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Am I married? No.

But it’s the only thing I could think of saying, and I hope Jacob doesn’t bolt.

“You’re married? Without telling us?” Mother gasps, dramatically throwing her hand onto her chest in disbelief. “How could you?”

Oh, for a myriad of reasons, Mother.

“If you’re married, why aren’t you wearing an engagement ring or wedding band?” Rodney asks, his eyes narrowed as he stares at my hand. Before I can answer, Jacob stands up, sliding his right arm around my waist.

“We didn’t think this was the right time to announce. We wanted this visit to be all about the life and legacy of your father,” he says smoothly, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He’s going along with my ruse. It really doesn’t matter, because my brother is like a dog with a bone when he wants to humiliate me. He’ll research marriage certificates, find out I’m not married, and then we’ll be back at where we are now.

“Why was I being offered up to Benjamin Gates’ son? For crying out loud. I don’t even know his name!” I blurt out. I turn to Benjamin, then notice his son blatantly staring at my breasts. Gross.

He gives me a leery smile. “It’s Richard. And we need an heir.”

“And there aren’t any other women you can force yourself on?”

“Your brother offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse,” Benjamin shrugs.

“What deal?” I say, my teeth clenched. I turn to my brother. “What deal?”

Rodney stands, attempting to look bigger. “Your presence is required at home. We’ve let you gallivant around the country for long enough. You can annul or divorce, and then you will marry Dick. We won’t let this count against you.”

“Count against her? You act like she’s a child that needs to be grounded,” Jacob says, his arm tightening around me. “There will be no annulment or divorce. Becca is mine.”

Rodney laughs maliciously. “I will bury you in any way I choose. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

“Cyclogenesis,” I mutter, humiliation burning up my spine, and I feel Jacob squeeze my waist reassuringly.

He leans forward slightly, forcing Rodney to peer up at him. “And you have no idea who you’re dealing with. Might want to Google my name, asshole. I’m not the nobody you assume. Enjoy your dinner, folks. We’ll see ourselves out.”

Jacob grabs my hand and strides confidently to the door. I hear my mother shouting for me to stop, someone laughing hysterically, and another person stomping. I assume that last one is my brother, who, for a man in his late thirties, can throw an epic temper tantrum.

Quickly grabbing our coats from an attendant, we’re silent as we walk to Jacob’s rental car. I’m growing more and more anxious with each passing minute. The drive to the hotel is tense. So tense that I begin to hyperventilate. I don’t know how to get out of this. Jacob probably hates me. He’ll leave tonight, and I’ll have to go to the funeral by myself. My brother will probably lock me in the basement and force a marriage to Richard Gaines by tomorrow evening. I’ll never get back to Colorado, and who will take Thunder? My mother hates dogs. Richard Gaines probably hates dogs. I bet he has a hairless cat that he treats like a child. Richard has to be pushing fifty, but looks even older. Sagging skin on both him and his hairless cat undoubtedly, and I bet he’ll want an heir the old fashioned way.

God, I’m such a fuck-up. I thought I could get through this week unscathed, and now I’ve brought someone else down into it. There’s no way out of this. What am I supposed to do? How can I make sure Jacob doesn’t hate me? Why did he even go along with all of this? I’m a mess in real life and online, but at least he now knows so he can sever all ties with me. I’ve managed to destroy a relationship with the real-life Jacob, and the online Jacob, in one fell swoop.

“Baby, I need you to breathe.”

I hated my childhood. Hated it. Rodney was vicious. My mother horribly cruel. My father a constant force with his disapproving glare. Nothing I ever did was right. It took years of therapy for me to gain even one ounce of self-confidence after so much time dealing with psychological abuse. I don’t know if I can recover from this one.

Every single person at that dinner looked down on Jacob as soon as I introduced him. When I gave his name to the butler, I wasn’t surprised when it was misspelled on the name card on the table. Jake Marshall. But Jacob didn’t even blink as he tossed the name card next to mine down the table.

He’s such a good man, and I’m an absolute disaster.

“Spitfire. Come back to me, darlin’.”

I feel something rub across my cheek, and my eyes suddenly focus. The passenger door is open, and Jacob is crouched next to me, holding my face in his hands. His eyes are full of compassion and empathy. He swipes a thumb across my skin again, and I realize he’s wiping tears away. My breathing is choppy, and I take a deep inhale as I attempt to regulate my emotions.

“That’s good. Slow and steady. I’ve got you,” Jacob says quietly. I look around, recognizing the back of the hotel parking lot. God, I didn’t even realize we had arrived back here.

“I’m sorry,” I say automatically, so tuned to apologize for any infraction.

“Nothing to apologize for. You have every right to be upset. What your family did back there …” he trails off. “I’m furious for you. Hell, it took every bit of my self-control not to throw your brother onto the table. And Grandpa better think twice before he comes after you for a wedding with Dick the Prick.”

A snort bursts from my lips, and Jacob gives me a grin. “There’s my girl. I’ve got you. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I can’t go to the funeral now. I can’t face them,” I whisper.

“Oh, we’re definitely not going. In fact, we’re getting the fuck out of this town right now. No time to waste, darlin’. Let’s get inside and pack up.” Jacob stands, extending a hand to me, and pulls me out of the car.

“What do you mean? Oh. You have to go to Cleveland.”

“Tomorrow, yes. I’m hoping you’ll go with me, but first, we have to go somewhere else.”

“Where?” I ask.

“I’ll explain once we get to the airport.”

One hour later, we’re changed, packed, and at the Indianapolis Airport. After turning in his rental car keys, Jacob turns to me. “I need you to breathe. Promise you won’t freak out?”

My heart rate immediately increases. He’s going to send me back to Denver. He’ll probably block my number. I wouldn’t blame him, but it’ll still sting.

“Becca,” he says with a laugh. “Don’t spiral.”

“It’s hard. I don’t like spontaneity,” I admit.

He gives me a soft smile, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. “I can tell. But I’m hoping you’ll relax and let me take care of things. Do you trust me?”

I study him for a moment. He waits patiently, a small smile under his day-old scruff, and his blue eyes sparkling as they stay centered on me. And I realize that I do trust him. He’s shown me nothing but steadfastness since we met. “I trust you, Jacob.”

The small smile breaks into a wide grin. “Alright. That’s good. That’s real good, darlin’. Because the best thing I can think of to do, to ensure your safety and security, is for us to get married. Right now.”

My mouth drops open as I stare at him incredulously. “I didn’t mean that! It was the first thing that popped in my head. You don’t have to do this, Jacob. Seriously. Your heart is in the right place, but I’ll figure out something with my family.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t trust them. I can take care of you, Spitfire. I’ll be a good fake husband, I promise. Hell, maybe even one day you’ll consider me your real husband. But for now, I’ve got us booked on the last flight outta here. We’ve got a flight to Vegas with a layover in Dallas.”

“Ho — how did you do this?” I stammer.

He shrugs. “I pack light. You took longer to pack, so I booked everything. We’ll have a couple hours in Vegas before we have to fly back east. I can rebook you to Denver if you’d like, but I’d kinda like to have you in Cleveland with me, if that’s okay.”

He looks somewhat bashful as he waits for my response. “Why?”

Jacob looks down at our conjoined hands. “I want to introduce you to my teammates. Technically it’ll be our honeymoon, and I figure together in Cleveland is still better than apart. And honestly, I’ll feel better if you’re with me. I don’t know if your brother will lash out, and I can’t protect you from a thousand miles away.”

I can’t help the sweet sigh that escapes my lips. I didn’t expect such a thoughtful response. “A honeymoon in Cleveland? I sure am a lucky girl.”

He lifts our hands to kiss the back of mine. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go during the All-Star break.”

“Shit.”

I look over to find Jacob clearly aggravated. “What?”

“The Clark County courthouse closed at midnight, and they don’t open again until eight.” After a slight delay on the tarmac in Indianapolis, we barely made our connecting flight in Dallas. Now we’re heading to Vegas. “I’ll have to change our return flights.”

“Oh. And with the time difference flying back east, you may not make your game,” I surmise.

“Maybe. Let me do some research.” He types furiously on his iPad, and I take a moment to watch him. Smushed in this economy seat, he looks miserable, but I know if I asked him, he’d say he’s fine. He commented earlier that he normally chooses first class just for leg room, but both flights tonight are completely full. I let out a yawn, and he looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “You can use my shoulder, darlin’. You’ve had a long day.”

“No longer than you,” I murmur, my eyes drifting closed.

“I’m used to it, and I didn’t have the emotional trauma of my family this week. Rest your eyes, baby.” I let my temple fall against him, and feel him rummaging around his lap before he covers me with his suit jacket. I feel his lips ghost over my forehead before the sounds of the jet engines lull me to sleep.

“Well, what do you want to do for six hours?” I ask Jacob as we leave the airport in an Uber. At just after two in the morning, I’m surprised at how bustling Las Vegas is.

“I was hoping to get a few hours of sleep,” he confesses. “If I do make the game tomorrow, I need a little bit of shut-eye, or I’ll be a menace on the ice.”

“Oh, of course,” I tell him. My power nap on the flight from Dallas has left me wide awake, but I’m fine reading a book in a hotel room.

“I got us a room at a hotel off the strip, but close to the courthouse. I figure we need every extra minute we can get.”

“You were busy,” I comment.

“You were dead to the world,” he says with a smile. “Besides, it kept me from focusing on the cute little snores you kept letting out.”

“I do not snore!” I gasp.

“Yeah, you do. It was adorable,” he laughs.

I cross my arms over my chest, popping my lower lip out in mild indignation. “Well, you won’t think it’s cute in twenty years when I’m sawing logs like a lumberjack and stealing all the blankets.”

Jacob turns toward me, giving me a sweet smile. “From your mouth to God’s ears, darlin’. Because that sounds fucking amazing.”

“I — I didn’t mean …” I stammer, but he reaches up to place a finger over my lips.

“Let a man dream, Becca.” His hand drifts across my cheek and into my hair. “I can make you happy.”

“I thought you were just my fake boyfriend,” I whisper.

His brow furrows as he stares at me. “Let me make you happy, baby.”

“Okay,” I finally say. I don’t know what else to say. I can’t believe this man is willing to marry me to ensure I’m not forced into a relationship with the son of some old geezer who is a friend of my family. I wouldn’t have let that happen anyway. My brother might think he has pull when it comes to me, but he doesn’t. I won’t ever go anywhere near him again.

But the way Jacob looks at me makes me wish for this to be real. To have a happily ever after. Maybe I can believe in this. Just for a little while.

Upon entering our hotel room, I stop when I notice the single king-size bed.

“It’s all they had available. I promise I’ll behave,” Jacob says, winking at me. “I really need some sleep. Let me use the bathroom to brush my teeth, and then you can do whatever you need. I’ll be asleep before you come out.”

“You fall asleep that easily?” I ask.

“Yeah. It’s a gift.”

“I’m jealous,” I say as he rummages in his bag, pulling out a toothbrush and toothpaste. “It takes me hours sometimes.”

“Oh yeah? At home I have a sound machine that gives out the most perfect amount of rain noises. Maybe that will help you.”

“You’ll have to give me the name. I’ll try anything.”

Jacob stops abruptly on his way to the bathroom, before turning to look at me. “Why would I give you the name?”

“So I can buy one?” I say sarcastically. I mean, duh.

“Darlin’, I don’t think we discussed what happens after today,” Jacob says slowly. “I naturally assumed you’d have thought about it.”

I shake my head. “I figured it was dumb to think too far ahead. I’ve only wrapped my head around today and tomorrow.”

“Okay,” he drawls, walking leisurely toward me. “You know how I said I wanted you with me in Cleveland, because I wasn’t sure what your brother might do?”

I nod.

“I’m gonna feel that way in Denver, too.”

“Okay?” I ask, confused.

Jacob’s lips tug with a smile. “I want you to move in with me.”

My eyes open comically wide. “What? Why? You don’t have to do this. It’s too much. You didn’t sign up for this. God, no. People will know you married me to help me out. What am I supposed to do with my apartment? Or my dog? My things?”

Jacob’s lips overtake mine in a searing kiss, his lips pulling against mine with perfect suction. One hand snakes around my waist and onto my ass, cupping it and pulling me into his body. I gasp, giving Jacob the perfect opportunity to slide his tongue against mine. The gasp quickly turns to a moan as I drag my hands up his chest and into his hair. I feel a groan emanate from his body when I scratch my nails against his scalp, and his arms tighten around me. He breaks off the kiss to rest his forehead against mine.

“I love dogs,” he says, his breaths quick.

“What?”

“You said you have a dog. I love dogs. Boy or girl?”

“Boy.”

“What’s his name?”

“His name is Thunder.”

A puff of air hits my lips as he chuckles. “Perfect name for a meteorologist’s dog. He can come too, darlin’. He’s okay now, right? He’s not just stuck in your place alone?”

“No, he’s not alone. I’ve got someone watching him.” I take a deep breath, uttering one single confession. “This is a lot, and I don’t know how to process everything.”

Jacob lifts his head to look in my eyes. “One day at a time, Becca. We’ll get it all figured out. Let’s worry about getting married today.”

After Jacob is done in the bathroom, I spend a lot of time trying to calm my nerves. How am I supposed to wrap my head around all of this? I started the day just trying to get through dinner with my family and the funeral tomorrow. Now I’m not even going to the damn funeral, my brother is trying to marry me off, and a man I hardly know is willing to marry me as a what, a favor? Insanity.

When I creep out of the bathroom, tiptoeing over to the bed, I hear Jacob’s deep breathing. I don’t know how long I stand there, watching him sleep. It’s so steady, and I feel myself relaxing as I climb into bed. Before I even get myself comfortable, Jacob rolls over, throws an arm around me, and drags me into the middle of the bed. I’m about to say something when I feel him bury his head in my hair.

I fall asleep before I say a word.