I could hear the fear in her voice. She was the only person I’d confided in about the hell I’d been living through the past month and we both agreed: Rhett was my best shot at throwing my psycho-stalker off the trail.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I said, trying to put her mind at ease. “I know Rhett. He may pretend to hate me, but he’d never forgive himself if he let something happen to me.” And judging by the escalating warnings, that was a very real possibility.
“Then you’re gonna tell him about Dave?” Gia asked, sounding anxious.
Dave was a guy I’d dated a few months ago. I’d made it clear I wasn’t looking for anything serious, but he apparently thought I’d changed my mind when I slept with him. My bad. But that didn’t warrant the constant phone calls and text messages the month after I cut him loose. That I could have lived with, but when it escalated to parking outside my house and work, leaving flowers and gifts on my doorstep, following me on my dates? Yeah, that crossed the line. The police thought so too, but I’d learned restraining orders weren’t worth the paper they were written on unless things got violent. And by then it was usually too late.
“I’ll have to if I’m gonna ask him to be my roomie until this whole thing blows over.”
“Don’t forget about asking him to marry you,” she teased.
We agreed the fake fiancé bit would be the icing on the cake. Public announcement. Social media posts. Anything to ‘sell’ our relationship to Dave. To send the message there was zero chance of us picking up where we left off and my fiancé would annihilate him if he got too close to me. That was another reason Rhett was the perfect candidate for my fake fiancé. One quick Internet search and it was obvious the guy was a serious badass.
I palmed my forehead. “God, am I crazy to think this could work?”
“No! Your safety is at stake. I really believe that, Briar. This guy is crazy. There’s no telling what he might do next. And you haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in a month.”
She’d offered up her guest room, but I didn’t want to put her at risk. Besides, I hated the idea of being chased out of my own home by some lunatic who refused to take no for an answer. “That’s true.”
And it’s not like sex with Rhett would be a hardship. If that’s what it took to get him on board, I’d break all my own rules. Sleepovers were a no-no. Boyfriends weren’t my thing. The mention of fidelity made me break out in hives. I was a party-girl, not a homebody. But I knew Rhett wouldn’t play along unless I played the game by his rules. And he was as stubborn as I was. So I was pretty sure he’d demand full control. That meant I’d have to stay close to home, so he could keep an eye on me, and obviously dating other guys was off the table while I was trying to pass Rhett off as my fiancé.
“So, you said he blew you off. What’s your Plan B?”
“I met a cute stock broker. I’m getting tipsy with him. I’ll pretend I’m leaving with him and wait for Rhett to intervene.” I laughed. “How funny is it that I know exactly how he’ll react?”
“Uh, that may sound good in theory. But what if he doesn’t try to stop you?”
Uh oh. I’d never thought of that.
ChapterTwo
Rhett
Ugh. One of these days I was gonna put that girl over my knee. The only problem? She’d probably like it. Briar had never been shy or bashful. Which begged the question…what the hell did she want with me tonight?
I’d told her I was done with her. And I’d meant it at the time. She’d ghosted me for the last time. I’d woken up with that gut-wrenching emptiness for the last time. The morning after her brother’s wedding I swore I was done with her. I called her up, reamed her out, and told her to forget she ever met me. But Briar wasn’t easy to forget. In fact, she’d been haunting me for months, so when she showed up at my bar, looking desperate, I’d shut her down out of self-preservation.
Only now she was getting her drink on with some yuppie asshole and that wasn’t gonna fly with me. When I saw the waitress bring a fourth tray of drinks to their table, I excused myself from the woman at my side and made my way to Briar, vowing to hold my temper. Something about this girl set me off. Every. Single. Time.
“You need a ride home?” I demanded, barely sparing a glance at her partner.
“Oh hey, Rhett.” Her eyes were glassy as she tipped her head from side to side, staring me down. She was well on her way to feeling good. “I thought you weren’t speaking to me.”
I drew a deep breath, determined to keep my tone and expression neutral. But goddamn she didn’t make it easy. “We can go back to hating each other tomorrow. Tonight you need a ride home.”
“Uh, I thought we could share an Uber,” her drinking buddy said.
I slowly slid my gaze his way. “You thought wrong.”
He raised his hands in supplication. “Hey, that’s cool, man. No worries.”
Briar heaved a sigh but didn’t put up a fight as she slid out of the booth. “I just have to use the restroom before we go.” She grabbed her purse and reached inside before throwing a few bills on the table.
I curled them in my fist and shoved them back in her hand. “Drinks are on the house tonight.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Just use the restroom so we can get out of here.” I was getting a headache from the pounding music and overcrowding. We had to be pushing the capacity limits tonight and I just wanted to step outside, where I could breathe some fresh air.
