Pretend Love Romance by Penny Wylder
Diana
Almost dying will really take it out of you. Even after sleeping the rest of the day and through the night, I’m exhausted. And instead of going on the hike with the rest of the girls and Hudson—one of the other owners of Blue Mountain—I opt to stay in bed and rest.
But by the time noon rolls around, I’m fully awake and restless. A hike would be too much for me, but I don’t want to stay in the cabin.
It’s actually perfect, because the grounds of Blue Mountain are beautiful. The green of the trees is still fresh and just turning into the deep shades of summer. The grounds run all the way to the river, but given yesterday, I don’t really feel like going down there. Between the stables and the archery range, there are large swaths of grass and woods with nothing but the sound of the wind moving through them. That’s where I spend my time walking.
This is nice. If all nature were like this, I would sign up. Usually I’m more than happy to stay holed up in my office with nature safely on the other side of the windows. Nature from a distance is nice. But here, without the pressure of adventuring and the space to breathe, I get it.
I find a row of large trees, and behind them a row of cabins. They’re beautiful and well-made, but intentionally tucked away. This must be where the owners live, and definitely not where I should be wandering as a guest.
I’m turning away to explore elsewhere when I hear my name behind me.
My breath is suddenly shallow in my chest, because Leo is sitting on the porch of the cabin closest to the river. Just seeing him makes my heart kick up into high gear and my temperature rise. All because I’m remembering that kiss. Less than a day ago this man had his hands all over me. And I would love for him to do it again.
I’m walking over to him without consciously deciding to do it, but I don’t really know what to say to him. He stands and meets me at the bottom of his stairs. I can’t help but notice how he looks today. No rugged sports gear, just shorts and a t-shirt, and he looks damn good in them.
“How are you feeling?”
I stretch a little. “Good. Still tired, but the girls are on a hike and I didn’t want to stay in the cabin. So I’ve just been…walking.”
“Enjoying it?”
“It really is beautiful here,” I say. “And quiet nature seems to be more my speed.”
Leo chuckles. “After yesterday, can’t say I blame you. You want a cup of coffee?”
My only hesitation is that if I go inside his house with him, it’s going to be a real temptation. But a little temptation never hurt anyone, right? My attraction to him is off the fucking charts, and just being in his vicinity has me shaking. I want to know him better, wherever that leads. Emily would be proud. “Sure.”
He leads me into the house, and I perch on a stool while he pours me coffee. “I’m surprised your friends didn’t try to drag you out on the hike.”
I roll my eyes. “Are you kidding? The minute I said I was tired they practically buried me in blankets trying to get me to stay back. They might try to drag me back to bed if they knew that I was here.”
His low chuckle does dangerous things to my insides. But I notice that it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. When I look closer, I see that he looks tired. Drawn almost, like there’s a weight on his shoulders that I can’t quite explain. “You have the day off today?”
“Yeah. You guys are the only ones here this weekend, and since Hudson is leading the hike, I get some downtime.”
“That’s nice.”
“What do you do?” Leo takes a sip of his coffee, and I get distracted by the muscles in his arms flexing as he raises the cup to his lips.
I blink myself back to reality and try to focus on the question. “I’m a graphic designer. Not exactly the outdoorsy type.”
“I don’t know. I think you can handle yourself.”
“For a few days,” I say, taking a sip of the coffee. “Fuck, that’s good. Emily is lucky that I love her because this is not what I would have chosen for a bachelorette party. I was promised that if I came here, there would be a hot tub and wine time, and I’m determined to get that before the weekend is over.”
“I hope you get it,” he says, but there’s a heaviness to it.
I stare, trying to put my finger on precisely what it is that’s bothering me. Like an itch at the back of my skull. But I’ve never been one for subtlety. “You seem different today.”
Leo’s eyes snap to mine. “Oh? How so?”
I open my mouth and close it again. “I don’t know you just seem…heavier? I can’t explain it.”
“You’re very observant,” he says with a sigh.
“Are you all right?”
His mouth turns up into a half-smile. Which only serves to remind me of his lips and the way they felt. The scratch of his beard. His hands on my body. “You’re here on vacation. I can’t unload my problems onto a guest. Especially one who almost died on my watch.”
My movement is pure instinct. I reach out and put my hand over his on the countertop, and both of us go still. “That’s exactly why you can tell me anything. You saved my life. The least I can do is listen to you.”
He sighs again before pulling back and scrubbing his hands over his face. “It’s complicated. My friends—business partners and I—are buying the land here. There’s a big payment coming up, and while this place is doing great, it’s not bringing in that level of profit yet. My family comes from money and they agreed to front the cost of the payments. And they’ve been doing that. Until now. They want me to…settle down and have a family.” He shakes his head and drinks more coffee.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” he shakes his head. “It’s not. But I want it to be on my time, and in my own way. I don’t want to be blackmailed into marrying anyone. But…”
“But?”
“When they told me I was desperate, so I said that I was dating someone. That I’d proposed. I don’t feel good about it, but it just slipped out. I wasn’t thinking and now I’m pretty much fucked because they want to meet my ‘fiancée’ before they give me the money.”
My eyebrows rise into my hairline. “I won’t lie, that’s pretty fucked up.”
Leo rolls his eyes. “Tell me about it. So, I need to find someone to pretend they’re my fiancée so I can make it work. After, I’ll find a way to get the rest of the money. I think Asher’s sister might do it if I asked. My parents have never met her, so it might work.”
He’s here in the room, but his mind is miles away as he stares into the distance. He’s just thinking out loud right now, which is a good thing because he can’t see the look on my face. The stab of jealousy in my gut when he mentioned this girl was so strong that my face must look like I’m about to commit murder.
It doesn’t make sense. He saved my life and kissed me once. There’s no reason for me to be jealous of someone he’s clearly not in a relationship with. But I still am. I make the decision in a heartbeat.
“I’ll do it.”
That snaps Leo back into the room. “What?”
“I’ll do it,” I say again. “I’ll pretend to be your fiancée.”
He’s suddenly looking at me with such hunger that it steals my breath from my chest. It’s pure wanting. “Why would you do that? I’m a complete stranger.”
He didn’t feel like much of a stranger when his hands were on my ass and his tongue was down my throat. “You saved my life,” I say simply. “I owe you one. Besides, it would be sad for a beautiful place like this to disappear just because you’re not married. I have vacation time saved up. I’ll stay and pretend for you.”
Leo stares at me so hard and for so long that I start to think that maybe I’ve petrified him. My offer has turned me into Medusa and he’s now a stone statue.
Finally, he takes a breath. “Okay. Thank you. I was trying to think of any other way, but I don’t think that there is one.”
“As long as there are no plans to try to drown me again, it will be a piece of cake.”
He laughs, and it sounds freer. In fact, he looks so relieved that it’s making me smile. But at the same time, now that I’ve agreed, I’m nervous. Pretending to be in love with Leo will be easy. But being close to him? That will be the hard thing.
Because I’ve felt exactly how hard his body can be, and knowing that, it’s going to be difficult to keep my hands to myself.
Then again, that might not be a bad thing.
