One Hot Fake: An Accidental Fake Marriage Romance Sarah Brooks (reading rainbow books .txt) 📖

She sits down and tries to smile. “A little.”

“You shouldn’t be. My husband is awesome,” I tell her.

“Thank you,” a deep voice says behind the slightly open door, and then he walks in.

My heart skids to a stop. I want to pinch myself to believe that the heartthrob who just entered my office is my husband. He comes straight behind my desk to plant a kiss on my mouth.

I’m flushed when he goes back to the other side of the table.

“You must be Zoe,” Declan says and plops down on the extra visitor chair.

“Yes, sir,” Zoe says.

“Call me Declan,” he says, and when he smiles at her, I can tell that she’s instantly charmed. Declan is a people person. He has an aura about him that invites people to feel free with him.

He asks her a few questions about her work and then leans back in the chair. “I’ll be completely honest with you, Zoe. I know very little about social media and creating a buzz, and God knows what else,” Declan says.

Zoe giggles.

“This is my wife’s forte, and if she says that you’re the best person for the job, I’m happy.”

My brain stopped listening at ‘my wife.’ Those two words stake a claim in my memory as the sweetest words I’ve ever heard. Now I understand why newlyweds overuse those words. My husband. My wife.

I realize they are both looking at me. “Yeah,” I say rousing myself from my daydreams. “I think Zoe’s perfect.”

“Do you drive?” Declan asks her.

“Yes,” she says.

My mind wanders as Declan tells her what she’ll need to do the following day when she goes to the Santa Monica branch.

When they are done, Zoe leaves, and Declan and I are left alone in my office.

“Any time I’m left alone with you, the first thought that comes to my mind is how I would love to wrap my lips around your nipples. I imagine how hard they must be, aching to be licked and sucked,” Declan says, his voice a drawl.

The words go straight to my pussy. “Declan, stop.” My voice is husky. And I’m sure he can tell the effect his words have on me.

“Lunch?” he says.

“I’m buying today,” I say and stand up. “Let’s walk to the salad bar. It’s my favorite lunch spot.”

“I want to go everywhere you go,” Declan says and stands up.

I stare at him. “That sounds spooky.”

He laughs. “It was meant to be romantic.”

I shake my head. “Don’t be romantic then.”

I’m self-conscious when we leave the privacy of my office and Declan grabs my hand and refuses to let go. I’m sure my face is beet red as I feel the eyes of my employees on us.

I relax once we’re out on the street. I love the anonymity of it. Declan and I stroll hand in hand, blending in with the rest of the population. I think about what he said about us trying to make it as a couple, and suddenly, it doesn’t feel as frightening or confining. It’s not the same as what Leonard and I had.

He had become overly possessive, and by the time I took action, it was too late. Both of us had sort of accepted that it was normal for him to want to know where I was at any time of the day. If I did not respond to his text in two minutes, he came to find me.

Declan and I are a little early, and the lunchtime crowd has not come in.

“Grab a place to sit, and I’ll get our food. Chicken?” Declan says, and I nod.

I can’t peel my eyes off Declan. He gets our food and is walking toward me, and he can tell that I’m staring. I can’t seem to get enough of feasting my eyes on him.

“What?” he says with a laugh as he sits down.

“I like looking at you,” I say flippantly.

He laughs and assumes that I’m joking. I’m dead serious. Declan is easily the sexiest guy I’ve ever seen. Would it be so wrong to allow myself to flow with it? To try a proper relationship.

Remember Leonard.

The voice in my head has grown weaker. Yes, I remember Leonard, but I also know that I cannot compare the two men. Declan is nothing like Leonard. Nothing at all. He’s cut from a different cloth. He’s a good man. That, I have no doubt.

“So, tell me about your hometown,” Declan says.

“It’s not on the beach,” I quip, and he laughs.

That’s another thing that makes Declan so lovable. He takes life easy. Leonard had an intensity about him that turned everything into a competition. One that he had to win.

“The population is … wait for it, six thousand.”

Declan’s jaw drops. “You could almost know everyone.”

I laugh. “Almost.”

“Who was your first boyfriend, and does he still live there?” Declan asks, his eyes dancing.

I swallow hard and refuse to let the thought of Leonard spoil my mood. He and I were over a long time ago. I’m sure that he’s moved on and found someone else to bully.

I wrestle my mind away from Leonard and go deep into the recesses of my memory. Jack. That was his name, though calling him my boyfriend would be stretching the truth a little. “Jack. His name was Jack, and I have no clue as to where he lives now.”

I take a bite of my sandwich. “What about you? Who was your first girlfriend?”

“Easy. Amber. She was the prettiest girl in school,” Declan says, and something burns my chest. I try to dislodge it, but it won’t shift or let me breathe properly.

Ridiculous. How can I be jealous of a high school love affair?

“Until she dumped me for the captain of the football team,” he says as laughter bursts from his mouth. “They got married right after high school, but sadly it didn’t last.”

“High school first loves rarely work,” I say.

“Are you going to see your father tomorrow?” Declan asks.

Air leaves my lungs. That’s the question I’ve wrestled with ever since I decided