Megan Kelly - The Fake Fiancée

“Now, wait a minute. I don’t have to fake anything. If you had any doubts about my character, you wouldn’t have begged me for this contract.”

“If I had another choice,” she corrected, “I wouldn’t have agreed to help you out. I’m taking a chance on you.”

The calculation in Joe’s smile sent shivers of warning across her skin. He stepped toward her. “But I’m taking a chance on you, as well. I have to trust you to behave as though you love me.”

“You can trust me.”

“How do I know?”

“I can fake it.”

Dear Reader,

This is one of my favorites of the books I’ve written, because it celebrates the love of a mother for her children. Every once in a while it’s nice to remember the sacrifices moms make, which we sometimes don’t even know about. The heroine in this story gives her all for her kids. Of course, her efforts lead her to the man she’ll come to love, but even moms deserve a treat!

Joe Riley needs to tread carefully with his matchmaking mom until he’s reassured of her recovery from a heart attack. Caterer Lisa Meyer agrees to pretend to be his fiancée in order to earn money for a special program for her son. Joe discovers parenting is nothing like heading up a company—it’s way more work! So it’ll stay strictly business for Joe and Lisa, unless love can find a way.

I hope you enjoy their journey through the intricacies of family relations. I’d love to hear from you. You can contact me through my Web site, www.MeganKellyBooks.com.

Sincerely,

Megan Kelly

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Fate led Megan Kelly to write romances—fate and her grandmother, that is. While riding a crosstown bus, teenage Megan and her grandma happened on a Harlequin Romance novel. The older woman scanned the first page to determine the book’s content and declared it to be about lions, then she gave it to Megan to pass the time on the next day’s journey home, five hours away. (The first page did mention lions, but they were statues at the gates of the hero’s family estate.) Megan became an avid reader and discovered her dream job—writing those exciting and moving stories she loved. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children and is well-known at her local bookstore and library.

For my critique partner, Carol Carson, who

nudged me along every inch of this book’s journey

(sometimes with a cattle prod);

For my kids, who have made their own sacrifices

by having a mom who writes;

and, as always, for my husband.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

He didn’t have time to look for a wife.

Joe Riley stifled his exasperation when his mother cut him off midsentence. She meant well, but her manipulation drove him nuts. He didn’t have time for this phone conversation, either. A glance at the in-box on his desk confirmed that. “Mom, I can find my own dates. Stop interfering.”

In the heavy silence that followed, the memory of his mother in CCU came into his mind, tubes and machines keeping her alive. He swallowed, pushing away the thought. Trying to be cautious regarding her health, he’d become so indulgent the situation had gotten out of hand—or, rather, out of his hands and into his mother’s.

“Ever since I had that heart attack, I’ve been—”

Joe tuned out her emotional blackmail. He didn’t need a reminder of the scare that had made him move to his parents’ town just north of Kansas City, Missouri. He did need a plan to stop his mother without upsetting her and endangering her health, and he needed it soon. Last week would have been good.

“And,” she continued, “I’m concerned you’re heading down the same path as your dad. You work even more than he did. You don’t go out and enjoy life.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.” He unlocked his jaw to speak. “I date all the time.”

“That’s what worries me. You’re always dating, never courting.”

He laughed. “Courting?”

“You know perfectly well what I mean. You need to settle down. Stop wrapping your work around you at night and get a wife to keep you warm.”

“I’m plenty warm, believe me.”

“Don’t you talk smutty to me, young man.”

Joe’s face heated. He felt like a hormonal teenager rather than the president of his own firm. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Don’t try to sidetrack me, either. I’m going to find you a good woman.”

He rolled his eyes. A good woman. Just what he didn’t want. He had to do something. Last week, she’d told his secretary she planned to meet Joe after dinner but had forgotten the name of the restaurant. After getting the information, she’d sent the daughter of a friend to meet him. Unfortunately, he’d been closing a deal, not just dining. Besides embarrassing his “date,” the incident had jeopardized an important contract. He’d done some fast talking to save the deal and the woman’s feelings.

He thought of the women he’d dated in the past few months. Due to the demands of getting Riley and Ross Electronics relocated to the Midwest, too few came to mind. Since he hadn’t felt a connection with his dates, he hadn’t seen any woman more than once. Work kept him extremely busy.

Desperate sons required desperate measures. Joe took a deep breath. “Look, I wasn’t going to say anything yet because I didn’t want to get your hopes up. But I guess you’ve left me no choice.”

“You never could keep a secret from me.”

He smiled as memories of his teenage years flashed through his mind. If she only knew. “I’m seeing someone. Regularly.”

“Oh?” Skepticism laced her tone. “Just how often is ‘regularly’ with your work schedule?”

“We’ve been dating for three months. It’s not easy to find time to get together, but she’s worth the effort. So you don’t have to call all the young maidens in the neighborhood. I’m perfectly happy.” Joe nodded, pleased with himself. That ought to do it.

“I’m not worried about you being happy, Joe. I want you to be married.”

He chuckled. “I have to choose? I couldn’t be both?”

“Are you telling me you’ve proposed?”

He groaned. The woman played hardball. “No.”

“So you’re not really serious?”

“These things take time.”

“How long?”

Joe frowned. He could sense a trap coming, but without knowing what form it would take, he couldn’t evade it. “How long for what?”

“How long do you have to date to get serious enough to propose?”

If he could just buy some time to reassure himself about her health…He wanted a wife eventually, just not on his mother’s timetable. Once the company got firmly established, he’d enter Wife-Hunt in his PDA under Things to Do. He squinted in concentration. How long had he said he’d been dating this imaginary woman? A couple of months? He was almost certain he’d said two.