Page 26 of Undeniably Unexpected (Boston’s Irresistible Billionaires #6)

“ S hould we talk about this?” I ask after he hangs up with Child Family Services.

“Talk about what, love?” he murmurs absently, all the blood drained from his face, his stormy eyes as turbulent as the ocean.

“Our fake relationship.”

“Should I be taking notes?” he all but growls, more than a little edgy.

“All I’m saying is we need to be convincing. That means affection, common stories, and shared interests. Alden and I broke up not even two weeks ago, and it’s not a good look if we’re trying to convince them we’re serious and committed to each other while making your home life appear more stable.”

“Right. Buggar.” He drags a hand through his hair, and Fen wiggles his little butt as he tries to get out of Loomis’s arms. He sets him down, and we both follow behind him, letting him lead the way.

“You’re a brilliant doctor. I’m an actor.

We live in different worlds. How did we ever think this would work? ”

The panic in his voice breaks my heart. “Because we’ve known each other for a year and a half now. It’s not like we just met, and your best friend is one of mine. But we need to sell this, Loomis. No slip-ups.”

“I’m the actor, remember? And I won’t do anything to jeopardize Fen.”

“Neither will I,” I reassure him.

“Okay.” He sighs. “You’re right. I’m sorry if I’m being short. I’m just… scared. Let’s begin. I think we should have a history beyond this week.”

“Agreed. Maybe we started something when you were filming with Tinsley in Boston. That’s shortly after we met.”

“And it picked back up when you came out to LA this past fall.”

I look away, nodding absently and trying like hell not to blush or frown. “Perfect.”

“But then my schedule took over, and we parted ways.”

“And I reunited with Alden.”

“Yes.”

The grit in his voice has me turning back to him, but now he’s the one looking away.

“So how did we reconnect?” he asks after a long moment.

Fen is toddling about, ridiculously good on his feet for such a young boy. He veers right toward the small lemon and orange grove, and we keep up, the scent of the blossoms heavy in the air.

“Through Tinsley and Stone. We went to their house and saw each other, and it was like no time had passed.”

“Brilliant. Okay.” He reaches over and takes my hand, startling me.

He smirks. “Now, see, that can’t happen.

I’m going to touch you.” He stops since Fen is occupied with running around a tree and turns to me.

His eyes are all over me, intense to the point where they make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“Like this.” His other hand comes up and drags along my cheek, his fingers featherlight.

It’s as if he’s testing how much he can get away with.

I know exactly what he’s doing.

He knows exactly what he’s doing.

But neither of us moves away.

The way he’s looking at me sends my pulse careening toward the danger zone while alarm bells blare in my ears. He may be doing this for effect, acting the role as he does so well, but my heart doesn’t know that. She’s easily confused and has trouble telling real from fake.

Good thing my head knows it’s the latter.

I step back and force his hands to fall. “How was that?”

“Good. Better.”

“Great.” I force a smile. “I think we’ve got that figured out now.”

Tomorrow there are going to be pictures of me on the internet.

Pictures of me with Loomis and holding Fen.

Pictures of us that will be “leaked” from the phones of our friends.

Add to that, social services is coming here in two days.

As if we’re not already nervous enough about that, we got an alert on the Alexa that a storm is expected overnight with high winds, thunder, lightning, and a lot of rain.

It’s making my already jittery nerves, well, more jittery.

I have to lie to social services and pretend I’m Loomis’s girlfriend.

Me. A woman who isn’t particularly known for lying all that well.

On a bright note, I did get some writing done.

I officially started book two and am about two thousand words into it.

That might not seem like a lot, but considering my dominant wrist and hand are broken, those two thousand felt like a miracle.

I’m also excited for this story. It’s one I’ve had in my head for a while, and the words are anxious to get out.

I just have to find a faster way to do that because typing one-handed was insanely frustrating and slow.

But first things first. I call my aunt Layla because a long time ago, when Katy was a little girl, she lost her parents and went to live with her uncle Callan, and Layla posed as his fake fiancée for child services so Callan could win custody.

Obviously they fell madly in love since they’ve been married forever, and Katy is now the same age I am.

But if anyone can pep talk me through this, it’s her.

“Hey!” Layla exclaims. “I was hoping I’d hear from you. How’s it going?”

“It’s going,” I say in a low voice so Loomis doesn’t hear me since I’m in my bedroom and I think he’s in his. Or maybe he’s in the shower. Dammit, there goes the blush. Nope. Won’t think about Loomis in the shower. “So, you know how I’m here to get away from the press situation and relax?”

“Yeah,” she says slowly.

“Well, Loomis is here too.”

She’s silent for a beat, and then she tells Callan she’ll be upstairs, and I hear her moving at a quick pace before a door shuts.

“What do you mean Loomis is there too? Does your mom know?”

I would laugh at her question about my mother knowing, considering I’m thirty-one years old, except nothing right now is funny.

“Yes, they know. It’s been a crazy two days, and I haven’t had time to call since we got here.

I’ll call them in the morning because shortly after that, there will be pictures leaked on the internet and I want to give them a heads-up about it.

He’s here to escape the press and gain a bit of freedom, same as me, but now social services are coming to pay a visit. ”

“Oh, fuck. Are you… you totally are. That’s why you’re calling me. You’re fake dating the movie star. Just tell me you’re not engaged or married to him.”

“No. Just fake dating.”

“Keegan Hannah Fritz, what in the Hollywood Squares are you thinking?”

“Pot calling the kettle black, for two thousand, Alex.”

“Fine. Touché. But that was?—”

“How was it different, Layla? Straight facts, tell me. Because they’re coming, and originally I was pretending to be his fake girlfriend to stop myself from going back to Alden and to show him that I’m moving on, and so Loomis, who is a newly single father, looks good to the press and the studio and social services.

But I didn’t think I’d ever have to talk to them, and I didn’t think I’d have to take pictures of my fake relationship.

I figured it’d just be something that looked good to the outside world, and that would be that. ”

Yet, as I say that to her, I realize I haven’t thought about Alden since I got on the plane.

Not yesterday and not at all today. I haven’t checked my phone much either, and I know he’s texted, but I’ve ignored it completely.

And I’m not… missing him anymore. No, my mind has been occupied with a different man, who is both real and fake.

A man who should not be occupying my thoughts.

“Fine. Okay. So what are you asking me? Because if you’re about to ask if it was worth lying to social services so Cal could keep Katy, you already know my answer is a resounding yes.

But it’s not a small thing, and it wasn’t a small thing for me to initially agree to.

It was a big deal and required a complete upheaval of my life and a lot of lying to people.

Especially since I was actively trying not to get emotionally involved with Callan, which I’m assuming is your situation with Loomis. ”

I fall back on the bed and stare up at the rattan ceiling fan going around and around.

Outside I can hear the storm starting to brew, and it fills me with unease.

I don’t like storms. Not even a little. I’m sure most people don’t, but I’m stuck on an island in the damn ocean, and if that isn’t scary as fuck, I don’t know what is.

“I won’t get emotionally involved with him,” I tell her resolutely because I won’t do that to myself again.

I’m tired of wanting men who never want me back.

Not the way I deserve. “I’m just… I’m worried about it.

I’m worried about lying. I mean, hello, you know how good of a liar I am.

What if I say the wrong thing or hurt him in some way? ”

“I bet you’re a better liar than you give yourself credit for, and if motivated enough, I think you’ll be fine.

The key is believing in the lie. I don’t mean believe your lie, I mean believe in the reason you’re lying enough that your heart and convictions speak for you.

You sound like you’re in on this plan, so be in on it.

All the way because that’s what Child and Family Services needs to see. ”

I’m nodding, though she can’t see me. That all sounds good. Very reasonable, and it makes a lot of sense.

“Okay. I can do that.”

“I think you?—”

Her voice gets cut off by a blinding flash of white out the window, immediately followed by a crash that’s so loud the house shakes. I screech and sit up in bed, bringing the sheet with me as if it’ll save me from the storm.

“What was that?”

Rain like I’ve never heard pours from the sky and pummels the roof, windows, and doors. The air is so thick with static and electricity that I can feel it hum against my skin and prickle the hairs on my arms.

“That’s the storm we’re getting.”

“Yeesh, that’s fri?—”

Her words cut off.