

  He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, seeming to come to terms with something inside himself. When he met her gaze again the flash of hurt and anger she’d seen there before had been replaced by a flat guardedness.

  “You’re inviting me to a midwifery conference for three days at The Arctic Star Resort as your fake fiancé?”

  Yep. That about summed it up.

  He sat there for a moment, fiddling with his coffee cup, then finally looked up at her. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  Crap. This wasn’t going well at all. Maybe she should’ve waited until later, when she’d had some sleep and some time to freshen up.

  Carmen did her best to keep it light, regardless of the growing heaviness in her heart. “Seriously, Zac. I know this is coming out of left field, but I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t in a bind. I really need your help. It’s a free weekend of luxury for you. And if you’re worried I’ll lose my head and seduce you, don’t be. You’re not my type.”

  “I was once.”

  So he did remember.

  She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, doing her best to hide her shock over that revelation and failing miserably. Heat prickled her cheeks and she stared at the tabletop, squeezing her cardboard coffee cup tighter than necessary.

  “That night was a mistake. We were both drunk and—well, things happened. But we’ve moved on, right? We’re friends. That’s all.”

  He shifted and his leg brushed hers under the table. Her heart rate kicked up another notch.

  “Please. It’s just for three days. No commitments, no strings attached.”

  “Right. You keep saying that.” He tapped one long, tapered finger against the side of his plastic glass. Sudden images of those fingers on her body, the way he’d touched her, stroked her, made her beg for more, flashed through her mind, unbidden.

  No. No, no, no.

  “Isn’t there someone else you can ask? What about that guy in Radiology you were dating? Jim or John or whatever his name was?”

  “Jeff.” Carmen cleared her throat. “No. I can’t ask him. We didn’t part well. I found out he was cheating on me with his department’s receptionist.”

  “Right.” He scowled down into his tea, then sighed. “Look, it’s not you. It’s... Don’t you have men lined up around the block wanting to go out with you?”

  Flattering as his compliment was, Carmen just felt more exhausted now than she had before the coffee.

  “No. There’s not. Trust me. I’m not exactly a party girl around here. I work too hard. Besides, I asked you because I feel comfortable with you. We know where we stand. I won’t beg, though. I’m too proud and too tired. If you say no, then I’ll contact one of those online escort services to help me.”

  Zac gave her a look. “Arranging to spend the weekend with a guy you’ve never met and found on the internet? Yeah, great. Cause that’s not dangerous or anything.” He scrunched his nose, squinting at her. “Dammit. You really know how to put a guy on the spot, don’t you? Fine. I’ll go.”

  “Good.” The relief was sudden, short-lived, as one more complication came to mind. “There is one more tiny hitch. Lance and Priya will be there too. In fact, they’re flying up to the conference with us on the same private jet chartered by the Californian clinic. So we need to get our story straight ahead of time.”

  “Hold on. Are you nuts?” He leaned forward slightly, his voice angry. “It’s bad enough we’re fooling the people who might be your new bosses. Now you want me to lie to my best friend too? Because as far as Lance knows I’m not even dating anyone. I mean, we don’t share all the intimate details, but he’d sure as hell have noticed if I had a fiancée sitting around somewhere.”

  “Are you dating anyone?”

  “No.”

  “That’s good, then. One less thing to worry about.”

  He arched a brow at her and her cheeks flushed anew.

  “Darling, you’ve got yourself so turned around here you don’t even see what you’re doing.”

  The fact that he was probably right only served to annoy her more. “You’re overthinking it. We get our stories straight, learn the basic details about each other, and keep our cool. It will be fine.”

  She picked at the edge of the table and kept her gaze downcast, because if she looked at him right now he’d be able to see exactly how uncomfortable she was with this, and she needed to fool him into thinking she was completely okay with it all.

  She was completely okay with it all.

  Or she would be once things got underway, because she had no choice.

  “Okay. Say we do make it through this weekend. What happens if you get the job, Carmen?” Zac asked. “You get the job and you show up for work and suddenly there’s no fiancé. How do you explain to the new bosses that I’ve disappeared from your life?”
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  “I’ll deal with that if and when it happens.”

  Honestly, she didn’t have the brainpower to devote to it right now. Her focus was solely on getting the job. She’d worry about the details afterward.

  “We need to think of a way to get Lance and Priya to believe this has been going on for months, in secret. Maybe we could tell them we had instant chemistry and couldn’t forget each other after the holiday party. That we’ve been seeing each other since.”

  Never mind that for her, at least, it was partially true. She’d never really forgotten about Zac and the way he’d made her feel that night—sexy, desired, beautiful, precious—even if it had been fueled by too much rum-spiked eggnog and fuzzy thinking.

  “We need to convince them that things got serious fast and now we’re ready for the next step.”

  Zac sat back and shook his head. “It’s not going to be as easy as you think.”

  Carmen hid her wince—barely. “Because you’re an expert in deception?”

  “I’ve had some past experience with it, yes.”

  She didn’t miss the flash of hurt in his dark eyes before he dropped his gaze to the floor.

  “I mean, yeah, maybe your story could work. Lance has been bugging me about being off my game lately.”

  Her curiosity was piqued again before she could tamp it down. It was silly to think their night together had anything to do with it, but a little flare of hope still fizzed inside her anyway.

  “Off your game? Since when?”

  “I don’t know. A couple months. I’ve been busy, okay? That’s all.” He sat forward and rubbed the spot between his brows with his fingers. “Listen, if we do this, what about all the little things couples know about each other? Birthdays, favorite colors, favorite foods, pets, personal peeves? Trust me, Lance will see right through the whole thing in two seconds flat if you don’t know all that stuff about me. Hell, he knows all that stuff about me.”

  The tension inside her ratcheted higher. She’d already gotten herself neck-deep in this situation and the tide was threatening to pull her under. All she could do now was keep her head above water and roll with it.

  “We’ll each write it down. Create a dossier of our lives then give them to one another to memorize.”

  “A dossier?” Zac snorted. “What are we? Super-spies?”

  “I’m serious. It’s only three days. We don’t need to know every detail—just the big stuff, like you said.” She sighed and gave him an exasperated look. “How much of that will come up anyway? We’ll be sure to avoid Lance and Priya as much as possible at the conference, just to be on the safe side. Shouldn’t be hard with such a busy schedule. Okay?”

  “I still think this is a mistake.” After an aggrieved sigh and a flat stare, Zac said, “Okay.”

  Her posture sagged with relief. He wasn’t making it easy, but she was glad to have it out of the way. Carmen checked her watch, then pushed to her feet and tossed her empty cup in the trash.

  “Thank you. I’ll text you with the flight details. And maybe you’ll fill me in later about why you’re so reluctant to go with me.”

  “Don’t count on it,” he said as she walked away.

  Carmen glanced at him over her shoulder as she exited the cafeteria. “I never do.”

  * * *

  Maybe you’ll fill me in later about why you’re so reluctant to go with me...

  After Carmen had left, Zac sat alone in the cafeteria to finish his break, knowing he could never tell her the truth. His past was a secret he didn’t share with anyone. For good reason.

  God, he was such an idiot. He never should’ve accepted her offer, no matter how much he wanted to revisit the chemistry between them. There were things about him that made a return to The Arctic Star Resort reckless or insane.

  Neither option made him feel better.

  Never mind the fact he’d spent the last twelve years putting as much distance as possible between himself and that place. Now he was going to blow it all to smithereens in one fell swoop. All because of the chance to reconnect with the one woman he couldn’t seem to forget.

  Damn. The Arctic Star Resort. The conference just had to be there, in the one place he’d vowed never to set foot in again, owned by the one man he never wanted to lay eyes on again.

  His father.

  The man who’d cheated on his mother and betrayed his family’s trust.

  The man Zac would refuse to forgive for as long as he lived.

  It was because of his father that Zac trusted no one—because of his father that he kept everyone at a distance, never letting anyone too close, never trusting anyone enough to get hurt.

  It was because of him that Zac feared he was cut from the same lying, cheating cloth.

  And maybe he was, considering the state of his personal life. He was a serial dater—a player, according to the local gossip mill—and he’d cultivated that reputation carefully, never letting anyone close enough to see what he feared most—that perhaps beneath the charade it was entirely too true. That perhaps he was just like his father.

  He rubbed his eyes, sighing at fate, or luck, or whatever the hell had brought this mess into his life. He’d thought he’d left it all behind him for good. Started fresh, created a new future of his own making. Yet, here it was, right back on his doorstep again, and he had no one to blame but himself.

  It wasn’t like he could say no to Carmen. She was his friend. Never mind that he’d been secretly crushing on her since their incredible night together after that holiday party, or that what his best friend—Lance—teased him about was true. He was off his game. Because of her.

  It didn’t matter. Nothing could ever come of it.

  He didn’t do relationships and she was way too good for him. Had been back then—still was today.

  Knowing that didn’t make him want her any less, though.

  Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Lance walk up to his table with a half-eaten sub sandwich in one hand and a water bottle in the other until it was too late.

  “Dude, shouldn’t you be out cruising for trouble? You’re on call today, right?”

  The well-muscled firefighter plopped down uninvited in the seat across from Zac, his white T-shirt with the Anchorage Fire Department insignia embroidered on the chest pocket stretching tight over his chest, dark circles shadowing his blue eyes. All the Anchorage first responders had been pulling extra shifts lately, gearing up for tourist season in the spring.

  “Your rig’s still parked out in the ambulance bay.”

  “Susan’s manning the radio. She’ll text me when she needs me.”

  Zac stared out the window beside him, as much to get his head together as to avoid looking at his best friend, who would too easily read that something was wrong in Zac’s face. He’d never had a poker face, despite the genes he shared with his father.

  He sighed and squinted at the cars coming and going outside. “Let me ask you something, Lance. Did you ever do something so dumb, so out of your comfort zone, so crazy, that you ought to have your head examined for even considering it?”

  Lance snorted. “You’ve met Priya, right? Still can’t believe she said yes when I asked her to marry me. She’s way out of my league, dude.”

  Zac chuckled. “True. Still, things have worked out okay for you guys, right?”

  “Right.” Lance halted, mid-bite of his sandwich. “Wait. Are we talking about women? Because I’ve been wondering when you’re gonna get back out there again.”

  Sighing, Zac scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d walked right into that, dammit. He was probably overthinking all this. Maybe Carmen was right. Maybe he should just enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman had asked him to spend the weekend with her, all expenses paid and no strings attached. Chances were his father wouldn’t be at the resort anyway. He was probably off somewhere else, supervising his w
orldwide hotel empire. Zac hadn’t kept up with the family business much since he’d left, preferring peace of mind to profit reports.

  “Oh, man.” Lance shoved his last bite of sandwich into his mouth, muffling his words. “The way you’re all quiet, with that sad look on your face, this is definitely about a woman. Don’t tell me the great Zac Taylor, player extraordinaire, has finally fallen.”

  Zac blinked at his good friend. No. He hadn’t fallen. That was insane. Sure, he liked Carmen. And, yeah, they were friends. More than friends, if you counted that one night. But, no, he wasn’t in love with her. Zac didn’t do love. Not anymore. Keeping his boundaries intact was easier, safer. No messy emotions involved.

  And if that pang of loneliness inside him nipped a bit harder when Carmen was around, well, that was just the price he paid.

  This weekend wouldn’t be about anything more than helping out a friend. That was all it could ever be where he was concerned.

  He had too many secrets and shadows haunting him for it to be anything else.

  Zac focused on the snowplow driving by, clearing the parking lot from the fresh three inches they’d just gotten.

  You had to love March in Alaska.

  “Well?” Lance asked, drawing Zac back to their present conversation. “You gonna tell me her name or what?”

  Zac shook his head. “There is no name because there is no mystery woman.”

  His friend’s gaze narrowed as he zeroed in on Zac’s face. “Nope. Not buying it, dude. Something’s up with you, and it’s not just because you haven’t been playing the field lately.”

  “Why are you so concerned about my private life anyway, man?” Zac shrugged and gave his friend an irritated glance. “Mind your own business.”

  “Don’t even try to change the subject.” Lance grinned. “I’m right, aren’t I? You are hung up on someone. I knew it! You’ve been acting differently since that holiday party. Been hanging around the apartment more...keeping to yourself.”

  Despite knowing this would benefit his ruse about Carmen, Zac winced internally. It rankled. Zac liked his privacy. The scandal following his father’s affair had been splashed all over the tabloids, and having the spotlight glaring on him had been uncomfortable, to say the least.