Famously Engaged Read online

  Cinderella bagging Prince Charming will make for a couple of great headlines, but if Cinders snubs the prince, the story will explode. They’ll hound us both until marriage starts to look like the easy option.”

  “But none of it is true!”

  “Doesn’t matter. Our engagement will be headline news all over the world tomorrow. Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable. That’s why it’s best if I move in—temporarily, of course.”

  She reached back and curled her hand around the familiar crescent-moon doorknob. “Trust me, living together is avoidable. I’m not willing to share my house with anyone tonight. Not even you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My mother’s in every room of this house. I can’t possibly cater to a guest tonight and I can’t be engaged to you, either.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes and she tried not to blink, tried not to let her lower lip tremble. Suppressing the urge to throw herself at the self-proclaimed prince wasn’t easy, but she straightened her spine to tell him to get back on his horse instead. “You seem…very nice. But my life’s too complicated for me to get involved in something like this. I’m sorry to mess with your plans, but you’ll have to find someone else to play Cinderella.”

  He studied her, his hazel eyes full of concern, compelling her to continue.

  “If your timing were better—” She stopped the apology that hovered on her lips. “I can’t have this conversation. I shouldn’t have to, because I don’t know you.”

  Jake’s hands closed over her shoulders, the heat of his fingers through the delicate fabric of her robe warming far more than they touched. Tiny frissons of awareness spread through her system, giving it a long overdue wake-up call. His thumbs kneaded her tight neck muscles, and when he spoke his voice was pitched low.

  It wound around her, threatening to undermine her composure.

  “Skyla and Brad have told me so much about you that I feel as if I know you,” he said. “I know your mother isn’t well. I know you rarely sleep and forget to eat.”

  “Jake.” She searched for the right words and came up empty.

  He was intruding on a very private occasion. “My mother wasn’t just unwell, she was dying, and she lost her battle a few days ago.

  Now that she’s gone, I need to be here with all of her things, in the house we’ve always shared.”

  “I had no idea. The last time I spoke to Brad he was intent on moving in. He talks about you nonstop and I thought he was making a pest of himself.” He palmed his face and exhaled a heavy breath. “I realize you don’t know me, but you shouldn’t be alone tonight, Beth. Tell me what you need. What can I do for you? Anything. Name it and it’s yours.”

  “An early night is all I really want. I need time alone to process the fact that my mother is never coming back. I’ve had months to prepare for this, but it’s still a shock. I’m not ready and I don’t…”

  She swallowed. “I don’t quite know what to do.”

  He gathered her close for the hug she desperately needed.

  “I’m here now. Maybe I can help get your mind off your mother.

  I’ll be a good distraction, because your house will be surrounded with reporters within hours.”

  “It’s official then. I have a houseguest.” Beth sighed.

  He surveyed her yard. “Does this high stone fence surround the entire property?”

  “Yeah, it does. But you weren’t serious about reporters, were you?”

  “After the news breaks, the media will assume I’m here.

  That’ll mean siege conditions: paparazzi camped outside your gates, helicopters flying overhead, no one coming in or out without security clearance.”

  She stared at him while she considered the inconvenience of housing him, frowning when his gaze jerked back to her face from somewhere down near her feet. Was he checking her out?

  “Nice,” he said.

  Pretty sure she didn’t want him to elaborate, she said, “If you’re staying, you’ll have to abide by the house rules.” He grinned.

  “First up, stop calling me Bethany. It’s private and special, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “The media will run with Bethany, nothing I can do about it.

  Okay, but I’d prefer plain old Beth.” She gestured at her house, then tried to look stern. “No one, not even you, is famous inside my house. You’ll have to help out, and you won’t be entitled to any hospitality beyond what I’d give to a visiting relative. A distant, female relative.”

  He clasped his hand to his heart as if he’d been mortally wounded, but his smile didn’t dim. He tried the front door. “It’s locked. Want me to organize a locksmith?”

  “No need. Follow me.” She pondered their situation as she navigated the chilly stone path toward her kitchen window. Five

  Awesome Emperors were one of the most famous bands on the planet and cameras followed them everywhere. Jake didn’t travel without his band, an entourage, and bodyguards. He couldn’t be here all alone, and he certainly couldn’t be engaged to her.

  She stopped and turned to face him in the pool of light spilling through the living room windows. Jake Olsen was here in her yard, engaged to her, about to move in, all because Brad couldn’t stop talking about her…

  “Something wrong?”

  “Why would there be? My last half hour hasn’t produced anything more exciting than a rock god, a fake engagement, and siege preparations. It’s slow for a Friday night.” She gave his arm an affectionate pat. “But it’s early. Things might pick up later.”

  Chapter Two

  “Someone went to extraordinary lengths to research every aspect of my life before fabricating a bridal lottery in your name and declaring me the winner. I can’t understand why they chose me or how they know so much.”

  “Reporters,” he said. “It’s their job.”

  “I don’t think anyone would pair us up without a reason. The column won’t be printed till tomorrow, yet you’ve had it long enough to fly here from the UK .”

  His arm tensed beneath her hand. “To warn you.”

  “You could have reached me by phone or sent a representative.

  Something’s not right. You’ve known for at least a day, and you haven’t taken out an injunction or notified anyone.” She gasped at the conclusion her mind supplied. “You said something about your manager writing the article. You want this engagement story published? Why?”

  He didn’t speak.

  “Do you need a partner for some reason? Someone depressingly average who’ll make you look benevolent and soulful?”

  “No.”

  “But you’re allowing it to be printed.” She stared at him, struggling to imagine a scenario where he’d want to be engaged to her. “Of course! It must be a cover to divert attention away from your real engagement. Congratulations.” She hugged him, ignoring his lack of response. “How exciting. Do I get to know who I’m helping? Presumably she’s as famous as you are. Is she an Aussie?”

  He sliced his hand through the air, and she bit the inside of her lip to silence further questions. Clearly his life was private. Oh, to be a rock god and make all the rules.

  “You’re the only fiancée I have. I saw a situation developing between you and your ex-husband and I took the opportunity to end it.”

  “A situation? Brad’s my best friend, but there’s nothing else going on. We tried that and it was a disaster. Why do you care so much about Brad and Skyla?”

  “She’ll benefit from your inability to contact Brad. She makes a valuable contribution to Five Awesome Emperors and we look after our own. A fake engagement was the simplest way to eliminate problems before her wedding and ensure that her future husband maintained some distance from his ex-wife, who’d be confined to her home amid a sea of reporters.”

  Being confined in her house—with Jake—didn’t seem like much of a hardship. She slipped her hand into his and tugged him farther along the path
.

  “Come with me. I might need you as a human shield if the siege turns ugly.”

  His laughter did strange things to the backs of her knees.

  “We’ll be entering the house via my kitchen windows. It’s the traditional entry point when a siege is imminent.”

  …

  Half an hour later, Jake leapt off his seat, almost upending his coffee when Beth dug a mobile phone out of her handbag. “You can’t tell anyone I’m here.”

  “I won’t mention your name, but I have to text Brad. Otherwise, he’ll call every hour unless I give him a reason not to, and if I don’t answer, he’ll come over.”

  Every hour? Stalker was the word that sprang to mind.

  Brad’s preoccupation with Beth was worse than he’d thought. A man who’d call his ex-wife every hour when he was due to marry someone else in a week’s time couldn’t possibly be trusted. Brad couldn’t visit tonight, though. Beth’s front gates were secured with an enormous chain and padlock. “If you don’t want him here, then don’t unlock the gates.”

  She paused mid-text and frowned at him. “Brad has keys. His family has had them for over a decade. I have keys to both Brad’s apartment and his mother’s house. It’s a fail-safe if we get locked out or need help.” She shrugged. “For the past year, he’s worked from my study one day per week so he could watch over my mother while I took a lunch shift at the restaurant.” She crossed her arms over her stomach in a way that made him want to hug her. “Friday is usually Brad’s day to work here and my day at the restaurant, but today was my mum’s funeral. It’s been a tough day for both of us. He knows I’ll try for an early night, but he’ll expect me to check in with him before I go to bed.”

  Her body language screamed stay away, so he kept it light and gestured at her phone. “Let me see that before you send it.”

  He paced to the farthest corner of her kitchen and made a private call to his manager. “Brad never moved in, Mike. And Beth’s mother died. Morning will find Beth and I engaged and living together, but if I keep my head down they won’t be able to prove it. I’ll need a team on the ground here within a day or two, and exterior security immediately. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave the explanations for me to handle once the team arrives.”

  He grinned as Mike’s wife chimed in with her I-told-you-so, and he hung up.

  When he approached Beth she held her phone out of reach.

  “It’s generic, I promise.”

  His arms were longer than hers and getting the phone off her was easy.

  I’m OK. Have alternate shoulder 2 lean on 2nite. Turning phone off. <3 always Beth

  He’d expected a butt-out tone, but her message was reassuring and she ended it with love always. They could delete that, surely?

  “The sign-off is inappropriate.”

  “Why? Because I’m engaged to you?”

  “Because he’s engaged to Skyla.”

  She shot him an incredulous look. “Skyla knows Brad and I are friends.”

  “Friends?” He almost choked on the word. “When your ex-husband calls you every hour eighteen months after your divorce, and you have to check in with him to avoid an impromptu visit late at night, it’s time to call the cops for a restraining order.”

  She laughed. “Brad has a hard time letting go. That’s his issue. But it’s not because of romantic love. It’s not like that at all.”

  He made an encouraging sound, needing her to open up more.

  “We’re down to one parent between the two of us. When my father died, my mother and I pulled together with Brad’s family

  to get through it, and Brad and his mother drew strength from us when his father died. It’s getting harder now. Each loss is greater and this is a bad time because Brad’s about to get married and Skyla’s out of town. I’m assuring him that I’m fine because he’ll come over if he’s worried and it just doesn’t feel right to lean on his shoulder while she’s away.”

  Jake’s throat contracted to the point of pain, his lungs burning because he’d forgotten to breathe. Beth’s emotions were affecting him more than they should. “Why is his shoulder the best one to lean on?”

  She reached for the phone, her fingers trembling. “Why am I the best choice for a fiancée?”

  The comeback was impressive. She’d straightened her spine and lifted her chin, but an air of fragility hung over her and it was enough to loosen his tongue. Unfortunately she spoke first.

  “Skyla’s would be just as good, but she was called away on an urgent business trip.” She hesitated. “By you?”

  “The plan was to get Skyla out of town so I could kick Brad out of your house and publicly announce my engagement to you. In a few days’ time she’d return to a doting fiancé who’d been cut off from his ex-wife.”

  Beth stared at the unsent message on her phone, then studied him, her full lips twisted into a half scowl. “Wow, you sound like you need to clarify some things with Brad. You’re welcome to call and invite him over.”

  I don’t want him anywhere near you. “Send the text, Beth. If you need a shoulder tonight, you can use mine.”

  She pressed a button on the phone, then covered his hand with hers. “Whatever it is that you’re thinking about me and Brad, you’re wrong.”

  “Any chance you have a room for me?”

  Two hours later, he was still reeling from Beth’s particular blend of caring-irreverence when she knocked on his bedroomdoor. He couldn’t allow his half sister to marry a man who was still hung up on his ex, but after meeting Beth he could appreciate Brad’s dilemma. Beth should have “impossible to get over” tattooed on her forehead. Or somewhere more discreet. Maybe—

  She appeared to be generous to a fault and that made him suspicious. He circled one finger to indicate the entire room.

  “You’d do all of this for a distant relative?”

  “I would, and I’d feed them too.” She brought in a loaded butler’s tray and set it on the low filing cabinet beside his bed.

  He toyed with the crusty bread beside the bowl, long-forgotten memories of home crashing through his defenses. “Tomato soup?”

  “Not English enough for you?” she said in the worst English accent he’d ever heard. “What do you want for nothing? I would’ve planned ahead if I’d known you were coming.”

  He looked at his dinner tray then back at her. “Is there more?”

  “More soup? Or another course? This isn’t a hotel.”

  The urge to laugh was strong, but he kept a straight face. “I was hoping you’d join me.”

  She tilted her head to one side, and he held his breath at the possibility of her turning him down. For eight years he’d yearned for a taste of normality, believing there’d be a day, a moment, when someone would overlook his fame and make him earn their approval.

  “Sure,” she said. “I’ll join you. I’ll go make another tray.”

  He explored the cavernous, dimly lit hall while he waited for her and felt an odd jolt of anticipation when she appeared with a tray identical to his.

  “Where would you like to eat?”

  She was too busy peering into his room and didn’t even notice him standing there. He reached for the tray. “Let me get that for you.

  Her startled laughter jiggled the tray so much, it was a wonder her soup didn’t spill.

  “I wasn’t expecting you to be in the hall. Every other man I know would be polishing his empty bowl with a chunk of bread by now.”

  And that was funny?

  “I feel like you’re the host and I’m a guest.” She walked past him and settled on the floor at the end of his bed as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  “This brings back memories from my childhood,” he said. He handed her one tray, then reached for the other. “I usually go out of my way to avoid anything that reminds me of my family, but I don’t feel that way tonight.” She didn’t comment and her silence allowed him to continue. “I haven’t been in a real home for eight years, and I
can’t stop touching things. Books, photos, handcrafted furniture, even the clutter on the desk.”

  “Make yourself at home.” She smiled. “It sounds glib, but I mean it. I love it here. It’s the best place there is and I’m happy to share it.”

  If it was mine, I’d want to keep it all to myself. He sat beside her on the floor, his eyes drawn to her sparkly toenails. They had tiny pictures on them but he couldn’t quite make them out. Dragging his gaze back up to safer territory, he saw that she was floating chunks of bread in her soup.

  “It’s tomato.” She smirked when she caught him staring.

  “There’s no other way to eat it.”

  He shook his head. “I’m sure I’m going to wake up and find myself still on my plane.”

  She tossed a piece of bread into his bowl. “If waking up on a private plane is your biggest concern, I’d say you’re doing all right.”

  As they ate in companionable silence, he assessed the spacious room with its rich timber paneling and glassed-in bookcases.

  Sleeping on the sofa bed in here would be worth it, because the heavy furniture reminded him of his father’s den in Cambridge.

  Along with the soup and Beth’s company, the room itself was comforting.

  When they’d both finished eating, Beth speared him with a look. “Do we need to discuss what will happen next or is it more of a wait-and-see type thing?”

  “It’s out of our hands.” He yawned as jet lag caught up with him. “My publicist will be all over it as soon as it goes public. We could be in for a busy time tomorrow.”

  …

  “Tomorrow? Right. Sure.” Beth tried to hide her dismay as she realized Jake wanted to go to bed. Since her mother’s death, the nights had been endless as she lay awake wishing for the impossible. She usually ended up sitting on the edge of her mum’s empty bed, holding a conversation with thin air. That probably wasn’t a good option with Jake in the house, but she couldn’t rule it out completely.

  She cleared her throat several times because her voice refused to cooperate. “Good night, Jake.”