Page 4
ASHLEY
“Your ‘boy-toy’ is eyeing you,’ Adrian whispered behind her. “Girl, I think you should go for it.”
“He mentioned getting a drink,” Ashley whispered, glancing at him as they packed the cart of snacks, preparing to roll it down the aisle. “And we both know that I don’t drink alcohol.”
“Honey, he’s a tall glass of water – and you are parched.
Drink up,” Adrian pressed. “Every being on this plane feels the raging drought in you, girl. You are like a walking version of the Sahara Desert, and I am begging you to jump into the deep end of the hottest and finest body of water I have ever seen!” he practically screeched in excitement, causing her to laugh nervously.
She cast a glance at him, smiling, and then hesitated as the subject of their conversation suddenly appeared over Adrian’s shoulder.
Adrian looked behind him at the man – Liam – before looking back at her, his eyes wide and giving her a pointed look.
“Drown yo’self, and I will handle the snacks,” he whispe red loudly. “You can handle this ‘snack’ – and I know you know what I mean.”
“Go away,” she gritted out, feeling embarrassed and avoiding Liam’s look as Adrian disappeared with the cart.
The moment she looked up about to ask if she could help him with something – her breath caught as the handsome man stepped into the already small meal prep area for the flight attendants, yanking the curtain closed behind him.
“What are you doing?” she whispered in disbelief.
“My name is Liam Savage – what’s yours?” he began, whispering in a hushed tone, his eyes searching.
“Ashley – do you need something?”
“Do you?” he replied back, keeping his voice low. “You mentioned your life was a mess, so what do you need?”
A bubble of stunned disbelief fluttered in her chest as she stared at him, wondering if this was one of those weird ‘ I’m about to grant your wi sh’ game shows or good Samaritan things. She hesitated, and he gave her a slight nod, silently encouraging her to speak to him.
“I need a break,” she breathed, her heart pounding in her chest. “I just need to get my feet under me and quit getting kicked while I’m down.”
He nodded, unmoving.
“So what do you need to achieve that?”
“Who are you?”
“The friend you didn’t know you needed – because I could use one, too.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Not at all.”
“Fine. You know what, I’ll play along and see where this goes so I know if I’m dealing with someone who’s off his gourd – and if I need to have security waiting on the ground when t his plane lands,” she hissed back at him, trying to keep her voice down so she didn’t alarm anyone.
“I’m a friend.”
“Okay, friend ,” she retorted in a hushed, exaggerated manner.
“My car was repoed this morning, and my neighbor was the one who got to break the news to me. So, I need a set of wheels that I can actually afford because my paycheck gets eaten up with the rest of what I call ‘basic care’ that allows me to work this job and see the world. Oh, and if we are playing ‘ What’s Your Fantasy ’ – it needs to be four-wheel drive because they don’t plow my street in the wintertime. I live outside of the city.”
“Done,” he replied simply with a finality that struck her. She reared back, staring at him, unsure what to say, and then laughed a second later, slapping her hand over her mouth so she didn’t disturb the passengers.
“Go sit down, buddy. This has been fun – but playtime is over,” she replied, shaking her head.
“When we land, I’ll buy you whatever vehicle you would like so you don’t have a car payment… but I need your help.”
“You need a therapist,” she retorted, not looking at him – only for him to shove his phone in front of her where she was straightening up.
There, on the screen, was a number that was staggering.
She slowly looked sideways, meeting his gaze, suddenly unsure.
“Is that… what I think that is? What is that?”
“My bank account balance.”
“Oh. Um… uh-huh,” she whispered, drawing in her breath. “Wow.”
“I need your help – and you need mine. I’m willing to extend a hand, but could you do the same?”
“What do you need from me? ”
“Your hand in marriage,” Liam replied softly, his eyes holding hers, and before she could yelp, gasp, scream aloud, ‘ Are you kidding me!’ – he was pushing her against the wall of the plane, his hand pressed against her mouth. His expression was panicked, frantic.
“Please just hear me out,” he begged as she began to struggle, fear strangling her original disbelief that this was actually happening. This stranger’s big body was pressed against hers, his face inches from her own, his breath brushing against her cheek as he spoke in a rushed whisper.
“I need your help. I took a job and just found out one of the requirements is that I have to be married. I’m on the way there, to Quebec, and I just need someone to pretend to be my wife for about ninety days.
I’ll buy you whatever vehicle you want, completely paid for, but I need you to marry me on paper and hang out with me at a few job functions, and then we can amicably divorce or whatever you would prefer.
Annulment, divorce, whatever people do, but I really need this, and I’m freaking out,” he whispered as she swallowed against his hand.
“If I take my hand away, can you please talk to me, and let’s negotiate this as a business deal, together, as friends.
I promise you that I am not crazy. I’m just a really nice guy who has been knocked down one too many times by life within the last twenty-four hours, and…
I need a break too, Ashley.” And his voice cracked as his shining eyes stared into hers.
She nodded slowly, and he pulled his hand away, staring at her.
Waiting.
“Please, please , keep this between us,” Liam begged quietly, watching her.
“I’m a professional hockey player, and the media would have a field day with this whole fiasco.
I’m laying out all the cards, giving you every possible dagger to stab me in the back because I’m really in a bind right now, and I have less than a week to correct it – or all that money in my account is suddenly gone and I’ll be stuck, trapped. ”
“I have a couple of questions,” she said hoarsely, staring at him as he nodded. “Please don’t be offended.”
“Ask away.”
“Are you on drugs?”
“No – not even Tylenol, and I sure don’t take steroids.”
“Am I in danger?”
“No,” he hesitated. “I need your help. Why would you be in danger?”
“Is the plane in danger?” she whispered nervously, staring at him and using every single iota of her training to try and determine if there was a bigger issue brewing before her in this gorgeous hunk of a man who was looming over her.
“No,” he reeled back, horrified. “Did I come off that way? Oh man, goodness no! I’m a nice guy, I swear it.
I can show you photos of my mama, my dad, my sisters.
I’ll tell you anything about me,” he offered, handing her his cell phone.
“My pin number is 0-1-0-1. Feel free to look around all you want and ask any questions you want. I’m an open book. Just talk to me.”
Ashley held his phone uncomfortably for a few moments, looking at him in the enclosed space.
“Why me?” she asked nervously.
“You’re single. I’m single. I feel my clock ticking in my head to turn in a marriage license, and honestly – I’m desperate.
So, if it costs me forty thousand dollars to replace your vehicle, to get this job where I will earn over a million a year for the next five years, I’ll do anything,” Liam paused and ga ve her a shy smile that made her hesitate. “And you’re pretty.”
“If you are a professional hockey player, why aren’t you marrying one of those puck-bunny girls that are always following a team?”
“Because they are just after me for my money and using me.”
“Eh, hem,” Ashley said, holding up his phone, shaking it pointedly, before handing it back to him. “What do you think we’re discussing?”
“Oh,” he hesitated, his eyes widening in comprehension as he stepped back away from her… and it clicked in Ashley’s mind. She was talking herself out of a free mode of transportation in exchange for slapping her name on a piece of paper for ninety days.
“I’ll do it,” she whispered quickly – feeling desperate – and saw his stunned gaze surge upward, meeting her eyes once more.
The relief in his expression was palpable.
His shoulders sagged, and his whole tense expression melted as he grasped her hand, pumping it several times, shaking it like they were finalizing a deal. “Now what?”
“What are you doing when you land in Quebec? Do you have another flight to catch? How long are you in town for?” Liam asked, his voice trembling. “We should probably exchange information.”
“I live outside of Quebec City,” Ashley began and saw him hesitate – before he smiled, his eyes lighting up. “I’m off of work for a few days, and then I’ve got a few flights scheduled.”
“Perfect. When the plane lands, could we hurry to a justice of the peace or a chapel, get a marriage license, and then go pick out your vehicle? – Or do you want to get your car first? ”
He wasn’t kidding, she realized in disbelief.
This man, this handsome man, was basically offering up his bank account to her in exchange for a piece of paper.
He was talking about money like it meant nothing to him, and she was waiting on her next paycheck every single month.
Being married to him for a few months would give her a chance to get on her feet, would give her someone to watch over the house when she was gone, and if they became friends – that would just be a bonus.
“Do you have a place to live yet?” she asked, shocked at her own boldness. If he stayed with her, she could get to know him a little better and make sure he wasn’t about to royally screw her over with some lawsuit or something.
“I was supposed to sign the papers on a condo in Quebec, but…”