FAKE: An Enemies to Lovers Standalone Romance Read online

  To Baby Morgan-Blair, Mommy and Daddy already love you!

  The smile on Alec’s face was a mix of a doting father and an admiring lover. My insides liquidated, and I could scarcely breathe as I pulled the bunny out of the box. Alec unwrapped the blanket, making sure not only I but the media stationed outside, saw the inscription. Worse than the blanket announcing my pregnancy and Alec’s paternity to the world was the enormous three-carat diamond ring that circled the bunny’s left paw.

  Alec drew it off of the bunny’s appendage and had the nerve to get down on one knee, in front of everyone. “I would be honored, Kylie if you would consider being my wife?”

  My head spun, and the room blurred into a whirling vortex of colors, people, and cameras. Voices punctuated the disorientation with gasps and oohs and ahhs.

  “Is he asking her to marry him?” one person asked.

  Another chimed in, “When did they start dating?”

  “Oh, my GOD! She’s pregnant with Alec Blair’s baby!” a girl squealed from the back.

  I knew all the color was draining from my face. I also understood that a room full of relative strangers, Alec, and the world were waiting for my response. The whirlwind had begun, and I either had to jump into the lifeboat or drown. In the smallest voice I’d ever heard, I said “Yes,” before everything went black as I passed out on the floor.

  Chapter 20

  Alec

  I knew it was a bold and risky move announcing her pregnancy and proposing marriage without discussing it with her, but she was prone to flee. I couldn’t have her running from me this time, and so I made sure my plan was foolproof. No more running. What I hadn’t really mapped out was the fact that with her pregnancy, hormones, and general weak health, she would pass out. She barely uttered a ‘Yes’ as she gracefully wilted to the ground. Luckily, my reflexes were quick enough to catch her and scoop her into my arms before she hit the floor.

  She awoke in my embrace looking adoringly in shock as I carried her out of the restaurant and into a waiting limousine.

  “Alec?” she demurely asked before we got in; it couldn’t have been scripted better.

  “Don’t worry, Kylie. I’ve got you.” I gently placed her in the car, waved to the media and the adoring faces, and slipped in beside her.

  Her head lilted to the glass window opposite me, and I saw her dazed and saddened face.

  “I know it was a low blow outing you, us, like that, but I figured you’d run again, so it was my liability insurance. You can still refuse the contract and back out. I’ll spin it ... but now that it’s out there, I’m hoping it will be easier for you to say yes.” I didn’t want to sound too desperate, but for some odd reason, I was feeling rather tense about the whole situation.

  “You’ve given me no choice.” Her breath heated the window as she spoke, not even bothering to look at me.

  “You always have choices, but yes, I’ve limited them. Let’s try this. I’m not one to beg, nor am I ever the person to ask for a stranger’s hand in marriage, but I’m sort of doing both here. Please at least recognize how rare this is.” Where was the woman’s humanity for God’s sake? I just put everything out there for her.

  Most women would be blushing and swooning; well, she swooned but in a horrified, trapped, and incarcerated kind of way rather than in an overwhelming sense of love and adoration.

  “I’ll try it.” By the way, she said it, her acceptance of my marriage proposal and the announcement of our pregnancy sounded more like her accepting her conviction and a date with the firing squad.

  I patted her knee. “We’ll make this fun,” I promised, though I had no basis for my optimism.

  Likely, I’d be kicking her out in a week and hating myself for taking such a stupid risk. Her non-response made my prospects even bleaker. When we got to her apartment, her roommates hadn’t arrived yet. Surely, they were on their way to rescue her, so I had to make the retrieving of personal effects and clothing go as fast as possible.

  “Remember, you’ll be coming back here, possibly daily, so only take what you’ll need for a few weeks. Clothes and shoes, mostly. Toiletries and stuff, I can buy for you.” She moved like a zombie, picking up random pieces of clothing from her closet and a few pairs of shoes as she haphazardly threw them in a bag.

  She moved to the bathroom, grabbed some hair products, a hairbrush, and her toothbrush, and we were out the door. The drive to my penthouse was somber. There was no way I’d be able to bed her that night with her in such a dejected state of mind. We walked in, and she looked around the place.

  “Where do I put my stuff?” She seemed so lost.

  “I made room in my spare closet. It’s just beyond the bed on the left. You can put your sundries in the bathroom cabinet while I order us something to eat.” I flared up my phone and punched a few meals into the delivery app.

  I wasn’t sure what she wanted to eat, but even though we had just left the hottest restaurant in New York, she didn’t eat, as per her usual. I ordered a mix of different things while she situated herself. She came back out of the bedroom area still looking distant and confused.

  “I just ordered some food. Your space is over in the corner near the picture window; I thought you might like the view. I got you a MacBook, a printer, monitor, speakers ... comfy chair. You can settle in there and avoid me for the rest of the night, or we can talk.”

  She fiddled with the enormous engagement ring on her thin finger and eyed the little sanctuary in the corner I’d created for her.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she whispered.

  “I’m a fucking bastard for putting you on blast. That might be a nice start. Or maybe thank you ... because you know we just had an epic moment, and you and I will be trending for days because of this stunt. Your fainting was a nice touch. Or you could slip out of your clothes, and we can have some insanely good sex as most newly engaged couples might. We’ve only got a few months until we’ll need to get creative with our positions. Wouldn’t want to terrify little Alec Jr. now.”

  I didn’t even know who I was, trying to joke her into talking to me. The real Alec Blair would have dumped her ass the moment I knew she hadn’t protected herself against my sperm. The me the world knew would have turned away from her, lost her number, and denied even breathing the same air. Worse, the real me may have just driven her down to the local abortion clinic and waited outside ... but it wasn’t the real me in this scenario.

  The real me had once loved and had even been married to a shy and lovely woman. I was in college studying business, and she was taking foreign languages; Mandarin. Who studies Chinese? Well, she did and loved it. She was so brainy and fun. Our sex life was adventurous and because of this we forgot to suit up a few times and like Kylie, Ava found herself pregnant. We were having a little girl ... my daughter.

  She wasn’t planned, but she was wanted, and then the world shit all over me, and they were both gone. I vowed to never love again. I would never put my heart through that again, and yet here I was standing in front of a dumbstruck supermodel who was carrying my child, and I had probably just made the biggest mistake of my life.

  “Thank you, Alec,” she finally turned to me and said. “May I please take a shower?”

  Well, a shower was a good start. Maybe I’d join her after the food came.

  “The food is on its way, perhaps after it arrives, I can soap your back?” My cock hardened just thinking about it.

  “Not tonight,” was her quiet response as she trotted off to the bathroom.

  This wasn’t going to be good. The food came, and I set it out on the counter. She entered the kitchen wearing fuzzy lounge pants and a V-neck T-shirt that showed her pert little breasts. Her hair was wet but combed and conditioned.

  “So, we have quite a smorgasbord here. I wasn’t sure what you wanted. I got a little of everything.” She flashed me a genuine smile, there was some hope.

  She glanced over the offerings and picked a kale salad and seared salmon then took a
plastic fork, spoon, and knife set in a shrink-wrapped package and waved it in the air.

  “I’m going to go to my lair now. See you soon. Thanks for the spread.” Before I had time to dive across the breakfast bar and grab her, she had retreated to her ‘space’, and I realized there was a way to run away from someone even in their own home.

  She fit the Beats headphones I bought her onto her ears and fired up the Mac. After a little while, she was snuggled into the chair and giggling to herself watching an old romantic comedy. She was the most adorable thing sitting there giggling with her food cradled in her lap, but she couldn’t have been farther away from me. I took out my phone and snapped a picture without her knowing. I wanted to remember her like that. She was so beautiful.

  I felt pretty dejected because she hadn’t chosen to be with me, but she was acclimating, and I promised to give her time. I retreated to my space and my world as if she wasn’t there. When I finally emerged, she was already tucked into bed. I glanced at the sidebar on my computer to read that it was nearly one in the morning. I’d completely lost track of time. She was curled up to the very edge of our bed with her ring neatly placed on the side table.

  I took a quick shower, just in case our situation changed, then slipped into bed naked. Though I tried not to wake her, she stirred.

  “Am I in the right spot?” she glanced over her shoulder and asked.

  “Any spot is right.” I moved in closer.

  “Okay, thanks.” She curled closer to the edge and closed her eyes.

  Despite her disinterest, my cock flared to life. Just being near her clean scent and the beauty of her body, though fully clothed, I still wanted her badly. So, I teased, hoping to awaken her again.

  “I have a little situation here!” I announced wiggling my cock.

  “I’m going to sleep, Alec.” She didn’t have to look at me to know what I was doing.

  “So, this is all on me?” My heart fell.

  “Do whatever you usually do.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  “Hard to do with a beautiful woman in my bed,” I grumbled, feeling really irritated.

  “Sex is on me, right? I mean, you’ve totally run over the rest of my life, but you’ve left me sex, I still get that? I just want to be clear.” Wow, she was pissed.

  “Yep, still your call.” I came back at her. “And as far as running over your life ... can you remind me exactly when I asked you to have my child?” I didn’t really mean to say that, but there it was. “Because that’s pretty much gonna run right the fuck over the rest of my life as well.

  “I’m sorry …” She moved to get out of bed, perhaps to retreat to her spot and another movie, who knew, but I grabbed her back into bed.

  “No, I’m sorry. Please get back into bed. Go to sleep ... and we’ll keep working into this. I know I’ve been extreme, that’s me. Take or leave it ... wait, no. Take it, for at least a few months ... please.” Fuck, that desperate feeling was back.

  She turned to me and didn’t say anything, just quietly got back into bed. In that small gesture, there was a tiny victory. Sleep came easily for her. It felt awkward to service myself beside her, so I just did all I could to deflate my erection. Thinking of the potential mistake I’d just made did the trick. I struggled to sleep and tossed for a long time before the sun came up and abandoned the effort. In my sleep-deprived state, I completely regretted what I’d done and was starting to think of ways to wiggle away from the nightmare I’d just created.

  Chapter 21

  Kylie

  I woke up, and Alec was already out of bed. I lifted my head to look for him and found he was sequestered in his corner working at the computer. It gave me comfort to be alone since I was feeling peculiar and rather nauseous. He intensified my feelings. I tried to get out of bed as quietly as I could, but apparently, I was not quiet enough. Like a wild cat sensing its prey, his eyes darted to mine. I flashed him an awkward smile and ran to the bathroom.

  The sudden upward motion of my body made a swirl of hell blow up in my belly. I barely made it to the toilet to barf. I hated morning sickness. As mortifying as it was to see him beside me while hunched over his toilet, I also kind of appreciated him being there. He smoothed his hand over my back, helping to ease the tension the barfing was causing. Heat coursed through my body, but not the sexy kind. My flush was caused by the unsteadiness that had me wanting to pass out again. Having Alec’s strong body near me assured me that I wouldn’t be diving headfirst into the floor tiles.

  “You’re okay,” his soft voice crooned. “I’m right here.”

  “I’m sorry,” I rasped after the first wave of gacking had ended.

  “No worries, it’s a part of the package, no extra charge.”

  For whatever reason that made me laugh.

  “Lucky, you,” I managed to say. “You pay upwards of a million dollars and you get a moody barfing roommate for six months of hell. And if you play your cards right, you might also have the opportunity to stay up all night with a little crying hellion spawn who craps all over your white palace in the sky.”

  “Sounds like fun. Money well spent.” God, he was being nice.

  Much nicer than when I’d first met him. I wondered what had changed. I didn’t have too much time to think about it because another wave of nausea hit me, and I was over the toilet again. As before, he stroked my back. When I was sure that everything but my guts was in the bowl, I flushed and stood up, very woozy and shaky. His hand steadied me.

  “Okay, brush your teeth and back to bed.” He shuffled me to the sink, put toothpaste on my new toothbrush that just showed up out of nowhere and then lifted me into his arms.

  “I can walk, King Kong,” I teased.

  “I can carry you, Fay, you’re pregnant.” He whisked me into the bed, and I wasn’t too unhappy about that since I was so off-center. “You have nothing to do today, and we shouldn’t really be seen in public.” He seductively winked. “I’m supposed to be ravaging you. According to the media, I literally swept you off your feet, and we are officially sequestered. Our first official outing is a building inspection of the Every Dream site, lunch in Central Park, and then the opening of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical gala thing with you wearing Vera Wang maternity. I know, it’s premature, but Maralis insisted. That’s in two days, so you can hang out here. I’m going into the office for a few hours, but I’ll be back to go over the contract with you.” He was all business again.

  “This is so crazy, Alec.” I tried to stop him.

  “Yes, I’m well aware of how insane this all is. I’ve been up all night thinking about what I’ve gotten myself into.”

  “What you’ve gotten us into,” I corrected.

  “I’m usually an extremely logical man,” he started.

  “Who likes to eat ice cream off of people,” I attempted to tease.

  “Yes, who also has peculiar sexual fetishes perhaps, but even with all of my pondering, I can’t think of a better way to do this. It makes us both look like heroes; we build our businesses, you get lots of attention for your non-profit. I can be a good guy, a very rare opportunity there, and you shed your bad girl image so you can be a good mom. I don’t see the downside. You and I will learn to co-exist. I’m not too terrible despite the rumors, and as evidenced by you last night, we certainly can find a way to be alone together.” This seemed to upset him some.

  “Sorry. I just needed to retreat.” I figured it was time, to be honest.

  “I get it. If I were you, I’d hate me right now.” He sat next to me on the bed.

  “I don’t hate you.” A laugh bubbled out of me. “I’ve been attracted to you from the moment you looked up at me at Greg’s shitty bar. I just ... my heart—Boom!” I made an explosion with my hands. “And ever since that moment, I’ve just been looking for the pieces and trying to put me back together. And when I do ... I’m pregnant and all of this ... I don’t even know where I am anymore. All I’ve ever wanted to do was not get hurt by you. At first, it meant
hoping you’d want more of me than a one-night stand, but now you want so much of me I’m afraid I’m going to get hurt. I guess because none of it is love.”

  He manhandled me into a side hug.

  “You walked over to me at the bar looking like a Lost Boy and you were Kylie Morgan. I wanted you. I still want you and fantasize about doing wicked things that I can’t or shouldn’t do to you. And then you’re this strong, broken beauty who’s having my baby, and I honestly don’t know where I am either. One thing I do feel though is that you might break.” He looked at me, so big and manly, yet gentle.

  “Is that why you’re being so nice then? You’re worried that I might be too fragile? You were Lord of New York before and now ... now it’s like you’re Daddy Warbucks.”

  “God forbid ... I can’t imagine losing my hair. Listen, I still need to fuck you and do whatever evil you’ll allow, but you just ... you’re different now, this whole situation has changed.” His hand stroked my knee.

  I couldn’t help laughing. “Need to fuck me? Really?”

  “Oh, trust me, really! If I didn’t have a ten o’clock meeting, I’d want you on all fours … after breakfast of course—you should eat more—and then I’d fuck you so hard!” God, I was getting wet just thinking about it.

  “How hard?” I screwed my face into a funny grimace.

  “It’d be a challenge to sit down, walk, think of walking ... I’d have to carry you everywhere.” His voice graveled to a deep growl.

  “Don’t you already?” I was up for a fight. “Besides what happened to ‘The sexual ball is in your court,’ or whatever. Aren’t I supposed to be calling the shots, and maybe I should fuck you so hard your cock’ll need crutches.” I placed my hands on my hips and faced off with him.