Her Guy Next Door Fake Fiancé Read online

“Actually, she’s quite adept at getting out of engagements,” Chrissy mumbled at the same time Rick rolled back in his chair.

  “I’m confident you’ll make this work, Liza. I want you at that conference. Elaine, give her the details,” Rick barked at his secretary. He turned back to the room and pointed at the door. “Let’s get to work, folks.”

  Liza refused to look at Chrissy as they filed out of the conference room. She also refused to think of a certain word that best described her coworker.

  Rick clapped her on the back at the end of the hall. “I see lots of good things happening for you, Liza. I’d like to meet with you tomorrow to discuss the action plan for gaining new clients at this conference.”

  “Sure, I’ll get right on that. Thank you.”

  She walked back to her cubicle and flipped open her laptop. Her email chimed with an incoming message from Elaine with travel information for the All-Star Design conference.

  “Noodles,” Liza murmured as she opened the email. The All-Star Design Conference would be held in Orlando, Florida, on December sixth and seventh. The flights were already booked, leaving New York on Thursday the fifth and returning on Sunday.

  “Psst, Liza, are you going to the conference?” Nita whispered as she slid around the corner of Liza’s cubicle.

  Liza jumped and swiveled in her chair. “Don’t sneak up on me like that when I’m trying to think of an excuse to get out of going.”

  Nita sighed and sat on the edge of the desk. “They already booked your flights, didn’t they?”

  “Yes, it’s not like I could get out of it anyway. I don’t want to get fired.”

  “True,” Nita replied. “Let’s look on the bright side. Obviously, Rick thinks you’re talented enough to go to the conference. Aren’t you working on an application for a promotion?”

  “Yeah, I don’t know if anything will come of it. Rick just keeps piling more work on me. I’ll end up doing more work without being promoted.”

  “That stinks, but you don’t. I’m so glad you work here. I wish I could go to the conference with you.” Nita stood and put her hand on the back of Liza’s chair. “Keep your chin up.”

  “Thanks, Nita.” Liza lifted her chin and looked at the ceiling. “It looks like crunchy snow.”

  Nita laughed and tipped her head back too. “Crunchy, dirty snow. Guess I’d better get back to work.”

  “Thanks for the pep talk. I’m going so I’ll make the best of it,” Liza said. Nita patted her shoulder as she exited the cubicle.

  Liza straightened and added the details of the conference to her calendar. When she decided to do something, she followed through with no more complaining and whining. Yep, she would make this work. The conference center would be enormous. It shouldn’t be that hard to avoid Mark.

  Her phone chirped with an incoming text.

  Hey, sweets, I’m getting prepped for the big conference next week and thinking of you. Are you sure you don’t want to come along with me? For old times’ sake?

  Liza’s eyes widened and her heart drummed in her chest. The text was from Mark Pratt. She looked around her cubicle, as if she might find a video camera and studio crew filming her reaction. This couldn’t be happening. Somehow, thinking of the no-good scoundrel had encouraged him to contact her again.

  Almost ten months ago, Liza had been gearing up for a December wedding to Mark. They had dated for a year, and when he proposed on Valentine’s Day, Liza felt so in love. She and her mom had planned the wedding, and Mark waited until after Liza had sold her apartment and moved in with her parents to call everything off. She’d already purchased a wedding gown and put down several nonrefundable deposits. Her parents had dipped into their savings to help her, and the catastrophe that followed was not something they could jump back from. Liza hadn’t moved out on her own again. She lived with her parents and paid rent to help them make ends meet.

  Liza deleted the text. Time to get back to work. She replied to Elaine and confirmed the details of the trip. As she sat back in her chair, she smiled as a new idea occurred to her. Maybe her mom could go with her on the trip. Her mother had just been complaining about the cold weather that morning, but if Liza could whisk her away to Florida, they could have some fun mother–daughter time in between the boring conference meetings. Liza knew it might be a long shot, but she asked Elaine for the cost breakdown to add a travel companion. Her mother could also act as a buffer between her and Mark. With that possibility on the horizon, Liza was able to get back to work and focus on her projects.

  She was immersed in a new web design portfolio when she remembered her car. Liza rubbed her forehead, wondering if maybe she had a little brain injury from the accident. How did someone forget something that important? Her mind immediately supplied the answers: the presentation, an invitation to a design conference she didn’t want to attend, and the text from the creep.

  Okay, so she had a lot on her mind. She dug out Jaime’s business card and scanned the information again. Liza flipped the card over, but it was blank on the back. She wished there was a photo of Jaime included; she could use a little man candy to brighten her mood.

  Liza slipped her feet out of her dress boots and curled her toes, popping them against the low pile carpet of her cubicle. Should she call him? Maybe just a text. Liza pulled out her phone and entered Jaime’s contact information. Then she spent five minutes typing and deleting texts until she finally settled on the right one.

  Hey, this is Liza Sorenson. I’m checking on the status of my car.

  Liza hit send and was about to put her phone away and focus on her work when the phone chirped. She fumbled and almost dropped it in her eagerness to read the text.

  Hi, Liza. Your car is in the shop. If they can’t finish it today, you are welcome to use my pickup an extra day. Just stop by my house after work so I can get a few papers out of my pickup.

  Liza pushed the autoresponder that said, Okay, thanks. She couldn’t afford to spend five more minutes on a simple text. Why was she agonizing over texting the guy who’d ruined her car in the first place? She’d heard something about his reputation; someone had said he liked to drink a little too much. No man was that good-looking. She was better off admiring his pickup.

  3

  Jaime didn’t like to take calls from his ex-wife, but Kori had baited him by texting to ask if she could call and talk about their son, Alex. Since Jaime would do anything for his fourteen-year-old boy, he’d agreed. That had been a mistake.

  “Alex hates you and he doesn’t want to be in boarding school,” Kori spat.

  “His teachers report that he’s performing well and making lots of new friends,” Jaime replied. “I suspect that is because he can finally take his medication on a regular basis.”

  “Are you blaming me for your son’s disabilities?” Kori screeched.

  “No, I’m saying that our son is doing well at school,” Jaime replied evenly. “And I’ve asked you before to watch your tone when discussing Alex’s disabilities.”

  For the past three years, Jaime had tried unsuccessfully to monitor Alex’s medication schedule for his severe ADHD. The medication disappeared on a regular basis, and when he’d discovered that Kori had been taking their son’s prescription drugs, he’d confronted her. She’d denied ever taking them, but when Jaime gave her an ultimatum—allow Alex to attend boarding school or have Kori submit to drug testing—she’d relented. She had turned into a bitter and angry woman without her supply of drugs. The divorce was finalized right before Alex enrolled in his first year of boarding school. Now he was in his second year and doing remarkably well.

  Kori began a tirade of cuss words and creative names. Jaime gripped the phone and held it away from his ear as his ex-wife screamed at him: “You’re the most irresponsible, worthless excuse for a father I know!”

  “And yet I’m the only father Alex has, and I’m going to be there for him.” Jaime caught himself pacing in front of the large picture window of the family room. It was almo
st five thirty, so Liza would arrive soon and he had to keep things cool. If Kori found out about his accident, her current tirade would look like a fluffy kitten party. He couldn’t believe how lucky he’d been—well, first he was stupid because he wasn’t paying attention and got in a wreck. If Liza had called the cops, it would ruin everything. But she hadn’t.

  The beautiful brunette had been so worried about her work presentation that she’d agreed to rush off to work in his pickup. Because of that, Jaime had been praying his thanks all day. He had made a promise to the Lord that he would do right by his son, but it had been much more difficult to keep that promise than Jaime could have imagined.

  “How do I know you aren’t drinking again?” Kori demanded, bringing his attention back to the conversation.

  “How do I know you haven’t found another source of stimulants to get you through the day?”

  “I should call the cops on you right now,” she said.

  “I have work to do, Kori. If you need something, send me an email. And before you threaten me again, remember that the cops will want to know my side of the story, too.” Jaime ended the call before Kori could say anything else. His crazy ex-wife was determined to bring him down, and she didn’t care if it hurt Alex. That was one of the reasons he protected Alex at all costs.

  Jaime looked out the window again and then walked back into the kitchen. No sense having Liza catch him gawking out the window like some kind of stalker. If only he’d been paying better attention this morning, then he wouldn’t be so stressed out that he couldn’t concentrate on his work. He frowned, knowing that his real problems were his actions from six months ago. He glanced at the family Bible near the arm of the sofa. Walking forward with faith was the only thing he could do right lately, and he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

  A knock on the door interrupted his musings. Jaime walked quickly, reminding himself to stay calm. He opened the door, and all thoughts of calm fled. Liza wore a puffy pink coat that matched the color of her cheeks. Her hair was braided to the side, and her dark eyes sparkled with a hint of her vibrant character. Had Liza been this beautiful that morning?

  “Hi, Liza. Let me just slip on my boots and I’ll come get that stuff out of the pickup. Thanks for stopping by.” His words came out in a rush. So much for playing it cool.

  “No problem.” She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks for getting my car fixed. I’m still a little worried that we didn’t call the cops and report the incident. My dad is going to ask me why I didn’t do that.”

  “What’s there to worry about?” Jaime pulled the front door closed and headed down the steps. She couldn’t call the cops. He couldn’t let a little fender bender be the end of his hope to save Alex from his crazy mother. “I told you I’d fix your car, and it will be delivered to you better than it was. How did your presentation go?”

  Liza’s face registered a moment of surprise, and then she brightened. “Actually, it went really well. I was afraid I was going to bomb because of all the adrenaline, but my boss was impressed.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Jaime breathed an inward sigh of relief at the quick change in subject. “Where do you work?”

  “Stellar Ads. I’m one of their editors, and I create lots of ad copy.”

  Jaime reached into his pickup and grabbed a stack of papers and envelopes out of the console. “That’s cool. We work in similar fields.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that from your card.” Liza slipped her hands into her coat pockets.

  That simple movement seemed so graceful. The way she carried herself with an air of quiet confidence left him wanting to know more about her. He stuffed the stack of papers under his arm, trying to think of what to say.

  “Do you work from home?” Liza asked before he could come up with a witty remark.

  Jaime nodded. “I do. Cuts down on overhead. Maybe one day I’ll go back to an office, but the view here is pretty great.”

  She turned and looked past his house. “It is beautiful here. I always admire your property when I drive by.”

  “Thanks. So you just live north of here? I think I met your dad when I first moved in. Reuben, right?”

  “Yes, that’s my dad. I live with my parents.” She looked down at the ground. “Wish I could say I worked from home. I work in a cubicle, and trust me, there’s no view.”

  Jaime chuckled. “Yeah, I did my time in the cubicles. Never want to go back.”

  When she lifted her head, she was smiling and her brown eyes sparkled. “Sometime you’ll have to tell me how you escaped the cubicles.”

  Jaime kicked some snow off the tire with his boot. “Escape is definitely the right word. I’ll update you about your car tomorrow. They wanted to finish sooner, but they were waiting on a part. I’m really sorry about the inconvenience.”

  Liza nodded. “It’s okay. I’m glad it turned out all right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He watched as she climbed into his pickup and drove off. Looking up at the sky, Jaime noticed more swollen clouds packed with snow. It was supposed to drop another two inches on Echo Ridge tonight.

  Nights like these were perfect for cozying up in front of the warm fire, yet they still made Jaime feel a pang of loneliness. He didn’t miss Kori and he would never go back to her, but he missed Alex. It had been a little over a year since the divorce, and Jaime had worked hard to get Alex into a boarding school and away from Kori. Unfortunately, that boarding school took Alex away from him as well. Jaime told himself that it was worth it, but sometimes he wondered if he had made the right choice. He wanted shared custody of his son—not just the standard every other weekend he’d been assigned, but because of the mistakes he’d made he had a lot of work to do to put together a good case.

  Jaime headed back inside, removed his boots, and began building a fire. His thoughts returned to Liza Sorensen. She was young, beautiful, and vivacious, and he realized that she didn’t seem afraid of him. Echo Ridge was a small town, so gossip had a way of traveling quickly whether a person wanted it to or not. Six months ago, during a very low time in his life, Jaime had drunk way more than he should have and then tried to drive himself home. The result was a broken fence and an arrest for a misdemeanor offense—driving under the influence. The cops had warned him that he wouldn’t get a second chance. If he made any more trouble in Echo Ridge, he would be charged with a felony.

  He’d done really well to keep his nose clean until today. He’d awakened at three o’clock. He couldn’t get back to sleep and finally got up and worked for a couple hours. At six o’clock, the tendonitis in his wrist was killing him, so he’d downed a couple shots of vodka and fallen back asleep until seven-thirty. He’d been headed over to Fay’s Café for morning coffee when he’d pulled out in front of Liza. In a panic, he’d realized that even though he was clearheaded, he might still fail the breathalyzer test. He could be arrested and charged as a felon. And then what? He didn’t want to know what, so he did the only thing he could: bypass the cops and pay to fix Liza’s car himself.

  Jaime rarely drank since the night of his DUI, and he’d never been one for getting drunk anyway, but he’d let his weaknesses conquer him that night. If anything, the events of that night had solidified his desire to do better and be better. He’d stayed married too long when he should’ve left and taken Alex with him. By the time he’d finally left, it was too late. Kori had wreaked such havoc on their lives that Jaime couldn’t undo the damage. Kori had convinced their son to hate him, but Jaime held out hope that one day Alex would be mature enough to make his own opinions about his dad. In the meantime, Jaime would pray and try to make up the difference.

  He was angry at himself for being weak that morning and going back to the bottle that had started his problems. Stomping through the kitchen, he yanked open the cupboard under the sink, pulled out the bottle of vodka, dumped it down the drain, and threw it in the trash. There. He was done drinking. No more excuses, and no more foolishness. Alex needed him, and Jaime was re
ady to be the father he should have been all along.

  4

  As Liza drove away from Jaime’s house, her smile widened. She meant every word she had said to Jaime. She was looking forward to seeing him tomorrow, but it had nothing to do with her car. Her parents’ home was less than five minutes from Jaime’s house and she was still thinking about him when she pulled into the driveway. She hummed to herself as she walked into her parents’ kitchen.

  “Sounds like someone had a good day,” her mom said by way of greeting. Adina Sorenson was slight in stature, yet a little thick around the middle. She didn’t look the part of a fifth-grade teacher with her silver hair in a long French braid, but she was one of the most requested teachers at Echo Ridge Elementary.

  “Yep, it was quite the day.” Liza hugged her mom, her nose twitching at the familiar scent of her vanilla perfume.

  “Did your presentation go well?”

  “It was great.” Liza snitched a roll from the basket on the counter. “The only downside is that my boss was so impressed, he invited me to attend the All-Star Design conference in Florida next week.”

  Mom stepped back and raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t that the same conference—”

  “That I went to with Mark last year? Yes, and that’s why I’m hoping you can come with me.” Liza took a bite of the roll and closed her eyes briefly as the tender flavor divided her attention. “Yummy. Mom, your rolls are the best. Can you come? I fly out next Thursday.”

  “Liza, I would love to, but Sharla took a turn for the worse.” Mom rubbed her forehead and sighed. “They don’t think she’ll last the week.”

  Liza gasped. “So soon? But I thought Sharla was doing better.” Her mother’s best friend, Marianne, had moved to Echo Ridge to help take care of her sister, Sharla, in her battle against cancer.

  “I know. She’s fought this fight so hard, but Marianne said that hospice has taken over care. I don’t dare leave because Marianne will need me for the funeral.”