That One Night: A Fake Marriage Romance Read online

  “I love you both. You know that right?”

  “Of course we do, honey,” my mom said, smiling softly at me. There was a honk from the drive. “Oh, that must be your cab. Pete, why don’t you help Faye load up their bags. I want to say bye to Sam.”

  I cast a glance at Sam over my shoulder and saw his worried look, but I had no choice but to grab one of the carry-on bags and follow my dad outside.

  *

  Sam

  I watched Faye and her father leave with trepidation, silently praying Faye would turn back around a save me, but all she gave me was one sympathetic look before disappearing outside and leaving me all alone. With her mother. It was the one thing she had warned me not to let happen.

  “Sam,” Julia said, and I knew there was no escaping what was going to come, all the questions she would ask. They’d be question I didn’t have the answers to.

  How did you two meet?

  How did you fall in love?

  How did you propose to her?

  Jesus! I couldn’t tell her any of that, especially not that last. What would I say? Oh, yeah, I asked your daughter to marry me…after she was sent multiple threats because the crazy ex-girlfriend of the owner of our recording studio is super jealous and we’re using the marriage as a way to throw her off the scent. Oh yeah, and it’s all a fake and we’ll be divorced after the recording contract is over, so I probably won’t even see you again.

  Yep, that would go over really well.

  “Sam, would you come over here?” Faye’s mother said with a soft smile. My legs were shaking and I was surprised to find that I was genuinely scared of the petite woman. It would have made me laugh if it didn’t take all my concentration just to get to the other side of the living room.

  Julia reached up and patted my shoulders.

  “Sam, I can see that you’re a good man, and that you really care about my daughter.” Julia smiled kindly as she spoke, but then the smile faded into a grimace. “But I also know my daughter. She thinks of every setback as a personal failure, and she could never accept failure.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said softly, shaking my head.

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Faye’s mom said with a tsk of her tongue. “Faye may act like she’s unbreakable, like she’s got skin thick enough for most anything to just bounce off of, but the truth is…she’s been hurt before.”

  My brow furrowed at Julia’s words. What the hell was she talking about?

  “Faye’s ex, Bryce, I know he hurt her bad. So bad I was worried that she’d never let herself open up again. But I’m so glad she found you.” Julia grinned again. “Just promise me you won’t hurt her, Sam. Promise me you’ll take care of her.”

  “I promise, Mrs. Donnelly. I’ll take care of Faye, whether she wants it or not.” I hadn’t realized I had said that last out loud until Faye’s mom let out a tinkling giggle.

  “Oh, I think you’ll be good for our Faye. She always was stubborn as a little girl.”

  “She still is,” I muttered softly. “But I promise, I will take care of her.”

  I was surprised when Faye’s mom pulled me in for a hug, and for a moment I just let the feeling wash over me. With a deep breath, I gave her one last smile before saying good-bye and heading outside.

  I gave Faye’s father a firm handshake and a muttered thank you before getting into the cab. It took a lot longer for Faye to say good-bye to her father. There was a lot of hugging and laughing before she finally climbed into the car next to me in the back.

  We were well on our way to the airport, Faye’s parents’ house having already disappeared behind the tall Michigan trees, when I finally turned to her.

  “Faye, who’s Bryce?”

  She stiffened next to me as soon as I said the name, and her expression went from relaxed to stony in the space of less than a second.

  “How did you hear about—my mother,” Faye growled, answering her own question before it was even all the way out. “Why would she… She had no right…”

  “Faye, what happened between you two? Your mom…she made it seem pretty serious.”

  “It was serious. We were planning on getting married actually.” Faye plucked at her skirt and let out a bitter laugh. “We were going to elope.”

  I sucked in a breath at that, but I held my silence. I could tell she wasn’t done yet.

  “I suppose it’s only fair. I mean, you’re probably going to find out anyway,” Faye muttered to herself, sounding irritated, but I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or still at her mother, who was safely back at the house.

  After a long moment, Faye drew in a deep breath and started talking.

  “Before I started my own agency I worked at Rockley Lemon,” Faye said, and my eyes popped open wide at the sound of the agency. It was the top talent agency on the entire East Coast.

  “I made my way up the ranks. I worked my ass off for them. And none of it mattered. I fell in love with Bryce Cabot.” Faye shook her head, berating herself. “I was stupid. I thought he loved me too.”

  The name Cabot sparked something in the back of my mind. Wasn’t Cabot the name of the lead singer for The Waves? They were one of the biggest indie rock bands to come out in the last ten years.

  “Well, things were great for a while: perfect job, perfect fiancé.” Faye inhaled sharply and let it out in a huff. “Until I found out that Bryce had cheated on me with just about every groupie he could get his hands on—which was a lot, in case you were wondering.”

  Faye fell silent, and I sat a for a moment, not saying anything, waiting for her to go on.

  “And? You left him?” I finally asked, prompting her when she seemed to get lost in her own thoughts. Faye gave herself a shake and then shrugged.

  “Oh yeah. I dumped his ass as soon as I found out.” Faye laughed again, the sound somehow even more cynical than before. “But he went to the agency, to my boss, and convinced them to fire me because I was a liability. He couldn’t understand why I’d left him, the egotistical prick. He threw a tantrum and gave the company an ultimatum, him or me. They picked him.” She said it casually, like oh, what nice weather we’re having or that’s a nice scarf. But I could see the toll it had taken on her.

  It clicked for me then, her rule, why she never dated musicians. I couldn’t really blame her after what that asshole had done to her. He’d torn apart her heart and career in one blow just because he couldn’t handle the consequences of his actions.

  On impulse, I reached out and took her hand in mine.

  “Faye, I know we’re not… I know this whole thing is…” I stopped and tried to gather the thoughts racing around my head before I completely tripped over my tongue and embarrassed myself. “Even though our situation is unique”—Faye snorted at that, but I kept going—“I want you to know that I’m not going to do anything to hurt you like that. I would never cheat on you. I know you don’t trust me and that’s okay for now. You will eventually. But I just…I just wanted you to know. You don’t have to worry about that from me. Not now. Not ever.”

  Faye looked at me, and I was trapped in the dark ocean of her eyes. They were enormous and unblinking, as if she were looking at me for the first time. Finally, she gave her head a little shake and I was free again.

  “Thanks, Sam,” she whispered so softly I could barely hear the words, but I felt them. “I do trust you, you know. I really do.”

  I didn’t know what to say after that, so we rode the rest of the way to the airport in silence, our hands still clasped tightly. I had no intention of letting go.

  Chapter 16

  Sam

  I felt the guitar in my hands as I caressed the strings like a lover, coaxing each husky, bluesy sound from the instrument touch by touch.

  I was in the recording studio by myself, laying down the final guitar tracks for the last song we had recorded. Casey had taken a break twenty minutes ago, and I hadn’t seen him since. Alice had
been pulled away when Connor had shown up to see how she and the baby were doing and to bribe her away with food.

  As I played, I thought about the way Connor had doted on Alice when he’d come in, how different of a man he was than the rough playboy he’d been before our tour together. And he wasn’t the only one to change. Alice was different too, and not just because she was pregnant and getting rounder and rounder every day.

  No, she was…softer somehow. Like after all these years she was finally comfortable in her own skin, comfortable with her life and who she was. And she was happy, too.

  If there was anyone who deserved happiness in their life, it was Alice. She’d been through more than I ever had long before I’d gotten tossed into the system. But she’d come out the other end stronger and smarter, and more determined than anyone else I knew.

  For a moment, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like. What if I could find happiness like that? What if I could…?

  I cut off the thought before it could even form, but that didn’t stop the picture from rising in my mind: me and Faye, in a real relationship, not just the strange play we were both acting in now.

  What would that even look like? I tried to imagine as I strummed the guitar, losing myself in the music as my thoughts wandered. Me, doting on Faye. Working together with the band and then going home together. Real partners. Being there for Faye when she needed someone to lean on. Having someone to lean on myself with things got hard.

  I shook my head angrily at myself. Could we ever be like that? A part of me, a deep, secret part of me, wanted that more than I wanted anything else in the world. I had wanted Faye since the first moment I’d laid eyes on her. Since the first night we had shared together, she had been like a craving I couldn’t shake, a splinter, always there, always a reminder, but that I could never quite dig out no matter how hard I had tried over the last year and a half.

  But would Faye ever really trust me? After what had happened with her and Bryce…at least I understood now, even if I didn’t like it. But I had to prove to her that I wasn’t Bryce. I wasn’t her asshole ex, and I would never do that to her.

  Sudden frustration had me strumming the last few chords of the song harder than I needed to. I let the last note ring out into the studio before finally muting it. With a sigh, I forced myself back to the job at hand.

  This record was the most important thing to happen to the band after the tour, and I couldn’t fuck it up. Not now, not after we had all worked so hard and come so far.

  I leaned forward, speaking into the mic that hung in front of my face from the ceiling.

  “How did that sound?”

  There was a crackle over the speaker and then a voice sounded.

  “It was good, Sam, really good.”

  I frowned at the feminine voice. Where the hell was Robert? I set the guitar down, unplugged and turned off the amp, and walked into the recording booth.

  “Becca?” I said, surprised to see Archer’s assistant in the booth instead of the sound tech. I glanced around but the guy was nowhere to be seen. No one else was there.

  “Don’t worry. You were still recording. Robert just had to run to the restroom,” she said, sounding embarrassed at even the mention of restroom, and I just shook my head. Archer’s assistant seemed painfully innocent sometimes. A moment later, though, she was giving me a thumbs-up.

  “It really was great, Sam. You are so talented.”

  “You really think it sounded good? I can never really tell from in there. Too close to the music, you know?”

  Rebecca tilted her head, giving it some thought before nodding. “Yeah, I really liked it. Very raw and earthy, but also honest. A lot like you actually.”

  “That’s awesome. Thanks. I’ll have to keep you in the sound booth more often,” I said with a chuckle. The best I ever got from Robert was a nod, and Alice… Well, Alice was more likely to send me back and have me do it ten more times just to make sure it was perfect.

  I glanced over at Rebecca as she fell silent and saw her look away shyly, a blush tinging her cheeks pink, and I suddenly regretted saying anything at all. Damn it. She was nice enough, but I didn’t want her to think I was interested in her in that way, and I sure as hell didn’t want to lead her on. That would be awkward.

  “I, uh, I mean…” I stuttered out the words, struggling to find a way to backtrack that wouldn’t make me sound like a total asshole.

  “Is it true?” Rebecca asked suddenly. When I glanced over at her in confusion, her expression was no longer bashful. It was stony, serious, and there was a sharp glint in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. I felt like she was peering inside my thoughts with that unblinking stare of hers.

  “Um, is what true?” I said hesitantly, not sure what to make of her sudden transformation, but a second later she was all shy once more. The change happened so fast, it made me question if I’d even seen what I had thought I’d seen of if I had just been making things up.

  “About you and Faye…Ms. Donnelly. Are you two really getting married?” Rebecca asked slowly, not quite meeting my gaze. I just shrugged it off. I must have just been mistaken. Rebecca was about the softest-spoken person I knew. She shot me another bashful look, and I hurried to answer.

  “Oh, that. Yes. Um, yep! It’s true.” I forced myself to slow down. She must have thought I was totally mad. I forced out a laugh I didn’t quite feel. “I’ve been trying to wear her down for over a year and a half now, and she finally said yes.”

  There was no need for me to act or pretend. It was the pure truth coming out of mouth, and Rebecca must have heard it because after a moment she just nodded her head.

  “That’s good. She must really be in love with you then. If she’s going to marry you I mean.”

  Awkwardness filled me, and I swallowed hard before answering. “That’s generally how it works.”

  Also true. People were generally in love with each other before getting married.

  Rebecca nodded her head again as if coming to some silent decision.

  “Well, I’m really happy for both of you,” she said, smiling at me as if she didn’t sense the tension in me at all. “I wish you both the best, honestly. Just, um…” Rebecca paused, her smile fading and that sharp look creeping back in for a moment. “If I were you, I would keep an eye on Faye. I’ve seen her get pretty friendly with Archer—I mean Mr. Calloway.” Suddenly she was all smiles again, shifting quicker than the blink of an eye. “Well, good luck with the recording, Sam.”

  I stood there without saying another word as Archer’s assistant left the sound booth. I was too focused on the sinking feeling sweeping through my insides.

  I had noticed before the way Archer flirted with Faye, but I had thought it was one-sided. The thought of Faye flirting back made me feel sick to my stomach.

  This fake marriage didn’t mean she couldn’t see other people—real people, have a real relationship, not just a fake pretend one. I was the only one who had told her I wouldn’t cheat on her like her ex. She hadn’t made any such promises to me, and maybe she’d omitted that on purpose.

  What if Faye and Archer really were a thing? Jealousy ate at me, spinning my thoughts in cartwheels inside my head.

  No. No, she had said that she wasn’t interested. Right? Wasn’t that what she’d told me? She must have meant it. She had to have meant it. I honestly didn’t think I could handle it otherwise.

  Still reeling from Rebecca’s words, I turned on my heel and headed back into the recording studio to play again, to lose myself in the refuge of music. But no matter what, I still couldn’t get the thought out of my head.

  Chapter 17

  Faye

  I glanced down at my phone and just stopped myself from making a noise of irritation. It was another text from my mom asking about the wedding. She wanted to know if we had already hired an officiant.

  I couldn’t help but shake my head. I loved my mother, but she had been texting me non-st
op since she’d found out about the engagement. A part of me wished I could just do what Sam had suggested in the first place and come clean about the whole thing, but I knew my family. They would never be able to keep a secret like that, not in a million years. Hell, not in a billion.

  I looked up through the glass partition as the band switched to a new song. They were in the recording studio, practicing the latest track before laying down the recording.

  It had been three weeks since I had agreed to Sam’s ridiculous plan, even though it felt more like three years if I was being honest, but I had to admit that the press had helped to keep Archer’s ex away. She seemed to have backed off. At least I hadn’t received another threatening note since the one scrawled on my front door.

  Of course, since then I’d had a security camera installed in my hallway and I’d been extra vigilant to stay near Sam, but the danger really did seem to be over for the moment. Not for the first time, I wondered if maybe, just maybe, we didn’t have to go through with the actual wedding part.

  But I still felt hopeful that the plan was working. It made it worth it, a little bit at least. Though there was still that part of me that couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t going too far.

  That was mainly because the more time I spent with Sam, the more time I wanted to spend with him. I knew it was stupid. The whole thing was ridiculous. But that didn’t stop me from wanting to find out more about him. Everything about him in fact.

  There were so many things I didn’t know, starting with the big one about his family and the accident, but there were all the little things too. Like what was his favorite color or his favorite food? And what about music? Who were his favorite artists? How did he learn how to play the guitar? Was it something he had just picked up as a kid or had it happened later in life?

  I tried to shake off the thoughts but it was nearly impossible. I told myself none of that mattered, trying to make myself belief it. I had to keep my focus on what was really important, and the only important thing was getting through this album and making sure it was a complete success.