Just for Kicks by Tracy Solheim

Six

* * *

“AS YOUR QUEEN,I hereby decree that bacon must be served at every meal.” Andi sighed reverently before biting down on a piece of the crispy stuff.

Across the booth from her, Dex shook his head with what sounded like a snort. They’d stopped for breakfast at a twenty-four-hour diner on the way back to their hotel. Food seemed like a good way to help lessen the tension zinging between them following their screwball wedding ceremony.

Not to mention that kiss.

Her nerve endings began to tingle just recalling the way her body responded every time his lips touched hers. Too bad her breakfast companion seemed to be immune. When he looked up from his plate of Eggs Benedict, that game face she was beginning to hate was firmly in place. Not only was he a star football player and a card shark, but apparently an award-winning actor as well. He’d played her again. The kiss in the wedding chapel—just like the one in the casino—was all for show.

If only her body were as blasé.

“Well then, as your king,” he drawled. “I have a decree of my own. No more kissing.”

She struggled not to choke on her bacon. Of all the nerve! As if she’d been the one jumping his bones every time she got close enough. Well, her body certainly got the message now. His declaration might as well have been served up with a bucket of ice water.

“You won’t get any complaints from me, your highness. And let the record state, you started it. Both times.”

He cocked an arrogant eyebrow at her. “So glad you’re keeping count.”

“I’ve got a score card running on social media.”

That got his attention.

“The contract explicitly prohibits any mention of our marriage on social media.”

Too bad the contract didn’t explicitly prohibit kissing.“Gullible much?”

With a scowl, he refocused his attention on his breakfast. Her appetite now gone, Andi pushed her scrambled eggs across the plate with her fork. “How’s this going to work, anyway?”

His head snapped up. “The no kissing?”

“For someone who doesn’t want to kiss me, you sure do mention it a lot.”

“I never said I didn’t want to kiss you,” he snapped before something that looked like remorse shadowed his face.

Huh.

He swore violently as he shoved his plate away. “Look, Andi. I’m exhausted and stressed, and I certainly don’t mean to insult you in any way. You’re . . . sweet and—” His fumbling for words made her cringe. “And you’re attractive. I’m sure most guys . . .” His voice trailed off before he dragged his fingers through his hair. “But this is just pretend, remember?”

Oh, she remembered. She also remembered how her body melted when his tongue invaded her mouth. Right now, though, her stomach was dropping for an entirely different reason. He obviously wasn’t “most guys.” He’d morphed back into one of those asshole superstars who liked their women leggy, big-bosomed, and empty-headed. In other words, nothing like her.

But she knew there was more to Declan Fletcher than the stereotypical professional athlete. She’d met that Dex on the airplane and in the casino. Fool that she was, she was continuing this charade holding out hope that guy would reveal himself again.

“No offense taken,” she lied. “I’m not into brawny jocks who double as card sharks anyway.”

There went his eyebrow again, disbelief plain as day on his face. She notched her chin up, daring him to contradict her. He tore his eyes away with a heavy sigh.

“Back to my question. How is this going to work?” She gestured between the two of them before lowering her voice. “How is our marriage going to work?”

“We go back to Milwaukee and return to our lives. No one has to know about this except the folks from ICE. I’m sure there will be some forms to fill out and perhaps an interview or something. Kurt will have that all figured out by the time we get back.”

She nodded while her stomach sank even further. Rejection was commonplace for her. So why did it hurt so much from a man she barely knew?

He fiddled with his spoon. “I suspect you may have to move in with me for a while.”

Just like that, her stomach was back in her throat, choking off her speech. There had been no mention of co-habitation in the contract.

“I have a penthouse right on the lake.”

Of course he did.

“It’s close to the university and roomy enough for both of us to go days without seeing one another. My assistant will see about getting your things moved in.”

“No need.”

He jerked forward so that his face was inches from hers. “ICE won’t buy this if we don’t live together.”

She closed her eyes to block out his sexy gray ones that always seemed to make her heart leap. Her throat constricted with embarrassment. “I meant there’s no need for your assistant to help me move in. I barely have a couple of boxes’ worth of stuff.”

When she lifted her lids, his face was still inches from hers. She searched his eyes for the pity sure to be there after her admission, but there was none. Only a flash of something that looked like awe before he slipped behind his game-face once again.

Settling back against the booth, he signaled for the waitress to bring the check.

Andi’s palms began to sweat again. “If we’re going to live together, how are you going to keep this from your family?”

“My family still lives in Scotland. There’s no reason for them to know anything.”

“I don’t understand. If they live in Scotland, what’s the big deal with having to go home to renew your visa? Did you have to flee the country or something? Cheat someone at cards, maybe?”

Her attempt at humor fell drastically flat. His face grew even harder, as if that were possible. She’d been down this road before when she asked about his family while they were on the plane. Why hadn’t she learned from his reaction then?

Because she never learned.

You need to think before you speak.

You’re too reckless with your opinions.

You’re too impetuous for your own good, Andrea.

Why can’t you just be like everyone else?

It was the soundtrack of her life. One that always ended up with the refrain: Then maybe a family will want you.

But why would anyone distance themselves from their family if they had one? Why avoid returning home? Most likely he was supporting them with the multi-million dollars he earned each year for parading around in his kilt and kicking a ball through the goalpost. That had to be it. Because no one in their right mind would just desert their family. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he spoke first.

“Yeah, you guessed it. I cheated. I cheated someone out of their future.”

With that cryptic remark he swiped up the paper tab and headed for the cash register up front.

* * *

SEVEN HOURS LATER,Andi was awakened by the shrill sound of her cell phone ringing. Disoriented, it took her several long breaths to remember where she was: smack in the middle of the big comfortable bed in her suite at the Wynn. After their pre-dawn breakfast, they’d returned to the hotel. With a growled goodnight, Dex had disappeared into his own room to sleep or brood or whatever it was surly athletes did in their free time.

Ignoring the guilt settling in her belly, she snatched up the phone to see Clive’s name on the screen. Damn. In all the excitement last night, she’d forgotten to send him a text filling him in on what went down with Kenny. The ringing stopped and she let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to tell her best friend. How should she explain how she’d gotten the money? And why was she reluctant to reveal that she’d actually gone through with marrying Dex?

Her reprieve was short-lived however, because the ringing began again almost immediately. Panicked that her friend was calling with something urgent and not anything involving her or her crazy, mixed-up life, she answered breathlessly.

“Clive, what’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“What’s wrong?” Her friend sounded incredulous. “You tell me, Mrs. Declan Fletcher. I hope I’m not interrupting your honeymoon, but you did promise to call me before you did anything foolish.”

She snapped upright. “How—how did you know I went through with it?”

“Well, you didn’t expect to marry one of People magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive” and not have anyone find out. It’s all over the Internet.”

“Princess Leia,” she hissed in annoyance.

Clive’s chuckle sounded equal parts annoyed and hurt. “Guess that explains the Wookie watching the two of you playing tonsil hockey.”

Andi banged her head against the wall. “There’s a picture of us kissing?”

“Gurrrl, judging by that photo, you two were leading up to a lot more than just a kiss. The image practically melted my phone.”

This can’t be happening.

“Maybe his agent can get them to take it down,” she whispered.

Clive’s laugh held little humor. “That genie is already out of the bottle, honey. It’s already at over seven hundred thousand views and it hasn’t even been up for two hours. Congratulations. You’re a viral sensation.”

She slammed her eyes shut. This was a disaster. It was hard enough carrying out this charade as it was. Now it seemed they’d be playing at their fake marriage under a media microscope. Not only that, but Dex had to be furious. For some odd reason, he didn’t want his family—or anyone else—knowing they’d tied the knot.

“Oh, Clive,” she whispered. “What have I done?”

“Tell me he didn’t force you into this?” She heard Daniel in the background angrily threatening to skewer Dex.

“No! Nobody forced me to do anything.” With a less than steady voice, she recounted the whole story from their arrival in Las Vegas to their wedding earlier that morning. “After everything he did, I couldn’t not help him. But no one was supposed to find out.”

Her friend’s voice softened. “Andi, you do know that ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ is just a slogan. It’s not really true.”

“Why can’t I ever catch a break?”

“Seems to me you did,” Clive replied. “You got the money to pay off what Kenny stole from you. Now you just have to figure out a way to fulfill your end of the bargain while still retaining your dignity.”

Easy for him to say. He didn’t have to pretend to be married to a man with sexier legs than hers. A man she was also ridiculously attracted to. The same man who’d made it very clear that attraction was not reciprocated.

“Come home, Andi. Daniel and I will figure out a way to make this work for you.”

Grateful to have Clive still in her corner, she muttered her thanks and told him she’d call when she landed later tonight. Her friend was right, of course. No matter what happened, she needed to carry out her end of the bargain. She owed it to Dex—the compassionate Dex. Surely there was a way she could survive their fake marriage with her sanity—and her heart—intact.

* * *

DEX PACED AROUND the suite,his phone pressed to his ear as he tried to smooth things over with his mother. Damn that wedding chapel. He said no bloody pictures. This is exactly what he didn’t want to happen. His phone began exploding an hour ago, waking him from an X-rated dream featuring a pink-haired temptress naked on a poker table. Teammates, friends, and reporters all wanted the low-down on his sudden marriage. Dex just wanted to see how his dream played out. The first thing he was going to do was have Kurt sue Princess Leia and the rest of the Rebel Force.

Right after he finished this agonizing call from his parents.

As usual, Ma was doing her best to appear unruffled by his sudden marriage even though he knew from the irritated texts his sister had sent him that his parents were crushed.

“I’d always hoped I’d get to meet the woman my son fell in love with before he married her. Instead I’m introduced to her via the Internet.”

The L word.

“I’m sorry about the timing, Ma.” It seemed he was forever apologizing to his mother. “But it couldn’t be helped.”

“Well, I’m proud of you for doing the right thing by this woman. Most professional athletes aren’t as honorable.” His mother always tried to paint him in a positive light even when he was constantly disappointing her. He didn’t deserve her love. But he was deeply grateful for it nonetheless. “But Declan Edward Fletcher, don’t you dare think an ocean is going to keep me and your father from our first grandchild,” she added.

He was glad she couldn’t see his pained wince. Social media had gone crazy with the theory Andi was pregnant, necessitating their rash wedding. Kurt had texted advising that neither of them should deny that rumor just yet. It would provide them a cover from ICE, his agent reasoned. But in the cold light of day, Dex couldn’t add another lie to the major deception he continued to perpetuate over his parents.

“There’s no baby, Ma,” he told her. “It’s not like that at all.”

There was a prolonged silence from the other end of the phone. Apparently, his mother was even disappointed that he hadn’t knocked up Andi. He couldn’t kick his way to a win.

“Well, since you’re going to keep quiet about the reasons for your hasty marriage to a woman we don’t know,” she finally said, “then I guess we’ll just have to accept that. Just as we do with the rest of your life choices.”

Dex sucked in a deep breath laced with guilt. He couldn’t tell her the truth. The reason for this farce of a marriage would hurt her even more than he’d been hurting her for the past ten years. He’d avoided returning home for nearly a decade. Avoided facing his greatest mistake and the harm he’d caused. In so doing, he’d missed so many of the special moments and shared milestones with his parents and family. No way could he tell his ma he’d married Andi just so he wouldn’t have to come home and face the music. It would break his parents.

Instead, he chose the least painful excuse he could think of. “It was a spur of the moment thing. That’s all.” It wasn’t a lie. Of course, he could only imagine what his mother thought of him now.

She paused again. Dex grimaced. His mother’s silence was the most painful weapon in her arsenal. “Well, I’m sure she is a wonderful person if you felt the need to wed yourself to her for life.”

His head began to pound. Why didn’t his mother reach through the bloody phone and rip the flesh right off of him? This was exactly why he didn’t want his folks to know about his make-believe marriage. Because to them, it wouldn’t be make-believe. To Rose and Douglas Fletcher, marriage was sacred.

And it was forever.

“I guess we will have to settle with getting to know her when you both are in London later in the season. I’m sure we’ll all adore her as much as you do.”

Her words had him nearly tripping over his own feet. Shit. Shit. Shit! He’d completely forgotten the Growlers were playing a game in Wembley this year. His entire family was coming to watch him play. They’d been talking about it since the schedule was announced eighteen months ago. His plan was to avoid most of them, using the excuse that he had to prepare for the game. But his mother could be like a dog with a bone when she wanted something. And no doubt she’d not only want to meet Andi, but to introduce her to the entire stinking Fletcher clan.

“Andi won’t be coming to London, Ma,” he blurted out. “She’s afraid to fly.”

A muffled gasp alerted him he was not alone. He glanced across the room to see his pretend bride, leaning against the bar, arms crossed over her chest. Unlike in his dream, she was fully clothed, looking fresh-faced and well rested, yet distinctly peeved. He could practically hear her delicate eyebrow snapping up in annoyance.

“Afraid to fly?” his mother asked. “Then how did you two get to Las Vegas?”

Shit.How could he forget nothing got past the woman? Not with nineteen years as headmistress of a primary school under her belt.

“She didn’t realize it until she got on the plane. But you can meet her when you come visit in the spring.” And there was lie number four hundred fifty-two. His family would never meet Andi. By the time the season ended and he was sharing a beachfront villa somewhere with his parents and sister, he’d be single again.

Across the room, Andi shook her head with what looked like disgust before heading to the kitchen. Damn it. Now he had two women angry with him. “Look, Ma, can I call you back when we get back to Milwaukee?”

His mother gulped back what sounded like a sob. “Not before you speak to your father.”

Dex’s gut clenched. This was going far worse than he could have imagined.

“For Chrissake, son, what the hell is going on there?” his normally sanguine father barked into the phone. “You’ve made your mother into a watering pot and Annis is threatening to dye her hair purple like her new sister-in-law.”

“Purple? Why purple? Andie’s hair is pink.”

“Pink. Purple. Smurf blue. Does it bloody matter?”

Yes, it does matter, he nearly yelled into the phone before getting a grip. What was happening to him? He was arguing with his father over hair color as if it were the most important issue between him and his family. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he went in for one last lie. “Look, Da, we have to catch a plane. I’ll call you tomorrow night and we can all talk once the shock has died down.”

His father said something unintelligible before abruptly hanging up.

Dex swore violently.

“Please. Not in front of the baby.”

He looked up as Andi poured herself a cup of coffee from a carafe on the bar and took a seat at the dining table. Despite her joke, her tone was terse and her movements wooden. He could only imagine her reaction when she had scrolled through social media. At least he was used to the public scrutiny. Try missing a kick in overtime that could have won the game.

With the life she’d lived, Andi was no shrinking violet, but finding herself embroiled in a sensational scandal couldn’t be easy. Her attempt at humor had to be a good sign, however. He decided to follow her lead.

“Are you sure you should be drinking anything caffeinated in your condition?”

Definitely not his best play. She pierced him with a look that would have a grizzled lineman backing away. He wrapped a hand around the back of his neck.

“I thought we were laughing it off,” he hedged.

She didn’t respond, instead blowing softly on her coffee.

The erotic image scattered his thoughts back to the dream he’d had of her last night. He mentally kicked himself. This is pretend. Real or not, he shouldn’t be fantasizing about his fake wife. Not if he wanted to stay sane. If they were going to pull this off, he needed to keep his head—the one housing his brain—in the game.

“Look, in a couple of weeks, when it becomes obvious that you’re not pregnant, this will all blow over.”

Continuing to ignore him, she sipped from her mug.

Great. Another woman who weaponized silence.

“Trust me. They’ll move on to something else,” he tried again to placate her.

“Says the one who comes out of this still smelling like a rose. While I’m painted as the conniving baby mama.” Her fingers formed air quotes around the last two words. “A no-name piece of trash who tricked you into marriage by getting pregnant.”

People could be so cruel on social media. “No one believes that.”

“Your parents obviously did,” she snapped.

The look of anguish that flashed in her eyes nearly took him out at the knees. Behind her brash exterior was a vulnerable woman. One who definitely cared what people thought of her. Cautiously, he slid into the chair opposite hers.

“I’m sorry,” she surprised him by saying. “I shouldn’t be taking this out on you. Social media never would have gotten wind of any of this if I’d kept up my end of the bargain and we were married by the judge.” She swallowed roughly. “Your parents would still be blissfully ignorant of your new wife.”

Her apology nearly slayed him. None of this was her fault. Hell, he could have called the judge this morning. But something deep inside him had screamed at him last night not to wait. The same voice that pleaded with him not to let her walk out of Kurt’s office the other day. It demanded loudly that he tie himself to her as soon as she proposed the idea so she couldn’t slip away again.

“I set them straight. Believe me when I tell you they aren’t upset with you. They’re disappointed in me.”

Again.

Still.

“Because you married a no-name piece of trash woman with pink hair.”

She had such a spunky spirit it was easy to miss there was a battle-weary woman inside. One who’d been abandoned repeatedly. One who thought she wasn’t good enough for his parents. He reached a hand across the table to reassure her before snatching it back. Touching her was a bad idea. Every time he did, it was harder to let go. He scrubbed his hand down his face instead.

“I may not have much to my name, but up until now, at least I had my name,” she murmured. “And no one is going to invest in my startup after this.”

“Invest in your startup?” He really should have gotten her life story from Kurt.

Andi glared at him as though he was something she’d scraped off the bottom of her shoe. A hard knot pressed against his ribcage. His phone beeped, saving him from the rest of what had become a very confusing conversation. He punched the speaker button.

“Talk to me, Kurt.”

“I was able to book a private jet leaving North Las Vegas Airport in ninety minutes,” his agent said. “A car will pick you up at the hotel in an hour. The concierge will take you out a back entrance. I’ll leave you booked on the commercial flight leaving out of McCarran right up until the last minute. That should throw off most of the paparazzi. But that might not fool all of them. You’re not going to like this, but you’re going to have to face the media at some point. It’s best to meet them head on. I’m trying to coordinate an interview for tomorrow.”

Bloody hell. Dex didn’t realize he’d said the words out loud until Kurt replied.

“You’re just going to have to overcome your interview phobia this once, Declan.”

He didn’t have an interview phobia. He just didn’t like answering questions about his personal life. With good reason. He tolerated the weekly post-game pressers and that was it. The media knew the score, but that didn’t mean they stopped asking. When they did, Kurt politely refused, but only after lecturing Dex about how he was hurting his ‘brand.’ Dex didn’t give a damn about his bloody brand. Just his privacy. And keeping his secrets safe.

Up until now, his strategy had worked. With a heavy sigh he glanced over at his new wife. He’d sworn off marriage at one time, too. It seemed his orderly life was coming down like a house of cards.

“Fine,” he said. “Set it up.”

“Done.” At least his agent had the good grace not to gloat. “But we need to come up with a plausible story you’re going to tell first.”

Dex locked eyes with Andi. “Start off by telling them there’s no baby.”

Her chin dropped in surprise.

“But—” Kurt tried to argue.

“No buts. I won’t have Andi misrepresented by the media. Not for another minute. She didn’t sign up for that. Release a statement immediately, Kurt. The marriage will have to be enough for ICE. We’ll see you in a few hours.”