Pretend for Me Read online

  She squared her shoulders ready for the introductions. Her family was not snobs, but they were overprotective of her and would tear shreds out of Andy if they got the chance.

  Survive the weekend was her new motto.

  Chapter Six

  Andy climbed out of his car. The updated sports model looked nothing like the top of the range models decorating the driveway and side road. He’d never seen a get together so large first thing in the morning. Checking his watch he saw it was past ten in the morning. Sara stood on the pavement waiting for him. He watched as she stroked Champion while she did. She wore a pair of tight jeans and a blue pastel shirt with a plunging neck line.

  Desire surged inside him, which he pushed aside. The last thing he needed was to meet her parents while sporting a hard-on for their daughter.

  His attraction for her was the hardest part of being near her. Andy felt his need for her increase daily. Part of him wondered if he was to act on it if his need for her would fizzle out. Maybe the attraction he felt toward Sara was simply be because he felt he couldn’t have her? But that couldn’t be true. Andy was finding being with her and not having her, harder to cope with.

  Rounding the car Andy took her hand in his. Her hands shook with her nerves. He gave her a gentle squeeze before assessing the house in front of him.

  “You’re not mad at me, are you?” she asked.

  “I could never be mad at you. This is all a shock, and I have never been a fake boyfriend for a weekend before.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I really do appreciate you doing this for me. Are you ready to go inside?”

  He nodded. “Do you think they’ll mind Champion?”

  “They won’t mind. I told you earlier, we had dogs growing up. We’ll take care of our pup, Andy.”

  Together they walked up the long driveway to the front of her parents’ house. Never in all of his life had he been so terrified than he was in those first few moments. He kept a hold on her hand and saw the front door open.

  “Guys, Sara is here, and she’s actually brought a man home.” He saw a blonde woman run out of the door. The picture he’d seen made her name easy to remember. The blonde woman walking toward them was Tracy.

  Next, five or six large men walked out of the house. A couple more women followed after them. Andy had come from a small family. When his parents passed away he’d learned he was the only one left in the Green line.

  This family was huge in comparison.

  Sara used her free hand to wave at them. She squeezed his hand then let go as her sister crashed into her pulling her into a bear hug.

  Andy stood back with his small dog watching.

  “It has been too damn long since you’ve been here, sis. We’ve all missed you,” Tracy said. Her older sister kissed her temple before cupping her face. “I don’t like the look of your eyes. Are you sleeping?”

  “Please, stop embarrassing me, and I sleep fine.” Sara pulled out of her sister’s hold and pointed at Andy. “I want you to meet someone.”

  Tracy took a step back and glared at him. “Are you the reason she’s looking tired?”

  He frowned and glanced at Sara. She shrugged her shoulders and opened her arms in defeat.

  “I make sure Sara gets plenty of sleep. She slaves away at her computer too often. I’ve never had a problem with how she looks.” He closed the distance between them and grabbed her hand. Andy wrapped his arm around her shoulders as the others joined Tracy.

  “Tracy, this is Andy Green. Andy, this is my sister, Tracy.” She banded her arm around his waist and hugged him close.

  Having her against him felt right, and Andy didn’t want to let her go.

  “Who’s the cute couple?” one of the men approaching asked.

  He recognized all four men as her three brothers and father. Her mother came up behind the men wearing an apron. Andy didn’t recognize the fifth man in the group. There were no photos of him. The other woman beside her mother was Bethany.

  “Hi, Dad, I’d like you to meet Andy.” Sara pushed her sister out of the way. She pulled him up to the group of men. “Andy, this is Danny, Jake, and James. They’re my older brothers, and that there is my mother, Harmony, and with her is my soon to be sister-in-law, Bethany.”

  Her introductions took some time.

  “Nice to meet you, sir,” he said to her father. Martin glared at him and then offered his hand. Her father gave him a firm handshake. Andy kept a firm grip knowing he was being assessed by each of the men present.

  Each of her brothers shook his hand firmly. When he turned to Harmony his hand hurt. “Thank you for having me this weekend, Mrs. Carroll. I know we haven’t got the chance to meet before, and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  He took Harmony’s hand and kissed her knuckles. Her mother chuckled at him.

  “You’ve both got a lot of explaining to do,” Harmony said.

  “I can’t believe little sis has brought a date into the pit of hell,” James said.

  Andy held onto her hand. “This here is Champion, our dog.”

  Champion barked at all of them.

  He felt the brothers’ glare focused on him.

  “Will you guys stop glaring? He’s my boyfriend, not the enemy,” Sara said, glaring back at her brothers.

  “We’ll assess that.” Danny, the oldest brother, spoke up first.

  Silence descended on the group. Andy glanced over at the blond guy with the boy-next-door look to him. He instantly didn’t like him, and he had no clue why.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce your boyfriend to your ex?” Harmony asked.

  Sara’s cheeks filled with the blush that he found so tempting. He cupped her cheek with his palm. She smiled up at him. “Andy, I’d like you to meet Dylan Cross.”

  The name made him angry. That man had put his hands on his woman. He turned to look at the man with the blond hair and a scowl.

  “Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand. Dylan took the hand, and they both squeezed each other’s hands. The battle was on, and Andy knew in that moment that Dylan was after Sara. The bastard had lost five years ago, and now he was back to take her again. The coming weekend was going to be interesting.

  “I think we should all take this into the house.”

  All of the family walked back to the front door. The instant they were alone he turned to her. “That’s your ex?”

  She nodded. “I think you handled that well.”

  “They are all trying to think of ways to kill me. They think I’m bad news for their little sister.”

  “Ignore them, Andy. We know the truth, and don’t let any of them get to you. You’re fine the way you are.” She went on her toes and kissed his cheek. “I promise I’ll make this up to you. Come on, we’ve got to go inside.”

  “What about our bags?” he asked. The idea of going into the lions’ den filled him with dread.

  “We’ll get them later. More people will be arriving later, and we’ll have plenty of time for everything.”

  “More people arriving? Where are all the cars going to fit?” He followed her inside the house. Sara was going to owe him big time for this.

  ****

  The introductions were out of the way. They’d survived their first grilling from her family. All they needed to do was survive the rest of the weekend and then the wedding in a month’s time. Seeing Dylan for the first time in over five years had been a shock. There had once been a great deal of attraction between them, which she no longer felt. When she watched Andy and Dylan shake hands she’d been overcome with euphoria. Andy was the man she wanted, not Dylan. She quickly pressed her hand to her rapidly beating heart before they walked through the front door.

  Her ex meant nothing to her. The relief felt tremendous. There was a point on the way down when she had thought there might be an underlying emotion with regards to her ex. She left without confronting him, and she’d simply refused his proposal.

  Andy stopped her inside the doorway. He pre
ssed against her body.

  “I need to ask you something,” he said.

  With the way his body was pressed against hers, he could ask her anything. She’d willingly give everything to him. Her heart was suddenly pounding for a whole new reason. They’d been close before, but they’d never been this close. She felt his body heat against her own. The hard length of his body was pressed close to hers. His masculine scent invaded her senses making her want him badly. Her body was attuned to him. She wanted him to lean down and kiss her. Sara wished he’d slam his hard lips against her own and show her passion that she only read about. The desire to yell the command at him was strong. She held herself back with all the strength she could muster.

  His close proximity made it hard for her to fight. Her gaze moved to those lips. How would they feel pressed against hers? She was losing her mind at the thoughts Andy evoked in her mind.

  “What do you need to ask me?” Her voice sounded breathless to her. She tried her best not to cringe from the sound.

  “Are you all right?” He pressed a palm to her head testing her temperature.

  I don’t want you testing my temperature! I want you to see how turned on I am.

  “I’m fine. Never better.” The words were a total lie. “Now, what did you want to ask me?”

  Her throat was bone dry. She needed a drink, and for the first time she felt like she needed some alcohol.

  “Do you still have feelings for Dylan?” he asked.

  Out of everything she expected him to say, those were the last words she anticipated leaving his lips.

  “What?” She turned her head to see if anyone heard her.

  “I know he’s your ex, and I need to make sure we’re on the same page.”

  “We’re on the same page, Andy. I asked you here to be my boyfriend so my family wouldn’t try and set us up. Get with the program.” She ducked under his arm angry with herself for being the only one affected by their closeness. Andy clearly wasn’t affected. She walked through into the sitting room. Bethany sat on Danny’s lap, and they were going through a wedding magazine. Her father read the paper while Jake was on the phone.

  Andy walked up behind her. His hands went to her shoulders. He kissed her neck, and she turned in his arms to whisper an apology against his ear. This was all her fault. In the car she started to get concerned about her feelings about Dylan. She had no right to be angry with Andy.

  She melted against him. The feel of his body next to her always had the ability to undo her. His hands sent goose-bumps up and down her body. The simple touch shouldn’t have the power to affect her like it did.

  “I’m so glad you’re here, Sara. I’ve got you booked into Hazel’s for a fitting. I’ve made sure the dress will not clash with your hair,” Bethany said.

  “She did. It took her several weeks to pick the right one.” Bethany slapped Danny and then sent her an apologetic smile.

  “Hazel is the local dressmaker. Her gowns are a thing of beauty. She can make any woman of any shape or size look sensational in her gowns,” she said, explaining it to Andy.

  “She’s the only place you can go to order decent clothing,” Tracy said, walking through with a tray of drinks.

  Harmony followed behind her daughter. “Men have it a lot easier to dress than women. We have to cater for every occasion. A wedding is a woman’s day. Bethany has superb taste, and this wedding will be the talk of the town for many years to come. It should have been yours, Sara.”

  Dylan was leaning against the wall, listening to their conversation and staring at her.

  “Stop it, Mom.”

  Sara watched as Bethany stuck her tongue out at Danny. Her older brother smiled and tapped his woman’s leg. The writer inside her made notes of the play between the couples.

  “I’m sure she’s told you about Dylan,” Harmony said, talking past her to Andy. Behind her back she felt him tense.

  She glared at her mother. “Stop!”

  “I know there was a proposal, which she refused.” Andy squeezed her shoulder.

  “Yeah, well, I was so shocked. I mean, she’d been in love with Dylan for as long as I can remember.” Harmony fanned her face.

  “Mom! Stop, it wasn’t love, and besides, I’m with Andy.”

  Sara saw Dylan was smiling. “We did have something special.”

  “No, we didn’t.” She glared at him, hoping he’d shut up.

  “Growing up she was always following after Dylan and her brother. Later on, it developed into a crush.” Harmony kept on talking, and Sara pressed a hand to her face. She’d never been so embarrassed in all of her life.

  “Enough!” Sara shouted the word out. The whole family went silent. “Do you have any idea how rude you’re being? I’m with my boyfriend, and you’re talking about an ex who’s here. Please, stop. Nothing is ever going to happen between Dylan and myself. It’s over. Andy’s the man in my life, no one else.”

  Silence met her outburst. She was ready to hurt someone if they didn’t stop.

  “So, Andy, what do you do?” Danny asked, shooting the question straight past her to Andy, breaking the tension.

  “Actually, I want to know how they met,” Harmony said.

  This was what Sara had been waiting for.

  Sara leaned back and gazed up at Andy. “I’ll let you tell them, baby.”

  He smiled down at her, but she saw the inherent glare in his eyes. “We met five years ago when she was trying to lug her library of books up the apartment stairs.”

  She watched as he showed with his hands the size of the box she was trying to carry.

  “They fell out of the bottom. I helped her move in. From that day forward we became really good friends.” He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. The action made her pause.

  Andy had cupped her cheek many times. He’d never stroked her lip with such lustful intent.

  He let her go and wrapped his arm around her waist. She felt his fingers playing with the bare flesh showing at her waist.

  “I take it you haven’t been dating for the last five years?” Dylan asked. She stared over at her ex and saw the evil glint in his eye. He clearly didn’t like being ditched for someone older than he was.

  “No, we weren’t dating, were we? Well, not officially. We were close and spent every available moment with each other.” Andy kissed the top of her head, playing with their story. “The dating started a couple of months ago.”

  “Andy owns several nightclubs,” Sara said.

  “My latest club, Cube, needed an opening act. No matter how many favors I tried to call in all the bands were working. Then, Sara, my savior got in touch with a band, and she knew the lead singer. They played at my opening night. She spent most of the night dancing near the stage next to the lead singer. Watching the chemistry she had with the lead, I knew I needed to act quickly. My feelings for Sara have done nothing but grow since I met her. She’s an amazing woman, and I’m a lucky man to have her as my woman.”

  If only his words were the truth.

  “How romantic,” Tracy said.

  “I thought you didn’t drink, Sara?” Dylan asked. His gaze went to hers.

  “I don’t. Andy changed the rules in his club, and they serve tea and coffee so more people can visit the clubs and are not obliged to drink alcohol.”

  There was silence as she stared up at Andy. His dark brown gaze pierced her where she stood. Sara couldn’t look away from him.

  “You own nightclubs?” Dylan asked.

  Andy nodded. “Yep, it is a dream come true.”

  “And that pays the bills?”

  “Dylan, stop being rude,” Sara said. She’d thought one of her brothers would start this battle about money, not her ex.

  “I’m just wondering how it pays, Sara. Nothing wrong in making sure it’s a sound investment. Businessman to businessman.”

  Sara saw what it was. Dylan was trying to measure the length of their dicks.

  “I don’t mind, baby. He’s
your ex, and he wants to know the competition.” Andy turned to Dylan. “I’m not a millionaire. My clubs make me enough to pay the bills and keep a roof over my head. Also, I earn enough to keep your daughter safe.” He spoke the last part to her father.

  She fell in love with him. Sara didn’t know what it was, but in that instant she fell completely in love with Andy Green.

  Chapter Seven

  Andy saw what Dylan was trying to do, and he refused to bite. He understood it. Dylan was a millionaire, and Andy was not. Sara’s ex wanted her back, but Andy was in the way. Dylan was trying to show him up. Fortunately, Andy knew the real Sara. She wasn’t bought with expensive jewelry or money. Sara liked the simple things in life. She liked sitting down to a warm meal and good company.

  “Sara was the reason why I followed my dream. She accepted me for who I was. Also, she’s following her dream, and she’s so happy for it. We only get to live this life once, and I want to do it with a dance in my step and a song in my heart.”

  He kissed the top of her head. Since they’d walked into the house he couldn’t stop himself from touching her. It was a compulsion to feel her skin against his.

  “I’m going to get us another drink.” Sara pulled out of his arms and grabbed the now empty tray of drinks. They’d not even got chance to take a drink.

  “Mom, Tracy, are you going to help me?”

  “I’ll come, too,” Bethany said.

  He watched as all the women disappeared leaving him alone with the men of the family.

  “I don’t like the fact you own nightclubs. A man like that shouldn’t be around my daughter,” Martin said.

  “With all due respect, sir, I make Sara very happy, and I’d never do anything to hurt her.” Andy wouldn’t back down.

  You’re only the pretend boyfriend. What are you doing?

  He couldn’t answer his own questions. Andy felt the need to fight his corner when it came to the people judging him. Dylan wanted her back. Andy saw it in the bastard’s eyes as he watched her leave the room.