Best Fake Day (7 page)

“Will they disguise the tear?”

A tropical rainforest would have difficulty disguising that.

“I can’t hold a bouquet of flowers at my hip, Jack.” She paused. “You will have to stand close to me.”

He simply nodded his assent. Scanning the area, he peered around the corner. “Coast looks clear. Let’s do it.”

He reached to take her free hand. Izzy almost jerked her arm back as a spark of something not unpleasant surged through her veins. Jack seemed completely nonplussed as he steered her around the corner to stand at the bottom steps of the elegant footage.

Jack stood at her side, arranging himself so her exposed hip was covered by his body. He drew an arm around her waist and pulled her in close until their warmth merged and the delicious male scent of him far surpassed the scent of her flowers.

“What are you doing?” she whispered as he dipped his head toward her face and held her tight.

“Getting into character. We need to pretend we belong to each other.”

If he hadn’t mentioned the word
pretend
she would have been weak at the knees by now. As it was she was beginning to resent the lies more and more.

“Yeah, but unfortunately your friend is in the completely wrong position to make us look like we even know each other. From the position of the sun the only image will be of me. You will be a splodge of shadow.”

His sigh was unmistakable. He called Rafe over. “So, Izzy, where do you suggest he stand?”

“Over there,” she said grudgingly, pointing in front of her, slightly off center. “So you don’t get the sign behind us in shot and shadow from the pillar over our faces.”

“I don’t think what’s
in
the picture will be the problem. More like what’s
not
in it.”

“Guests?”

“No. Your smile.”

How could she smile when her heart was breaking.

Just as they waited for Rafe to push his finger on the button, movement caught her eye. Izzy squealed as a familiar figure headed their way. She clutched the lapels of Jack’s jacket and buried her head in his chest.
Can this day get any worse?

“Izzy?” came Jack’s confused voice.

“Hide me,” she pleaded.

Jack did as commanded, enveloping her in his arms, curving his warm, yet very solid, upper body around her.

“Care to tell me why?” he asked in a low voice.

Izzy peered up from her shelter of muscle and heat. “The lady heading this way is a friend of mine. She works here!”

How could she explain this away? Melanie knew how much of a romantic she was. They’d oohed and aahed together on many occasions, even sharing a tear on those heart-tugging moments. She heard the rapid click of heels as Melanie neared. Jack, obviously feeling the tension in her body, hugged her tightly, disguising her further yet revealing her reaction to him as her breathing quickened and her breasts held a distinct ache as satin brushed against cotton.

His husky voice startled her. “She’s gone now.”

Izzy nodded, releasing her hold to push herself away. She smoothed down her dress and resumed their position. Her mind switched off for the duration, refusing to cooperate, all she could think about was how wrong this all was.

“Izzy.”

“Hmm?”

“Rafe is asking what other poses we need. Any suggestions? Do you have a plan you work to?”

“I, er...usually, I take group photographs.”

He raised his brow.

“Then family shots.”

He just stared this time.

“Bridesmaids and best man shots, throw of confetti...the kiss...” Her voice faded out.

“The kiss. Is that necessary?”

Her glare was unrestrained. “The kiss is the shot. That moment when the deal is sealed. The whole reason for the day. So yes, it’s necessary.” And maybe, she thought selfishly, this would be her reward for sacrificing her feelings for this day.

“The kiss it is then,” he replied calmly, although his almost imperceptible flinch betrayed him.

She moved on weak legs, her pulse racing as they both stood in position to face each other. In her periphery she was vaguely aware of Rafe moving in for the close-up, but as she locked eyes with Jack all she could think of was him. Her lips parted at the sight of his expression. His gaze held a fierce intensity, a hint of danger and a temptation that made her feminine longing coil with delight.

She swallowed at the dryness of her throat as he reached out to rest a hand at her sensitive nape, his fingers sliding into the twist of her pinned hair. His touch forced her to contain the shiver igniting down her spine. At her waist, his free hand slid around and tugged her until she pressed against him head to toe. She tilted her chin, parting her lips further in blatant invitation. He dipped his head, his pulse visibly jumping at his throat.

Do it!
Her mind and body begged. Jack’s bow-shaped lips were a whisper away as he moved to take all she offered. She arched her body into his and at the instant she discovered his erection his eyes snapped shut and he jerked away.

Lips now parted with only the weight of sadness, she retreated from his hold. He couldn’t do it. After everything she was willing to do for him he couldn’t gift her with his kiss. With trembling hands and an ache in her chest she dropped the flowers at his feet and fled.

Chapter 5

With a booted foot Jack tested his weight on the bottom rung of the wooden ladder. It was solid, just as it appeared to be, which was unfortunate because he knew he deserved to fall on his arse but from a much greater height. He gripped the rope and made his way up to the tree house, each rise increasing his trepidation and feeling of guilt.

Reaching the top, his knuckles whitened from the force of his grip as he caught sight of Izzy. She sat on the floor opposite the doorway, her knees pulled into her chest with her arms tightly wrapped around her legs. Gone was the hideous dress and in place of the pink monstrosity were a pair of flannel pajama bottoms with what appeared to be bunny faces over them and a pale blue vest top. To combat the late afternoon chill a fluffy pink blanket surrounded her frame, offering the comfort he should have been giving.

He frowned at the opened bottle of wine at her feet. As though his scrutiny had uneased her, she picked up the bottle and drew it to her lips. After taking a thankfully small sip, she set it down and hugged her legs again.

With her hair now free from its confines it tumbled over her shoulders, making him wince at the unnatural brightness he had encouraged. It wasn’t her. She was Izzy, honest and open, and deserved to be that way. She didn’t need to step from Ellie’s shadows as a pretender. She deserved her own spotlight.

Without a word, he took up the familiar position at her side. He drew his legs up, his feet planted apart, his arms stretched out and resting on his knees. She didn’t acknowledge his presence. Her eyes remained downcast, heavy from the burden of hurt. He glanced around the wooden walls, drawing in the scent of the rich wood and the leaves from the supporting trees. If anyone were to ask him where his childhood home was, he would say it were here.

Who would have known they could sustain such an unlikely friendship. He remembered when Izzy and her family first moved in. His parents scowled at the beat-up van holding their belongings as the new neighbors moved into a house that was ‘obviously beyond their means’ as his mother had said. They might not have unloaded their wealth that day but they wore their smiles with pride. When those two small girls had ‘accidentally’ thrown their ball into his garden, exactly where he was sitting sullenly watching his parents play with his younger brother, it was the first time attention had been lavished in his direction. And yes, he’d fought it at first, but with Ellie’s determination and Izzy’s pleading eyes they’d struck up a friendship that had seen them through more turbulent times than he could have imagined.

With an indrawn breath he stifled the band threatening to tighten in his chest at the influx of memories. The walls were still covered with the posters of the girls’ teen crushes and a photograph of the three of them together. He reached out his hand to trace the carving, courtesy of his penknife, of their three names. A wistful smile stole over his lips in recognition as his gaze was drawn to the empty bottle in the darkness of the corner. The Truth or Dare bottle.

Izzy’s soft sigh penetrated the air. “I’m sorry,” she said softly as she leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

How many shades of bastard did he feel now?

He took her hand in his, stroking the delicate skin, ignoring the tingle of interest skimming his senses. He frowned as he noticed her work damaged fingers. Her nails were chipped and her knuckles bore grazes. “You have nothing to apologize for. Damn it, I’m the one who should be sorry. I asked...no...demanded, that you do this for me. It was too much to ask of you.”

“No, it wasn’t. You were a rock for us when Mum died. I let my jealousy overtake our friendship. If I hadn’t been so hung up that you kept in touch with Ellie and not me I would have been welcoming you with a happy smile instead of a faceful of snark. I would have been incensed on your behalf for the way Ellie treated you and should have tried to help. I ended up putting you in a worse situation than she did. God, if the press were to get a hold of my incident at the club your plan would be history.”

Jack sighed. Instead of pointing out he was the reason she was in the club he decided to put that conversation on hold. He wound his free arm around her shoulders as his thumb continued to lazily stroke the delicacy of her hands.

They sat in silence until the sky became a smudge of darkness warring with the reddened streak of the sun’s fading light. Izzy had turned into him, her breaths relaxed and easy. For a moment he wondered if she’d fallen asleep until her silky voice enveloped him. “I miss this, Jack.”

God, so did he. He was a loner, safe in the knowledge that if no one penetrated his walls then he would never have to face the heavy blade of rejection. Only here did he ever drop his guard.

“Yeah,” he responded, removing his arm from around her to use the matches at the side of Izzy to light the candles on the shelving above their heads. Satisfied by the glow caressing Izzy’s face, he eased back to her side.

He turned to look at her, taking his time to admire her delicate features and the golden flecks of fire reflected in that chocolate darkness of her eyes. He couldn’t remember ever thinking of her this way. She dropped her gaze to hide the tinge of pink blossoming on her cheeks. He noticed the tremble in her fingers as she reached out to smooth back her hair, exposing her high cheekbones. She grabbed hold of the bottle and took a deep drink this time before handing it to him.

“I miss my hair too.” A wry smile crept over her lips.

Just about to put the bottle to his mouth, Jack grinned. “We’ll fix it.” He took a drink and handed it back.

“Now this really does bring back memories.”

“Yeah. We had some good times.”

“And bad,” she reminded him softly as a frown creased her brow.

“Some naughty times too,” he said with a grin.

“I was just the lookout,” she said as she tilted her head to give him a pointed stare. “You and Ellie were the ones sneaking cigarettes and stolen booze in here,” she chided as she peered up at him with those warm brown eyes.

“You weren’t always just the lookout.” He cocked his head in the direction of the bottle in the corner. “You resisted the cigarettes and the drink...but never truth or dare.” He felt rather than saw the heat of her blush as her cheek pressed against his bicep.

“Well,” she muttered. “You shouldn’t have called me chicken.”

He chuckled. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“Yep. And I proved I grew a bigger pair than you.”

“Wow, take a shot at my manhood, why don’t you? And from truth or dare I
know
you didn’t grow a pair.”

She sat up then, giving him a playful nudge in his arm. For some reason her bright smile clenched at his heart.
Do I deserve her smile?

“No, I hardly ever did the dares. I answered all of the truths. It was your job to take on the dare forfeits, Mr. Scaredy Cat.”

He shrugged. “Dares were more fun. You dared me to give you your first kiss, remember?”

“I had my first date coming up. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. Plus, I knew you wouldn’t turn me down for risk of answering a truth.”

Had he always been so obvious? It had turned into a habit he supposed, after those ‘what did you do to upset your parents?’ ‘Why don’t you like your brother?’ and ‘Which one of us do you like the best?’ questions. He also remembered her first date. The day after he pinned that guy up against the wall after hearing the rumors he’d spread about Izzy.

“I was happy to oblige. If you need to learn you should have the best teacher,” he said with a grin.

Izzy fidgeted beneath her blanket. “You kissed me because you were a chicken.”

“Did you really just call
me
chicken?”

“Oops, guess I did,” she said with a teasing smile.

He thought for a moment as he weighed the wisdom of what he was about to do. This was either going to work to his advantage and he would gain some important knowledge, or he was about to take that fall on his arse in a figurative sense.

He took another drink from the bottle. “Then let’s do it.”

“What?” She blinked at him in confusion.

“Bring on the bottle. Truth or dare.”

* * * *

Izzy swallowed so hard it made her wince. Her mouth felt like a piece of toast with nothing on it.

Oh God, this was one of those scenes from her teen dreams. It involved nakedness and a whole lot of touching. But she knew that wasn’t on offer. Instead he was offering her answers. Answers that in the past had resulted in dares as forfeits. He’d stolen washing from neighbors’ gardens and, her personal favorite, streaked naked through those same gardens. A sight to behold in the glow of security lights. Her not-so-favorite ones were the ones when Ellie had told him to ask one of his ‘groupie’ classmates out on dates. He had many admirers, even though he barely acknowledged that fact, and Izzy felt for them, knowing the sense of false hope only too well.