The December Deal Read online

  Dean had filed the paperwork. They were married in the eyes of the government, and full ownership of Morgenstern Fabrication would permanently pass to him by the end of next week. Everything was working out as planned—even Lilia was a nice surprise, considering all she cared about was money.

  The freezer door was open, and Lilia’s back was to him as he set the bag on the counter.

  She shut the door and whirled around with a spoon in her mouth. “Eggnog ice cream. Just got it. ’Tis the season.” The apples of her cheeks grew as she smiled behind her spoon, and it was the sexiest thing he’d seen all day, except for her standing in his office earlier with the plans she knew he needed.

  “I brought dinner.” He started to unload the cartons of Chinese. “I didn’t know what you like, so I got a lot of variety.”

  “I thought you liked to cook.” She stood close to him, probably the closest ever, willingly. As the scent of pomegranate washed over him, he watched her inspect the food, her hair falling over the side of her cheek. He wanted to brush the strands away; the craving pulled at the tips of his fingers.

  “Good. Sesame chicken.”

  His attention fell back to the spread. He was hungry for food and nothing else. Certainly not his wife.

  “How was your day?” he asked as they made their way to the table.

  “I saw my brother and sister.” She poked at her chicken. “Are you free Sunday for dinner? We started a new family tradition.”

  “That depends. How’d they take the news?”

  He braced himself for the good, bad, and ugly.

  If her family changed her mind before Dean used their marriage certificate to finalize the ownership transfer, he wouldn’t be able to gain full control before it was taken away from him. There was a real sense of building a house in the sand—he could lose it all at any moment, and that was eating away at him. He hated uncertainty, and he’d been living it in now for far too long.

  “It went as well as it could. They know we met and were married only a day later. Probably don’t expect open arms and hugs on Sunday.”

  “I’m not much of a hugger anyway. Anything else?”

  “I don’t have a lot to share at this point.” She searched his eyes.

  It had been bugging him that he hadn’t told Lilia about his multiple attempts to get married over the last year. He didn’t owe her anything—hell, he’d paid her to marry him—yet he felt bad about the deception.

  “How about your family?” she asked.

  “They know.”

  The conversation with his mother had been simple and focused on the business side of what the marriage license meant. Of course, he’d stuck to the professional aspects on purpose. The fact that Lilia intrigued him he’d kept private. He was keeping a lot of things private lately.

  “And what did they say about our quick vows?”

  His chuckle was as humorless as they came. “I honestly think my mom wondered why it took me so long. And she thinks you’re beautiful.”

  “How would she think that?”

  “Remember your profile picture in my contacts?”

  “Oh, yeah. Glad she approves.”

  There’d been a little smile his mom hadn’t been able to hide when she saw Lilia’s picture. She’d been pleased indeed. Probably because they made a handsome couple and the marriage looked real, but a tiny voice in the back of his mind nagged that his mom thought his marriage had a chance of succeeding. That voice was going to be very disappointed in a year.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Vincent parked for the party the next evening and went around to the other side of the car to help Lilia through the snow—it hadn’t stopped falling all day. Lilia had insisted they listen to Christmas music the whole drive because “it’s only on once a year.”

  “Ready?” He held her gloved hand as they walked into the hotel where Jan and her party-planning committee had rented a conference room.

  “How was your day?” She held on to his arm through the lobby.

  “Good. My shot was crap at the indoor range though.”

  Lilia had crossed his mind more than once—did she like golf, what did she do to relax, and when was the next time he was going to get to feel her lips on his? She kept things real and didn’t make bones about what she was thinking. He’d originally thought they should have one meal together a week, to keep stories straight and stay in touch with each other’s lives in case they encountered questions. But now, he almost missed her, which was crazy.

  “There he is.” Jan held a microphone in the middle of the floor.

  “Are we late?” Lilia whispered through a grin.

  “No. We’re right on time.” For what, besides a party, he wasn’t sure.

  Jan had specifically told him six o’clock. Many times throughout the day.

  “Come here, you two lovebirds.” Jan was all smiles as she beckoned them onto the wood square in the middle of the room. “This is Lilia, Vincent’s wife.”

  Clapping followed her announcement. He clamped down his jaw as frustration started to mount, and the pleasant look froze on his face. He found Lilia’s hand without looking and laced his fingers with hers. She grasped his palm tightly in return.

  “While they did elope, they are having a reception New Year’s Eve, and you’re all invited,” Jan told the crowd.

  Hoots and hollers surrounded them. Thanks, Jan. He didn’t remember asking her to blanket invite everyone.

  “But tonight, along with our Christmas party, we wanted to celebrate,” she went on, turning to Lilia and him, “so we got you a cake.” Charlene, the head of his billing department, wheeled out a five-tiered cake. “And we know you’ll do this at the reception, but we wanted you to have your first dance tonight.” Mike, one of his main guys, brought out a stool and guitar, and his wife, Amber, took the microphone from Jan.

  “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Morgenstern.” The couple, in their late thirties, performed around town at all types of events—he’d seen them a couple of times and they were impressive.

  They started to sing “You and Me” by Lifehouse as Vincent raised Lilia’s right hand still in his and brought it to his heart. He wrapped his palm around her waist as she settled her other hand on his shoulder, and they swayed to the music.

  Her teeth seemed extra bright from the white, glittering sweater she wore with red skinny jeans and heels to match. In her four-inch heels, she was almost at eye level with him.

  His throat tightened, and his chest squeezed a bit. He wished he were doing this with his real wife, someone who loved him. Not someone he’d paid to sign a piece of paper. He gazed at Lilia as she watched the crowd. He’d taken away that experience for her, too.

  “Your people sure do love you,” she spoke quietly into his ear.

  “They’re pretty great.” Yah, the affection of the people in the room was real. He wasn’t hot on the personal surprises, but he wouldn’t have it any other way either. He’d made the right decision to marry Lilia to keep ownership of the business. If he’d let the company fall to his uncle, all of these people would have been out of jobs within a couple years. “I know this is a little much.”

  “It’s pretty cool.” The sincerity in her eyes was warming. “You should feel good that you’ve fostered a fantastic environment.”

  Before he knew what he was doing, he hugged her tighter to his chest. Hopefully she’d chalk it up to their being in the spotlight and not his getting swept up in the moment.

  “I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the guitar.” He ripped his eyes from Lilia for a moment to watch Mike strum the melody.

  “Why haven’t you?”

  “Never enough time. There’s always something else that needs to be done.”

  “I’m a fan of living in the moment. If you want to do something, you’ll find the time.”

  Lilia might be onto something. You could say his whole decision to marry her had been living in the moment, and so far it hadn’t bit him in the ass.

&nb
sp; He was thirty-three and never knew he’d enjoy a roommate so much. Her perfume had replaced the standard air freshener smells, home-cooked food had replaced takeout, and her voice had replaced television.

  Glasses clinking cut through the song.

  Here was another moment to live to the fullest. Without a second thought, as if his hands knew what they wanted before he did, they slid up to her jaw. He pressed his lips to hers, and chills danced down his body. The kiss deepened, and he felt her palms curl around his hip and side, pulling him closer. Their tongues intertwined, and he wanted more. He could feel her chest rise and fall, feel the heat of her skin. Or maybe it was his skin. They were too close to tell.

  The clinking stopped, the music stopped, and all that was left was his blood pounding in his ears. He separated his lips from hers, placing a quick kiss on her cheek as millimeters turned into inches between them.

  He couldn’t get too comfortable—Lilia and all of this would be gone in a year. He’d have to remind himself of that every day.

  • • •

  Lilia plopped down on the king-sized bed in her new room. The holiday party had turned out to be more fun than any company get-together she’d ever attended. Vincent was clearly the hero of the company and greatly respected. Standing by his side was easy, and she’d even picked up a couple of stories about him that made her laugh.

  Holding hands with Vincent was something she’d come to expect in public—Zenzo hadn’t minded PDA, but it had never been tender and for solidarity. His affection had been to show off. Vincent and Zenzo were opposites on a lot of fronts—work ethic, responsibility, smiles. Vincent had the best smile.

  She ran her hands down her face and rubbed her makeup-heavy eyes. They were frauds. Vincent had paid her so that he could keep his company, and he was lying to all those nice people he loved about his marriage. Staring into faces and straight-out lying was a lot more taxing than she’d expected.

  Her phone vibrated, and she reached into her pocket. “Hey.”

  “Dad’s in the hospital.” Lena’s tone was low and serious. “Mom just called.”

  Lilia sat straight up and grabbed her pink, rhinestone-studded bag. “I’m on my way. Text me the details.”

  She ran down the stairs and was halfway to the hospital before she started to process what this meant. She hadn’t even had the opportunity to tell her parents about the money. That was going to happen tonight.

  She picked up her phone and dialed. The smiling photo of Vincent she’d taken at the party when he wasn’t looking popped up on her screen.

  “Lilia?” Vincent answered on the first ring.

  “My dad is in the hospital.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. Saying the words out loud struck a fear she’d buried weeks ago when she’d found out the surgery hadn’t removed his cancer completely—that’s when her parents decided to tell Lena, Luke, and her. Talk about receiving bad news.

  There wasn’t really a reason she’d called Vincent. It’s not like she had to tell him where she was—he wasn’t her real husband. But she’d wanted to call him. She wanted to talk to him about this upsetting news.

  “What happened?” The urgency in his tone made her picture him sitting up and focused.

  “I’m not sure. Lena just called.”

  “Where are you? In your room?” He sounded like he was on the move. “I’ll drive.”

  More tears streamed down her face, and she closed her eyes at a red light. “I already left.”

  “Oh.”

  Was that disappointment? She could really use him holding her hand right about now.

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be, so just a heads up.” She’d missed the opportunity to have him with her, but it was still nice that he offered. Very nice.

  “Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”

  She disconnected and wiped her eyes in the visor mirror. She’d worn a lot of makeup to the party—full eyeliner, many coats of mascara, and blue eye shadow—all of which was now running down her face.

  It took another twenty minutes for her to arrive and find the room after one wrong elevator ride.

  “How is he?” she asked Lena in the hall outside the room.

  “Stabilized.” Lilia hugged her twin just as Luke and his new wife, Candace, arrived.

  “What’d they say?” Luke asked Mom as she opened the door. “Can we go in?”

  “He’s resting. It’s been a long day.” Her mom’s kind eyes nearly made Lilia cry again.

  “What happened?” Lena rubbed Mom’s back.

  “Side effects of the chemo.” Her mom took a big breath and clapped her hands. “I need something to eat.” She looked at Luke and Candace, and the three of them went to find the cafeteria.

  “What do you think?” Lilia asked Lena once they were out of earshot.

  “I think it’s worse than they’re telling us.” Lena hadn’t bothered to take off her jacket yet either. They should probably settle in, though. Lilia, for one, wasn’t going anywhere until they saw him.

  “Yeah. I do, too.” Lilia crossed her arms.

  “Have you told them yet? About the money?”

  “No. Only about Vincent.” Her parents had been so happy for her, she’d nearly cried. Their strong support never ceased to amaze her.

  “How’d they take that?”

  “Better than I ever expected.”

  They both chuckled, but it didn’t contain much humor.

  “Well, in a year it’ll all be over, right?”

  Lilia nodded and pursed her lips. In a year, Vincent would go his way and she could go hers. And her road still led out of the country, although she was thinking Australia now. Once she was traveling, life would be normal again. Only, she’d started to enjoy being back with her family. And maybe other people.

  “Oh no.” Lena shook her head as she scratched her forehead. “You didn’t.”

  “What?”

  “You’re in like with him. You like your husband.”

  “As a friend. Sure.” That was definitely true.

  “I’ve seen that look before. Do you remember Luke last year? That man was head over heels for Candace and all her stubbornness.”

  “You’re crazy.” Lilia shrugged. Lena needed to stop making something out of nothing.

  “Mmm-hmm. We’ll see.”

  “I’m going to go find coffee. Want some?”

  “Sure.”

  Lena was insane. Lilia wasn’t in like with Vincent, she just plain liked him as a friend. She didn’t have any feelings for him past friendship and being his fake wife. Her focus was her blog and her family.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Vincent paced, tried to watch television, and checked his work email on his phone—four times. Nothing took his mind off of Lilia. He couldn’t stand the thought of her at the hospital with her dad and not being by her side to help her.

  That’s it. A real husband would go. What kind of message would he be sending to her family if he didn’t show up there to support her during a difficult time? It didn’t matter that he hadn’t met them yet. He would eventually; he planned to live in Casper many years, and he didn’t want a reputation as a bad husband. There really was no other way to see it.

  He found the nurses’ station and, three floors later, located the Carrigan name on a board under room 219. He took a deep breath and rounded the corner. He could do this. She hadn’t told her family much about them, so they could just make it up together.

  Lilia stood in front of a door, pacing back and forth while looking at the ground. Her blond hair fell around her face, and her arms hugged her chest. It’s going to be okay. His gut wrenched for her—he’d do anything to help her dad and get her back to smiles and sunshine.

  A quick look down both hallways told him no one would see. They could have their moment.

  “I’m so sorry.” Shock filled her face as he gathered her in his arms, one around her back, the other cradling her head. “It’s going to be okay.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.


  Something was different. She didn’t smell sweet or like pomegranate. She smelled like flowers and energy.

  “Vincent?”

  His eyes shot open. Lilia’s voice was not coming from the person he held.

  “What are you doing?” Several feet away, Lilia cocked a hip and set her hand firmly on it, holding a hot cup in the other. Then she grinned.

  “I thought … ” He held the blond next to him at arm’s length. She looked exactly like Lilia. “What the … ?”

  Was he dreaming? Had he fallen asleep on the couch?

  Lilia walked slowly toward him and her doppelganger, who now had her eyebrows fully raised, an expression of non-amusement in the eyes that looked exactly like Lilia’s but felt different.

  “Vincent,” Lilia said, standing arm in arm with him, “meet Lena. My sister.”

  Lena took a step back. Then another before her gaze settled on Lilia. “You didn’t tell him we’re twins, did you?”

  “Hadn’t come up yet.” Lilia shrugged and covered a smirk by sipping her drink.

  “I guess that happens when you marry a stranger.” Her sister’s dark brown gaze squared with his. “Lena”—she extended a hand—“the younger sister by three minutes.” Her gaze softened a touch but was still wary.

  He got it. He’d be in disbelief, too, if he were in her shoes.

  “Nice to meet you.” He’d never known twins before, let alone dated one. But apparently he’d married one. Good thing he hadn’t picked that moment a minute ago to kiss her again.

  The sisters were in a staring contest, presumably using twin telepathy. He focused on Lilia, her hair still pinned up from the party, with pink lips and bright eyes. There was a difference between the sisters, and he could see it now.

  Lilia was hotter by a mile.

  “What are you doing here?” Lilia turned to him as Lena pivoted and walked toward the elevators he’d just come from.

  He opened his mouth, but the moment was gone. He couldn’t be all heroic now, rushing to her side, after that mix-up. “I figured I shouldn’t leave you hanging here.”